Listen to News with Tara Benwell - Instructions:
1. Preview the vocabulary and read the gapfill text.
2. Play the news report and try to fill in the blanks.
3. Answer the comprehension questions by writing full sentences.
4. Use the discussion question to write an essay or discuss the story with other students.
5. Click "show Answers" to see the full text.
6. Pretend to be a news anchor by reading each story out loud.
dateline: 25 November 2014
NB! For WEEKLY audio stories check out LISTEN & LEARN 🔈
Venice Bans Wheeled Suitcases
Pre-Listening Vocabulary
- noise pollution: sounds that make it bothersome for people to live, work, or sleep
- deterioration: the slow breaking away or decline of something
- fine: to bill someone a certain amount of money as punishment for breaking a law
- marble: a type of metamorphic rock that can be easily polished; used for high quality or luxury surfaces
- permit: allow
Venice Bans Wheeled Suitcases
Comprehension Questions
- What is going to be banned, and where?
- What is the reason for this new regulation?
- What type of luggage will tourists be allowed to pull?
Discussion Questions: Residents in Venice are irritated by noisy suitcases pulled around by the 27 million+ tourists that visit the city each year. What do you find irritating about tourists (or residents) in your own town or city?
show Answershide Answers
Venice Bans Wheeled Suitcases
The Venice City Council announced a decision this week that will affect millions of tourists. As of May 2015, tourists will no longer be allowed to pull noisy suitcases along the streets of Venice. The ban will reduce noise pollution for locals and limit the deterioration of footbridges, marble steps, and pathways in the car-free city. Tourists who continue to use hard-wheeled, noisy suitcases in Venice could be fined up to $620(US). Venice-friendly luggage with air-filled tires will be permitted, but must first be designed.
- Noisy (wheeled) suitcases will be banned in Venice as of May, 2015.
- The reason for this new regulation is to reduce noise pollution for locals and to preserve surfaces, including bridges and steps.
- Luggage with air-filled tires will be allowed in Venice.
Written and recorded by Tara Benwell for EnglishClub
Tara Benwell is a Canadian freelance writer and editor who specializes in materials and articles for the ELT industry.
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