He 20th Century technology time line

The 20th Century | 37
4. The Berliners tore down the wall on November 9. Then people from all 
over came to the site to celebrate.
VI. READ IT AGAIN
Read the article again. Answer the question.
Why was the protest at the rock concert important?
JFK’S INAUGURAL SPEECH
I. PRE-READING
A.
Background information
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the irst president of the United States born in the 
20th century. He was in ofice from January of 1961 to November 22, 1963, 
when he was killed by an assassin. During his short time in ofice, many 
important events took place, including the building of the Berlin Wall and the 
beginning of the Space Race, the African American civil rights movement and 
the conlict in Vietnam. This famous paragraph is from Kennedy’s inaugural 
address—the speech he gave when he took ofice as president.
B.
Words to know before you read
Find these words in the text. Then match the words to their definitions.
____ 1. summon 
a. the state of being extremely poor
____ 2. poverty 
b. partnership
____ 3. tyranny 
c. create
____ 4. forge 
d. call
____ 5. fruitful 
e. oppression
____ 6. alliance 
f. productive
C.
Reading strategy
Read just the first line and the last line, and answer this question.
What is the main idea of this paragraph?

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38 | Better Reading English
II. READ
Read the text. Mark the words you don’t know, but don’t stop reading to look 
them up.
Now the trumpet summons us. . . .[to] a struggle against the common enemies 
of man: tyranny, poverty, disease, and war itself. Can we forge against these 
enemies a grand and global alliance, North and South, East and West, that can 
assure a more fruitful life for all mankind? Will you join in that historic effort?
In the long history of the world, only a few generations have been granted the 
role of defending freedom in its hour of maximum danger. I do not shrink from 
this responsibility—I welcome it. I do not believe that any of us would exchange 
places with any other people or any other generation. The energy, the faith, the 
devotion which we bring to this endeavor will light our country and all who 
serve it—and the glow from that ire can truly light the world. And so, my fellow 
Americans: ask not what your country can do for you—ask what you can do for 
your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for 
you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.
Source: John F. Kennedy Inaugural Address, January 21, 1961
III. COMPREHENSION CHECK
Write the answers to the questions.
1. What are the enemies of man?
2. Who does Kennedy want in his alliance?
3. What does he welcome?
4. What does he want people of the United States to do?
5. What does he want people of the world to do?
IV. VOCABULARY BUILDING
A.
Understanding from context
Write the word or phrase from the text with the same meaning as the 
underlined words and phrases.
1. We are being called to ight against the enemies of all people.

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The 20th Century | 39
2. Can we create a great partnership?
3. . . .that can give everyone a better and more productive life. . .
4. . . .only a few people are given the opportunity to protect our freedom. . .
5. I do not try to get away from this responsibility.
6. . . .the dedication we bring to this effort. . .
7. . . .the light from that ire. . .
B.
Use the new words
Complete the following sentences with these words.
poverty
disease
alliance
assure
grant
devotion
endeavor
glow
1. The two countries formed an ______________________ to protect their 
borders.
2. You could see the ______________________ of the city’s lights from far 
away.
3. The president ____________________ the people that peace would come soon.
4. In many parts of the world, children go hungry because their families are 
living in ______________________.
5. The people were ___________________ their freedom when the war ended.
6. His ______________________ to his cause is inspiring.
7. Vaccinations and clean water are used to ight ___________________.
8. The president is probably sorry that he started this 
______________________.

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40 | Better Reading English
V. UNDERSTANDING GRAMMAR: EMBEDDED
QUESTIONS WITH 
can
A.
Read about embedded questions
An embedded question is a noun clause that can be introduced by a variety of 
phrases. An embedded question does not use question word order. Compare 
these two: