Unit 6 obama visits 'home' in ireland

This theme is dealt with in a lot of sources. The following citation is to illustrate this:

“As part of his official visit to Ireland President Obama will visit the small town of Moneygall where his great-great-great-great-grandfather was a shoemaker.

His son, Falmouth Kearney, left Ireland for New York in 1850.

If the residents of Moneygall need any advice on how best to welcome an American president, they might turn to their counterparts in another small Irish village, Ballyporeen, which, in 1984 played host to the great grandson of a local man who emigrated to the US, President Ronald Reagan.

President Obama is following in the footsteps, not just of President Reagan, but also of a wave of presidents dating back to John F Kennedy. President Kennedy paid the first visit of a serving US president to Ireland in 1963, a four day trip which saw huge crowds turning out to greet him as he toured the country and visited his ancestral home. He was followed in 1970 by President Richard Nixon, whose family history was traced to County Kildare.

President Bill Clinton made three visits to the island of Ireland during his two terms in office. His Irish legacy though resides in the crucial part he played in the Northern Ireland peace process, although he too can trace ancestry here, to County Fermanagh.

President George W Bush is thought to have Irish roots as well, in County Down. Like President Clinton, his visits were aimed at consolidating the Northern Ireland peace process.

And now the people of Moneygall prepare to welcome their US president; all thanks to a son of the village who left for New York in 1850, at the tender age of nineteen.

The links between Ireland and America are forged on countless such stories, there are thirty six million Americans who claim Irish ancestry, according to US Census figures. Every year, thousands of Americans travel here to reconnect with their family heritage.

Later on, in Moneygall, their president will do exactly the same.”

The complete version of this text is at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2011/05/110523_witn_obama_ireland.shtml

Assignments:

1. Read, listen and translate the text paying special attention to professional terminology.

2. Key words and expressions:

• counterparts-people who have had the experience that they are about to have

• played host to-welcomed

• following in the footsteps (of)-doing what others have done before

• a wave of-a large number of

• his ancestral home-the place where a distant but direct relative came from

• was traced to-was researched and found to come from

• legacy-an achievement that will be remembered and will have an impact for a long time

• consolidating-making stronger

• the tender age of-an age when you are young and without much experience of the world

• forged on-established and made strong by.

3. Give definitions to the following:

visit, to emigrate, shoemaker, to reconnect, travel.

4. Answer the questions on the text:

• What was Obama’s great-great-great-great-grandfather?

• When did President Kennedy pay his visit to Ireland ?

• How many Americans claim Irish ancestry, according to US Census figures?

• How many American presidents, according to the text, have Irish roots?

5. Put questions to the underlined words.

6. Speak on this issue adding extra information from other sources.

UNIT 7 PUTIN'S PARTY LOSES SUPPORT IN POLLS

This theme is dealt with in a lot of sources. The following citation is to illustrate this:

“The Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has suffered an unexpected setback in parliamentary elections.

His party, United Russia, has won just under 50% of the vote.

For Vladimir Putin this is uncharted territory. He's grown used to being Russia's most popular and powerful politician - completely in control. But his political party has stuttered at the polls.

United Russia will remain the largest single party in the new parliament but it will have fewer seats. Its share of the vote has dropped from 64% to around 50%. And that amid widespread allegations of vote rigging in favour of the ruling party.

That will come as an embarrassment to Mr Putin, just three months before he runs again for Russian president. He's almost certain to win the presidential election next March.

But the parliamentary poll reflects a growing fatigue with a leader who has dominated the Russian political stage for more than a decade.”

The complete version of this text is at:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/language/wordsinthenews/2011/12/111205_witn_putin.shtml