BBC NEWS

Listen to the news and make notes on each story next to the picture to which it
corresponds.
BBC NEWS PAGE 2
Teacher’s notes
Total pages 2 / student pages 1 / week of 26.04.10 / CD track 2 / intermediate+ (B1+)
Post-listening discussion Discuss these questions with the students:
Do you think space exploration should be a priorty for governments?
How good do you think your first aid skills are?
Which do you think are the most common preventable diseases where you live?
What do you think of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s accusations?
What do you think the future holds for Cuba?
Do you think the World Cup in South Africa will be a success?

Transcript
President Obama has said he wants to put astronauts into orbit around Mars within 25 years. During a speech
at the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida, Mr Obama explained why he decided to abort plans to return to the
moon, saying we’ve been there before. Instead, he said the American space agency, NASA, would have a
much wider agenda. We’ll start by sending astronauts to an asteroid for the first time in history. By the mid-
2030s I believe we can send humans to orbit Mars and return them safely to Earth, and a landing on Mars
will follow, and I expect to be around to see it.

A United Nations investigation has blamed the former Pakistani government for failing to prevent or investigate
the assassination of the former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, and it strongly criticises Pakistan’s intelligence
agencies. Ms Bhutto was killed in a gun and bomb attack after addressing an election rally near Islamabad
more than two years ago.

A campaign begins today to persuade more people to learn basic first aid skills. St John Ambulance says a
little knowledge can mean the difference between a life lost or a life saved and it’s issuing a free pocket guide
giving advice on what to do in a number of emergencies such as a heart attack. Beth Chesney-Evans’ son,
Guy, died in a motorbike accident before the paramedics arrived. She believes basic first aid could possibly
have saved him and she’s supporting the campaign. We’re not talking about getting people to become mini
paramedics, that would be ridiculous. A little bit of knowledge, knowing how to check that somebody is
breathing, is absolutely paramount, if they can’t breathe they’ll die, learning, you know, how to stop somebody
who’s bleeding severely, all those sorts of things. It’s not rocket science, everybody can do it and it’s really
important.

Doctors at a leading children’s hospital say they are facing an epidemic of preventable disease among people
under the age of 16. Staff at Alder Hey in Liverpool say they’re spending a million pounds a year dealing with
avoidable conditions like tooth decay, obesity, passive smoking and drinking. The hospital’s medical director
Steve Ryan says children are suffering unnecessarily.

The former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Carey has accused senior judges of displaying prejudice in cases
involving religious discrimination. He’s among a group of church leaders who have accused the Court of
Appeal of lacking sufficient knowledge of Christianity to act fairly. Lord Carey is supporting the case of a
relationship counsellor who was sacked for refusing to give sex therapy to gay couples.

The Cuban government is turning over control of hundreds of state-owned hairdressing and beauty shops
to their employees. Our correspondent says it’s a first tentative step towards economic reform and the
privatisation of small business on the communist-run island.

With less than two months to go until the World Cup people living in South Africa will, for the first time, be able
to buy tickets over the counter and for cash. The move comes amid widespread criticism of the organisers
FIFA for a marketing strategy that’s excluded tens of thousands of people from the host country.

A page from the flight plan of the first moon landing has been sold for nearly £100,000 at auction in New York.
The document is signed by Neil Armstrong who became the first man to set foot on the moon in July 1969.