Practice English Listening B1 Exercises – A news bulletin

A

There are four (a road accident, a protest by car workers, unemployment figures, house prices.)

B

1 17   2 85 mph (miles an hour)

3 2,600   4 8.5%   5 150,263

6 1,490,000   7 a third   8 £255,900

Good evening. I’m Peter Crane with the six o’clock news.

At least 17 people have been injured in the road accident that took place on the M1 near Leeds last night. The police said that the lorry which caused the accident was travelling at about 85 miles an hour, well over the 60 miles an hour speed limit for heavy goods vehicles.

2600 workers have walked out of the Peugeot car factory in Coventry in protest against the company’s pay offer. The unions have asked for a rise of 8.5%. There’ll be a meeting between their leaders and management later today.

The latest unemployment figures have been released for this year. They show an increase of 150,263 on last year’s figures. This brings the total number of unemployed to approximately 1,490,000. The Employment Minister says this increase has been caused by the relocation of several factories from Britain to the Far East.

Estate agents are predicting that house prices will continue to rise this year, making it extremely difficult for first-time buyers to get onto the property ladder. It’s estimated that house prices have increased by a third in the last five years. The average price of a three-bedroom house in south-east England is now £255,900.

And, the weather for the weekend…