EasyItalianNews.com

Read and listen to the news in easy Italian!

Easy Italian News – 14 settembre 2018

by

These articles are a mix of stories produced during the set-up phase of this website, so they might be a little dated.
Still, they should make GREAT Italian reading and listening practice!

ITALIA

Salvini incontra Orbán a Milano

Matteo Salvini e Viktor Orbán
si sono incontrati a Milano
per parlare di politica internazionale.
Sono d’accordo
su molti punti
e pensano che insieme
saranno più forti.

I due politici sono uniti
riguardo alla politica sugli immigrati.
Nessuno dei due
vuole accoglierli in Europa.

Orbán in Ungheria
ha chiuso i confini
e dice che Salvini
fa bene a chiudere
i porti italiani
alle navi che trasportano
le persone dall’Africa.

I due leader nel 2019
vogliono partecipare insieme
alle elezioni europee.
Non hanno ancora scritto
un programma ufficiale.

Il nemico da sconfiggere
è la finanza europea
che non ascolta i cittadini
e vuole solo più potere.

Il loro incontro
ha causato molte proteste.
Più di mille persone
sono andate in piazza
per la manifestazione
“Europa senza muri”
dove hanno partecipato
anche molti partiti.

www.ilsole24ore.com
milano.corriere.it

CULTURA

Mostra del Cinema di Venezia: critiche contro Netflix

Il film vincitore
della Mostra del Cinema
di Venezia 2018
è stato prodotto da Netflix.

Alcune associazioni cinematografiche italiane,
come ANAC, FICE e ACEC,
hanno criticato questa decisione
e pensano
che non sia giusto
pagare un abbonamento
per vedere un film premiato.

Queste associazioni
dicono che il cinema
dovrebbe essere libero
ed accessibile a tutti
e richiedono più controlli
per le edizioni successive.

Cuarón, regista del film vincitore,
si difende:
“Questa discussione è inutile.
Nel cinema
l’importante è la diversità”

www.repubblica.it
www.leggo.it

SPORT

Esordio vincente per la nazionale di pallavolo

Ieri sera, a Roma
la nazionale di pallavolo
ha vinto la partita d’esordio
del mondiale.

A tifare per la nostra squadra
c’erano il presidente della Repubblica
Mattarella
e più di 11.000 spettatori.

Gli azzurri
hanno battuto il Giappone
per 3-0
e hanno conquistato così
i primi 3 punti.

I nostri giocatori
hanno dominato nei tre set
nonostante alcuni errori di troppo
dovuti alla tensione
ed emozione
dell’esordio.

La prossima partita
sarà giovedì, a Firenze,
contro il Belgio,
un avversario più impegnativo
del Giappone.

www.lastampa.it
www.oasport.it

SALUTE

Epidemia di polmonite a Brescia

150 casi di polmonite
a Brescia e dintorni
in cinque giorni.

Finora due persone
sono morte,
ma non è ancora sicuro
che dipenda dalla polmonite.

Le cause non sono chiare:
forse un batterio
presente nell’acqua.

L’ATS,
Agenzia di Tutela della Salute,
sta facendo indagini
e invita i sindaci
dei comuni interessati
a seguire
procedure di sicurezza.

L’ATS consiglia anche
di sostituire
i filtri dei rubinetti
e di portare l’acqua
a 70-80°C
per alcuni minuti
prima di utilizzarla.

milano.repubblica.it
www.rainews.it
www.ansa.it

ITALIA

Di Maio propone nuove regole per i negozi

Il ministro Di Maio
propone di chiudere
i negozi
la domenica.

L’obiettivo è
garantire ai lavoratori di
poter passare
più tempo
in famiglia
e di potersi riposare.

I negozi potranno essere
aperti a turno.
Così la domenica
sarà aperto solo
il 25% dei negozi.

La Lega però
vuole escludere le
località turistiche
da questa decisione.

Saranno i comuni
a regolare le aperture
dei negozi.

Alcuni politici però
temono che così
si favoriranno
i negozi di e-commerce.

www.lastampa.it
www.repubblica.it

ITALIA

Il MOSE, la diga di Venezia, non funziona

Si chiama MOSE
l’esperimento fatto a Venezia
per ridurre la differenza
tra alta e bassa marea.

E’ un sistema di dighe
costruite sotto il mare
che si alzano
soltanto quando
sale anche il livello dell’acqua.

Infatti la città di Venezia
soffre molto quando
c’è l’acqua troppo alta:
si rischia che
in pochi anni
finisca tutta sommersa.

Il MOSE non è mai
stato finito
però si vedono già
i segni del tempo.
Conchiglie e pesci
hanno mangiato
alcune parti della diga
che ora
si rompono facilmente.

Inoltre la corruzione
nel cantiere
ha causato ritardi
e problemi:
un processo nel 2017
ha condannato i colpevoli.

Gli ingegneri
hanno poi dimostrato
che ad allagare Venezia
non è solo il mare:
basta anche poca pioggia,
quindi il MOSE non serve.

www.lastampa.it
www.ilsole24ore.com

SCIENZA

Si è estinto il pappagallo blu

Gli scienziati
hanno annunciato
che il pappagallo blu ara di Spix
si è estinto.

L’uccello
è stato protagonista
del film d’animazione
Rio che lo ha fatto conoscere
al grande pubblico.

Ora esistono
solo alcuni esemplari
in cattività
ma in natura
non è più presente.

Gli scienziati vorrebbero
cercare di usare
gli esemplari rimasti
per ripopolare la foresta.

Questo però potrebbe
non bastare perché
la riduzione delle foreste
è la causa principale
dell’estinzione.

www.lastampa.it
tg24.sky.it

Comments

  1. I did post a comment right at the beginning of this websites creation. So still using it as it’s so good.
    I would find it helpful if there was a print option. I could then write notes/vocab on each item.
    In addition, my Italian is not good enough to listen to all the news items in one go so some way to click back to the start of each individual news story would be most helpful.
    Hope these comments are of some use.

  2. Hi this was just fab. Read at a great speed for me also nice and clear. It was really good that it was on current topics. If this became a regular thing it would be good to follow several of these news items through but also get an insight into life in Italy at the moment.

  3. A great idea. Both practical as a learning resource but also on an informative basis regarding contemporary issues in Italy. Very much appreciated.

  4. Love this news in Italian. Just what I need for listening practice and relevant new words to learn. Please keep it up!!!

  5. Excellent listening resource, very clear and at a good speed.

    I will recommend to others in my Italian class.

  7. I found it great! This is a wonderful idea and will certainly help all of us who are learning Italian. I just came back from a trip and just read the first edition, and plan to read today’s edition a little bit later. I was glad to find out I understood about 90% of the text, and that there were only I few words I had to look up!!

  9. Wonderful. The reading was very clear. I appreciate not everyone speaks like this but at my level it helps a lot.
    I listened first without the script to see if I could understand the topics. I think I got the general idea. This was helpful just being a voice as I’ve tried watching the news in Italian on television but I always wondered if that helps too much. Now I will repeat with the script to check !
    Fab idea.

  10. I found this very good,listening is the hardest for me,your son was very clear and went just at the right pace!Brilliant idea,length of each topic just right too!

  11. Many thanks Daniel! Also to your son – he speaks very clearly and reads at a steady pace. There were only a couple of words that I had to look up – the rest I could work out. A good variety of subjects which keeps up the interest. I have now managed to get Italian tv so will now watch/listen to Rai Uno! I watched a cooking programme the other day and that was interesting! Can you recommend any ‘easy’ programmes to watch?
    Thanks for all your hard work.
    How did the exam go?

    • Sorry Anita, but I never watch TV, Italian or otherwise, the only exception being the news in Swedish. Perhaps someone else has some ideas?
      The exam was interesting… especially interacting with the other students and staff during the breaks. Now I have to wait for the result!

  12. I loved the format Daniel. The bite size chunks of information are just the right length for me and the range of topics is a perfect choice. Many thanks. Rob.

  13. Everybody has already used the best words of praise! This is first class, every bit as good as I hoped it would be, Daniel. Your son’s voice is brilliantly clear – exactly what I need at this stage – and he sets a good, steady pace. Great choice of articles, and so far, I haven’t had to look anything up. I’m not boasting: I was simply using the context to work out unknown words.

    • Bravissimo, Harold!!

      And anyone reading this: “I haven’t had to look anything up. I’m not boasting: I was simply using the context to work out unknown words”

      That’s exactly what you should be doing.

      The problem, of course, is to combine that with listening in real time…

  14. A technical question – is it possible for the recording/play/pause bar to remain visible as you scroll down the text. Sometimes I need a little bit of time to listen to/digest a phrase e.g. numbers, and being able to quickly pause and replay the recording is very useful. At the moment I have to scroll right to the top of the page, press pause, find my place again and read/digest, then go to the top to press play, then find my place again.

    • No, I don’t think that will be possible. But here’s somethin you could try: copy and paste the URL of the page into a separate browser window. Start the first one playing, then hop over to the other and scroll down to follow the text. When you want to stop, hop back and press pause.

      However, I’d strongly recommend that you treat the audio as ‘extensive’ listening practice and so listen to it all the way through, rather than trying to understand everything.

      Listening to hear ‘detail’ as you are doing is not the purpose of this material (we have plenty of that elsewhere). Also your approach is less effective as preparation for real life listening – say TV or conversation – in which you are processing input in real time and with no pause button…

  15. Thank you for this resource. I really enjoyed using it to try and improve my listening skills. Your son’s voice is lovely and clear and I picked up more each time I listened to it so it achieved its aim! I would be happy if you managed to add more like this once a week. Any more than that would be a real bonus.

    • At least once a week, perhaps more. We’ll use what the response is, Lynda. The more the material is valued, and used, the more sense there is in spending time and resources in creating it.

  16. This is a great initiative. Well presented and having the text with the dialogue makes it easier understand the content. Incidentally the resources available from Duolingo, Babbel and Memrise pale into insignificance in comparison. The combination of the website, easy readers and now easy Italian news provides a wealth of learning material even for a duffer like me!

  17. I really like this! For me, being in the U.S., I get an update on what’s happening in Europe and the vocabulary is useful. I like the idea that you’ll have different readers as it’s important to be able to adjust to different people speaking.

    Thanks.

  18. Yep, great to have this and in this format. Many thanks for this. Would love to have more regularly if possible. Thanks again Daniel!

    • I’m thinking of twice or three times a week, though I have yet to set a budget for time or money.

      What are your thoughts??

      • Maybe two or three times a week if possible. I like the idea of one on a Friday to have time over the weekend to listen. Cheers!

        • The plan, when it gets started, is to publish on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. We’ll see if it works out like that!

  19. An excellent addition to your materials. I figured out the gist of each article after one go around. Grasped more the second time listening and reading. Then I had to “look up” words I didn’t know.

    • Dunno, Jamie. Give me another week or two and I’ll get around to that. Finora the focus has been on organising writers and audio and all the technical bits and pieces. No thought has yet been given to the budget, frequency of posting, and how to keep people informed.

      Do you have preferences? If so, this is the perfect time to let me know what they are.

      Daniel

  22. Grazie molto! This is an excellent resource and your son’s voice is nice and clear, and easy to understand. The ONLY suggestion/question I have is: could there perhaps be a way to slow down the audio a little bit? I am still a beginner, and I’m sure my comprehension would be even better if I could listen the first time or two at a slower speed. I did pick up more words the second time around, however, and also appreciate that the news is current. That way I have a bit of understanding from English articles that I have read.

    • Ciao Francesca,

      There’s a website called ‘News in Slow Italian‘.

      It’s nothing to do with us, but I’ve heard positive things about it.

      We’re ‘easy’ Italian, invece. And you know?

      Italians don’t speak slowly.

      So the idea is that, with ‘easy’ content, people will gradually get used to ‘not so slow’ Italian, and thus be better prepared for real life conversations.

      Well, it worked for me learning Swedish!

      But other people have commented (read the comments) that Google offers ways to slow down our content. Anche per me, non è un buon idea..

      Daniel

  23. Thank you and your son for the work put into producing the interesting articles.
    Good luck for tomorrow.

  24. Thank you so much for this excellent resource. I am a beginner and although it was challenging for me, I could understand and follow it. Many thanks to your son

  25. Excellent, clear and I understood so much
    Thanks again for all that you give us to help with our learning of this beautiful language.
    Daniel, ‘ in bocca al lupo ‘ per l’ esame domani.

  26. Great resource, like many my listening skills are weak. This will help greatly. Complement your son, his voice is clear and easy to listen to.

  27. Thank you for this brilliant new resource. I found the length about right, if too long my brain switches off. Interesting content. For me it was at the right level. I listened twice then listened again this time reading the really useful transcript.There were some words that I didn’t know but the challenge is good. If knew everything I wouldn’t need Easy Italian News. Thanks again for the hard work of the team, who are always looking to create such varied resources. I look forward to the next one

  28. I agree with the others on the excellent clarity and the reading speed is perfect for me – not so fast that I cannot distinguish each word and not so slow that it feels unnatural.
    Thank you. And thank you for the tips on listening. Apparently I can also listen better with my feet up!

  29. I’ve just listened to this recording and I’m very impressed with the clarity and pace of the reading. I find it difficult to listen to long readings so short, different topics are much better for me.

    Daniel’s suggestions as to how to use the link is also very helpful. I find it more helpful to read the text than just hope I can understand what’s been said!

  30. Really clear pronunciation and good level of sound (can never get cloud loud enough) Didn’t understand much but enjoyed the listening, thank you

  31. Thank you for adding this material to help with our language learning…a great idea, and interesting too: more please!

  32. Thank you (and your family!). I found listening without the text challenging, but together they’re a very positive addition and will help with colloquial use of language enormously. They give a great flavour of the Italian way of life and thinking and will stretch my learning without making me feel hopelessly incompetent! Bravo. And easier to get on with than SoundCloud.

  34. This is wonderful. I took your advice regarding the way to listen to it and each time I understood more. Every time I listen to italian news I get so discouraged, so this is a wonderful way to improve our listening skills. So thank you and keep doing what you are doing!

  35. This beta version is superb. I can’t imagine what treats the final version will contain! The choice of content, written text, and links to source information should be valuable to students at all levels. The new design and presentation of the material is very pleasing. The most appreciated improvements are the audio changes. Your son’s voice and articulation are ideal for this format. The recording earlier this week was also easy to follow. The audio is crisp and clear, with no fade-outs or static. Thank you and all your team for their efforts!

  36. This is excellent! Thank you so much. Interesting coverage and clearly spoken. A great learning tool.

  37. Brilliant intiaitive which is really useful. I have tried, and failed, to follow news on the main Italian platforms, so this will remotivate me. I can see that overtime there will be a core of useful language which I can hopefully use in other areas of study.
    Thank you for this .
    Stella

    • With reading and listening, Stella, it’s not just knowing the useful words and typical grammar (though that helps). Knowing what the topics are is a big part of ‘piecing things together’, too. Someone wrote to me the other day saying he’d never heard of ‘La Lega’, which is a bit like a student of English scratching their head when you mention Donald Trump…

      Plus, in my experience, just the sheer weight of accumulated experience. Arguably, to be able follow a text (whether spoken or written) in a way that approaches what you can do in your own tongue, takes hundreds, even thousands of hours of exposure to such texts.

      So listen multiple times, keep coming back for new material, and your ‘flying time’ will accumulate until you achieve ‘expert pilot’ status!

  38. I love this resource! My listening skills are my weakest point. I find this resource useful as it enables me to follow the text and decipher the words more easily whilst listening. I can look up new vocabulary and then re-listen without the text, allowing my ear to be come accustomed to the spoken word. Thank you for all your efforts to provide us with aanother wonderful resource.

  39. This is excellent. Being about current topics means that I already have an inclination of what it is about and so easier to understand. I also copy and paste sections into translategoogle where I have the option to play it back even slower/faster. Well done for this brilliant resource.

  40. This is excellent I liked very much because the pronunciation is very clear and the reading speed can be followed very easily.

    Thank you

    • Very clear audio which I could use mostly without text. I think it’s a great idea. I subscribe to News in Slow Italian, now using the most advanced level to push myself. Had this been available & known to me when I started I would’ve used it! I will now recommend to those friends who I think might use it.