Republicans and Obama in debt crisis talks

After more than ten days of (1) _______________ in the U.S., things have finally begun to start moving. President Barack Obama and the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives, John Boehner, sat down for (2) _______________ on Thursday about the impasse over the partial U.S. government shutdown and the (3) _______________ debt crisis. Their discussions didn't lead to any certain (4) _______________, but analysts are taking a positive note that talks are happening. House Majority Leader Eric Cantor said the talks were "very useful" and "(5) _______________." Hopes are that the two sides will agree on a temporary increase to the $16.7 trillion U.S. debt limit. Failure to do so by October 17 could have (6) _______________ consequences for the global economy.

A Wall Street Journal / NBC News poll found 53 per cent of those (7) _______________ blamed Republicans for the government shutdown, while 31 per cent blamed President Obama. Observers from other countries are (8) _______________ trouble understanding what is going on in U.S. politics. The Times of India wrote: "What is (9) _______________ is that US politicians are willing to engage in a (10) _______________ of brinkmanship that is tantamount to detonating a nuclear device over their economy." A UAE businessman commented that: "There is something (11) _______________ wrong with a system that leaves a country without direction, in stagnation, without a budget and potentially without the wherewithal to (12) _______________ its debts."

 

1.	(a)	stalemate	(b)	checkmate	(c)	intimate	(d)	soulmate
2.	(a)	talkies	(b)	talking	(c)	talks	(d)	talkative
3.	(a)	teeming	(b)	seeming	(c)	looming	(d)	booming
4.	(a)	income	(b)	outgoing	(c)	ongoing	(d)	outcome
5.	(a)	clarify	(b)	clarification	(c)	clarifying	(d)	clarity
6.	(a)	fuel	(b)	dire	(c)	shun	(d)	nope
7.	(a)	surveys	(b)	surveyed	(c)	surveyors	(d)	servants
8.	(a)	seeing	(b)	having	(c)	meeting	(d)	opening
9.	(a)	freezing	(b)	frosting	(c)	chilling	(d)	icing
10.	(a)	final	(b)	pastime	(c)	activity	(d)	game
11.	(a)	fundamentals	(b)	fundamentalist	(c)	fundamental	(d)	fundamentally
12.	(a)	land	(b)	soothe	(c)	inhabit	(d)	settle

Task 8. What do you think of Donald Trump's presidency? Complete the table.

	Good Things	Bad Things
Economy
International Trade
Foreign Policy
War and Terror
Immigration
Climate Change

 

Task. Role play

1. Pick at least two serious and two fun topics to 'impeach'. For instance, you may propose impeaching the current president out of office for some reason. Or, you may propose 'impeaching' a celebrity from ever making a movie again.

2. Once you have chosen these topics, list them. Do some research on these topics if you believe you need more information on them.

3. Divide in two groups. One half should serve as the U.S. House of Representatives while the other half will be the Senate.

4. Propose the first of your topics to the House. State the case for or against impeachment. After each member of the House has finished, a majority vote should be conducted to impeach or not. If a majority vote is failed to be gained, proceed to the next topic. Meanwhile, Senate members should be carefully evaluating the arguments the House is making and preparing their own statements of support or counterargument to make in case the impeachment moves to their floor.

5. If a majority vote is reached by the House, the process of impeachment moves to the Senate floor. Again, each Senate member moves to the front of the class to state why they would or would not convict. Because the Senate should've been paying close attention to the House's arguments, they must also make at least one reference to what a House member said - e.g., they can state a counterargument to a House member's argument or say something like 'I support representative Smith's statement that…'.

6. The Senate votes whether or not to convict. A two-thirds majority must prevail in order to convict.

Unit 8

The European Union

Questions for discussion:

1) How many nations are in the European Union (EU) right now? Name them.

2) What were the main reasons for the EU creation?

3) Are there any advantages and disadvantages of being the EU member?

4) Why are many EU citizens against a larger union? Give some reasons.

5) Why not all countries in the Eurozone use a single currency?

Task 1. Read the text and fill the gaps with a proper derivative from the given words.

The European Union (EU) is the most (1)__________ and politically successful UNION of countries in the world. This sort of (2)__________ affects not only the countries within the EU, but also those outside it. The European Union is most likely the (3)__________ and most reasonable union ever. It’s a well-known fact that people over there never complain of having a bad life, however they have different points of view about this fact. The idea behind EU (4)__________ was not only to cement an economic union for the advantage of the nation states which formed it but also to stop the constant cycle of wars in Europe between its great nations. The EU is the largest society with common ideas, plans, (5)__________ regimes, economies etc, where people successfully (6)__________ each other. All of these are positive factors. Even though there surely must be difficulties of living is such huge society; these are (7)__________ with tolerance and understanding. Actually, some of the EU countries were formerly from the USSR proper or from the (8)__________ block. Back in that time they were completely separated from the rest of Europe by the so called Iron Curtain and had undemocratic regimes of a backward nature. Whereas now, twenty years since the fall of the Iron Curtain, all countries of the EU are considered (9)__________ democratic. Never mind the past and its problems, people in Europe are free, happy, delighted, and can expect a decent salary, (10)__________ care and social services.

Economy   Unite   Wise     Create   Democracy Cooperation     Come   Social     Inequality     Medicine

Task 2. Fill in the gaps with the proper words.

(1)__________ of the EU can travel freely from one country to another. The movement of a (2)__________ force in this manner is good for the economy. Of course, a union of so many countries is also very (3)__________ economically when it works properly. Most of the EU countries use the same (4)__________; their laws are harmonized and so on. Due to this, an EU (5)__________ can have some control over (6)__________ and in times of crisis protect it so that it doesn’t fall. This we have seen recently, the different governments have acted like one in order to (7)__________ growth and come out of the (8)__________. These attempts were (9)__________ and we see the European economy growing again as national and central (10)__________ support each other.

Government Promote Citizens Currency Economy Successful Working Authorities Recession Profitable

Task 3. Fill in the gaps with the correct preposition where necessary.

Nevertheless, there are some disadvantages in the EU. For example, (1)__________ EU is a cosmopolitan society, people may find it hard to put (2)__________ with each other’s behavior, languages, customs, traditions etc. However, European citizens are given (3)__________ the protection of charters (4)__________ human rights and social security previsions, so this makes them really free to live their lives (5)__________ peace and security.

(6)__________  my opinion, the EU should accept all the countries of Europe such as Macedonia, Moldova, Ukraine, Belorussia and may it be that one day all these nations be counted (7)__________ its member states. Even Russia (8)__________ some time in the future should also take (9)__________ its rightful place in a unified Europe (10)__________ another European member. However, some of these countries have some economic and political issues which must be resolved first.

 

Task 4. Match the words with their definitions.

1. guarantor 2. to market 3. maintenance 4. debtor 5. to compete 6. currency 7. interest 8. to oblige 9. capable 10. transactional

a) the work needed to keep a road, building, machine, etc. in good condition b) the money that is used in a particular country at a particular time c) someone who formally accepts responsibility for you or for something that belongs to you d) to make goods available to buyers in a planned way that encourages people to buy more of them, for example by advertising e) able to do things effectively and skilfully, and to achieve results f) money that is charged by a bank or other financial organization for borrowing money g) someone who owes money h) to force someone to do something, or to make it necessary for someone to do something i) relating to buying and selling j) to try to be more successful than someone or something else

Task 5. Match the words and word expressions with the proper translation.

1) to corner the market 2) to lay down criteria 3) to guarantee somebody against something 4) to be at issue 5) to take on obligations 6) to cope with competitive pressure 7) non-cash transactions 8) to be in circulation 9) in reserve 10) to run into debt

a) безналичные операции b) в запасе c) монополизировать рынок d) уберечь кого-либо от чего-либо e) справиться с конкурентным давлением f) быть в разногласии g) заложить критерии h) взять на себя обязательства i) находиться в обращении j) влезть в долги

Task 6. Fill in the table with the criteria.

The Copenhagen Criteria	The Convergence Criteria

a) The rule of law

b) Market economy

c) Price stability

d) human rights and respect for and protection of minorities

e) Exchange-rate stability

f) Long-term interest rates

g) the ability to take on the obligations of membership

h) Soundness and sustainability of public finances

i) Public debt

j) Stability of institutions guaranteeing democracy

 

Task 7. Choose join/connect/unite.

1) The bone broke just where the thigh _______________ to the knee.

2) The two countries have _______________ against their common enemy.

3) Why don't you ask your sister if she would like to _______________ us for supper?

4) The two buildings are _______________ by a covered bridge.

5) The police have _______________ with Drug Enforcement Agency in trying to catch major drug traffickers.

6) Conservation groups have _______________ in protest against the planned new road.

7) Can I _______________ my printer to your computer?

8) I'm sure everyone will _______________ me in wishing you a very happy retirement.

9) Nobody _______________ her with the thefts.

10) East and West Germany _______________ under article 23 of the Bonn constitution.

 

Task 8. Read the quotations below. Agree or disagree with them and argue for your point of view using the topical vocabulary. Express your opinion on the following questions.

1. “A new state, if it wants to join the European Union, has to apply to become a member of the European Union like any state.”

Author: Jose Manuel Barroso

2. “The European Union is the world's most successful invention for advancing peace.”

Author: John Bruton

3. “Political union means transferring the prerogatives of national legislatures to the European parliament, which would then decide how to structure Europe's fiscal, banking, and monetary union.”

Author: Barry Eichengreen

 

a) Is the interconnectedness beneficial to the members of the European Union?

b) What are the possible drawbacks of being a member state?

c) Do you think the European Union will fall apart?

 

Task 9. Listen to the audio and mark the statements as True and False.

Source: https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1211/121107-waste_of_money.mp3

 

1) A new report came out about EU spending in 2008-2009.

2) A report said the European Union wasted round 6.4 billion euros.

3) A report spokesman, Vitor Caldeira, said the EU did not hit its target.

4) Caldeira suggested the EU should spend as carefully as Europeans.

5) The spending mistakes were just over 4% of the EU budget.

6) Five years ago, the EU misspent 7% of its budget.

7) The EU gave money to forestry that should have gone to farming.

8) The EU spent too much money on projects for alarm bells in the UK.

 

Task 10. Match the synonyms from the listening.

1. waste 2. annual 3. careless 4. target 5. matter 6. spokesperson 7. error 8. rate 9. seriously 10. alarm bells

a) make a difference b) mistake c) yearly d) representative e) misspend / misuse f) badly g) goal h) slack i) warning signs j) percentage

 

Task 11. Choose the right answer according to the audio.

1. When did the EU waste money?

a) Since it began.

b) Last year.

c) Two years ago.

d) Earlier this year.

 

2. What kind of report is in the article?

a) A financial report.

b) A terrible report.

c) An unpublished report.

d) An annual report.

 

3. What were there too many cases of?

a) The EU ringing alarm bells.

b) The EU not aiming properly.

c) The EU not hitting the target.

d) The EU not scoring.

 

4. Why are Europeans being careful?

a) Because of the financial crisis.

b) Because they are tired.

c) Because they have no jobs.

d) Because of the US economy.

 

5. What kind of economies are there in Europe?

a) recovering

b) weak

c) poorly

d) half-dead

 

6. What was the percentage of the spending mistakes?

a) Under 4%

b) Over 7%

c) Over 4%

d) 4%

 

7. When was the error rate 7%?

a) Three years ago

b) Four years ago

c) Five years ago

d) Six years ago

 

8. What programmes should have got money, but didn't?

a) Farming programmes

b) Fishing programmes

c) Fencing programmes

d) Flooring programmes

 

9. How many areas of the budget had no mistakes?

a) Five

b) Four

c) Three

d) Two

 

10. What should start ringing?

a) Church bells

b) Wedding bells

c) Alarm bells

d) Jingle bells

 

 

Unit 9