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Queen Elizabeth Addresses UN General Assembly (7th July, 2010)


 

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday for the first time in over five decades. She also visited Ground Zero, the site of the deadly World Trade Center attacks in 2001, to lay a floral wreath. The Queen commented on how the world had changed since she last spoke at the UN fifty years ago. She said she has "witnessed great change, much of it for the better" since her first speech as a young queen in 1957. A British diplomat, Sir Brian Urqhart, told reporters he thought the Queen's role had become less important in the interval between her two speeches. He told reporters how he met the Queen when she first addressed the UN, saying: "I suppose the British monarchy was a bigger deal in 1957 than now."

UN General-Secretary welcomed the Queen by calling her "an anchor for our age". He noted her reign spanned decades "from the Cold War to global warming," from "the Beatles to Beckham," and from "the television to Twitter." The Queen gave a seven-minute speech to the U.N. She spoke about how the organization had changed: "When I was first here, there were just three U.N. operations overseas. Now over 120,000 men and women are deployed in 26 missions across the world," she said. She praised the UN for its efforts to help millions around the world, saying: "You have helped to reduce conflict, you have offered humanitarian assistance to millions of people." She added that the United Nations has been "deeply committed to tackling the effects of poverty in many parts of the world".


 
 

WARM-UPS

1. THE U.N.: Walk around the class and talk to other students about the United Nations. Change partners often. Sit with your first partner(s) and share your findings.
2. CHAT: In pairs / groups, decide which of these topics or words from the article are most interesting and which are most boring.

 

queens / the United Nations / five decades / floral wreaths / great change / speeches / anchors / global warming / the Beatles / Twitter / operations / overseas / poverty

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.
3. CHANGE: What great change has there been in your life? Complete this table and talk about what you wrote with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you heard. Change and share again.


Change

Change

Better or worse?

Me

 

 

My lifestyle

 

 

My town

 

 

My world

 

 

My thinking

 

 

My fashion

 

 

4. UNITED NATIONS: Students A strongly believe the U.N. will still be around in 100 years; Students B strongly believe it won't. A Change partners again and talk about your conversations.
5. TACKLE: Which of these things are most important to tackle? Rank them and share your rankings with your partner(s). Change partners and share your rankings again.

  • Poverty
  • Climate change
  • Terrorism
  • Hunger
  • Conflict
  • Racism
  • Unemployment
  • Disease

6. QUEEN: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word 'queen'. Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.


 
 

BEFORE READING / LISTENING


1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.

Britain's Queen writes a letter to the United Nations.

T / F

b.

The Queen first spoke at the U.N. 60 years ago.

T / F

c.

The Queen didn't say that all of the change she had seen was good..

T / F

d.

A British diplomat said the British monarchy was less important today.

T / F

e.

The U.N. General-Secretary called the Queen an anchor.

T / F

f.

The Queen's speech was just under seventeen minutes in length.

T / F

g.

The Queen spoke about the 26 U.N. missions around the world today.

T / F

h.

The Queen said the U.N. wasn't doing enough to reduce poverty.

T / F

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


1.

addressed

a.

crossed

2

site

b.

saw / seen

3.

deadly

c.

beating

4.

witnessed

d.

lethal

5.

interval

e.

work

6.

spanned

f.

spoke to

7.

overseas

g.

help

8.

efforts

h.

gap

9.

assistance

i.

abroad

10.

tackling

j.

place

3. PHRASE MATCH:  (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)


1.

for the first time

a.

across the world

2

lay a

b.

great change

3.

She said she has witnessed

c.

decades

4.

the interval

d.

floral wreath

5.

the British monarchy was a bigger

e.

in over five decades

6.

her reign spanned

f.

assistance

7.

26 missions

g.

effects of poverty

8.

you have offered humanitarian

h.

deal in 1957

9.

deeply

i.

between her two speeches

10.

tackling the

j.

committed


WHILE READING / LISTENING

From  http://www.BreakingNewsEnglish.com/1007/100707-un_general_assembly.html
GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.


Britain's Queen Elizabeth II ____________ the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday for the first time in over five decades. She also visited Ground Zero, the ____________ of the deadly World Trade Center attacks in 2001, to lay a floral ____________. The Queen commented on how the world had changed since she last spoke at the UN fifty years ago. She said she has''____________ great change, much of it for the ____________ " since her first speech as a young queen in 1957. A British diplomat, Sir Brian Urqhart, told reporters he thought the Queen's ____________ had become less important in the ____________ between her two speeches. He told reporters how he met the Queen when she first addressed the UN, saying: "I suppose the British ____________ was a bigger deal in 1957 than now."

 

 

witnessed
site
interval
role
addressed
monarchy
wreath
better

UN General-Secretary ____________ the Queen by calling her "an anchor for our age". He noted her reign ____________ decades "from the Cold War to global warming," from "the Beatles to Beckham," and from "the television to Twitter." The Queen gave a ____________-minute speech to the U.N. She spoke about how the organization had changed: "When I was first here, there were just three U.N. ____________ overseas. Now over 120,000 men and women are deployed in 26 missions across the world," she said. She ____________ the UN for its efforts to help millions around the world, saying: "You have helped to ____________ conflict, you have offered humanitarian assistance to millions of people." She added that the United Nations has been "deeply ____________ to tackling the effects of ____________ in many parts of the world''.

 

 

seven
reduce
welcomed
poverty
praised
spanned
operations
committed

LISTENING â?? Listen and fill in the gaps


Britain's Queen Elizabeth II addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday _________________________ five decades. She also visited Ground Zero, _________________________ World Trade Center attacks in 2001, to lay a floral wreath. The Queen commented on how the world had changed since she last spoke at the UN fifty years ago. She said she has "_________________________, much of it for the better" since her first speech as a young queen in 1957. A British diplomat, Sir Brian Urqhart, told reporters he thought the Queen's role _________________________ in the _________________________ speeches. He told reporters how he met the Queen when she first addressed the UN, saying: "I suppose the British monarchy _________________________ than now."
UN General-Secretary welcomed the Queen by calling _________________________ age". He noted her reign spanned decades "from _________________________," from "the Beatles to Beckham," and from "the television to Twitter." The Queen gave a seven-minute speech to the U.N. She spoke about how the _________________________: "When I was first here, there were just three U.N. operations overseas. Now over 120,000 men and women are deployed in 26 missions across the world," she said. She praised the UN for _________________________ around the world, saying: "You have helped to reduce conflict, you have offered _________________________ millions of people." She added that the United Nations has been "deeply committed to tackling _________________________ in many parts of the world''.


 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING


1. WORD SEARCH: Look in your dictionary / computer to find collocates, other meanings, information, synonyms … for the words ‘united' and ‘nations'.


united

nations
 
 

  • Share your findings with your partners.
  • Make questions using the words you found.
  • Ask your partner / group your questions.

2. ARTICLE QUESTIONS: Look back at the article and write down some questions you would like to ask the class about the text.

  • Share your questions with other classmates / groups.
  • Ask your partner / group your questions.

3. GAP FILL: In pairs / groups, compare your answers to this exercise. Check your answers. Talk about the words from the activity. Were they new, interesting, worth learning...?
4. VOCABULARY: Circle any words you do not understand. In groups, pool unknown words and use dictionaries to find their meanings.
5. TEST EACH OTHER: Look at the words below. With your partner, try to recall how they were used in the text:

  • five
  • zero
  • better
  • fifty
  • two
  • 1957
  • anchor
  • Beckham
  • seven
  • 26
  • reduce
  • effects

STUDENT THE UNITED NATIONS SURVEY


Write five GOOD questions about the United Nations in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper.
When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

 

STUDENT 1
_____________

STUDENT 2
_____________

STUDENT 3
_____________

Q.1.

 

 

 

Q.2.

 

 

 

Q.3.

 

 

 

Q.4.

 

 

 

Q.5.

 

 

 

  • Now return to your original partner and share and talk about what you found out. Change partners often.
  • Make mini-presentations to other groups on your findings.

THE UNITED NATIONS DISCUSSION

STUDENT A's QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)


a)

What did you think when you read the headline?

b)

What springs to mind when you hear the word 'queen'?

c)

What do you think of the idea of a monarchy?

d)

What do you think of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II?

e)

Do you think it's a good idea for monarchs to address the U.N.?

f)

How effective do you think the U.N is?

g)

Should the Queen have spoken about the U.N.s failures?

h)

What has changed in your country in the past five decades?

i)

Is Britain an important country today?

j)

What has been the biggest change in the past 50 years?


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------


a)

Did you like reading this article?

b)

What do you think of the phrase "an anchor for our age"?

c)

Who is the anchor in your country?

d)

The U.N. General-Secretary mentioned the changes between television and Twitter. What are these changes?

e)

Do you think change is a good thing?

f)

Is the United Nations doing a better job now than it did decades ago?

g)

What would you say to the U.N. General Assembly if you had the chance to address it?

h)

What changes will come in the future?

i)

Is it up to the U.N. or governments to tackle poverty?

j)

What questions would you like to ask Queen Elizabeth II?

LANGUAGE - MULTIPLE CHOICE


Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (1) ____ the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday for the first time in over five decades. She also visited Ground Zero, the site of the (2) ____ World Trade Center attacks in 2001, to lay a floral wreath. The Queen commented on how the world had changed since she last spoke at the UN fifty years ago. She said she has "(3) ____ great change, much of it for the better" since her first speech as a young queen in 1957. A British (4) ____, Sir Brian Urqhart, told reporters he thought the Queen's role had become less important in the interval (5) ____ her two speeches. He told reporters how he met the Queen when she first addressed the UN, saying: "I suppose the British monarchy was a bigger (6) ____ in 1957 than now."
UN General-Secretary welcomed the Queen by (7) ____ her "an anchor for our age". He noted her reign spanned decades "from the Cold War to global warming," from "the Beatles to Beckham," and from "the television to Twitter." The Queen   (8) ____ a seven-minute speech to the U.N. She spoke about how the organization had changed: "When I was first here, there were just three U.N. operations (9) ____. Now over 120,000 men and women are deployed in 26 missions across the world," she said. She praised the UN (10) ____ its efforts to help millions around the world, saying: "You have helped to reduce conflict, you have offered humanitarian assistance (11) ____ millions of people." She added that the United Nations has been "(12) ____ committed to tackling the effects of poverty in many parts of the world''.
Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.


1.

(a)

stamped

(b)

enveloped

(c)

mailed

(d)

addressed

2.

(a)

deadly

(b)

death

(c)

deadliest

(d)

dead

3.

(a)

looked

(b)

witnessed

(c)

saw

(d)

watching

4.

(a)

diplomacy

(b)

diplomatic

(c)

diplomat

(d)

diploma

5.

(a)

among

(b)

next to

(c)

between

(d)

over

6.

(a)

meal

(b)

deal

(c)

seal

(d)

veal

7.

(a)

calls

(b)

called

(c)

caller

(d)

calling

8.

(a)

gave

(b)

took

(c)

spoke

(d)

listened

9.

(a)

oceans

(b)

overseas

(c)

waters

(d)

marine

10.

(a)

from

(b)

of

(c)

off

(d)

for

11.

(a)

from

(b)

at

(c)

to

(d)

on

12.

(a)

deeply

(b)

deep

(c)

depth

(d)

deepness

WRITING


Write about the United Nations for 10 minutes. Correct your partner's paper.
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________

HOMEWORK

1. VOCABULARY EXTENSION: Choose several of the words from the text. Use a dictionary or Google's search field (or another search engine) to build up more associations / collocations of each word.
2. INTERNET: Search the Internet and find out more about Queen Elizabeth II's speech at the U.N.. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.
3. THE UNITED NATIONS: Make a poster about the United Nations. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?
4. MONARCH: Write a magazine article about a monarch. Include imaginary interviews with her and her people.
Read what you wrote to your classmates in the next lesson. Write down any new words and expressions you hear from your partner(s).
5. LETTER: Write a letter to Queen Elizabeth II. Ask her three questions about what it's like to be a queen. Give her three suggestions on what she can do to help change the world. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:


a.

F

b.

F

c.

T

d.

T

e.

T

f.

F

g.

T

h.

F

SYNONYM MATCH:


1.

addressed

a.

spoke to

2

site

b.

place

3.

deadly

c.

lethal

4.

witnessed

d.

saw / seen

5.

interval

e.

gap

6.

spanned

f.

crossed

7.

overseas

g.

abroad

8.

efforts

h.

work

9.

assistance

i.

help

10.

tackling

j.

beating

PHRASE MATCH:


1.

for the first time

a.

in over five decades

2

lay a

b.

floral wreath

3.

She said she has witnessed

c.

great change

4.

the interval

d.

between her two speeches

5.

the British monarchy was a bigger

e.

deal in 1957

6.

her reign spanned

f.

decades

7.

26 missions

g.

across the world

8.

you have offered humanitarian

h.

assistance

9.

deeply

i.

committed

10.

tackling the

j.

effects of poverty

GAP FILL:

Queen Elizabeth addresses UN General Assembly

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II addressed the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday for the first time in over five decades. She also visited Ground Zero, the site of the deadly World Trade Center attacks in 2001, to lay a floral wreath. The Queen commented on how the world had changed since she last spoke at the UN fifty years ago. She said she has "witnessed great change, much of it for the better" since her first speech as a young queen in 1957. A British diplomat, Sir Brian Urqhart, told reporters he thought the Queen's role had become less important in the interval between her two speeches. He told reporters how he met the Queen when she first addressed the UN, saying: "I suppose the British monarchy was a bigger deal in 1957 than now."
UN General-Secretary welcomed the Queen by calling her "an anchor for our age". He noted her reign spanned decades "from the Cold War to global warming," from "the Beatles to Beckham," and from "the television to Twitter." The Queen gave a seven-minute speech to the U.N. She spoke about how the organization had changed: "When I was first here, there were just three U.N. operations overseas. Now over 120,000 men and women are deployed in 26 missions across the world," she said. She praised the UN for its efforts to help millions around the world, saying: "You have helped to reduce conflict, you have offered humanitarian assistance to millions of people." She added that the United Nations has been "deeply committed to tackling the effects of poverty in many parts of the worldâ??.


LANGUAGE WORK


1 - d

2 - a

3 - b

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - d

8 - a

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

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