Answers to Newspaper Questions

Hi guys,

Here are the answers to yesterday’s lesson about newspapers.

Below you will find

• various answers to the four questions
• a link to newspaper vocabulary

1. What is an obituary?
   1. This is a notice of someone’s death. It is usually posted along with a biography of the person which gives information about their personal history and achievements. This is a popular section in the newspapers.
   2. In your IELTS speaking test, the examiner doesn’t usually ask direct questions about vocabulary. However, this is a useful section of the newspaper to talk about in your test.
2. What is the most popular section in the newspaper in your country?
   1. This is a common speaking part 1 question for the topic of newspapers. Below are various possible answers – some have been posted by you all and I have also added one.
   2. The newspaper section which is currently very popular in my country is the political section. This is because the election period is fast approaching and there are lots of political issues in the country which arouses the interest of the populace.
   3. Well, I believed it’s the horoscope and sometimes the game part, where you can play crosswords and soduku. In my opinion, I find them interesting and often times you can enhance your mind by answering the game part after you’ve read the horoscope of the day.
   4. In my country Nigeria, the most widely read segment of a newspaper is politics. This is because of ethnicity and religious diversity of Nigeria.
   5. The most popular section of the newspaper is the Sports section, since the ongoing of the IPL in India people are more keen to know about the details and comments of experts and the predictions made by them in this regard. People are also take a keen interest in international football, and the spot light is mainly on thew star players, whom they want to hear about.
   6. I think it depends on who is reading. Men will often prefer the sports section or politics, while women might go for the gossip columns or general news. The world news and domestic news sections are pretty popular all round.
3. Why do some people only skim the headlines?
   1. This is another common speaking question. Below are more answers posted by you and one from myself.
   2.  I think individuals quickly go through the newspaper headlines to know which one is catchy and from the headings one can tell what news it contains.
   3. Skimming through headlines could be a quick way to get a glimpse of what is going on around the world. It could also be that in today’s busy times people don’t have time to go through all of the newspaper and read all the news in details. It could be that, having a quick glance at newspaper to check for a any big news before leaving the house and then go through the details on the internet through the day. It’s always good to be aware of current affairs.
   4. The main reason for people skimming through the headlines is to locate the articles of news that interesting them the most because the headlines contain the gist of the article. It’s one way to save time, instead of ploughing through all the long articles and details which would take ages.
4. Do you think newspapers will one day be completely replaced by online news?
   1. This is both an IELTS speaking question and also a potential writing task 2 topic. Below I will list ideas for this which you have posted and I’ll add my own.
   2. Yes, because online news provides easiest and quickest information in a single click.
   3. .I have a strong feeling it will, in this era where technology is booming and every thing is done and acquired digitally, why would a person take the pain of carrying a ten page newspaper and trying to find the page of his choice, rather than use a tablet or cell phone where at the press of a button they can get the required page on the go.
   4. Although online news has improved thanks to technological advancement, newspapers will still retain their importance. This situation will be same in future because some people like to read news by physically holding a newspapers.
   5. I don’t think that physical newspapers would go into extinction because there are still people that don’t have access to the internet and also old people are stuck on their old ways of doing things.Everyone has their preference hence they choose the one that suit them best
   6. Yes, I believe over time newspapers will eventually be replaced. Getting news online is a quick and easy way to access up-to-date current events wherever you are. Online news is up-dated, sometimes, by the hour, unlike newspapers which are only printed once daily. Furthermore online news is paperless which obviously is better for the environment.

Vocabulary for Newspapers

Click here: Newspaper Vocabulary

Hope this was useful 🙂

All the best

Liz