"The newspaper article"
Reading Lesson

Key Words

Below you will find a list of key vocabulary you need to know to understand the lesson. Click on each word to hear it and practice its pronunciation.

struggle: to have difficulty doing something
blame: to say someone is responsible for a problem or accident
near: close to something
claim: to say something is true
sort: to organize things into groups

Exercise - Key Words

Read the definition and select the word that was defined.

Reading

The News Gazette
Monday, May 1st 25 cents

Four Witnesses, Four Different
Stories about Car Accident

Police are struggling today to find out exactly what happened at the corner of First Avenue and Main Street yesterday because all of the witness tell a different story. The accident occurred late yesterday afternoon between a red car and a blue car.

An elderly woman was standing on the street corner when the accident happened. Police say that she reported that the red car was driving very fast and then quickly stopped when the traffic light changed. She blames the accident on the red car.

A man who was selling newspapers on a corner near where the accident happened claims, on the other hand, that the accident was the blue car's fault. He says that the driver in the blue car wasn't paying attention. When the red car stopped he didn't notice until it was too late. He hit the red car.

Accidente

A man who lives nearby was working in his yard when the accident happened. He said that he thought he saw a dog run out into the street in front of the car. No other witnesses reported seeing a dog.

Also, a group of children were playing nearby but they claim that they didn't see anything.

Police are busy sorting through evidence collected at the scene as well as the conflicting witness reports. They hope to resolve the case soon.

► Listen to the reading

Exercise

Describe what these people were doing during the accident.

example
The elderly woman/stand on the street corner

Writing

Describe an accident that you witnessed (or one you saw on television or in a movie).

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