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Hurricane Katrina kills hundreds
BEFORE LISTENING
1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences
are true (T) or false (F):
a. / Hurricane Katrina slammed into the US Gulf Coast states. / T / F
b. / The deadly storm caused widespread damage. / T / F
c. / Power and water supplies were not affected. / T / F
d. / President Bush has promised to provide compensation. / T / F
e. / The storm may be the costliest in US history. / T / F
f. / Katrina may be the deadliest storm to hit the US in over four decades. / T / F
g. / Live power cables are helping efforts to reach survivors. / T / F
h. / Louisiana’s Governor said the storm wasn’t as bad as she had feared. / T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

a. / huge / deadly
b. / blasted / get around
c. / lethal / area
d. / aid / increase
e. / region / financial
f. / economic / enormous
g. / rise / problems
h. / difficulties / slammed
i. / negotiate / destruction
j. / devastation / support

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a. / Hurricane Katrina blasted / is also continuing to rise
b. / The lethal storm may have / back on its feet
c. / catastrophic / trees
d. / George W. Bush has declared / into the southern Gulf Coast
e. / get the whole region / toll
f. / The human cost / than our worst fears
g. / death / left hundreds dead
h. / Rescue services / a state of emergency
i. / toppled / are experiencing difficulties
j. / The devastation is greater / damage

LISTEN AND FILL IN THE SPACES.

Hurricane Katrina kills hundreds

The huge and powerful Hurricane Katrina ______into the southern Gulf Coast states of the USA with its full and ______force on Monday. The lethal storm may have left hundreds dead and has caused catastrophic ______. Large areas of New Orleans are under water. Thousands of homes are without electricity and ______drinking water. President George W. Bush has ______a state of emergency. He has promised financial aid to help victims and to get the whole ______back on its feet.

The ______ cost of the hurricane could be the highest in US history. The ______ cost is also continuing to rise. Many predict the death ______ will be higher than the 256 killed by Hurricane Camille in 1969. ______ services are experiencing difficulties as they try to save lives. They have to ______ live power cables, toppled trees and dangerous ______. Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco told a news conference: “The devastation is ______ than our worst fears. It’s totally overwhelming.”

ANSWERS: Hurricane Katrina kills hundreds

TRUE / FALSE:

a. T / b. T / c. F / d. T / e. T / f. T / g. F / h. F

SYNONYM MATCH:

a. / huge / enormous
b. / blasted / slammed
c. / lethal / deadly
d. / aid / support
e. / region / area
f. / economic / financial
g. / rise / increase
h. / difficulties / problems
i. / negotiate / get around
j. / devastation / destruction

PHRASE MATCH:

a. / Hurricane Katrina blasted / into the southern Gulf Coast
b. / The lethal storm may have / left hundreds dead
c. / catastrophic / damage
d. / George W. Bush has declared / a state of emergency
e. / get the whole region / back on its feet
f. / The human cost / is also continuing to rise
g. / death / toll
h. / Rescue services / are experiencing difficulties
i. / toppled / trees
j. / The devastation is greater / than our worst fears
US rapper says President Bush is racist
BEFORE LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Look at the article’s headline and guess whether these sentences are true (T) or false (F):

a. / An American hip hop singer has accused President Bush of racism. / T / F
b. / The singer said Mr. Bush was a racist to his face on TV news. / T / F
c. / The rapper spoke for 35 minutes about racial problems. / T / F
d. / The rapper said the media always showed black people as criminals. / T / F
e. / The rapper is alone in accusing President Bush of racism. / T / F
f. / A black leader said skin color was the reason for slow relief efforts. / T / F
g. / The black leader compared TV images of New Orleans to slave ships. / T / F
h. / Another black leader also pointed the finger at President Bush. / T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article:

a. / rapper / urged
b. / attacked / stealing
c. / portray / cause
d. / looting / blame
e. / looking / criticized
f. / reason / non-white
g. / dehydrated / searching
h. / colored / hip-hop artist
i. / stressed / thirsty
j. / finger-pointing / show

3. PHRASE MATCH: Match the following phrases from the article (sometimes more than one combination is possible):

a. / live / script
b. / the TV show’s / portray us in the media
c. / a fundraiser for / “finger-pointing”
d. / attacked the media for the / victims of Hurricane Katrina
e. / I hate the way they / rights leader
f. / Mr. West is not alone in / television
g. / civil / ship
h. / skin / way it reports black people
i. / slave / criticizing the White House
j. / it was not time for / color

LISTEN AND FILL IN THE SPACES:

US rapper says President Bush is racist

On live television, American ______Kanye West said President George W. Bush was a ______. He made his comments, which were not on the TV show’s script, on a fundraiser for ______of Hurricane Katrina. Mr. West simply stated: “George Bush doesn’t ______about black people.” West also attacked the ______for the way it reports black people, declaring: “I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they’re ______. See a white family, it says they’re ______for food.”

Mr. West is ______in criticizing the White House. Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson strongly attacked Mr. Bush, saying ______was the reason for the slow relief efforts. Reverend Jackson said the ______of thousands of dehydrated black citizens stranded on a flooded highway was like a ______. However, the president of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Bruce Gordon, said it was not time for “______-pointing”. He stressed: “Right now, the NAACP is in what I call a _____-______mode.”

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a. T / b. F / c. F / d. T / e. F / f. T / g. T / h. F

SYNONYM MATCH:

a. / rapper / hip-hop artist
b. / attacked / criticized
c. / portray / show
d. / looting / stealing
e. / looking / searching
f. / reason / cause
g. / dehydrated / thirsty
h. / colored / non-white
i. / stressed / urged
j. / finger-pointing / blame

PHRASE MATCH:

a. / live / television
b. / the TV show’s / script
c. / a fundraiser for / victims of Hurricane Katrina
d. / attacked the media for the / way it reports black people
e. / I hate the way they / portray us in the media
f. / Mr. West is not alone in / criticizing the White House
g. / civil / rights leader
h. / skin / color
i. / slave / ship
j. / it was not time for / “finger-pointing”

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