News Item Texts

Read the text carefully and choose the best answer!

Seven people were killed in a collision between a bus, a car, and a truck on Jalan Sultan
at 10.35 p.m. last night. The dead were all the passengers in the car. The police believe the car
had been trying to overtake the bus when it was struck by truck coming from the opposite
direction. The driver of the car might not be using his light, as the truck driver said he did not see
the car approaching.
The police said the car should not have tried to pass the bus, since overtaking is not
allowed on Jalan Sultan. In addition, the police reported that the car, a small Japanese car,
should not been carrying more than five people. If the passengers had brought their identity card,
the police would have identified the names of the victims easily.

1. The text mainly reports that there was / were . . .

a. A car accident d. victims of an accident
b. Careless drivers e. the function of an identity card
c. A small Japanese car
2. What was the cause of the collision?
a. The truck came from the opposite direction
b. The car carried more than five people
c. The truck driver didn’t use the lights
d. The truck river didn’t see the car
e. The car tried to overtake the bus
3. “If the passengers had brought their identity card, the police would have been easy to
identify the names of the victims.” (the last sentence)
The sentence above means . . .
a. The victims’ names were not known
b. The victims were easy to be identified
c. The passengers brought their identity card
d. The police had no difficulty in identifying the victims
e. It was easy for the police to identify the victims of the accident
4. Who said that the accident was caused by the car?
a. The police d. the truck driver
b. The victims e. the bus passengers
c. The reporter

Match the words in Column A with the definition in column B

Column A Column B
1. Collision ( ) a. Who or what the person is
2. Struck ( ) b. Being on the other side
3. Passenger ( ) c. Recognize as being a certain person
4. Opposite ( ) d. A crash; a violent striking together
5. Approaching ( ) e. A person traveling in any of the vehicle, train, bus, car, etc.
6. Overtake ( ) f. A person who receives ill-treatment, injury, etc
7. Victims ( ) g. Coming near
8. Identify ( ) h. To pass (a car) while driving
9. Identity ( ) i. To tell someone
10. Report ( ) j. Hit or attack someone or something violently
Read the text and answer the questions!

Fire in City Hotel

There was a fire at the Plaza Hotel on Jalan Ciomas at 1.30 a.m. last night. Most of the 74 guests
had already gone to bed when the fire started on the third floor.
The Hotel Manager, Mr. Iwan Sugiarto, said the fire had started in a guest bedroom. A guest had
fallen asleep while smoking a cigarette. The guest was badly injured in the fire, but all other guests escaped
safely. By the time the fire department arrived, the fire had spread to the 4 th and 5th floors of the hotel. Mr.
Sugiarto said the fire had caused over US$ 70,000 worth of damage to the hotel.

1. What does the text report?

2. Where did the fire start?
3. What was the cause of the fire?
4. Which statement is TRUE or FALSE?
a. All of the guests in the hotel had become the victim of the fire. ( )
b. Mr. Iwan Sugiarto is the owner of the Plaza Hotel. ( )
c. The guest who had fallen asleep while smoking was badly injured in the fire. ( )
d. The fire department was able to prevent the fire to spread to the fourth and fifth floors. (
)
e. The damage of the fire to the hotel worthed more than seventy thousand dollars. ( )

YONKERS, Nov 12th. A four alarm fire damaged 14 stores today in the Cross County shopping center, the
largest shopping center in Westchester County.
Two fire investigators said the blaze apparently started in a pile of cardboard cartons at the rear of a shoe
store and spread through a utilities duct above the 13 other stores. The fire started at 4.40 p.m. and was
declared under control at 6.14 p.m. The center is on the Cross County Parkway at the Gov. Thomas E.
Dewey Thruway.
Five fire fighters were busy at the scene. Lieut. John Carey of the Yonkers Arson Squad said the cause of the
fire was under investigation.

1. The text mainly tells us about ________.

a. The Yonkers Arson squad
b. a shopping center in the cross country
c. The blaze at a shoe store
d. the largest shopping center in Westchester County
e. A fire in the shopping center
2. The fire has lasted about _______.
a. Half an hour d. one and a half hours
b. Forty five minutes e. two hours
c. One hour
3. How many investigators and fire fighters were involved in the scene?
a. Two d. thirteen
b. Seven e. fourteen
c. Twelve

Find the meanings of these words in your dictionary and write it down!

a. Fire = g. Arrived = m. Investigator =

b. Most = h. Spread = n. The blaze =
c. Guest = i. Damage = o. Was declared =
d. Injured = j. Safely = p. Apparently =
e. Escaped = k. Worth = q. Store =
f. Utilities = l. Busy = r. Scene =
Read the text and answer the questions!

SINGAPORE: A supervisor was jailed for two months for repeatedly striking his Indonesian maid
on the head and back with a television remote control,news reports said on Thursday.
Muhamad Shafiq Woon Abdullah admitted in Singapore court. He physically abused the woman
on several occassions between June and October 2002, The Straits Times said.
The magistrate’s court heard that Shafiq, 31; began striking Winarti, 22, about a month after she
started working for him.
He hit her on the head with the TV set’s remote control because he was unhappy with her work.
On one occasion, he punched her on the back after accusing her of daydreaming.
S.S. Dhillon, Shafiq’s lawyer, said his client had become mad when he saw his daughter’s face
covered as she laid in bed. He said his client thought the maid had put the child in danger. – DPA

1. What does the text report?

2. When did Shafiq physically abuse the woman?
3. What did the man use to hit his maid?
4. Why did the man punch the maid on the back?
5. Who was S.S. Dhillon?
6. What did Shafiq think when he saw his maid covered his daughter’s face?
7. Which sentence is TRUE or FALSE?
a. The supervisor was put in jail for two months. ( )
b. Winarti struck the supervisor with a remote control. ( )
c. The supervisor hurt his maid from the first time the maid worked for him ( )
d. S.S. Dhillon and Shafiq are both lawyers. ( )

Complete the sentence with one of the words in the text!

1. The girl looks very ______________. She couldn’t stop crying.
2. Vera finally ______________ her mistakes. She was the one who stole my ring.
3. My brave aunt ______________ the thief’s face very hard when he tried to steal her handbag.
4. Mr. Johnson hired a very good ______________ to defend his case in the court.
5. My mother only wears her diamond necklace on a very special _______________.
6. You should stop _______________ and get on with your work.
7. Mr. Black has been a ______________ of this law firm for many years.
8. My brother drove so fast that I really felt that my life was in _________________.