A – Comprehension Test 3
Listen to the Webcast Britain in hot water over alleged Taliban meetings and report back the news story. Follow these questions.
Why have the tensions between Great Britain and Afghanistan been rising lately?
What are the British officials accused of?
On what grounds were Michael Semple and Mervyn Patterson declared persona non grata?
How does Rory Stewart characterize both officials expelled?
What is his attitude to the actions of the Afghan Government? Why does he find it strange?
What could have been the reason for the expulsion according to the journalist’s opinion?
What event provoked the international row?
How does Gordon Brown comment on the allegations?
Why does the talking to the insurgents go on? What groups of the Afghans create the grounds for the negotiations?
Why do local authorities, the European governments and the UN seek to bring a more inclusive government in Afghanistan?
What are UN hopes for the future of those two experts?
Text 4.
Bush denies Iran nuclear threat exaggerated
At home
1. Find the details of Iran’s peaceful nuclear program.
a) What do the letters IAE and NIE stand for?
b) Comment on the cartoon above. What ideas are embodied in different parts of the drawing? Why is the cartoon titled “Mad Hatters”?
2. Look at the text title and complete the sentences according to their possible occurrence in the text.
There's no going back for a President …
Faced with a new US intelligence assessment…
There's a need to continue…
3 a). Form adjectives from these verbs:
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administrate |
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supervise |
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exaggerate |
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worry |
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insist |
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continue |
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warn |
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welcome |
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3 b). Fill in the gaps with the help of expressions above:
The campaign’s confidence may turn out to be justified, but two weeks prior to the national convention there are more than a few ________________ signs for Obama.
Now, nearly 20 years later, the questions have not gone away, but have rather become more_______________ .
Bulletins communicate information of interest to the nation’s critical infrastructures that do not meet the timeliness, specificity, or significance thresholds of ______________ messages.
Whether these were intended to be lifelike or______________ , even idealistic, is unclear.
After 25 years of buying and _____________ a great variety of businesses, I have not learned how to solve difficult business problems.
_____________ monitoring is the process and technology used to detect compliance and risk issues associated with an organizations financial and operational environment.
With a strange ____________ of the familiar I saw also Cesar amongst them, and recognised Dominic's old, well-known, effective gesture, the horizontal sweep of his powerful arm.
4 A). Match the words
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Iran's nuclear threat |
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nuclear weapons program |
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a danger to the world |
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the spectre of |
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a nuclear holocaust |
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rhetoric |
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claims |
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nuclear weapons |
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by some of America's allies |
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ambiguities |
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nuclear capacity |
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media conference |
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efforts |
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new American intelligence |
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15) concerted |
the current crisis |