Module IV. PRACTICAL TASKS IN READING AND

It’s the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

It’s the answer spoken by young and old, rich and poor, Democrat and Republican, black, white, Hispanic, Asian, American, gay, straight, disabled and not disabled. Americans who sent a message to the world that we have never been just a collection of individuals or a collection of red states and blue states. We are, and always will be, the United States of America.

It’s the answer that led those who've been told for so long by so many to be cynical and fearful and doubtful about what we can achieve to put their hands on the arc of history and bend it once more toward the hope of a better day. It’s been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America.

A little bit earlier this evening, I received an extraordinarily gracious call from Senator McCain. Senator McCain fought long and hard in this campaign. And he’s fought even longer and harder for the country that he loves. He has endured sacrifices for America that most of us cannot begin to imagine. We are better off for the service rendered by this brave and selfless leader. I congratulate him; I congratulate Governor Palin for all that they’ve achieved. And I look forward to working with them to renew this nation’s promise in the months ahead.

I want to thank my partner in this journey, a man who campaigned from his heart, and spoke for the men and women he grew up with on the streets of Scranton… and rode with on the train home to Delaware, the vice president-elect of the United States, Joe Biden. And I would not be standing here tonight without the unyielding support of my best friend for the last 16 years … the rock of our family, the love of my life, the nation's next first lady… Michelle Obama. Sasha and Malia… I love you both more than you can imagine. And you have earned the new puppy that’s coming with us … to the White House. And while she’s no longer with us, I know my grandmother’s watching, along with the family that made me who I am. I miss them tonight. I know that my debt to them is beyond measure. To my sister Maya, my sister Auma, all my other brothers and sisters, thank you so much for all the support that you've given me. I am grateful to them.

And to my campaign manager, David Plouffe… the unsung hero of this campaign, who built the best — the best political campaign, I think, in the history of the United States of America. To my chief strategist David Axelrod … who’s been a partner with me every step of the way. To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics … you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done. But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you.

I was never the likeliest candidate for this office. We didn’t start with much money or many endorsements. Our campaign was not hatched in the halls of Washington. It began in the backyards of Des Moines and the living rooms of Concord and the front porches of Charleston. It was built by working men and women who dug into what little savings they had to give $5 and $10 and $20 to the cause. It grew strength from the young people who rejected the myth of their generation’s apathy … who left their homes and their families for jobs that offered little pay and less sleep. It drew strength from the not-so-young people who braved the bitter cold and scorching heat to knock on doors of perfect strangers, and from the millions of Americans who volunteered and organized and proved that more than two centuries later a government of the people, by the people, and for the people has not perished from the Earth.

This is your victory. And I know you didn’t do this just to win an election. And I know you didn’t do it for me. You did it because you understand the enormity of the task that lies ahead. For even as we celebrate tonight, we know the challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime — two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century. Even as we stand here tonight, we know there are brave Americans waking up in the deserts of Iraq and the mountains of Afghanistan to risk their lives for us. There are mothers and fathers who will lie awake after the children fall asleep and wonder how they’ll make the mortgage or pay their doctors’ bills or save enough for their child’s college education.

There’s new energy to harness, new jobs to be created, new schools to build, and threats to meet, alliances to repair. The road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. We may not get there in one year or even in one term. But, America, I have never been more hopeful than I am tonight that we will get there. I promise you, we as a people will get there.

There will be setbacks and false starts. There are many who won’t agree with every decision or policy I make as president. And we know the government can’t solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face. I will listen to you, especially when we disagree. And, above all, I will ask you to join in the work of remaking this nation, the only way it's been done in America for 221 years– block by block, brick by brick, calloused hand by calloused hand. What began 21 months ago in the depths of winter cannot end on this autumn night. This victory alone is not the change we seek. It is only the chance for us to make that change. And that cannot happen if we go back to the way things were. It can’t happen without you, without a new spirit of service, a new spirit of sacrifice.

So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of responsibility, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves but each other. Let us remember that, if this financial crisis taught us anything, it’s that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers. In this country, we rise or fall as one nation, as one people. Let’s resist the temptation to fall back on the same partisanship and pettiness and immaturity that has poisoned our politics for so long. Let’s remember that it was a man from this state who first carried the banner of the Republican Party to the White House, a party founded on the values of self-reliance and individual liberty and national unity.

Those are values that we all share. And while the Democratic Party has won a great victory tonight, we do so with a measure of humility and determination to heal the divides that have held back our progress. As Lincoln said to a nation far more divided than ours, we are not enemies but friends. Though passion may have strained, it must not break our bonds of affection. And to those Americans whose support I have yet to earn, I may not have won your vote tonight, but I hear your voices. I need your help. And I will be your president, too. And to all those watching tonight from beyond our shores, from parliaments and palaces, to those who are huddled around radios in the forgotten corners of the world, our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared, and a new dawn of American leadership is at hand. To those – to those who would tear the world down: We will defeat you. To those who seek peace and security: We support you. And to all those who have wondered if America’s beacon still burns as bright: Tonight we proved once more that the true strength of our nation comes not from the might of our arms or the scale of our wealth, but from the enduring power of our ideals: democracy, liberty, opportunity and unyielding hope.

That’s the true genius of America: that America can change. Our union can be perfected. What we’ve already achieved gives us hope for what we can and must achieve tomorrow.

This election had many firsts and many stories that will be told for generations. But one that’s on my mind tonight is about a woman who cast her ballot in Atlanta. She’s a lot like the millions of others who stood in line to make their voice heard in this election except for one thing: Ann Nixon Cooper is 106 years old. She was born just a generation past slavery a time when there were no cars on the road or planes in the sky; when someone like her couldn’t vote for two reasons – because she was a woman and because of the color of her skin. And tonight, I think about all that she’s seen throughout her century in America – the heartache and the hope; the struggle and the progress; the times we were told that we can’t, and the people who pressed on with that American creed: yes we can.

At a time when women’s voices were silenced and their hopes dismissed, she lived to see them stand up and speak out and reach out for the ballot. Yes we can.

When there was despair in the dust bowl and depression across the land, she saw a nation conquer fear itself with a New Deal, new jobs, a new sense of common purpose. Yes we can.

When the bombs fell on our harbor and tyranny threatened the world, she was there to witness a generation rise to greatness and a democracy was saved. Yes we can.

She was there for the buses in Montgomery, the hoses in Birmingham, a bridge in Selma, and a preacher from Atlanta who told a people that we shall overcome. Yes we can.

A man touched down on the moon, a wall came down in Berlin, a world was connected by our own science and imagination. And this year, in this election, she touched her finger to a screen, and cast her vote, because after 106 years in America, through the best of times and the darkest of hours, she knows how America can change. Yes we can.

America, we have come so far. We have seen so much. But there is so much more to do. So tonight, let us ask ourselves — if our children should live to see the next century; if my daughters should be so lucky to live as long as Ann Nixon Cooper, what change will they see? What progress will we have made?

This is our chance to answer that call. This is our moment. This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that, out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope. And where we are met with cynicism and doubts and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.

Thank you; God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

11. Red Riding Hood♫

Red Riding Hood entered the cottage and said, “Grandma, I have brought you some fat-free, sodium-free snacks to salute you in your role of a wise and nurturing matriarch.”

From the bed, the wolf said softly, “Come closer, child, so that I might see you.”

Red Riding Hood said, “Oh, I forgot you are as optically challenged as a bat. Grandma, what big eyes you have!”

“They have seen much, and forgiven much, my dear.”

“Grandma, what a big nose you – only relatively, of course, and certainly attractive in its own way.”

“It has smelled much, and forgiven much, my dear.”

“Grandma, what big teeth you have!”

The wolf said, “I am happy with who I am and what I am, OK,” and leaped out of bed. He grabbed Red Riding Hood in his claws, intent on devouring her. Red Riding Hood screamed, not out of alarm at the wolf’s apparent tendency towards cross-dressing, but because of his witful invasion of her personal space.

12. Local News♫

Near thing at Ladram

A pleasant Sunday outing in the spring sunshine almost turned to tragedy for two Harpole families at Ladram beach last weekend.

The children in the party had pleaded to be allowed to explore an adjacent bay together, and their parents, who were looking forward to a cup of coffee at a nearby I, had agreed that they could go, provided they promised to be back within an hour.

The four children then scampered off along the beach by the foot of the cliffs, clambered over the rocks at the end of the bay, and disappeared from sight around the headland. They failed to notice the time passing, until they realized in dismay that the tide was coming in rapidly, and hurriedly they retraced their steps along the now narrow strip of sand.

If they had been a few minutes earlier, they could still have paddled back round the headland, but already the water was too deep for them to pass. Although they tried, they could not climb the steep cliffs either, so the eldest of the four, the only one who could swim, left the others sitting on a rock, holding one another by the hand, while he attempted to swim back and raise the alarm.

The boy, 12-year-old Thomas Tailor of Manor Road, Harpole, struggled manfully in the cold water against the strong current, and twenty minutes later he succeeded in rounding the headland.

Soon after, he was able to scramble ashore in the next bay. After pausing to regain his breath, he raced to his worried parents and told his story. Luckily they managed to find the owner of a nearby motor boat, and sped off to the rescue.

They found the frightened youngsters, still holding one another’s hands, with the waves now lapping around their feet.

Thomas’s mother, Mrs. Beryl Tailor, 37, told the “Observer”.

13. Linguistic Tolerance♫

The English language is a very much more widespread language than the world has yet seen in its history and the first thing the English-speaking people have to learn is that there are many good ways of speaking it. Everybody believes his own to be the best, an attitude that, in other spheres of life, civilization has taught us to despise. Many national misunderstandings are due to simple language differences, as even a short comparative investigation into English and American intonation will convince anybody. Many Americans are offended by the normal intonations of British English, just as Britishers are often hurt by American intonations. Much of out hasty generalization concerning the French temperament is due to the fact that French speakers use, in normal circumstances, types of intonation that are in English associated with situations that are not normal… . We are all so susceptible to the minutest details of speech behaviour, that whenever we observe the speech behaviour of others, we imagine them to be suffering from the same emotions as we should have to suffer from before we behaved as they do. And as a rule, it is the intonation that hurts; English spoken on Swedish intonation may sound petulant, on Russian intonation lugubrious, on German intonation offensive, on French intonation argumentative, on many American intonations casual or cocksure, on Danish intonation flat and somber…

This, perhaps, is the greatest danger of the spoken word; the technical details of its utterance, of little significance to the speaker, may arouse in the minds of listeners emotions far different from those that prompt it in the mind of the speaker.

14. Conversation♫

Presenter: … and welcome back to this week’s Celebrity House Challenge! Now this is the moment you have all been waiting for, as once again we go with Tina for a look inside a celebrity’s house.

Tina: Thank you, David. And welcome to all you viewers out there. Well, here I am in one of the most luxurious homes I have ever been in, and just look at this wonderful lounge. In the middle is a superb leather sofa that can seat no less than six people, and in front there is this marvelous coffee table, made of wood with a glass top. The book on the coffee table is an atlas of the world, so perhaps that’s one due to the identity of our mystery famous person. It seems they are adventurous and enjoy travel. On the wall behind the sofa is a great painting, a fine example of modern art… this person is clearly very cultured and has excellent taste. And opposite the sofa is the television, and what a television it is; a huge state-of-the-art wide screen TV and there are so many videos and DVDs here, so this person must surely be a movie fan. The floor is polished wood, which gives the whole room an elegant feel. Near the door to the kitchen, there are some children’s toys on the floor, so this person must have a family. Well, what else can I say here? Oh, there are some beautiful flowers in the window – they add a feminine touch to the room, and together with the ladies’ handbag here on the sofa you might think this person is a woman. Oh, yes, and one more thing – behind the sofa against the wall there is a very modern desk, with a computer and lots of work-like things, so this person probably needs to use a computer for their work, and they may even work from home… so, David, who lives in a house like this? It’s back to you in the studio…

15. King Henry IV (Act III, Scene I)♫

OWEN GLENDOWER:
Sit, cousin Percy; sit, good cousin Hotspur,
For by that name as oft as Lancaster
Doth speak of you, his cheek looks pale and with
A rising sigh he wisheth you in heaven.

HOTSPUR:
And you in hell, as oft as he hears Owen Glendower spoke of.

OWEN GLENDOWER:
I cannot blame him: at my nativity
The front of heaven was full of fiery shapes,
Of burning cressets; and at my birth
The frame and huge foundation of the earth
Shaked like a coward.

HOTSPUR:
Why, so it would have done at the same season, if
your mother’s cat had but kittened, though yourself
had never been born.

GLENDOWER:
I say the earth did shake when I was born.

HOTSPUR:
And I say the earth was not of my mind,
If you suppose as fearing you it shook.

OWEN GLENDOWER:
The heavens were all on fire, the earth did tremble.

HOTSPUR:
O, then the earth shook to see the heavens on fire,
And not in fear of your nativity.

16. A Date for the Theatre♫

Mike:Hello, Jack. Why the rush? Where are you going?

Jack:Hello, Mike. I’m on my way to meet Joyce at the station. We’re having dinner at a Chinese restaurant and then we’re off to the theatre.