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Questions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price of petrol over the next few weeks? 3. Why are petrol prices going up? 4. Where are most of the world’s oil reserves? 5. How are petrol prices linked to supply and demand? 6. Apart from drivers, who else is affected by increased petrol prices? 7. In the past, what action have people taken in response to paying more for petrol? 8. How could your family reduce the amount of petrol they use each week? 9. Apart from saving money, what would be the other benefits? 10. What is a fuel cycle and which is the cheapest day to buy fuel in most places? Is petrol the way of the future? Investigate alternative energy sources for cars and state which is the best option and why. One and a half men 1. Discuss the BtN story with another student. 2. About how many viewers watch Two and a Half Men each week? 3. How much per season does the show make? a. 100 million b. 310 million c. 420 million 4. Why is Charlie Sheen an important part of the show? 5. Name another show that relied on one actor for its survival? 6. How were his bosses keeping Charlie Sheen interested in working on the show? 7. Describe the difficult decision the makers of Two and a Half Men had to make. 8. The TV bosses were worried that Charlie Sheen’s misbehaving could ruin the ______________of the show. 9. What is syndication? 10. Who has been affected by the decision to stop the show? Write a message about the story and post it on the BtN guestbook http://abc.net.au/btn/guestbook.html TV text 1. Summarise the TV Text story. 2. What are closed captions and who uses them? EPISODE 6 15 TH MARCH 2010

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Page 1: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

Questions for discussion

Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price of petrol over the next

few weeks? 3. Why are petrol prices going up? 4. Where are most of the world’s oil reserves? 5. How are petrol prices linked to supply and demand? 6. Apart from drivers, who else is affected by increased petrol prices? 7. In the past, what action have people taken in response to paying more for

petrol? 8. How could your family reduce the amount of petrol they use each week? 9. Apart from saving money, what would be the other benefits? 10. What is a fuel cycle and which is the cheapest day to buy fuel in most places?

Is petrol the way of the future? Investigate alternative energy sources for cars and state which is the best option and why.

One and a half men

1. Discuss the BtN story with another student. 2. About how many viewers watch Two and a Half Men each week? 3. How much per season does the show make?

a. 100 million b. 310 million c. 420 million

4. Why is Charlie Sheen an important part of the show? 5. Name another show that relied on one actor for its survival? 6. How were his bosses keeping Charlie Sheen interested in working on the

show? 7. Describe the difficult decision the makers of Two and a Half Men had to

make. 8. The TV bosses were worried that Charlie Sheen’s misbehaving could ruin the

______________of the show. 9. What is syndication? 10. Who has been affected by the decision to stop the show?

Write a message about the story and post it on the BtN guestbook http://abc.net.au/btn/guestbook.html

TV text 1. Summarise the TV Text story. 2. What are closed captions and who uses them?

EPISODE 6

15TH

MARCH 2010

Page 2: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

3. It is not compulsory for closed captions to be used in prime time TV, news and current affairs. True or false?

4. What is the problem with the quality of some closed captions? 5. Describe the job of a stenocaptioner. 6. What accuracy rate do they need to have? 7. How is a stenograph keyboard different to a computer keyboard? 8. Why are some companies using voice recognition technology? 9. What are some of the problems with it? 10. What do you understand more clearly since watching the BtN story?

Apart from deaf and hearing impaired people, who else might benefit from closed

captions?

Dumb dogs 1. Choose five key words from the BtN story. 2. Researchers have found that over the years, the intelligence of dogs has

a. Increased b. Decreased c. Stayed the same

3. Why were wolves and dingoes used in the dog intelligence research? 4. How successful were domestic dogs at problem solving? 5. How did the dingo perform in the tests? 6. What did the researchers found out about the social intelligence of dogs and

wolves? 7. What has happened to the size of dogs’ brains over time? 8. Why do scientists think this has happened? 9. Do you think all dogs can be trained to solve problems? Explain your answer. 10. What was surprising about this story?

Why is basic obedience training important? What are some commands that all dogs should be taught? Create an advertisement that encourages all puppy owners to teach their dog important commands.

Ice hockey 1. Retell the Ice hockey story. 2. How many teams are in Australia’s National Ice Hockey League? 3. Describe the training the players do. 4. List the protective clothing they need. 5. What is the aim of an ice hockey game? 6. The rubber disc used in an ice hockey game is called a ____________. 7. Why is it frozen before a game? 8. Describe the dangers involved in playing ice hockey. 9. Where are the under 18 World Championships being held next month? 10. Name three facts you learnt watching the BtN story?

Test your knowledge in the online ice hockey quiz. Go to the BtN website and follow the links.

Page 3: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

Petrol prices Focus Questions

11. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 12. What do some experts predict will happen to the price of petrol over the next

few weeks? 13. Why are petrol prices going up? 14. Where are most of the world’s oil reserves? 15. How are petrol prices linked to supply and demand? 16. Apart from drivers, who else is affected by increased petrol prices? 17. In the past, what action have people taken in response to paying more for

petrol? 18. How could your family reduce the amount of petrol they use each week? 19. Apart from saving money, what would be the other benefits? 20. What is a fuel cycle and which is the cheapest day to buy fuel in most places?

Petrol prices Word warm-up Working in pairs, students record key words from the Petrol prices story (they can either watch the story again or look at the transcript).

Record what they think each word means

Write two or three sentences about how each word was used in the story.

Are there any antonyms or synonyms for the key words?

With petrol prices rising, alternative energy sources for cars are being explored. Students will create a brochure or poster advertising the car of the future. The

advertisement will need to include what the issues are with petrol/diesel powered

cars, what the best alternative energy source is for powering cars and why. They

need to include both words and pictures in their ad.

Students begin with a partner/small group discussion about what they know about

alternative energy sources for cars. Ask them to report back to the class with

what they know. They can then generate key questions to research in order to

determine what alternative fuel source is best to power the car of the future.

Some possible questions include:

What are the issues with continuing fossil fuel use?

What types of alternative energy sources are being developed for future cars?

(consider solar, hydrogen, biofuels)

What are the advantages and disadvantages of each?

Which energy sources seem most likely to be commonly used in cars of the

future? Why?

EPISODE 6

15TH

MARCH 2011

Learning Area

Society and Environment

Key learning

Students will develop a deeper understanding of alternative energy sources for future cars.

Clarify students’ understanding of renewable and non-renewable energy and fossil fuels.

Page 4: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

Students will need access to the internet to research the topic. They may find the following website a useful starting point http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/transportation/index.html When students have a clear understanding of what the alternatives are and the

advantages and disadvantages of each, they can make a decision about what the

car of the future could be. Discuss the different ways they could publish their final

product.

Reflection

What worked well with your `car of the future’ advertisement?

What would you change about your advertisement? Why?

Related Research Links ABC News – Petrol prices at 29-month high http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/07/3157301.htm ABC News – Consumers told to brace for petrol price spike http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/02/27/3150062.htm ABC News – Libyan unrest fuels price gouging: NRMA http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/08/3158410.htm ABC News – Fuel costs force Qantas to lift fares again http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/09/3159463.htm Energy quest – A student’s guide to alternative fuel vehicles http://www.energyquest.ca.gov/transportation/index.html

Page 5: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

Dumb dogs Focus Questions

1. Choose five key words from the BtN story. 2. Researchers have found that over the years, the intelligence of dogs has

a. Increased b. Decreased c. Stayed the same

3. Why were wolves and dingoes used in the dog intelligence research? 4. How successful were domestic dogs at problem solving? 5. How did the dingo perform in the tests? 6. What did the researchers found out about the social intelligence of dogs and

wolves? 7. What has happened to the size of dogs’ brains over time? 8. Why do scientists think this has happened? 9. Do you think all dogs can be trained to solve problems? Explain your answer. 10. What was surprising about this story?

Dog IQ Ask students to think about and record the relationship between dogs and

humans.

Explain what an interdependent relationship is. Humans give dog’s food and

shelter and dogs give humans companionship, affection and work. How does this

relationship compare to those between humans and horses, cats, fish or birds?

What makes the relationship between humans and dogs unique?

Students can then choose one or more of the following activities:

Investigate working dogs and the jobs they do. The following website has a slideshow with images of working dogs http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/dogs/working.html . What are the different breeds that are typically used as working dogs? What makes them suited for the type of work they do? Choose one type of working dog to focus on and write a narrative about the day in the life of a working dog.

Why is basic obedience training important? What are some commands that all dogs should be taught? Create an advertisement that encourages all puppy owners to teach their dog important commands.

Write a persuasive argument responding to the statement: `Dogs are better pets than cats’. The following website has information about how to structure an exposition (persuasive argument) and an option to write it online http://www.writingfun.com/writingfun2010.html

EPISODE 6

15TH

MARCH 2011

Learning Area

Society and Environment

Key learning

Students will develop an understanding about domestic and wild dogs including working dogs and the jobs they do.

Page 6: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

How do you know if owning a dog is for you? Brainstorm the responsibilities of owning a dog. Does it fit in with your lifestyle? Consider factors such as who will look after it when you go on holidays and the time required to exercise it. Interview dog owners about why they chose to get a dog, what they like and don’t like about it.

Creature Feature. Choose a breed of dog (including wolves or dingoes) and create a

profile. Include information about physical and behavioural characteristics.

Related Research Links ABC Catalyst – Dog brain http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/3154393.htm ABC Behind the News – Wolves http://www.abc.net.au/btn/story/s3045575.htm ABC The World Today - Dingoes deemed top dogs, domestics dissed as dunces http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2010/s2928438.htm ABC The Animal Attraction – Dog IQ test http://www.abc.net.au/animals/dog_test/default.htm Library Thinkquest – Wolf intelligence http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0212280/intelligence.htm

Page 7: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

BtN: Episode 6 Transcript

15/3/11

On this week's Behind the News:

We look at why the price of petrol is heading up.

The business behind show business why one man's bad

behaviour matters.

And how smart is a man's best friend? We put it to the test

Hi I'm Nathan Bazley. Welcome to Behind the News.

Also on the show today, Tash gets her skates on and meets some kids

who want to be ice hockey world champions.

But before all that let's have a look at the

latest on the terrible earthquake and

tsunami that hit Japan last week.

The Wire

INTRO: Japan is facing one of the biggest disasters to ever hit the

area after a massive earthquake struck off the east coast on Friday

afternoon.

The quake itself was 8000 times more powerful than the one that hit

Christchurch a fortnight ago and it shook buildings with violent force.

But the biggest devastation was yet to come.

Page 8: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

A huge tsunami crashed across the coast two hours later, sweeping

across whole cities, airports and farms in minutes.

The wave was 10metres high in some places and travelled towards

Japan at 800km/hr.

Locals had little chance of escape.

The quake also caused an emergency at a nuclear power plant when

the cooling systems failed and the reactor heated up to dangerous

levels.

The next day it exploded creating fears of a radiation leak.

Rescue crews have been sifting through the huge areas of destruction,

trying to find any survivors.

But with tens of thousands still reported missing this disaster could

turn out to be one of the deadliest modern-day Japan has ever faced.

Petrol Prices

Reporter: Natasha Thiele

INTRO: If you parents drive a car you've probably heard them talk

about petrol prices which are constantly changing.

At the moment petrol's the highest it's been in around two-and-a-

half years and many people aren't happy.

So why is petrol so expensive right now?

Page 9: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: Buying fuel is one of the biggest

costs for people who own a car.

We need to fill up to get to places like school or work.

REPORTER: But at the moment, the cost of petrol is going up and up!

Unleaded fuel recently hit around the dollar fifty mark.

Many drivers think that's overpriced already!

But some experts reckon it could go up by even more over the next

four weeks.

So why are the prices going up?

For the answer let's head overseas.

We've been telling you about the political problems in countries like

Egypt and Libya in the Middle East.

There's been a lot of protesting going on, because people have been

unhappy with the way their country's being run.

Most of the world's oil reserves are in the Middle East and millions of

barrels of oil are produced in the region every day.

When there's instability in oil-producing countries, it makes the

market a little nervous.

That means the price of oil goes up, because investors are worried

about there being not enough oil to go around, so it's all about 'supply

and demand'.

Page 10: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

Expensive petrol doesn't just hit the pockets of drivers. It can impact

other parts of our economy too.

If people are spending more money on petrol, retailers suffer because

we're not spending as much at the shops.

Then there are the delivery trucks that need to take goods like fruit

and veg to the retailers, so we could see a jump in the price of food.

So what can people do about high petrol prices?

In the past, drivers have protested when they felt the petrol

companies and governments were taking too much profit.

In Europe truckies even blocked fuel depots so the petrol companies

couldn't deliver.

It was controversial at the time because it caused chaos, with drivers

panic buying at petrol stations.

But it succeeded in demonstrating that people would be prepared to

fight if they felt they were being ripped off.

But there are less radical ways to cope with the high cost of petrol by

simply using less of it!

You can do things like walk to school, use a bike or take public

transport.

Think twice about using the air-conditioner because that eats up

petrol too.

And you can make sure you fill up your car on cheap petrol days.

Page 11: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

You see, petrol prices in cities across the country are constantly

changing.

This is what's called a 'weekly fuel cycle'.

You can find out what the cheapest day is to fill-up in your state. It

used to be on Wednesday, but now it's at the end of the week in most

places.

Buying fuel on a cheap day and in a cheap area could save you as

much as 20-cents a litre.

It's doesn't sound like much, but when you multiply it by the amount

of petrol you go through in a year, it soon adds up.

Tash has the story.

Poll Results

Well last week it was the price of milk that was getting everyone hot

under the collar.

Supermarkets are selling it really cheap and some people are worried

that it could mean less money for the dairy industry.

In our poll we asked you if you'd buy cheap supermarket milk.

And you were split pretty much down the middle.

52 per cent said yes you would buy it and 48 percent said no.

Page 12: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

TV Text

Reporter: Kirsty Bennett

INTRO: Now, imagine trying to watch BtN without being able to

hear what's being said.

It would be really hard to make sense of what was going on.

That's why many TV programs also come with closed captions so

that deaf or hearing impaired people can read the words as they're

written on the screen.

But lately there's been some criticism that the service isn't as good as

it used to be.

Kirsty looks into it.

KIRSTY BENNETT, REPORTER: Imagine turning on your TV and

trying to unravel this!

NEWS REPORTER: As consular - sounds lors, are provided. This is

the first of many Darbs. 40 experts boarded. Dashes. Nice to be back.

REPORTER: You'd have no idea what they're saying but

unfortunately that's how it can come across at times for the deaf or

hearing impaired.

It's compulsory for closed captions like these to be used in prime-time

television programs and all news and current affairs. But recently

there's been some criticism that the quality of the captions is getting

worse. Before we get into why let's look at how captioning works.

They use a special type of speed writing called stenography. They can

type more than 200 words per minute, which is faster than most

Page 13: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

people can speak! And they need an accuracy rate of at least 98 per

cent. It's a technique that's been around for a long time.

Stenographers have been used in courts for years to record what's

going on in a case and there's no room for error there!

REPORTER: They use a special keyboard called a stenograph

machine. It's different to a keyboard you'd have at home that has each

letter on an individual key. Instead they use the sounds of words. So

this is the start of a word, the end of a word, the vowels and numbers.

They use a combination of the keys to make the sounds of the words.

So if you type out a sentence like "the cat sat on the mat" it would

come out like this. So "the" is T and "mat" is actually PHAT. Sounds

confusing but stenographers have learned to understand this unusual

language in the same way that most kids would now know what LOL

means. The same speedy technique is used in live TV to make

captions. That's Jim's job. He's about to start his shift writing

everything that is said on ABC News 24.

JIM, STENOCAPTIONER: So I'll take the headphones now and listen

to what's being said and write it on the machine.

REPORTER: The tricky part for Jim is that during live TV he doesn't

have time to go back to correct any errors. Not that he makes many,

these guys are highly skilled. But remember some of those weird

sentences we saw earlier? Many of those mistakes weren't made by a

person but a computer.

Some captioning companies have started using voice recognition

software on live TV. And that's where some of the more unusual

captions have been creeping in. A computer is programmed to convert

the sound into words that are turned into captions. The problem is,

it's not as accurate or as fast as using a stenographer. The computer

sometimes has trouble understanding accents, or unusual names so if

it doesn't recognise a word or a place name it'll make a guess, which

can often be nonsense.

Page 14: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

So, while there are rules about when TV companies have to provide

captions, there aren't any strict ones on quality but that could change

if deaf or the hearing impaired, continue to make their voices heard.

Presenter: Let's stay with the subject of language and grammar with

our next quiz.

Quiz 1

Which of the following words is an example of onomatopoeia?

Fly

Buzz

Phonics

Answer: Buzz

Onomatopoeia means a word that imitates the sound it makes like

buzz, click, or thud!

All right, moving on.

One and Half Men

Reporter: Nathan Bazley

Page 15: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

INTRO: Anyone following the news lately would have seen TV actor

Charlie Sheen hit the headlines over and over again for all the wrong

reasons.

And last week the makers of his hit TV show Two and a Half Men

confirmed he'd been fired for misbehaving.

But where does that leave the cast and crew of his show?

And why do they need to stop making episodes?

Well TV might have bright lights and famous actors but when it

comes down to it, it's still just a business.

And this was one business that was all resting on one man.

NATHAN BAZLEY, REPORTER: It's the show that's seen in nearly 50

countries, under such names as "My Uncle Charlie", "A Pair and a

Half of Nerds", and "Charlie Sheen's Harper Boys".

But it's best known by the name Two and a Half Men.

It's regularly the most watched comedy both here and in America,

where it gets 15 million viewers each week.

All up, its creators and the TV station they work for make around 420

million dollars from it each season.

Making it one successful business!

But it's a business all centred on one man.

Page 16: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

Anyone who's watched Two and a Half Men would know that the

main character, Charlie Harper, and the person who plays him,

Charlie Sheen, share more than just a first name.

The character was said to be loosely based on Sheen, and most

storylines revolve around his central character.

But what would happen if he disappeared?

Well without him, it would probably feel like it has a big hole in it.

It's a common situation in TV where a whole show hinges on one

person.

Hannah Montana was a hugely popular show for Disney, but when

Miley Cyrus decided to move on, the show had to stop.

And the stars of The Big Bang Theory have negotiated huge pay days

for their work because their unique performances make the whole

show.

But Charlie Sheen would be harder to replace than all of them, so

keeping him working on the show was vital for business.

So vital, that his bosses were throwing an incredible 1.8 million

dollars at him per episode to keep him interested, making him the

highest paid actor on television!

But lately, he's been getting into lots of trouble, acting strangely, and

saying bad things about his bosses.

It all left his bosses with a very hard business decision to make.

On one hand, keeping Charlie on the show is risky.

Page 17: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

If he doesn't turn up to work one day, the studio still has to pay

everyone else that did turn up.

It's kind of like everyone at your school being told to go home,

because one person couldn't make it.

Also, his bosses would have been worried that all his misbehaving

could ruin the reputation of the show and their relationships with the

other people that work on it.

But on the other hand, firing Charlie would be an expensive decision.

When a show is made by a network, they sell it off to other networks

around the world to play, and charge them a lot for the privileged.

It's called syndication, and by firing Sheen, they were losing all those

sales too, which would have cost them around 260 million dollars.

But in the end, they decided he was just too big a risk and fired him,

shutting down the whole business in the process.

Back on the Two and a Half Men set, all these people who used to

work on the show have basically lost their jobs.

And that doesn't just mean the other actors on the show, but the

camera, sound and lighting people, the writers and even the caterers

on set.

So Charlie's actions don't just affect him, they affect the whole

business.

Which all goes to show - balancing a billion dollar business on the

shoulders of one man, only works when he's stable.

Page 18: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

Dumb Dogs

Reporter: Kirsty Bennett

INTRO: Dogs have been living with humans for a long time.

And over the years dogs have been taught lots of things from being

house-trained to performing tricks.

So you'd think that dogs were getting smarter, right?

Well actually research shows that the opposite may be the case.

Kirsty explains.

KIRSTY BENNETT, REPORTER: Meet some of Australia's smartest

dogs. They can perform in ways that make them seem more human,

than animal.

JULIA, DOG OWNER: This is my dog Flick, she knows more than 50

words sit, high five and Peter Rabbit.

JUDY, DOG OWNER: He can push a pram, play dead, ring a bell.

REPORTER: Impressive stuff, so does that mean that dogs have got

smarter over the years? Well, actually the opposite might be the case.

These domesticated pooches are about to take an intelligence test

against some dingoes and wolves. They're using wolves because

they're a dogs’ oldest ancestor and the dingoes also have kept many of

these wild characteristics.

Page 19: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

The first test is problem solving! The dogs need to work out how to

get around this barrier to get to the food. Flick is the first contestant

and she has no hassles.

DR JONICA NEWBY: That was pretty quick.

DR BRAD SMITH: Yeah that's awesome.

DR JONICA NEWBY: Four seconds.

DR BRAD SMITH: That's great.

REPORTER: But all of the dogs tested from there on take much

longer or just turn to their owner in defeat.

KYLEY, DOG OWNER: Good problem solving skills here.

REPORTER: The dingoes know exactly what to do and they don't take

very long to get to the food.

Onto the next test and it's all about social intelligence. They want to

see which animal can follow the direction of a hand.

DR JONICA NEWBY: Straight away.

REPORTER: All the dogs passed even the pug! At this special centre

overseas scientists used the same test for some hand-reared wolves.

And they found that wolves didn't follow any hand gestures. They

reckon this shows that domesticated dogs have developed an ability to

read human signals.

The final test is to see which animal can break into this cage for food.

Again, the dogs give up and turn to their owners. Whereas, the wolves

just keep on trying. So what does all this mean for canine intelligence?

Well when it comes to their brain the news isn't good! Since dogs have

been a part of our lives it seems their brain has shrunk proportionally

by about 30 per cent. Scientists reckon there could be a few reasons

Page 20: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

for this. One is that they don't believe dogs need as much intelligence

as if they were out in the wild. Another reason could be that breeding

has changed the size of their heads. And it's this variation in head

shape which could explain why some dogs have different skills and

abilities. The brain is affected by being misshapen and distorted to fit

into the different shaped skulls.

So overall the tests suggest our dogs are worse problem-solvers and

are less determined than their ancestors and domesticated dogs have

learned that they can rely on humans for help. But the pay-off is that

they've developed an advanced social intelligence. So while they might

not have the hunting skills of their ancestors they have some other

tricks under their collar.

JULIA: Up, sore foot, left, right, say your prayers.

Presenter: Let's show that we can be smarter than those dogs.

Here's a doggy quiz.

Quiz 2

The question is: How many toes does a dog have on its hind foot?

3

4

5

Answer: 4

Dogs have five toes on each front foot but only four on the ones at the

back.

Page 21: Questions for discussion - ABCQuestions for discussion Petrol prices 1. What issues were raised in the Petrol prices story? 2. What do some experts predict will happen to the price

Let's move onto sport now. Here's the score.

The Score

To soccer first and the A-League competition has ended in one of the

most exciting games in the six season history of the competition.

It was nil-nil at full-time between the Central Coast Mariners and

Brisbane Roar.

But the goals soon flowed in extra time with the Mariners scoring first

from close range and then hitting a second on the break.

It looked all over for Brisbane, but with just three minutes of extra-

time remaining, they pulled a goal back through substitute Henrique.

And with the final whistle looming the Roar struck again from a

corner to send the game to a dramatic penalty shoot-out.

Brisbane's goalkeeper stepped up to the occasion with two

tremendous saves.

And Henrique slotted home the winning penalty to seal the game four

penalties to two and send the Roar players and the home crowd into

hysterics.

**********

In cricket, Australia has reached the quarter finals of the World Cup

with a comfortable win against Kenya.

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Australia batted first and started off strongly before a mid-innings

collapse saw them at four for 143.

But vice-captain, Michael Clarke and the returning Mike Hussey

combined for a powerful stand of 114 to help push the Aussies total to

324.

In reply the Kenyans never really looked in the match losing regular

wickets to finish up 60 runs short.

The Australians will face Canada in the quarters.

Ice Hockey

Reporter: Natasha Thiele

INTRO: Our next story is about the unusual sport of ice hockey.

Although it doesn't have the popularity in Australia like the AFL and NRL codes, there are young people achieving great results.

Tash met a couple of guys who are off to the World Championships in Taiwan next month.

NATASHA THIELE, REPORTER: Determination. Speed. Victory.

This is what these guys stand for!

Jake and Alex have been playing ice hockey for more than 5 years.

Ice hockey is a team sport that's been in Australia for more than 100 years.

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It has a huge following in countries with freezing temperatures like Canada, where it's the country's favourite sport.

And a couple of years ago, Jake and Alex went over there to train with top hockey players.

JAKE: That was probably the hardest thing, like once we got off the plane and stuff we had to train and that was the first time I've ever travelled overseas.

Australia has its own national ice hockey league with 8 teams.

These guys have been training with the Adelaide Adrenaline, which involves 6am starts.

JAKE: You can never slack off, you can never just take a week off or a couple of days off 'cause you're fitness test will go straight down!

There are five players on each side plus a goalie, which makes six.

At the start of a game, the puck's dropped between two players in what's called a 'face off'.

The players then speed skate around trying to hit a rubber disc called a 'puck' into the opponent's net.

The puck is frozen before a game to stop it from bouncing and sticking to the ice.

It makes the puck pretty hard and it can be hit as-fast-as 160 kays an hour.

While it can be dangerous if you've ever hit with one, there's also the sticks and the sharp blades on the skates to watch out for.

ALEX: You do get the odd slash on the wrists or behind the leg where there's no padding!

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JAKE: I got hit and my helmet came up and the stick came down and hit me right here!

With so many things that could hurt you it's important to wear protection.

You need shin pads, protection for your thighs, back, chest and shoulders, as well as elbow guards, headgear and gloves!

All together it's pretty heavy.

REPORTER: So what are the first things I need to know about playing ice hockey?

JAKE: Well puck handling to start off with, you just gotta make sure to keep it, you wanna keep it around the heel of the blade, you don't want to be puck handling like that, it's less controlled. You wanna get down low, so your blade's completely flat on the ice.

ALEX: You wanna have your left hand down the shaft like a 'v'.

JAKE: Make sure you keep your head up, otherwise if you look too far down you're going to end up (REPORTER: Falling over!) face first.

REPORTER: Ok, alright.

So after being taught the basics of how to play ice hockey, I thought I'd challenge them to a game.

Jake and Alex have always wanted to represent their country and they'll get that chance, when they head to Taiwan next month for the Under-18 World Championships!

Closer

That’s it for today’s show. See you next time.