Cambridge University Press
978-1-108-55989-8 — Four Corners Level 4 Student's Book with Online Self-Study
Jack C. Richards , David Bohlke
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1 The news
LESSON A

LESSON B

News sections
Verb tenses –statements

Agreeing with an
opinionDisagreeing
politely

LESSON C
Actions in thenews
Verb tenses –questions

LESSON D
Reading: “Citizen
Journalism”
Writing: Become acitizen journalist

Warm Up
A Look at the pictures. How are the people getting their news?
B How do people you know get the news? How do you get the news?
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978-1-108-55989-8 — Four Corners Level 4 Student's Book with Online Self-Study
Jack C. Richards , David Bohlke
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A Stories in the news
1 Vocabulary News sections
A

Listen to the names of news sections. In which news sections can you find thepictures? Compare your answers with a partner.

a Businessb Entertainmentc Health✓ d Lifestylee Localg Technology / Sciencei

Weatherfh Travelj

WorldSports

1 d

2

3

4

5

6

“I think you can find the first picture in the Lifestyle section.”
B

PAIR WORK In which news section can you find these news stories? Discuss your ideas.

the best new applications for phones

a meeting among world leaders

last night’s soccer scoresa new coffeehouse in your town

2 Language in context In the news
A

Read the headlines and the beginning of each story. Match the headlines to thenews sections in Exercise 1A where you can find these stories.
PHOTOS SHOW ANCIENT MARTIAN LAKE
New photos suggest that Mars had a large lake billions of years ago.
Town Recovering from Storm
The town of Jasper is slowly recovering from last week’s storm.
OPEN FOR BUSINESS
Hawaii hopes to attract more business travelers.
Jason Parker Debuts New Visual Album at Lucid’s
Jason was playing his new songs and videos to an excited audience until 2:00 a.m.

B What about you? Are you interested in these stories? Rank them from 1 to 4 in theorder you would read them.
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978-1-108-55989-8 — Four Corners Level 4 Student's Book with Online Self-Study
Jack C. Richards , David Bohlke
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3 Grammar

1

Verb tenses – statements

Simple present: Hawaii hopes to attract more business travelers.
Present continuous: Jasper is recovering from last week’s storm.
Simple past: Mars had a large lake billions of years ago.
Past continuous: Jason was playing songs all night.
Present perfect: Café Bella has opened in Pelham.
Future with will: The Winter Olympics will begin next Monday.
Complete the news stories with the correct forms of the verbs. Then comparewith a partner.
1 The Austin Sun Times
newspaper
members

has closed(close) its doors – for now. The(print) its last newspaper last Sunday, but it(open) again next month as an Internet-only paper. Staff(learn) about digital publishing now, so they(be) ready next month. Sadly, the Austin Gazette(be) now the city’s only “paper” newspaper.

2 Pink(be) a playful color, and it(make) people smile. But last night William Maddox(not / smile) when he(stop) a fight in his store. “Twopeople(argue) for about five minutes over the last pinkT-shirt in my store. I(ask) them to leave and then(close) the store for the day,” said Maddox.
3 Fifteen-year-old Kate Moore(be) the country’s newest
coding champion. Last Tuesday, she(compete) against
20 other contestants and(win) $50,000 for her fast
and accurate coding. Kate(get) everything right.
“No one(know) how to solve one of the Mathproblems, except me! Winning(mean) a lot to me.
My parents(watch).”4 Speaking News stories
A

PAIR WORK Think of a story from the news, or make one up. Complete the chart.

What happened?
What else was happening at the time?
What has happened since?
What’s happening now?

B

GROUP WORK Share your stories. What will happen in the future?

5 Keep talking!
Go to page 123 for more practice.

I can tell news stories.

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978-1-108-55989-8 — Four Corners Level 4 Student's Book with Online Self-Study
Jack C. Richards , David Bohlke
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B I totally agree.
1 Interactions Agreeing and disagreeing
A Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not?
“The best place to get news is online.”
B

C

Listen to the conversation. Why can’t Carl check the news headlines?
Then practice the conversation.
Carl

Hey, Jim. Catching up on the news?

Jim

Oh, hi, Carl. Yeah, I like to know what’s goingon in the world.

Carl

I feel exactly the same way. Do you read thepaper every day?

Jim

Every day. It’s the best way to get the news.

Carl

Really? I don’t know about that. I get all
my news online. I check the news several
times a day, so I always know what’s
happening.

Jim

Online news is OK, but I prefer reading
an actual newspaper. So, what are thelatest headlines online – right now?

Carl

Let’s see. . . . Oh, no! I can’t get online.
I guess there’s no wireless signal here.
Say, would you mind sharing your paper?

Jim

No problem!

Read the expressions below. Complete each box with a similar expression
from the conversation. Then listen and check your answers.

Agreeing with an opinion

D

Disagreeing politely

I couldn’t agree with you more.

I’m not sure about that.

I totally agree.

I’m not sure that’s really true.

PAIR WORK Check (✓) the statements you agree with. Then give your opinions
and agree or disagree with your partner.

It’s important to read the news
every day.

Social media is a good way
to get news.

The Internet is a better way to getnews than newspapers.

There’s not enough positive
news these days.

A: I think it’s important to read the news every day.
B: I totally agree. It’s important to know what’s going on.
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978-1-108-55989-8 — Four Corners Level 4 Student's Book with Online Self-Study
Jack C. Richards , David Bohlke
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unit

1

2 Pronunciation Reduced vowel sounds
A

Listen and repeat. Notice the reduced vowel sound /ə/ in unstressed syllables.
agree

B

totallyeven

happening

Listen. Underline the reduced vowel sounds. Then practice with a partner.
signalabout

magazine

travelsectiontelevision

3 Listening Agree or disagree
A

B

Listen to Ted and Carrie discuss today’s news. What news are they talking about?
Number the pictures from 1 to 4.

Listen again. Does Carrie agree or disagree with Ted? Circle the answers.
1 agree / disagree

2 agree / disagree

3 agree / disagree

4 agree / disagree

4 Speaking What do you think?
A Check (✓) the statements you agree with, and mark an ✗ next to the statements
you disagree with. Then write a supporting sentence for your opinion.
Statement

Supporting sentenceNews bloggers don’t provide real news.
International news stories don’t affect me.
It’s important to follow local news.
Getting news 24 hours a day is helpful.
Newspapers hurt the environment.

B

CLASS ACTIVITY Walk around the class. Share your opinions with your classmates.

Agree or disagree politely.

A: In my opinion, news bloggers don’t provide real news. They write opinions, not facts.
B: I’m not sure that’s true. A lot of bloggers are really newspaper writers.

I can agree and disagree with opinions.

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Jack C. Richards , David Bohlke
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C Survival stories
1 Vocabulary Actions in the news
A

Match the news headlines and the pictures. Then listen and check your answers.

a Shark Attacks Local Surfer

e Boat Overturns – All Swim to Safetyb Bear Chases Hiker Up Treefc Pilot Crashes Plane – No One Hurt

g Hiker Survives Week in the Mountains

d Lightning Misses Golfer by One Footh Fire Threatens Historic Town

Firefighter Rescues Family Cat

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

B

PAIR WORK Use each verb in Part A in a new headline.

“Swimmer Survives Three Days in Ocean”

2 Conversation Shark attack!
A

B

Listen to the conversation. How did Wade stop the shark?
ReporterWade, what happened?

Wade

A shark attacked me! Can you believe it?

Reporter

How are you feeling? Are you OK?

Wade

Oh, I feel great! I survived a shark attack. That’s pretty cool.

Reporter

What were you doing when it happened?

Wade

I was riding a killer wave.

ReporterDid you actually see the shark?

Wade

Not at first. But then I fell off my board. The shark
tried to bite me, so I hit it with my surfboard.

ReporterHave you seen your surfboard?

Wade

Yeah. It has a big shark bite in it.

Reporter

Amazing! So, what will you do next?

Listen to the rest of the interview. What will Wade do next? When?

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978-1-108-55989-8 — Four Corners Level 4 Student's Book with Online Self-Study
Jack C. Richards , David Bohlke
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3 Grammar

1

Verb tenses – questions
Wh- questions

Yes / no questions

Simple present: When do you plan on surf ing?

Do you plan on surfing today?
Are you feeling OK?

Present continuous: How are you feeling?

Did you see the shark?

Simple past: What did you see?
Past continuous: What were you doing?

Were you surfing?

Present perfect: How long have you surfed?

Have you surfed for a long time?

Future with will: What will you do next?

Will you go back in the water soon?

A Look at the yes / no questions the reporter asked Wade. Complete the questions
with the correct forms of the verbs. Then compare with a partner.
1

you

2

anyone(go) surfing every day?
(see) the shark before

it attacked you?
3other people

4you(buy) a new surfboard soon?

5

you(speak) with your family yet?

you

(have) any advice for6(surf) around you?

other surfers?

B Read the answers. Write Wh- questions about the underlined words. Then practicewith a partner.
1

Where did she crash the plane?

She crashed the plane in a forest.

2

He’s been in the desert for a week.

3

The firefighter felt very proud.

4

The fire will threaten the town center tonight.

5

They were fishing when the boat overturned.

6

He’s thinking about writing a survival book.

4 Speaking Tell me about it.
PAIR WORK Role-play a reporter and a survivor of one of the news stories in
Exercise 1. Then change roles.

Student A: Choose a headline from Exercise 1, and read it to yourpartner. Answer your partner’s questions.
Student B: Ask your partner five questions about
what happened.

A: Who were you sailing with?
B: I was sailing with some friends.

5 Keep talking!
Go to page 124 for more practice.

Questions
1. Who were you sailing with?
2. How exactly did the boat overturn?
3. How often do you go sailing?
4. Have you ever . . . ?
5.

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978-1-108-55989-8 — Four Corners Level 4 Student's Book with Online Self-Study
Jack C. Richards , David Bohlke
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D Creating news
1 Reading
A Look at the logos of the news websites in the article. Which websites have you
looked at? What other news websites do you know?

B Read the article. Check (✓) the main idea of the article.
Traditional news organizations are upset with citizen journalists.
Technology allows anyone to be a reporter, anytime and anywhere.

Citizen Journalism
Arpita has just updated her news blog.
The winners of a local election in Mumbai have just been announced, and she has listed their names onher blog. On the website of a local newspaper, Liat has recently posted a “digital story,” a series of photos anddescriptions of a whale rescue. And hundreds of people in the Dominican Republic are tweeting on their cell
phones to describe a hurricane that is threatening the country.
What do these stories have in common? Technology is giving people the chance to be news reporters.
More than ever before, technology is allowing everyone to share opinions, ideas, stories, photos, andvideos from anywhere in the world. If there is breaking news, you can be sure that someone is reporting it.
GroundReport, CNN’s iReport, and Blufftontoday.com are just a few of the websites where “citizen
journalists” can post their articles, photos, or videos. More and more people are making Youtube channels,
Instagram, or Snapchat profiles that get more than one million views!
They’re sharing their personal thoughts and news reports with the world on these websites. And theincreased prevalence of cell phones and cameras has made it even easier for people to share content.
Many media organizations such as CNN now have entire sections of these news stories on their websites.
News editors used to decide what was news. Now you decide.
There has been some criticism of citizen journalism, however. For example, there are often mistakes inthese stories, including incorrect facts, spelling, grammar, or even news that is fake! These stories may not
be as reliable as regular news organizations’ stories usually are. Moreover, when people instantly uploadstories and images, they cannot know how other people will use them later. But it seems that news by thepeople and for the people is here to stay.

C Find the words in bold in the article. Circle the correct meaning.
1 breaking news

a. news happening now

b. news about problems

2 prevalencea. lower cost ofb. frequent use

3 criticism

a. high costsb. opinions on what’s wrong

4 reliablea. written wellb. trustworthy

5 instantly

a. immediately

b. done without thinking

D What’s your opinion about citizen journalism? Do you think it’s a good thing? Do you
agree with the criticisms in the article? Do you have other ideas?
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978-1-108-55989-8 — Four Corners Level 4 Student's Book with Online Self-Study
Jack C. Richards , David Bohlke
ExcerptMore Information

unit

1

2 Listening Photos of the day
A

B

Listen to a TV newscaster discuss photos that four viewers have sent in.
Number the photos from 1 to 4.

Listen again. Answer the questions.
1 When did Rafael take the photograph?
2 How much of a discount was the store offering?
3 How long does it usually take Yumiko to get home?
4 What did Arlo do when he saw the animal?

C Which news stories in Part A interest you? Why? Where can you find out more
about them?

3 Writing and speaking Become a citizen journalist
A Complete one of these headlines.
HUGE STORM TO ARRIVELightning Misses

Threatens High School
LOCAL TEEN RESCUESTechnology Changes
IN FOREST

Students Askfor

B Write a short news blog. Use your headline from Part A and the model to help you.

Huge Storm to Arrive Friday
A huge storm is coming on Friday. Everyone is preparing for it. Most
people have already bought food and water. . .

C

GROUP WORK Share your news blogs. Ask questions to find out more information
about each story.
I can discuss a news story.

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978-1-108-55989-8 — Four Corners Level 4 Student's Book with Online Self-Study
Jack C. Richards , David Bohlke
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Wrap-up
1 Quick pair review
Lesson A

Find out!

What are two sections of the news both you and your partner like to read?
You and your partner have one minute.

A: I read the World section of the newspaper. Do you?
B: No, I don’t. I read the Travel section. Do you?
A: Yes, I do.
Lesson B

Do you remember?

Write A for expressions that show agreeing with an opinion and D for expressions
that show disagreeing with an opinion. You have one minute.

A

1 I feel exactly the same way.

4 I don’t know about that.

2 I couldn’t agree with you more.

5 I totally agree.

3 I’m not sure about that.

6 I’m not sure that’s really true.

Lesson C

Brainstorm!

Write the question “Where do you shop?” in as many diﬀerent tenses as you can.
You have two minutes.

Lesson D

Guess!

Describe something newsworthy for each item, but don’t say where it happened. Can
your partner guess the place? Take turns. You and your partner have three minutes.
something you did yesterday
something you do every day
something you will do tomorrow

A: Yesterday I ate at a great café. I had tacos and rice and beans.
B: Were you at Café Mexicana?
A: Yes, I was.

2 In the real world
What is a breaking news story in your area? Go online or read a newspaper, and findan article in English about it. Then write about it.
What section did you find the article in?
What happened?

Oil Spill Threatens Animals
The national news reported an oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The oil will harmfish and birds.
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