AURAL - News Pieces

Working the Section: Mechanics and Signposts

Understanding how the news section is set out keeps you calm when the recording begins. Always check the paper's rubric on the day to confirm the layout and number of playings.

Examination Mechanics

• You normally get three separate news items. Each has its own two to four questions. The items are completely unrelated, so a new topic or a new voice indicates a new item.
• Each item is heard twice, with a short pause between hearings. Use the pause before the first hearing to read all the questions for that item. Underline the question words (who, where exactly, how many, why, what happened next) and note how many details are required.
• During the first hearing, write rough notes in the margin: numbers as digits, French words you half-catch, and arrows. During the second hearing, fill in any missing details and write your final answer.
• Note-form answers are completely acceptable. Do not waste precious time writing full sentences or copying out the question. Give one clear answer rather than two alternatives, and number multi-part answers (i) and (ii) so the examiner can credit both details immediately.
• Place names and people's names are written in French as you hear them (for example Quimper, Falaise, Provence, or la Bretagne). That is not answering in French; it is the correct proper noun.

A single news item normally opens with the main fact (what happened, where), then gives the circumstances (cause, numbers, time), then the official response or what happens next — so the headline detail comes early and the reaction comes last. The questions for an item almost always follow the order of the recording, so once you have answered (a), the answer to (b) comes later in the item; if you miss one, leave a gap and move on rather than losing your place.

Newsreader Signposts

Broadcasters use standard linking phrases to frame stories and transition between items:

• On commence ce journal avec… = we begin this bulletin with…
• Passons maintenant à… = let us now turn to…
• Et pour terminer… / Enfin… = and finally…
• En bref… = in brief…
• Selon nos informations… = according to our information…
• Notre envoyé spécial / notre correspondant sur place = our special correspondent / our reporter on the scene

Recognising these boundary markers prevents you from mistaking a new item for a continuation of the previous one.

Numbers, Approximations, and Time Expressions

Numbers are the easiest place to lose marks in this section. French builds 70 to 99 out of smaller numbers — 60 + 10, 4 × 20 — so the first thing you hear is misleading.

Numbers 70 to 99

Never write down a figure until you have heard the complete compound:

• Soixante-dix (70) and soixante-quinze (75): Wait for the second element so you do not mistakenly write 60.
• Quatre-vingts (80) and quatre-vingt-quatre (84): The prefix sounds like 4 and 20, but it means 80 and 84.
• Quatre-vingt-dix (90) and quatre-vingt-dix-sept (97): Wait until the entire phrase finishes before recording the number.

Be alert to sound-alike pairs that sound similar at speed:

• deux (2) / douze (12)
• trois (3) / treize (13)
• quatre (4) / quatorze (14)
• cinq (5) / cinquante (50)
• six (6) / dix (10) / seize (16)
• soixante (60) / soixante-dix (70)

Approximate Numbers and Quantities

Announcers frequently use the suffix -aine to express estimates. If you omit the qualifying word in English, you will lose marks for precision:

• une dizaine = about 10; une quinzaine = about 15 (or roughly a fortnight)
• une vingtaine = about 20; une cinquantaine = about 50
• une centaine = about 100; des centaines = hundreds
• un millier = about a thousand; des milliers = thousands
• un million = 1,000,000; un milliard = 1,000,000,000 (one billion)

Always note down numbers as digits in the margin. If you hear près de (nearly / close to), plus de (more than / over), or environ (about / approximately), you must include that qualifier in your English answer.

Saying When: The Vocabulary the 'When' Question Needs

The 24-hour clock is standard in French news bulletins. Convert the time before you write:

• quatorze heures trente = 2.30 p.m.
• dix-neuf heures quarante-cinq = 7.45 p.m.
• vingt-deux heures = 10.00 p.m.

Precision markers and time modifiers:

• vers / aux alentours de = at about / around
• peu avant / peu après = shortly before / shortly after
• en début de / en fin de (matinée, soirée) = early in / late in (the morning, the evening)
• hier = yesterday; avant-hier = the day before yesterday; la veille = the day before
• dans la nuit de samedi à dimanche = during the night of Saturday to Sunday
• à l'aube / au petit matin = at dawn / in the early hours; en pleine nuit = in the middle of the night
• dès demain = from tomorrow onwards; dans les prochaines heures = in the coming hours
• jusqu'à nouvel ordre = until further notice

For example, if you hear: « L'accident s'est produit dans la nuit de samedi à dimanche, peu avant trois heures du matin », your answer must include the modifier: 'During the night of Saturday to Sunday, shortly before 3 a.m.' Writing 'at 3 a.m.' misses the precise detail.

Reporting, Outcomes, and Recurring News Themes

Exam questions regularly ask why an incident occurred, where it took place, or what the casualties were.

Cause Versus Consequence

Do not confuse the trigger of an incident with its outcome:

• Cause triggers: à cause de (+ noun) = because of (usually negative); en raison de / dû à (+ noun) = due to / on account of; grâce à (+ noun) = thanks to (positive outcome); suite à (+ noun) = following / in the wake of.
• Consequence results: ce qui a provoqué / ce qui a entraîné… = which caused / which led to…; par conséquent = as a result / consequently.
• The verb faire with casualties: l'accident a fait trois blessés = the accident left three people injured; faisant deux morts* = leaving two people dead.

Reporting the Outcome (Le bilan)

• un mort / un décès / décéder = a dead person / a death / to die
• tué(e) = killed; une victime = a victim (can refer to either a dead or an injured person — listen to the surrounding context)
• porté(e) disparu(e) = reported missing
• indemne / sain et sauf = unharmed / safe and sound
• hospitalisé(e) / transporté(e) à l'hôpital = taken to hospital
• dans un état grave = in a serious condition
• un bilan de deux morts et cinq blessés = a toll of two dead and five injured
• aucune victime n'est à déplorer = there were no casualties
• les dégâts matériels sont importants = there is considerable material damage

When asked for the toll or casualty count, state both the figure and the category: write 'two dead and five injured', not just 'seven casualties'.

Saying Where: Precise Locations

• Regions: la Bretagne, la Normandie, l'Alsace, la Provence, la Côte d'Azur, les Alpes, les Pyrénées, la Corse, l'Île-de-France, le Massif central.
• Specific locations: la mairie / l'hôtel de ville (town hall), un quartier (district), le centre-ville (town centre), la banlieue (suburbs), une commune (town/parish), un département (administrative county), une usine (factory), un entrepôt (warehouse), un immeuble (block of flats).
• Exact placement: au rez-de-chaussée (ground floor), au premier / troisième étage (on the first / third floor), au sous-sol (in the basement), derrière (behind), en face de (opposite), à proximité de (near / close to).

If the prompt asks where an event occurred exactly, naming the town alone is not enough; state the building and its floor or positioning.

Four Other Recurring Item Types

• Environment / ecology: la pollution, les déchets (waste), le tri sélectif (recycling/sorting), le réchauffement climatique (global warming), une marée noire (oil slick), une espèce menacée (endangered species), interdire (to ban), une amende (a fine).
• Health: une épidémie, un virus, un vaccin, une campagne de sensibilisation (awareness campaign), le tabagisme (smoking), l'obésité, les urgences (A&E / emergency department), un médecin généraliste (GP).
• Crime and justice: un cambriolage (burglary), un vol à main armée (armed robbery), interpeller / arrêter (to arrest), un suspect, un témoin (witness), une enquête (investigation), la gendarmerie, condamné à (sentenced to).
• A fait divers (short human-interest or unusual news item): découvrir (to discover), un engin explosif (an explosive device), une bombe de la Seconde Guerre mondiale (a WWII bomb), désamorcer (to defuse), un périmètre de sécurité (a safety cordon), évacuer (to evacuate), sauver* (to rescue).

Journalistic Grammar: The Press Conditional and Tenses

Grammatical forms signal whether an event is confirmed fact, background context, or unverified claims.

The Journalistic Conditional (Le conditionnel de presse)

When reporters broadcast unconfirmed claims or allegations before police or officials confirm them, they use the conditional tense. Translate this using 'reportedly' or 'allegedly':

• Le feu aurait pris dans la cuisine. = The fire reportedly started in the kitchen.
• Le suspect serait en fuite. = The suspect is allegedly on the run.
• Les négociations reprendraient demain. = Talks are reportedly due to resume tomorrow.

Narrative Tenses in Reports

• Passé composé: Reports completed actions (Les pompiers sont intervenus = The firefighters intervened).
• Imparfait: Sets the background scene (Le train roulait à vive allure = The train was travelling at high speed).
• Plus-que-parfait: Shows an event that happened before another past action (Il avait neigé toute la nuit = It had snowed all night).
• Passive voice (être + past participle): Indicates what was done to people or buildings (Quarante personnes ont été secourues* = Forty people were rescued).

Restrictive Structures

Never mistake the restrictive structure ne… que for a complete negative. It means 'only':

• Il n'y a eu que deux blessés légers. = There were only two minor injuries.
• Compare this with a true negative: Aucun blessé n'est à déplorer. = No injuries were reported.

Weather Bulletins, Alert Levels, and Geography

Weather forecasts frequently form one of the news items. These tracks test your ability to match specific weather hazards to named French regions and times of day.

Compass Directions and Sectors

• Le nord (North), le sud (South), l'est (East), l'ouest (West).
• Le nord-ouest (North-West), le sud-est (South-East).
• Sur le littoral / sur la côte (on the coast), en montagne (in the mountains), à l'intérieur des terres (inland).

Meteorological Vocabulary

• Une éclaircie: a sunny spell or bright interval.
• Une averse: a rain shower (brief, unlike continuous rain, la pluie).
• Un orage: a thunderstorm (often featuring la foudre, lightning, and des rafales de vent, wind gusts).
• Le brouillard: fog (un épais brouillard = dense fog). Distinct from la brume (mist or haze, which is lighter).
• Le verglas: black ice (causing chaussée glissante, slippery road conditions).
• La canicule: a severe heatwave; la sécheresse: drought.

Figures and Temperatures in Forecasts

• Les températures atteindront / dépasseront trente degrés = temperatures will reach / exceed 30 degrees
• Une hausse / une baisse des températures = a rise / a drop in temperatures
• Moins cinq degrés (-5°C) = minus five degrees; il gèlera = it will freeze; le gel = frost
• Des maximales de 28 degrés, des minimales de 4 degrés = highs of 28, lows of 4
• Des vents de cent kilomètres à l'heure = winds of 100 km/h
• Dix centimètres de neige = 10 cm of snow

The Météo France Alert Scale (La vigilance)

Météo France classifies weather warnings into four colour levels, from lowest to highest: verte (green), jaune (yellow), orange (orange), and rouge (red). You might hear: « Douze départements ont été placés en vigilance orange » (Twelve départements have been placed on orange alert). If a question asks for the alert level or the number of areas affected, give both the colour and the exact digit.

Always listen for contrast connectors like en revanche or par contre (on the other hand). Broadcasters use these words to transition between regions (for example: Des pluies torrentielles dans le nord ; en revanche, de belles éclaircies dans le sud).

Deducing Meaning and Identifying Attitude

The syllabus requires you to deduce the meaning of unfamiliar words from context and recognise speaker attitude and tone.

Word-Family Deduction

You can often work out the meaning of a noun from a known verb or adjective:

• inonder (to flood) → une inondation (a flood)
• fermer (to close) → la fermeture (the closure)
• chaud (hot) → le réchauffement (warming)
• blesser (to injure) → une blessure (an injury)

False Friends in Broadcasts

• Blessé means injured, never 'blessed'.
• Un vol means a flight or a theft, depending on the context (un vol retardé = a delayed flight; un vol à main armée = an armed robbery).
• Actuellement means currently or at present, not 'actually'.
• Un car is a coach or bus, not a private motor car (une voiture).

Identifying Tone and Reactions

Questions may ask how an interviewee or spokesperson felt. Listen for specific adjectives and intonation:

• Inquiet / préoccupé = worried / concerned
• Soulagé = relieved
• En colère / furieux = angry / furious
• Exaspéré / agacé = exasperated / irritated
• Déçu = disappointed

This news vocabulary (les médias, les fausses nouvelles, un porte-parole, selon, démentir) is also directly reusable when writing your Leaving Certificate opinion piece on media and social networks.

Key terms

un porte-parole

An official spokesperson speaking on behalf of an organisation, service, or government ministry.

un bilan

An official casualty count, toll, or formal assessment following an accident or disaster.

un sinistre

A major disaster, blaze, or incident causing severe damage or loss.

maîtriser un incendie

To bring a fire under control through emergency service intervention.

le conditionnel de presse

The journalistic conditional tense used to report unverified claims or unconfirmed news ('reportedly' or 'allegedly').

le verglas

Black ice that creates a transparent, highly hazardous sheet on road surfaces.

une éclaircie

A sunny spell or temporary bright interval between clouds or rain showers.

indemne

Unharmed or uninjured following an accident, disaster, or attack.

porté disparu

Reported missing following an emergency, accident, or natural disaster.

grièvement blessé

Seriously or critically injured, as opposed to slightly injured (légèrement blessé).

un usager

A public transport user, passenger, or commuter (often heard as 'les usagers').

démentir

To deny or reject a statement, rumour or report officially.

en raison de

A formal causal preposition meaning 'due to' or 'on account of', followed by a noun.

une grève

An industrial strike or organised work stoppage by employees.