Vocabulary Preview
Match each word or phrase with the correct definition.
1. affirm
a. persisting; not stopping
2. bribe
b. accepting of differences
3. perseverance
c. to assert positively; to confirm
4. priority
d. a tall building
5. skyscraper
e. money or a favor given to get something you want
6. tolerant
f. the most important thing
Pre-Reading Questions
Think about the following questions.
1. Do you think America is the land of opportunity? Why or why not?
2. What social issues you are concerned about?
3. What are some ways individuals can help to solve these social
issues?
Pre-Reading Questions
Barack Obama’s
Keynote Address at the
Democratic National
Convention
P e o p l e & O p i n i o n s 1
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Barack Obama’s Keynote Address at
the Democratic National Convention
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onight is a particular honor for me because, let’s face it,
my presence
on this stage is pretty unlikely. My father was a foreign student, born
and raised in a small village in Kenya. He grew up herding goats and
went to school in a tin-roof shack. His father, my grandfather, was a cook, a
domestic servant to the British. But my grandfather
had larger dreams for his
son. Through hard work and perseverance my father got a scholarship to study in
a magical place, America, that shone as a
beacon of freedom and opportunity to
so many who had come before him.
While
studying here, my father met my mother. She was born in a town on
the other side of the world, in Kansas. My parents shared not only an
improbable love; they shared an
abiding faith in the possibilities of this nation.
They
would give me an African name, Barack, or “blessed,” believing that in a
tolerant America, your name is no barrier to success. They imagined me going to
the best schools in the land, even though they weren’t rich, because in a
generous America you don’t have to be rich to achieve your potential.
Tonight, we gather to affirm the greatness of our
nation not because of the
height of our skyscrapers, or the power of our military, or the
size of our economy; our pride
is based on a very simple
