Reading Newspapers

This article will teach you how to read news articles to improve your reading skills and vocabulary.

(1) This method is effective because you can…

• practise your reading skills (e.g. skimming);

• analyse the structure of the article and see how the ideas are presented logically (e.g. problem and solution, pros and cons);

• learn vocabulary in context (rather than memorising a list of individual words).

(2) Free online resources

• For beginners, pre-intermediate and intermediate learners (~HKDSE Level 1-2; CEFR Level A1-B1)

  • International news:

    • News in Levels (Level 1-2) (www.newsinlevels.com/)

• For upper-intermediate learners (~HKDSE Level 3-5; CEFR Level B2)

  • International news:

    • News in Levels (Level 3) (www.newsinlevels.com/)

  • Hong Kong news:

    • SCMP Young Post (www.scmp.com/yp/)

• For advanced learners (~HKDSE Level 5*-5**; CEFR Level C1-C2)

  • International news:

    • BBC news (www.bbc.com/news)

    • The Guardian (www.theguardian.com)

  • Hong Kong news:

    • The Standard (www.thestandard.com.hk)

    • Hong Kong Free Press (https://hongkongfp.com/)

    • SCMP (www.scmp.com)

(3) My tips for beginners

• Choose a topic that you are interested in (e.g. technology, environment, pop culture).

• Aim to read 1-2 short articles every day and follow the steps below.

• Read a news article in your own language first if it’s available, and then read the same article in English.

(4) What you can do

1. Read the article once and make sure you understand the main ideas of the text.

2. Focus on the vocabulary. Jot down 3-5 new words or phrases, meanings and example sentences. Refer to an online dictionary if needed.

3. Focus on the sentence structures. Jot down 1-2 useful sentence structures.

4. Use 2-3 sentences to summarise the article.

5. Complete extra tasks (e.g. read aloud the article).

(5) Example

AI drones help farmers and the planet (News in Levels Level 1)

Weeds are wild plants. They grow in fields. Farmers do not want them in their fields.

Farmers use a lot of chemicals. These chemicals kill weeds. But chemicals are not good for nature. Most farming machines are big and expensive. They work only a little bit every year. Another problem is that most chemicals end up in soil and on plants. This way of farming is expensive and it does not work very well.

One company makes drones. These drones use AI. The drones fly over fields. They find weeds. They spray only weeds. This saves money and the planet, too. The drones save 95% of chemicals.

Source: https://www.newsinlevels.com/products/ai-drones-help-farmers-and-the-planet-level-1/

(i) Read the article once and understand the main ideas.

(ii) Focus on the vocabulary. Jot down 3-5 new words or phrases, meanings and example sentences. Refer to an online dictionary if needed.

i. drone (n.) *countable

• Meaning: an aircraft that does not have a pilot but is controlled by someone on the ground

• Example sentence: The drone helped agents track down their suspect.

ii. weed (n.) *countable

• Meaning: any wild plant that grows in an unwanted place

• Example sentence: Dorothea bent down and pulled weeds out of the garden.

iii. end up (phr. v.)

• Meaning: to finally be in a particular place or situation

• Example sentence: Much of this meat will probably end up as dog food.

iv. spray (v.)

• Meaning: to spread liquid in small drops over an area

• Example sentence: She sprayed herself with perfume.

(iii) Focus on the sentence structures. Jot down 1-2 useful sentence structures.

i. Another problem is that…

• Most farming machines are big and expensive. Another problem is that most chemicals end up in soil and on plants.  

(iv) Use 2-3 sentences to summarise the article.

Farmers use a lot of chemicals to kill weeds on their fields, but this way of farming is expensive and ineffective. A company produces AI drones which can locate and spray chemicals on weeds only.

(v) Extra tasks

i. Listen to the recording. Read aloud the article and practise pronunciation.

ii. Watch the video in the Level 3 section. (www.newsinlevels.com/products/ai-drones-help-farmers-and-the-planet-level-3/)

References:

Cambridge Dictionary (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/zht/)

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online (https://www.ldoceonline.com)

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如果你想提升閱讀能力，讀英文報紙是一個十分有效的方法。

(1) 因為你可以：

• 訓練閱讀技巧（例如：略讀）；

• 分析文章的結構和學習怎樣有條理地組織一篇文章（例如：問題及解決方法、好處及壞處）；

• 學習一個特定主題的生字，而不只是背生字表。

(2) 以下是一些免費的網上報章，你可以根據自己的能力去選擇合適的程度。

• 初級﹑ 初中級﹑中級 (~HKDSE Level 1-2; CEFR Level A1-A2)

  • 國際新聞:

    • News in Levels (Level 1-2) (www.newsinlevels.com/)

• 高中級 (~HKDSE Level 3-5; CEFR Level B1-B2)

  • 國際新聞:

    • News in Levels (Level 3) (www.newsinlevels.com/)

  • 香港新聞:

    • SCMP Young Post (www.scmp.com/yp/)

• 高級  (~HKDSE Level 5*-5**; CEFR Level C1-C2)

  • 國際新聞:

    • BBC news (www.bbc.com/news)

    • The Guardian (www.theguardian.com)

  • 香港新聞:

    • The Standard (www.thestandard.com.hk)

    • Hong Kong Free Press (https://hongkongfp.com/)

    • SCMP (www.scmp.com)

(3) 小提示：

• 一開始先選擇自己有興趣的主題，重點是建立閱讀英文文章的習慣。

• 如果是香港的新聞，你可以先看中文版，再看英文版。你會更容易理解報導內容，可以特別留意英文報導用了什麼字眼去表達同樣意思。

(4) 閱讀英文報紙的步驟：

1. 先略讀文章一次，掌握報導重點。如有需要，可以先查一些重點生字的意思，但緊記你不需要明白所有生字的意思，只需明白文章重點。

2. 選擇三至五個生字（想一想這個生字常見嗎？你日後有機會在其他地方再看到/在寫作用這個生字嗎？），在筆記本記下生字、意思和例句。你可以參考網上字典，我推薦Cambridge Dictionary (https://dictionary.cambridge.org/zht/) 和Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English Online (https://www.ldoceonline.com)。

3. 選擇一至兩個句式。同樣道理，選擇一些常見、將來你有機會運用到的句式。

4. 嘗試用兩至三句句子去概括報章大意，你可以運用新學到的生字和句式。

5. 有時間的話，可以訓練其他技巧（例如：朗讀文章去練習發音）。