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15.2 Listen to a part of President Barack Obama’s Address to Congress (February 2013) filling in the blanks with the precise information.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, fellow Americans:
__________ years ago, John F. Kennedy declared to this Chamber that “the Constitution makes us not rivals for power but partners for progress…It is my task,” he said, “to report the State of the Union – to improve it is the task of us all.” Tonight, thanks to the grit and determination of the American people, there is much progress to report. After __________ of grinding war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home. After years of grueling recession, our businesses have created over __________ new jobs. We buy more American cars than we have in __________ years, and less foreign oil than we have in __________. Our housing market is healing, our stock market is rebounding, and consumers, patients, and homeowners enjoy stronger protections than ever before. Together, we have cleared away the rubble of crisis, and can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is stronger. But we gather here knowing that there are __________ of Americans whose hard work and dedication have not yet been rewarded. Our economy is adding jobs – but too many people still can’t find full-time employment. Corporate profits have skyrocketed to all-time highs – but for more than __________, wages and incomes have barely budged. It is our generation’s task, then, to reignite the true engine of America’s economic growth – a rising, thriving middle class. It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this country – the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who you love. It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many, and not just the few; that it encourages free enterprise, rewards individual initiative, and opens the doors of opportunity to every child across this great nation. The American people don’t expect government to solve every problem. They don’t expect those of us in this chamber to agree on every issue. But they do expect us to put the nation’s interests before party. They do expect us to forge reasonable compromise where we can. For they know that America moves forward only when we do so together; and that the responsibility of improving this union remains the task of us all. Our work must begin by making some basic decisions about our budget – decisions that will have a huge impact on the strength of our recovery. Over the last few years, both parties have worked together to reduce the deficit by more than __________ – mostly through spending cuts, but also by raising tax rates on the wealthiest __________ of Americans. As a result, we are more than halfway towards the goal of __________ in deficit reduction that economists say we need to stabilize our finances.
Now we need to finish the job. And the question is, how? ……………………………………………………………… Our actions will not prevent every senseless act of violence in this country. In fact, no laws, no initiatives, no administrative acts will perfectly solve all the challenges I’ve outlined tonight. But we were never sent here to be perfect. We were sent here to make what difference we can, to secure this nation, expand opportunity, and uphold our ideals through the hard, often frustrating, but absolutely necessary work of self-government. We were sent here to look out for our fellow Americans the same way they look out for one another, every single day, usually without fanfare, all across this country. We should follow their example. We should follow the example of a New York City nurse named Menchu Sanchez. When Hurricane Sandy plunged her hospital into darkness, her thoughts were not with how her own home was faring – her mind was with the twenty precious newborns in her care and the rescue plan she devised that kept them all safe. We should follow the example of a North Miami woman named Desiline Victor. When she arrived at her polling place, she was told the wait to vote might be __________ hours. And as time ticked by, her concern was not with her tired body or aching feet, but whether folks like her would get to have their say. Hour after hour, a throng of people stayed in line in support of her. Because Desiline is __________ years old. And they erupted in cheers when she finally put on a sticker that read “I Voted.” We should follow the example of a police officer named Brian Murphy. When a gunman opened fire on a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, and Brian was the first to arrive, he did not consider his own safety. He fought back until help arrived, and ordered his fellow officers to protect the safety of the fellow Americans worshiping inside – even as he lay bleeding from __________ bullet wounds. When asked how he did that, Brian said, “That’s just the way we’re made.” That’s just the way we’re made. We may do different jobs, and wear different uniforms, and hold different views than the person beside us. But as Americans, we all share the same proud title: We are citizens. It’s a word that doesn’t just describe our nationality or legal status. It describes the way we’re made. It describes what we believe. It captures the enduring idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another and to future generations; that our rights are wrapped up in the rights of others; and that well into our __________ century as a nation, it remains the task of us all, as citizens of these United States, to be the authors of the next great chapter of our American story. Thank you, God bless you, and God bless the United States of America. Unit 16. “JFK” Movie
Date: 2015-12-18; view: 826
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