Sam Houston memorial, INGVIP

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Originally posted by: VOANEWS

            Adapted by INGVIP for more info check out:      click on the title and visit INGVIP                                                                       http://www.ingvip.com/

Sam Houston was larger than life(1). The city of Huntsville, Texas, has a 20-meter-tall(2) statue of him. It is said(3) to be the largest statue of any American hero(4).

Nearby(5), the Sam Houston Memorial Museum holds(6) many of his belongings(7). Patrick Nolan is the director.

PATRICK NOLAN: “He is really the only(8) man in our history who was president of an independent country, also(9) governor(10) of two different states, the only man to have that distinction, Tennessee and Texas, United States senator(11) from Texas, commanding general in a very successful(12) war.”

Sam Houston suffered(13) personal and political defeats(14) early in life. In 1832, hejoined(15) American settlers(16) in what was then the Mexican territory of Texas.

PATRICK NOLAN: “The idea of remaking(17) yourself, of re…kind of…constituting yourcareer(18), if you will(19), was there, and Texas was an opportunity to do that.”

Sam Houston led(20) Texas rebels(21) to victory against(22) a larger Mexican army(23)at the battle(24) of San Jacinto in 1836. Texas won (25) independence from Mexico before joining the United States. Houston became(26) governor of the new state, but was forced to retire to his farm in Huntsville in 1861. Nolan says Houston refused(27) tosign(28) an oath(29) to support(30) rebellious southern states (31) against the north.

PATRICK NOLAN: “He would not take that oath to support the Confederacy. He wouldresign(32) — he didn’t resign, he would be dismissed(33), he would be fired(34) before he would do it.”

The Civil War was still being fought(35) when Sam Houston died(36) at his home in 1863. James Haley has studied his life. He says Sam Houston and his wife owned slaves(37), but paid(38) them for extra work. He says Houston angered(39) manysoutherners (40) because he opposed efforts(41) to expand slavery(42) to other states.

JAMES HALEY: “Every year, he had a speaking tour(43) up the Ohio Valley, through(44)Pennsylvania, New York and into New England. That was really the center of his politicalstrength(45), because he was unpopular in the South because of his stance(46) against slavery.”

Sam Houston predicted(47) the Civil War years before the fighting started.

JAMES HALEY: “The South will go down(48), I think he said, in a sea of smoke(49) and ruin and that will be the end of the South as we know it, and the North will think they’ve won this big victory. He said the North will have its own price(50) to pay; they will reap(51) aharvest(52) of assassination.”

One week after the main(53) Confederate army surrendered(54), President Abraham Lincoln was murdered(55). Haley says Sam Houston freed(56) all his slaves before he died. The money he gave(57) them helped some become educated and startbusinesses(58). Sam Houston continues to interest people, and his influence in Texasremains strong(59). I’m Barbara Klein.

VOCABULARY

1. larger than life = maior que a vida
2. 20-meter-tall = 20 metros de altura
3. It is said = dizem que
4. Hero = herói
5. Nearby = perto, nas redondezas
6. Holds = guarda
7. Belongings = pertences
8. the only = o único
9. also = também
10. governor = governador
11. senator = senador
12. successful = bem-sucedido(a)
13. suffered = sofreu
14. defeats = derrotas
15. joined = juntou-se a
16. settlers = colonizadores
17. remaking = reconstruir
18. career = carreira
19. if you will = “por assim dizer”
20. led = liderou
21. rebels = rebeldes
22. against = contra
23. army = exército
24. battle = batalha
25. won = venceu
26. became = tornou-se
27. refused = recusou-se
28. sign = assinar
29. oath = juramento
30. support = apoiar
31. southern states = estados do sul
32. resign = demitir-se
33. dismissed = dispensado, despedido
34. fired = demitido
35. being fought = sendo lutada
36. died = morreu
37. owned slaves = possuiam escravos
38. paid = pagavam
39. angered = irritou
40. southerners = sulistas
41. efforts = esforços
42. slavery = escravidão
43. speaking tour = turnê de discurso
44. through = através
45. strength = força
46. stance = postura
47. predicted = previu
48. go down = cair
49. sea of smoke = mar de fumaça
50. own price = próprio preço
51. reap = colher (verbo)
52. harvest = colheita, safra
53. main = principal
54. surrendered = rendeu-se
55. murdered = assassinado
56. freed = libertou
57. gave = deu
58. businesses = negócios, comércios
59. remains strong = permanece forte 

THE POWER OF POETRY

Source: http://www.maganews.com.br

Language level: C1 Advanced

Speaker: Mark Worden

Standard: British accent

The Power of Poetry

Will Stone is an award-winning English poet and translator. He recently attended the Poetry on the Lake Festival and it was here that he met with Speak Up. We began by asking him what had first attracted him to poetry:

Will Stone

(Standard English accent)

It was just something that came, really. Well, I was always good at English at school and I used t write stories, and that was obviously my forte, but I didn’t really take it up later on, English. I probably should have done a degree, but for some reason I didn’t and then the poetry just started…well, actually I started writing songs first, I was more of a musician, and I wrote a lot of songs, I had a long period of writing songs, and then I sort of…that sort of died off and I started writing poetry more, so it came out of the song.

SOCIETY TODAY

In 2008 Will Stone received the Glen Dimplex Poetry Award. this was for his book, Glaciation, which one critic called “a collection of poems of oblique and uncomfortable beauty.” The Glen Dimplex is in fact an Irish award. Will Stone believes that his poetry is considered too heavy for Britain audiences, who tend to prefer lighter, less serious work:

Will Stone:

I’m not saying that it’s all bad, but I just think a lot of what is most obvious, or what Is most evident, to people, seems to be the same genre of poetry all the time because partly that’s because that’s what people relate to, and it’s what people are…’cause a lot of people in England were turned off poetry by having to do it at school, so anything that’s difficult, or got any real depth, it’s not easy for them to engage with it. I think they tend to be more drawn to a kind of poetry that is more of an entertainment, or something that sort of has part entertainment and part…it has some meaning that corresponds with people, but it isn’t always something that your really need to think about for too long. You know, it’s like an instant hit and then it’s over, which kind of reflects our society.