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President Hu Jintao Visits Barack Obama (19th January, 2011)

Chinese President Hu Jintao has arrived in the United States for a three-day state visit. His aim is to boost China-U.S. ties and expand trade relations. After being welcomed by President Barack Obama, he gave a speech on the White House lawn, saying: “I have come to the United States to increase mutual trust, enhance friendship, deepen cooperation and push forward the positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-U.S. relationship for the 21st century." The two leaders have a lot to talk about. Besides exploring ways to increase trade and investment between their nations, they will also discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula and human rights. Mr Hu acknowledged that "a lot still needs to be done in China in terms of human rights".

President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington is seen as a significant political event in China. The country’s newspapers were full of pictures of the two presidents shaking hands at the White House. They said the visit, including the state dinner on Tuesday night, was an acknowledgment of China’s rise to global economic and political power in the past decade. Beijing residents were also enthusiastic about the visit. In an interview with the Associated Press news agency, office worker Sun Bin said: "China and the U.S. aren't enemies. They're countries that need to work together. China needs the U.S. for its development and the U.S. needs China's development." Another resident said: "A lot of people are still getting used to China becoming big and powerful. That's why this visit is important."


WARM-UPS

1. CHINA-U.S. RELATIONS: Walk around the class and talk to other students about China-U.S relations. 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.

 

president / state visits / trade relations / mutual trust / cooperation / investment / significant / shaking hands / political power / enthusiastic / residents / development

Have a chat about the topics you liked. Change topics and partners frequently.

3. CHINA-U.S. TALKS: What should they talk about? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners and share what you wrote. Change and share again.

Topic

China’s side

U.S. side

Trade

 

 

Korean peninsular

 

 

Human rights

 

 

Weapons

 

 

Yuan - Dollar

 

 

The world

 

 

4. CHINESE: Students A strongly believe we will all be learning Chinese and not English in the future because of China’s power; Students B strongly believe we won’t.  Change partners again and talk about your conversations.

5. HU JINTAO: What would you like to talk about with him? Rank these and share your rankings with your partner. Put the best topic at the top. Change partners and share your rankings again.

  • Chinese history
  • WikiLeaks
  • Barack Obama
  • The Korean Peninsular
  • His plans
  • The Communist Party
  • His hobbies and interests
  • The weather

6. TRUST: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word ‘trust’. 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.

China’s President stayed Barack Obama’s family home in Chicago.

T / F

b.

Hu Jintao gave a speech on the grass in front of the White House.

T / F

c.

The Chinese leader stated he wanted to increase trust with the USA.

T / F

d.

Hu Jintao said there was little to be done about China’s human rights.

T / F

e.

There is little interest in Hu Jintao’s visit in China.

T / F

f.

China’s media said Hu Jintao’s state dinner was an important event.

T / F

g.

A Beijing resident told reporters that China and the USA were enemies.

T / F

h.

Another Chinese person said people need to get used to China’s size.

T / F

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

1.

state

a.

wide-ranging

2

boost

b.

accustomed to

3.

mutual

c.

accepted

4.

comprehensive

d.

increase

5.

acknowledged

e.

major

6.

significant

f.

rivals

7.

enthusiastic

g.

government

8.

enemies

h.

growth

9.

development

i.

shared

10.

used to

j.

keen

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

1.

a three-day state

a.

trust

2

His aim is to boost

b.

its development

3.

increase mutual

c.

to talk about

4.

have a lot

d.

China’s rise

5.

a lot still needs to

e.

visit

6.

a significant political

f.

and political power

7.

an acknowledgment of

g.

China-U.S. ties

8.

China’s rise to global economic

h.

be done

9.

China needs the U.S. for

i.

is important

10.

That's why this visit

j.

event in China

 


 
 

WHILE READING / LISTENING

GAP FILL: Put the words into the gaps in the text.

Chinese President Hu Jintao has (1) ____________ in the United States for a three-day state visit. His aim is to (2) ____________ China-U.S. ties and expand trade relations. After being welcomed by President Barack Obama, he gave a speech on the White House (3) ____________, saying: “I have come to the United States to increase (4) ____________ trust, (5) ____________ friendship, deepen cooperation and push forward the positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-U.S. relationship for the 21st century." The two leaders have a lot to talk about. Besides (6) ____________ ways to increase trade and investment between their nations, they will also (7) ____________ the situation on the Korean Peninsula and human rights. Mr Hu acknowledged that "a lot still needs to be done in China in (8) ____________ of human rights".

 

 

 

exploring
mutual
boost
terms
discuss
arrived
enhance
lawn

President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington is seen as a significant political (9) ____________ in China. The country’s newspapers were full of pictures of the two presidents (10) ____________ hands at the White House. They said the visit, including the (11) ____________ dinner on Tuesday night, was an acknowledgment of China’s (12) ____________ to global economic and political power in the past decade. Beijing residents were also enthusiastic about the visit. In an interview with the Associated Press news (13) ____________, office worker Sun Bin said: "China and the U.S. aren't (14) ____________. They're countries that need to work together. China needs the U.S. for its development and the U.S. needs China's development." Another (15) ____________ said: "A lot of people are still getting used to China becoming big and powerful. That's why this (16) ____________ is important."

 

 

agency
state
shaking
visit
resident
event
rise
enemies

LISTENING – Listen and fill in the gaps

Chinese President Hu Jintao ____________________ United States for a three-day state visit. His aim is to boost China-U.S. ____________________ relations. After being welcomed by President Barack Obama, he gave a speech on the White House lawn, saying: “I have come to the United States ____________________ trust, enhance friendship, ______________________ push forward the positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-U.S. relationship for the 21st century." The two leaders have a lot to talk about. ____________________ increase trade and investment between their nations, they will also discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula and human rights. Mr Hu acknowledged that "a lot ______________________ in China in terms of human rights".

President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington is seen as a significant political event in China. The country’s newspapers ____________________ of the two presidents shaking hands at the White House. They said the visit, ______________________ on Tuesday night, was an acknowledgment of China’s rise to global economic ______________________ the past decade. Beijing ____________________ enthusiastic about the visit. In an interview with the Associated Press news agency, office worker Sun Bin said: "China and the U.S. aren't enemies. They're countries ____________________ together. China needs the U.S. for its development and the U.S. needs China's development." Another resident said: "A lot of people are still getting used to China becoming big and powerful. That's ______________________."


 
 

AFTER READING / LISTENING

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

state

visit

 

 

 

  • 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:

  • aim
  • speech
  • push
  • a lot
  • nations
  • terms
  • event
  • hands
  • rise
  • agency
  • resident
  • visit

STUDENT CHINA-U.S RELATIONS SURVEY

Write five GOOD questions about China-U.S relations 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.

CHINA-U.S. RELATIONS 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 ‘China’?

c)

How important is Hu Jintao’s visit to Washington?

d)

What do you know about Hu Jintao?

e)

How would you describe China-U.S. relations?

f)

What are the similarities and differences between China and the U.S?

g)

How are Barack Obama and Hu Jintao different?

h)

What are the biggest issues China and the U.S. need to talk about?

i)

What do you know about the history of ties between China and the U.S?

j)

Which nation will be the stronger 50 years from now?

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

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

a)

Did you like reading this article?

b)

For what reasons might China criticize the USA?

c)

For what reasons might the USA criticize China?

d)

What single thing could the two countries work on together to really help the world?

e)

What do you think China will be like in 50 years from now?

f)

What do you think of the leadership style of the two leaders?

g)

What are the positive things about China and the USA?

h)

Would you like to have sat between the two leaders at their state dinner?

i)

Are China and the U.S. great friends?

j)

What questions would you like to ask Barack Obama and Hu Jintao?

LANGUAGE – MULTIPLE CHOICE

Chinese President Hu Jintao has arrived in the United States for a three-day (1) ____ visit. His aim is to (2) ____ China-U.S. ties and expand trade relations. After being welcomed by President Barack Obama, he gave a speech on the White House (3) ____, saying: “I have come to the United States to increase mutual trust, enhance friendship, (4) ____ cooperation and push forward the positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-U.S. relationship for the 21st century." The two leaders have a lot to talk about. Besides (5) ____ ways to increase trade and investment between their nations, they will also discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula and human rights. Mr Hu acknowledged that "a lot still needs to be done in China in (6) ____ of human rights".

President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington is (7) ____ as a significant political event in China. The country’s newspapers were full of pictures of the two presidents shaking hands at the White House. They said the visit, including the state dinner on Tuesday night, was an acknowledgment (8) ____ China’s rise to global economic and political power in the past decade. Beijing residents were also enthusiastic (9) ____ the visit. In an interview with the Associated Press news agency, office worker Sun Bin said: "China and the U.S. aren't (10) ____. They're countries that need to work together. China needs the U.S. (11) ____ its development and the U.S. needs China's development." Another resident said: "A lot of people are still getting used to China becoming big and powerful. That's why this visit is (12) ____."

Put the correct words from the table below in the above article.

1.

(a)

stately

(b)

stated

(c)

statement

(d)

state

2.

(a)

beast

(b)

boost

(c)

boast

(d)

boots

3.

(a)

lawn

(b)

lane

(c)

lean

(d)

loan

4.

(a)

deepest

(b)

deep end

(c)

deepen

(d)

depend

5.

(a)

exploration

(b)

explore

(c)

exploring

(d)

explorer

6.

(a)

tames

(b)

terms

(c)

times

(d)

tomes

7.

(a)

seen

(b)

watched

(c)

looked

(d)

gazed

8.

(a)

for

(b)

from

(c)

fro

(d)

of

9.

(a)

of

(b)

about

(c)

from

(d)

around

10.

(a)

enemas

(b)

eminence

(c)

enemy

(d)

enemies

11.

(a)

of

(b)

fro

(c)

for

(d)

from

12.

(a)

important

(b)

importantly

(c)

imported

(d)

import


 
 

WRITING

Write about China-U.S. relations 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 China-U.S. relations. Share what you discover with your partner(s) in the next lesson.

3. CHINA-U.S. RELATIONS: Make a poster about China-U.S relations and the importance of Hu Jintao’s visit to Washington. Show your work to your classmates in the next lesson. Did you all have similar things?

4. STATE VISIT: Write a magazine article about the state visit. Include imaginary interviews with Barack Obama and Hu Jintao.

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 Barack Obama and/or Hu Jintao. Ask them three questions about China-U.S. relations. Give them three suggestions on what they should do together. Read your letter to your partner(s) in your next lesson. Your partner(s) will answer your questions.


 


 
 

ANSWERS

TRUE / FALSE:

a.

F

b.

T

c.

T

d.

F

e.

F

f.

T

g.

F

h.

T

SYNONYM MATCH:

1.

state

a.

government

2

boost

b.

increase

3.

mutual

c.

shared

4.

comprehensive

d.

wide-ranging

5.

acknowledged

e.

accepted

6.

significant

f.

major

7.

enthusiastic

g.

keen

8.

enemies

h.

rivals

9.

development

i.

growth

10.

used to

j.

accustomed to

PHRASE MATCH:

1.

a three-day state

a.

visit

2

His aim is to boost

b.

China-U.S. ties

3.

increase mutual

c.

trust

4.

have a lot

d.

to talk about

5.

a lot still needs to

e.

be done

6.

a significant political

f.

event in China

7.

an acknowledgment of

g.

China’s rise

8.

China’s rise to global economic

h.

and political power

9.

China needs the U.S. for

i.

its development

10.

That's why this visit

j.

is important

GAP FILL:

President Hu Jintao visits Barack Obama

Chinese President Hu Jintao has (1) arrived in the United States for a three-day state visit. His aim is to (2) boost China-U.S. ties and expand trade relations. After being welcomed by President Barack Obama, he gave a speech on the White House (3) lawn, saying: “I have come to the United States to increase (4) mutual trust, (5) enhance friendship, deepen cooperation and push forward the positive, cooperative and comprehensive China-U.S. relationship for the 21st century." The two leaders have a lot to talk about. Besides (6) exploring ways to increase trade and investment between their nations, they will also (7) discuss the situation on the Korean Peninsula and human rights. Mr Hu acknowledged that "a lot still needs to be done in China in (8) terms of human rights".

President Hu Jintao's visit to Washington is seen as a significant political (9) event in China. The country’s newspapers were full of pictures of the two presidents (10) shaking hands at the White House. They said the visit, including the (11) state dinner on Tuesday night, was an acknowledgment of China’s (12) rise to global economic and political power in the past decade. Beijing residents were also enthusiastic about the visit. In an interview with the Associated Press news (13) agency, office worker Sun Bin said: "China and the U.S. aren't (14) enemies. They're countries that need to work together. China needs the U.S. for its development and the U.S. needs China's development." Another (15) resident said: "A lot of people are still getting used to China becoming big and powerful. That's why this (16) visit is important."

LANGUAGE WORK

1 - d

2 - b

3 - a

4 - c

5 - c

6 - b

7 - a

8 - d

9 - b

10 - d

11 - c

12 - a

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