John F.

Kennedy

John Fitzgerald Kennedy was born in Brookline, Massachusetts on May 29, 1917. He was one of nine
children. His siblings were Joe, Rosemary, Kathleen, Eunice, Patricia, Robert, Jean and Teddy. His
mother was Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy and his father was Joseph Patrick Kennedy. John attended
Choate, a private boarding school for adolescent boys in Connecticut. He was very popular and had
many friends. He played tennis, basketball, football, and golf and also enjoyed reading. In 1936 John
enrolled at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

John entered the Navy after graduating from Harvard in 1940. On Aug 2, 1943 John’s PT 109 patrol
boat was destroyed by a Japanese destroyer killing two of his men. John managed to save himself and
several others. He was awarded the Navy & Marine Corps Medal for leadership and courage.

After the war John was faced with uncertainty. His father suggested that he should run for office. He
ran for the Massachusetts 11th congressional district and won in 1946. He served 3 terms in the
House of Representatives and in 1952 was elected to the US Senate. Soon after being elected senator,
he married twenty-four year-old Jacqueline Bouvier, a writer with the Washington Times-Herald.
They had two children Caroline and John-John. After serving eight years in the Senate he was elected
President of the United States, defeating Richard M. Nixon. In 1961, at 43 years of age, John F.
Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president of the United States.

As President of the United States, Kennedy faced many challenges. In 1962 he faced the Cuban
Missile Crisis. Russia was attempting to position nuclear war heads in Cuba only 90 miles off the
coast of Florida. President Kennedy ordered a Naval blockade of all ships bound for Cuba. It was a
tense time as the world teetered on the verge of nuclear war. Fortunately, Russia withdrew the
missles and agreed to sign the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

In addition, President Kennedy created Project Apollo which paved the way for American space
exploration. He also guided the nation through the difficult period of desegregation. In the early
1960s, President Kennedy challenged students to serve their country in the pursuit of peace by
assisting developing countries. As a result, the Peace Corps was created.

On November 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald while
riding in his motorcade in Dallas, Texas. Only two days later on November 24, 1963 Jack Ruby shot
Lee Harvey Oswald dead.

John F. Kennedy will forever live on in the heart of Americans. Since his death, he has been honored
by numerous cities and organizations. The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington,
D.C., and the Kennedy Space Center were named for him. He has also appeared on numerous postage
stamps as well as the U.S. half dollar.

1. Which of the following was not a brother or sister of John F. Kennedy?

a. Joe b. Patricia c. Kathleen d. George

2. When did John F. Kennedy marry Jacqueline Bouvier?

a. Before 1946. b. Before he was elected senator.
c. After he was elected senator. d. In 1961.

3. How old was John F. Kennedy when he was elected president?

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4. What city did Jacqeline likely live in when she married John F. Kennedy?
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5. Which of the following was John F. Kennedy not involved with during his presidency?
a. The Cuban Missle Crisis b. Space Exploration
c. The Peace Corps d. World War II

6. What does withdrew mean?

a.took away. b. placed. c. replaced. d. left.

7. Select all of the following that are true.

a. John F. Kennedy appears on the dollar.
b. John F. Kennedy was killed in 1963.
c. John F. Kennedy led the way for American space exploration.
d. Russia positioned missles about 90 miles off the coast of Washington.

8. In what season was John F. Kennedy killed?

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 Meals in My Family

In most families, you eat three meals a day. Breakfast is usually the first meal of the day, between 7
a.m. and 9 a.m. Lunch is around noon and supper, which is also called dinner, is about 6 p.m. A lot
of people have snacks during the day between their main meals. In school, students usually have
“recess” in the morning and in the afternoon. This is the time they usually eat snacks. In the
workplace, employees often have a “coffee break” in the morning around 10 a.m. and again in the
afternoon around 2 p.m.

What is a typical meal in my family? Well, for breakfast, we usually drink coffee, tea or juice. We
like to eat toast with jam or peanut butter. Sometimes, we have milk and cereal, and in the winter we
often eat oatmeal because it’s nice and hot. On the weekends, when we get up later and have more
time to prepare a meal. We like to eat eggs and bacon or pancakes and syrup. Canada is famous for
it’s delicious maple syrup.

When a meal is a combination of breakfast and lunch, we call this “brunch”. Many Canadian families
enjoy brunch on the weekends. In fact, a lot of restaurants have special brunches on Saturdays and
Sundays.

Lunch is normally the second meal of the day, and in my family it consists of soup, sandwiches and
salads. For dessert, we usually have a piece of fruit , mainly; bananas, apples or oranges. Sometimes,
people will eat hotdogs, hamburgers, pizza, French fries or other fast food delights, especially if you
go out for lunch.

For dinner, we usually have a salad, sometimes some soup, and a main dish of meat, poultry or fish
along with some potatoes or rice and some vegetables. For dessert, we usually have cake, pie or fruit,
and we finish with some coffee or tea.

Every culture has different customs, for example in Mexico, they also eat three meals a day but at
very different times. Their breakfast is usually around the same time as ours but lunch is between 2
p.m. and 4 p.m. Their dinner is normally between 8p.m. and 10 p.m. The type of food is also quite
different. Their food is much spicier than ours. They eat a lot of beans, tortillas, and chili with their
food.

The Japanese also eat three meals a day, but they eat entirely different types of food. For example,
they enjoy soup, rice and fish in the morning along with some fresh green vegetables. They often
take boxed lunches to work or school, which include seaweed with rice, tofu and fish. Sometimes the
fish is raw which is called “sushi”. Many Japanese enjoy green tea, which is quite bitter and very
healthy.

1. What are the names of the three main meals of the day?
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2. What time do people usually eat these meals ?
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3. What is a typical dinner in this family?
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4. In the workplace, what do we call the time around 10 a.m. ?
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5. What time do most Mexicans have lunch ?
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6. What is a hot drink that many Japanese enjoy ?
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7. What is your favorite meal of the day ? Why ?
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8. Do you enjoy food from other countries ?
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Meal Exchange : Interview three students in the class about their typical meals. Write down the
information in the chart below. Discuss it in class.

Name of the Breakfast: Lunch: Dinner:

student:
What time and What time and What time and
what do you what do you what do you
eat? eat? eat?
Find idioms in the text that mean the following:
1. to get on very well
2. to spread far and quckly
3. to take back something you because it completely wrong
4. to sell quickly through popularity
5. to be disappointed or frustrated with yourself
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Match the words or phrases taken from the text with their opposites.
................ 1. to stand out a) a person of great importnace and influence
................ 2. materialistic b) to accept
................ 3. a nobody c) caring little about money or possessions
................ 4. under-achiever d) to be the same as others
................ 5. to turn (something) down e) someone who excels

Read the text and answer the following questions.

1. What did ex-president George Bush Senior say about the Simsons?
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2.What was special about Stephen Hawkings’ millennium party?
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3. Why are Bart Simpson T-shirts banned in some schools in the USA?
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4. Which Simpson’s catchphrase has spread across the globe and what does it mean?
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5. What must Al Gore regret?
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