photo Tara Benwell 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: 13 February 2019

NB! For WEEKLY audio stories check out LISTEN & LEARN 🔈

Rare Black Leopard Caught on Camera

Pre-Listening Vocabulary

  • rare: not common
  • leopard: a large wild cat with black spots
  • rumour: a story going around that may or may not be true
  • capture: to catch
  • stunning: amazing to see
  • elusive: difficult to catch or find
  • mutation: a change in gene structure
  • pigment: colouring (e.g., of skin or hair)

Rare Black Leopard Caught on Camera

A who had heard rumours of “black panther” sightings at a area in Kenya has captured stunning photographs of the elusive animal. The cat, which was caught on a trail camera, is actually a regular with a rare mutation called “melanism” that gives it a black pigment. Marvel Comics superhero Black Panther is from the country of Wakanda in East near where this rare animal was spotted.

Comprehension Questions

  1. What type of animal was photographed and where?
  2. What is melanism?
  3. Why does the report mention Marvel Comics?

Discussion Question

Why might this report interest trophy hunters? Should media outlets protect rare animals by not reporting locations where they have been spotted?

show Answers

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.
© EnglishClub.com
Search for more stories by topic. For example, search for keywords like: climate change, floods, trump, money, thailand, language...

Teacher's Notes

Subscribe to EnglishClub Podcasts RSS Feed

10 comments

Leave a comment