Nov 15, 2012

America re-elects President Barack Obama

MULTIPLE CHOICE

Americans voted to re-elect (1) ____ president Barack Obama on Tuesday in one of the closest contests in U.S. history. President Obama saw (2) ____ the challenge of Republican opponent Mitt Romney, who asked the nation to pray for Mr Obama in his goal to (3) ____ the American economy. It was a nail-(4) ____  finish to what was a long, exhausting, bitter and expensive election campaign. Pre-election polls and TV stations said either man could have won the presidency. It all depended on several (5) ____ states, the winner of which would secure the 270 electoral votes needed to (6) ____ victory. Once the state of Ohio went to the Democrats, Obama knew he had another four years in the White House.

Many Americans felt (7) ____ that the election has now been decided. They had to endure dozens of nightly advertisements in what was the most expensive campaign in history. Most voters complained that the ads were (8) ____ negative and simply attacked the other side rather than (9) ____ policy promises. Despite the poor state of the American economy, voters once again put their faith (10) ____ Mr Obama. Many believe Obama won against all the (11) ____. Thomas L Friedman of the New York Times wrote: "No one can know for sure what complex emotional chemistry tipped this election Obama's way…It came down to a (12) ____ of Americans believing that…Obama was trying his hardest to fix what ails the country."

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.
1. (a) incubating (b) incompetent (c) incurable (d) incumbent
2. (a) all (b) around (c) over (d) off
3. (a) ignition (b) re-ignite (c) igniting (d) re-excite
4. (a) baiting (b) boating (c) biting (d) beating
5. (a) swinging (b) swung (c) swing (d) swings
6. (a) guarantee (b) warranty (c) insurance (d) risk
7. (a) grief (b) relief (c) mischief (d) chief
8. (a) overly (b) above (c) heightened (d) elevated
9. (a) outlasting (b) outlining (c) outdated (d) outing
10. (a) on (b) as (c) in (d) of
11. (a) evens (b) neutrals (c) odds (d) strangers
12. (a) average (b) minority (c) share (d) majority

Full text and Key in the comments section.

Read the original source: BBC News 

And finally, thanks to Juan Miguel, read and listen President Obama's Election Night Speech.

4 comments:

  1. Americans voted to re-elect incumbent president Barack Obama on Tuesday in one of the closest contests in U.S. history. President Obama saw off the challenge of Republican opponent Mitt Romney, who asked the nation to pray for Mr Obama in his goal to re-ignite the American economy. It was a nailbiting finish to what was a long, exhausting, bitter and expensive election campaign. Pre-election polls and TV stations said either man could have won the presidency. It all depended on several swing states, the winner of which would secure the 270 electoral votes needed to guarantee victory. Once the state of Ohio went to the Democrats, Obama knew he had another four years in the White House.
    Many Americans felt relief that the election has now been decided. They had to endure dozens of nightly advertisements in what was the most expensive campaign in history. Most voters complained that the ads were overly negative and simply attacked the other side rather than outlining policy promises. Despite the poor state of the American economy, voters once again put their faith in Mr Obama. Many believe Obama won against all the odds. Thomas L Friedman of the New York Times wrote: "No one can know for sure what complex emotional chemistry tipped this election Obama's way…It came down to a majority of Americans believing that…Obama was trying his hardest to fix what ails the country."

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hello Conchita,

    What is the meaning of "swing" in this context? It is an adjetive, isn't it?

    See you

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Yolanda,
    Here you have the definition of swing state, a concept of American politics: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swing_state

    Swing is a noun. Like this: http://musicaltheatreguy.files.wordpress.com/2012/06/swing.jpg

    ReplyDelete
  4. oK, THANKS. This multiple choice was quite difficult for me ;-)

    ReplyDelete