Question

The news is out! Lee Forest announced Tuesday that Seattle native Leila Croft will be the new chief of production at Forest Home Appliance beginning March 1. What do you think the article is about? What do you learn from the first sentence? Read the lead sentences of the following online magazine article. Two witnesses have identified a Trenton man in connection with a Grand Forks robbery. Police Chief Charlie Knotts refused to comment about the situation. What is this article about?

Answer 1

The first article is about the promotion of a lady from Seattle to an important position at a private company. The fact that the article begins by the sentence “the news is out!” implies up front that it is an important event for its readers and that apparently this lady is an influential and respected member of the community and that this promotion is beneficial for it and for the lady herself.

The second article is obviously a news report on a police investigation. It starts with the mention of “two witnesses”, implying that they were witnesses to a crime, which is confirmed immediately after the opening line. The crime itself has a name (Grand Forks robbery) which demonstrates that the crime was a serious and had dramatic repercussions for the community where it occurred. Even the police official who is interviewed by the press holds an important rank which further underscores the gravity of the offense.