5. Taking words apart

In English many verbs can be made into nouns by adding the suffix –tion or –ment. Change each of the following verbs into a noun that ends with one of these two suffixes. Be careful. Sometimes additional spelling changes are needed before adding the suffix.

1. amend ___________

2. apply ____________

3. appoint __________

4. elect ____________

5. govern ___________

6. interpret __________

7. prohibit ___________

8. protect ____________

9. regulate ___________

10. resign ____________

11. separate __________

12. state (say) _________

13. violate ___

6. Practising sentence patterns

Notice the use of neither and nor in the text. These are negative words. When they are used, the verb is affirmative, but the meaning of the sentence is negative.

Example

I have neither a car nor a bicycle. (I don't have either one.)

Also notice that in neither / nor sentences, the verb must agree with the closest noun.

Examples

Neither my dad nor my sisters have a car. Neither my sisters nor my dad has a car.

Write two sentences with neither/nor using the subjects given and information from the text.

1. president / vice president: ____________________________________

2. senators / congressmen: ______________________________________

7. Sharing ideas

1. Issues

Debate these issues in small groups. Then choose one and write about it.

1. In a federal system, should the individual states have the right to leave the federation (the national government) and become independent?

2. Should the national government protect children from pornographic material on TV, in movies, in popular songs, or in magazines? Or do laws making pornography illegal violate freedom of speech?

3. To what extent should the government regulate the sale and ownership of handguns?

2. On a personal note

Write about one of these topics.

1. Compare the job of the U.S. president with the job of the head of state in another country. Which person has more power? Who has the more difficult job?

2. Would you ever want to run for political office? Explain why or why not.

3. In other countries that you know about, is the government limited in what it can force citizens to do or prevent citizens from doing? Compare freedom and human rights in the U.S. and one other country.

Choosing the Nation`s President before you read

Discuss

1. How do Americans choose their president? Tell what you know about the process.

2. How does a person become the leader in other countries you are familiar with?

3. Do you think the leader of a country should be elected by all the citizens?

Guess

Try to answer the questions. Then look for the answers in the reading.

1. In the 1996 presidential election, how much money was spent on all the campaigns? Check ( ) one:

______ $23 million ______ $400 million _____ $1.2 billion

2. Does the presidential candidate with the greatest number of votes always win the election? Check ( ) one:

______ Yes ______ No

3. Which political party is called the GOP (Grand Old Party)? Check ( ) one:

_______ the Democrats _______ the Republicans