Worksheet 1 – Headlines with Double Meanings
Group A
What are the two possible meanings of the headlines below?
Police Shoot Man with Knife
Miners Refuse to Work After Death
Angry Bull Injures Farmer with Gun
Stolen Painting Found by Tree
Hospitals Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
Passengers Hit by Cancelled Trains
What do you think the real story was in each case? Rewrite each headline in a complete sentence that makes the meaning clear.
Read out your one sentence summaries or give them to another group, and see what they think the headline could be.
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Group B
What are the two possible meanings of the headlines below?
Local High School Dropouts Cut in Half
Grandmother of Eight Makes Hole in One
Iraqi Head Seeks Arms
Killer Sentenced to Die for Second Time in 10 Years
Drunken Drivers Paid $10 Million in ‘04
Suspect Gets Nine Months in Violin Case
What do you think the real story was in each case? Rewrite each headline in a complete sentence that makes the meaning clear.
Read out your one sentence summaries or give them to another group, and see what they think the headline could be.
Try to make headlines for the following stories:
George Osborne drove his axe deep into the heart of the British state today, with a range of sweeping cuts to welfare, higher education, social housing, policing and local government that he claims will draw the country back from the brink of bankruptcy
Lee Jin-sam, 73, a four-star general-turned-politician, said Wednesday he will file a lawsuit against a 55-year-old woman, Cho Yoo-soon who allegedly had an affair with him.
Some netizens are waging a “cyber terror” campaign against a 35-year-old female middle-school teacher found to have had an inappropriate relationship with a pupil by spreading photos of her and other private information in cyberspace.
Major countries will pay keen attention to the meeting of finance ministers and central bank chiefs in Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, on Oct. 22-23 to see whether it will be a turning point in the international “currency war.”
Compare with another group and see if you want to make any changes to your headlines.
Compare with the original headlines below.
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- Osborne’s Spending Review Axe Falls on the Poor
- Lawmaker to File Suit Over Sex Scandal
- Cyber Terror Goes Wild
- Currency Spat Looms Over G20 Ministers’ Meet
Why do they use the words and expressions above?
Newspapers Discussion Questions
How often do you read newspapers or news articles in English? How difficult and useful is it? How do you go about reading one? Do you use a dictionary?
What newspapers and online news services do you know? Which are easier and more difficult to understand? What are the differences between them?
What is the most difficult thing about reading news articles in English? How can you make it easier?
Are there any differences between newspapers and articles in your language and in English?
What things make a news article interesting?
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Related pages
News page (including headlines vocabulary)
