B2. Listening. American elections

Before listening:




1. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	incumbent	a.	rival
2	opponent	b.	guarantee
3.	nail-biting	c.	complicated
4.	depended on	d.	put up with
5.	secure	e.	sitting
6.	endure	f.	excessively
7.	overly	g.	bulk
8.	faith	h.	tense
9.	complex	i.	belief
10.	majority Listen to the track now and complete the text below:	j.	hinged on

 Americans voted to (1) ________________ incumbent president Barack Obama on Tuesday in one of the (2) the ___________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 (3) _________________to re-ignite the American economy. It was a nail-biting (4) ____________________ 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 (5) ____________________, 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 relief that the election has now been decided. They had to (7) ____________________dozens of nightly advertisements in what was the most expensive campaign in history. Most voters complained that the ads were overly (8) ____________________ and simply attacked the other side rather than outlining policy promises. Despite the poor state of the American economy, voters once again put their (9) ____________________ 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(10) ____________________ tipped this election Obama's way…It came down to a (11) ____________________ of Americans believing that…Obama was trying his hardest to (12) __________________what ails the country."


Writing: Write an essay (225-250 words) about the following topic: It is the duty of everyone to vote in elections. Those who don't should be heavily fined. 


Click here to check your answers. 

Taken from Breaking News English