· Before watching
o Find out:
1. When did President Obama take office?
2. What is his political party?
3. Which political parties did the following US presidents belong to?
George W Bush
Bill Clinton
Ronald Reagan
o Glossary
Politics
Speaker of the House: is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The Speaker is second in the United States presidential line of succession, after the Vice President. He belongs to the majority party.
Medicare: is health insurance for people age 65 or older, under age 65 with certain disabilities
Medicaid: is the United States health program for certain people and families with low incomes and resources.
Economy
Hedge Funds: a financial service where money is invested (= given to companies hoping to get more back) in a way which tries to make very big profits, but which has a big risk.
Pay down: to reduce (a debt) by repaying in part
Pay Off: to pay in full.
Surplus: an amount that is more than is needed
Lay off: phrasal verb. to stop employing (a worker), esp. for reasons that have nothing to do with the worker's performance
· Part 1 (00:00 to 03:11)
1. President Obama starts his speech by referring to the last decade. Why do you think he does that? What does he say about it?
2. When he took office, Obama has to take some emergency steps to deal with the crisis. Which are they?
3. Then he depicts the present situation. Is he satisfied with the way the country is handling the deficit? According to him, what would happen if they ‘stay on the current path’?
4. Despite the first reference to ‘the last decade’, who does he actually SAY is responsible for the present situation?
5. Approaches to tackle the problem.
First approach described | Balanced Approach |
· Part 2 ( 3:12 to 6:10)
(Obama has talk about the reasons, description and proposed solutions to the crisis. Now he is ready to defend his position more openly and forcefully.)
a. Which approach do you think the president support?
b. Are all Republicans against the ‘balanced approach’?
c. DEFICIT REDUCTION: (in short) what do Republicans and Democrats agree on? What don’t they?
d. What will happen to the low- income families if Obama’s plan is accepted?
e. What will happen to the wealthy?
VOCABULARY
Listen to the last section again and complete the gaps.
According to Obama, the ‘cuts only’ approach is negative because…
· It doesn’t ask the _________________ Americans to contribute.
· Nothing is asked of those at the top of the _________________.
· The cuts they propose would place a greater _________________on working families.
· They ask a _________________citizen to pay for his Medicare before asking the oil companies to give up tax __________________.
· ___________ ____________ managers would continue paying taxes at a lower _________________ than their secretaries.
· They would _________________funding for education.
· Listen again…
(to be discussed in class)
o While you listen, notice the following expressions. Why does he use them? Are they effective?
As a result, To make matters worse, Now, I won't bore you with the details…but basically… …to his credit… Keep in mind… Be a drag Get back on your feet Put (politics) aside Place a burden on
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