Reading: What’s good in the hood?

1Read the article and match the headings to paragraphs 1–5. There are two headings that you do not need. 

MOVE
• How a newcomer felt about Lawrence
• A new type of newspaper
• How to get the balance right
• How the newspaper is financed
• Why some people have stopped reading the news
• How to set up a new newspaper
• How to become a newsreader

1  

If you read the news about what happens in Lawrence, Massachusetts, you might wonder why anyone would choose to live there. The headlines are all about murder, crime, and unemployment. In fact, a recent report showed that only 15% of all news items are positive. More and more people just don't want to watch or read ordinary news any more, especially younger people. This isn't because they're lazy or don't care about the world. It's because the news is mostly depressing, and it makes people feel that the world is a bad place.

2  

But some young people understand that, although the stories about war, disaster and crime are true, they don't show everything that's happening. A group of high school students are proud to live in Lawrence, and want to change this view of their city. A couple of years ago, they set up a different kind of newspaper. The newspaper is called 'What's good in the hood?' ('hood' is American slang for neighbourhood, or the area where you live). The WGITH team of teenagers feels that ordinary newspapers just don't show what life is really like in Lawrence. All the negative stuff gives people the wrong idea about the city. Their newspaper focuses on sharing all the positive things happening in Lawrence.

3  

The group's co-founder, Gladys Gitau, arrived in Lawrence a few years ago as 'a shy Kenyan girl'. To start with, she had a lot of negative feelings about the city because of what she heard and read in the news. Setting up the paper has completely changed her opinions. Rather than reporting the latest shooting, WGITH is full of entertaining and inspiring stories. For example, the latest issue has got an article about a new skateboarding craze, called longboarding.

Lawrence, Massachusetts

It tells the story of Marcus Jimenez, a local youth who, after getting a small grant of money from a charity, has successfully set up his own business, making longboards. Another story describes how a group of teenagers worked together to build a garden for a local elementary school. Stories like this give people hope for the community, and for their own lives.

4  

But isn't it unrealistic to only print good news? Bad things do happen in the world, after all. Should we just ignore them? A well-known British newsreader, Martyn Lewis, has got a suggestion. He has started a campaign to encourage television and newspapers to also talk about how to solve problems. For example, after reporting on a natural disaster, why don't journalists write about how the city is being rebuilt? Lewis thinks that this would be a more balanced approach and would make people feel less helpless.

5  

WGITH must be doing something right because it's a big success. The paper is available online and it's distributed to local cafés and community centres. In fact, the eighth issue is just out. Gladys won a competition to get the money to start the paper, but now WGITH gets local businesses and organizations to pay for advertising, which pays for the printing costs. So, it certainly looks like something is changing. The good news is that there are more and more positive news sites online, and even ordinary newspapers are starting to publish sections with good news stories. One day, the positive approach adopted by WGITH might even change the world.

2Read the article and choose the correct answers. 

1 ............................................................................

If you read the news about what happens in Lawrence, Massachusetts, you might wonder why anyone would choose to live there. The headlines are all about murder, crime, and unemployment. In fact, a recent report showed that only 15% of all news items are positive. More and more people just don't want to watch or read ordinary news any more, especially younger people. This isn't because they're lazy or don't care about the world. It's because the news is mostly depressing, and it makes people feel that the world is a bad place.

2 ............................................................................

But some young people understand that, although the stories about war, disaster and crime are true, they don't show everything that's happening. A group of high school students are proud to live in Lawrence, and want to change this view of their city. A couple of years ago, they set up a different kind of newspaper. The newspaper is called 'What's good in the hood?' ('hood' is American slang for neighbourhood, or the area where you live). The WGITH team of teenagers feels that ordinary newspapers just don't show what life is really like in Lawrence. All the negative stuff gives people the wrong idea about the city. Their newspaper focuses on sharing all the positive things happening in Lawrence.

3 ............................................................................

The group's co-founder, Gladys Gitau, arrived in Lawrence a few years ago as 'a shy Kenyan girl'. To start with, she had a lot of negative feelings about the city because of what she heard and read in the news. Setting up the paper has completely changed her opinions. Rather than reporting the latest shooting, WGITH is full of entertaining and inspiring stories. For example, the latest issue has got an article about a new skateboarding craze, called longboarding.

Lawrence, Massachusetts

It tells the story of Marcus Jimenez, a local youth who, after getting a small grant of money from a charity, has successfully set up his own business, making longboards. Another story describes how a group of teenagers worked together to build a garden for a local elementary school. Stories like this give people hope for the community, and for their own lives.

4 ............................................................................

But isn't it unrealistic to only print good news? Bad things do happen in the world, after all. Should we just ignore them? A well-known British newsreader, Martyn Lewis, has got a suggestion. He has started a campaign to encourage television and newspapers to also talk about how to solve problems. For example, after reporting on a natural disaster, why don't journalists write about how the city is being rebuilt? Lewis thinks that this would be a more balanced approach and would make people feel less helpless.

5 ............................................................................

WGITH must be doing something right because it's a big success. The paper is available online and it's distributed to local cafés and community centres. In fact, the eighth issue is just out. Gladys won a competition to get the money to start the paper, but now WGITH gets local businesses and organizations to pay for advertising, which pays for the printing costs. So, it certainly looks like something is changing. The good news is that there are more and more positive news sites online, and even ordinary newspapers are starting to publish sections with good news stories. One day, the positive approach adopted by WGITH might even change the world.

• 1What does the writer say about the usual news stories in Lawrence, Massachusetts?

  Only a small percentage are about local events.Only a small percentage are actually true.Only a small percentage are written by residents.Only a small percentage are about good news.

• 2What do some teenagers in Lawrence think about ordinary newspapers?

  They give a bad picture of the city.They are too expensive for students.They are really boring to read.They show how things really are.

• 3How did Marcus Jimenez start his business?

  A group of friends helped him to raise money.He sold newspapers to raise the cash.An organization gave him some money.He received some money from a relative.

• 4What is Martyn Lewis's campaign about?

  Only having positive news stories.Not showing children negative news.Raising money to prevent natural disasters.Showing solutions as well as problems.

• 5What evidence does the writer have that WGITH is popular?

  Everyone can read it online for free.It has already printed several issues.People buy it in cafés and community centres.It has made a lot of money through advertising.

• 6What is the writer's conclusion?

  That ordinary newspapers don't need to publish more good news.That publishing more good news can really make a difference.That the internet is making it easier to publish good news.That people don't want to read good news.

3Find words 1−5 in the article. Then choose the correct meaning for each word as it is used in the article. 

1 ............................................................................

If you read the news about what happens in Lawrence, Massachusetts, you might wonder why anyone would choose to live there. The headlines are all about murder, crime, and unemployment. In fact, a recent report showed that only 15% of all news items are positive. More and more people just don't want to watch or read ordinary news any more, especially younger people. This isn't because they're lazy or don't care about the world. It's because the news is mostly depressing, and it makes people feel that the world is a bad place.

2 ............................................................................

But some young people understand that, although the stories about war, disaster and crime are true, they don't show everything that's happening. A group of high school students are proud to live in Lawrence, and want to change this view of their city. A couple of years ago, they set up a different kind of newspaper. The newspaper is called 'What's good in the hood?' ('hood' is American slang for neighbourhood, or the area where you live). The WGITH team of teenagers feels that ordinary newspapers just don't show what life is really like in Lawrence. All the negative stuff gives people the wrong idea about the city. Their newspaper focuses on sharing all the positive things happening in Lawrence.

3 ............................................................................

The group's co-founder, Gladys Gitau, arrived in Lawrence a few years ago as 'a shy Kenyan girl'. To start with, she had a lot of negative feelings about the city because of what she heard and read in the news. Setting up the paper has completely changed her opinions. Rather than reporting the latest shooting, WGITH is full of entertaining and inspiring stories. For example, the latest issue has got an article about a new skateboarding craze, called longboarding.

Lawrence, Massachusetts

It tells the story of Marcus Jimenez, a local youth who, after getting a small grant of money from a charity, has successfully set up his own business, making longboards. Another story describes how a group of teenagers worked together to build a garden for a local elementary school. Stories like this give people hope for the community, and for their own lives.

4 ............................................................................

But isn't it unrealistic to only print good news? Bad things do happen in the world, after all. Should we just ignore them? A well-known British newsreader, Martyn Lewis, has got a suggestion. He has started a campaign to encourage television and newspapers to also talk about how to solve problems. For example, after reporting on a natural disaster, why don't journalists write about how the city is being rebuilt? Lewis thinks that this would be a more balanced approach and would make people feel less helpless.

5 ............................................................................

WGITH must be doing something right because it's a big success. The paper is available online and it's distributed to local cafés and community centres. In fact, the eighth issue is just out. Gladys won a competition to get the money to start the paper, but now WGITH gets local businesses and organizations to pay for advertising, which pays for the printing costs. So, it certainly looks like something is changing. The good news is that there are more and more positive news sites online, and even ordinary newspapers are starting to publish sections with good news stories. One day, the positive approach adopted by WGITH might even change the world.

• 1view (paragraph 2)

  an opinionthe things you can see from a particular position

• 2kind (paragraph 2)

  behaving in a way that shows you care about other peoplea type of thing or person

• 3issue (paragraph 3)

  a subject or problem that people discussa magazine or newspaper published for one particular day or month

• 4right (paragraph 5)

  correct or goodthe opposite of left

• 5adopt (paragraph 5)

  to take somebody else's child into your family and look after themto accept or start to use something new

4Complete the sentences with the words in the box. 

You need to use normal letters and capital letters correctly in this task.

MOVE
• view
• kind
• issue
• right
• adopt

• 1'In my , people should be able to vote at the age of sixteen.'

  'You should go to Brazil. Teenagers there are allowed to vote in elections.'

• 2In 2006, the company SanDisk advertised their new MP3 player by launching an anti-iPod campaign called 'iDon't', which described iPod users as 'iSheep' and 'iChimps'. The campaign failed, and the company had to  a new strategy.

• 3Some students thought the teacher was rather strict, but she was always  to me.

• 4Piracy is a big problem for the film and TV industry. Next month, experts from different countries are meeting in London to discuss the .

• 5When we went to Prague last year, we visited the Žižkov Television Tower. It's about 260 metres tall, and the  from the top is amazing!

• 6'Is it true that tabloids are also called red tops?'

  'Yes, that's . It's because some of them have got the title in red at the top of the front page.'

• 7Have you seen the latest  of Riders? There's an article in it about me!

• 8The editor's office is just down this corridor, on the .

• 9Celebrities Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt have got six children. They  the eldest three, two boys and a girl, from Cambodia, Vietnam and Ethiopia.

• 10'What  of TV programme is The Generations Project?'

  'It's an American reality show that helps people to learn more about their family history.'

 

5 CHALLENGE! Think about a news story you have recently seen or read that you found entertaining or inspiring. Describe the story and explain why you found it entertaining or inspiring. Speak for no longer than one minute.

1.  Select Record Audio to record yourself.
2.  If you want to add a note to your teacher, write it in the Comments box.
3.  Select Submit to dropbox to send the recording to your teacher.