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Barack Obama's Inaugural Address

Publié par Clifford Armion le 31/01/2011
Cette page propose une vidéo du discours d'investiture de Barack Obama. Ce document est accompagné de questions de compréhension générale et détaillée, ainsi que d'un exercice de phonétique.

https://video.ens-lyon.fr/eduscol-cdl/2009/2009-01-20_ANG_Obama_Final.mp4

General comprehension

1) Where was the speech delivered?

  • New York
  • Washington
  • Chicago
  • Houston


2) When was the video shot and on what occasion?

3) What title best suits Obama's inaugural address? Justify your answer in a few words.

  • Free at last!
  • Americans are childish
  • Let us pray together
  • Together, forever
  • Let's not forget our history
  • Let's make amends
  • The USA are the most powerful country in the world
 

Detailed comprehension

Part 1

1) Choose the best synonyms for the following words:

  • bestowed:  understood / seen / given / decided
  • still:  always / calm / rough / liquid
  • amidst:  above / before / among / because of
  • carried on:  continued / changed / grown / won
  • forbearers:  workers / ancestors / soldiers / friends


2) RIGHT or WRONG? Justify your answer quoting from the video.

a) Obama reproaches his predecessor with not being very helpful when he left.
b) There were fourty-four American presidents before Obama.


3) According to Obama, who and what has made America as it is today?

Part 2

1) Match the following words together:

Words from the speech Synonyms
Scripture Forget
Set aside Bible
Pass on Work hard
Toil Transmit
Endured Cultivate
Time and again Sometimes
Plow Suffer

 

2) Using your personal knowledge of American history and the second part of the speech, match the following quotes with historical landmarks:

They packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans Illegal immigrants
They toiled in sweatshops Vietnam
Settled the West Slavery
Endured the lash of the whip Immigration
Concord War of Independence
Gettysburg Civil War
Normandy Second World War
Khe Sanh  

4) At the end of part 2, what makes America a united country according to Obama?

 

Part 3

https://video.ens-lyon.fr/eduscol-cdl/2009/2009-01-20_ANG_Obama_01.mp3

1) Listen to the following extract and fill in the blanks:

 
For we know _____ our _____ heritage is _____  _____ , not a weakness. We _____ _____  nation of _____ and _____ , _____ and _____ and nonbelievers. We are _____ by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this _____ ; and because we _____  _____ the bitter swill of _____  _____ and _____ , and emerged from that dark _____  _____ and more _____ , we cannot help _____ believe that the old hatreds _____ _____ pass.
2) RIGHT or WRONG? Justify your answer quoting from the video.
a) According to Barack Obama, it's hard to have unity in the USA because of all the different origins
b) Obama points out that racism still exists today
c) Obama's father was actually white
d) US citizens must not look back at history
e) US citizens must be strong
3) Let us mark this day with remembrance, of who we are and how far we have traveled. (l.37) Who does the pronoun we refer to? What are the two possibilities, and how does the verb travel changes meaning according to who we refer to?
4) Who is the man Obama mentions at the end of part 3 and why does he mention him?
 

Going further


1) Find at least two examples of repetition. What effect does it convey?
2) What is the place given to religion in this speech? How can you account for that?

3) In his speech, Obama mentions a multi-ethnic heritage but he seems to forget an essential part of the 'patchwork'. Which one is it and what does it reveal about the place given to that minority?

Phonetics -ED

1) Sort out the following preterites and past-participles in the chart below according to the pronunciation of the suffix -ED : humbled, bestowed, carried, remained, passed, packed, traveled, toiled, settled, endured, plowed, died, struggled, sacrificed, worked, shaped, tasted, emerged, united, served.

– /t/   /d/  /id/
 


 		    


Listen to the corresponding extracts to check your answers.

https://video.ens-lyon.fr/eduscol-cdl/2009/2009-01-20_ANG_Obama_02.mp3

Columns 1 and 2


2) After making sure you sorted out correctly all the verbal forms, observe the sounds preceding the suffix -ED.
3) What pronunciation rule can you deduce from the observations you made?
- the suffix -ED is pronounced /t/ when ...
- the suffix -ED is pronounced /d/ when ...

Column 3


4) Try to pronounce the verbal forms from column 3 with the pronunciation of columns 1 and 2. What is the result? What rule can you deduce?
- the suffix -ED is pronounced /id/ when ...

 
Pour citer cette ressource :

"Barack Obama's Inaugural Address", La Clé des Langues [en ligne], Lyon, ENS de LYON/DGESCO (ISSN 2107-7029), janvier 2011. Consulté le 24/04/2024. URL: https://cle.ens-lyon.fr/anglais/se-former/workbook/a-dream-come-true/barack-obama-s-inaugural-address