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UNCLE SAM http://www.ToLearnEnglish.com - Resources to learn/teach English |
I) ANTICIPATING
Have
a look at the image above. Answer these questions:
1) Who is this character? What is his name? What country does he represent?
2) Describe this image in English: his clothes, the colours, his actions...
3) When was this poster made? Why?
II) READING COMPREHENSION
>> TEXT:
Uncle Sam
Uncle Sam is a fun name for the United States government. The drawing of a man called Uncle Sam is used to represent the federal government on large signs called posters. His name, Uncle Sam, uses the same first letters as the words United States: a "U" and an "S".
History experts are not really sure how Uncle Sam was created or how he was named. However, some say the name was first used on supply containers during the War of 1812.
People in the northeastern city of Troy, New York think they know the true story. They say that Uncle Sam was a person named Samuel Wilson. Many people in Troy believe that Mister Wilson is linked to the first use of the term "Uncle Sam" to represent the United States.
This is their story:
Samuel Wilson worked as a meat packer in Troy during the War of 1812. He often was called Uncle Sam because he was so friendly and fair. Mister Wilson supplied large amounts of meat to the Army. The meat was sent to the troops in rounded wooden containers. The barrels were marked with the letters "U S" to show they were meant for the government. Someone suggested that the letters represented "Uncle Sam" Wilson. The idea that the meat came from "Uncle Sam" led to the idea that Uncle Sam represented the federal government.
Samuel Wilson did not look like the drawing of Uncle Sam. The most famous drawings show him dressed in clothes showing stars and stripes. They appeared in political cartoons. Famous newspaper cartoonist Thomas Nast produced many of the earliest drawings of Uncle Sam in the 1830s.
>> QUESTIONS:
1. Who is "Uncle Sam"?
a) A famous basketball player
b) A famous singer
c) A personification of the United States government
2. Everybody knows why "Uncle Sam" is linked
to the US government.
a) TRUE
b) FALSE
3. Some people think that the origins of "Uncle
Sam" come from someone living in...
a) England
b) Australia
c) America
4. The phrase "Uncle Sam" probably comes from...
a) Mr Wilson
b) Mr Troy
c) Mr Samuel
5. When was Samuel Wilson born?
a) In the sixteenth century
b) In the seventeenth century
c) In the eighteenth century
6. Why was Samuel Wilson often called "Uncle Sam"?
a) Because he was very old
b) Because he was very friendly
c) Because he was very sad
7. What was Samuel Wilson's job during the war of 1812?
a) He was a soldier
b) He was a meat supplier
c) He was a doctor
8. Some people thought that Samuel Wilson was linked
to the US government because his nickname contained the initials of the US
government.
a) TRUE
b) FALSE
9. The current representation of Uncle Sam is a photo
of Samuel Wilson.
a) TRUE
b) FALSE
10. When were the first drawings published?
a) In the 1730s
b) In the 1830s
c) In the 1930s
III) ORAL COMPREHENSION
Here is the script of the tape. Fill in the gaps with the missing words:
1917, beard, century, finger, men, picture, representation, Want
Uncle Sam In the twentieth ______________(1), Uncle Sam was shown with a short white ______________(2), high hat and long-tailed coat. The single most famous ______________ (3) of him is a large sign painted by James Montgomery Flagg in about ______________ (4). Its aim was to influence young American young ______________ (5) to go into the army during World War One. It shows Uncle Sam pointing his ______________ (6). Above him are written the words "I ______________ (7) You." Congress approved Uncle Sam as an official ______________ (8) of the United States in 1961.
IV) GRAMMAR
> Present simple
People in the northeastern city of Troy, New York think they know the true story. They say that Uncle Sam was a person named Samuel Wilson. Many people in Troy believe that Mister Wilson is linked to the first use of the term "Uncle Sam" to represent the United States.
> Main uses: permanent situations, regular habits and daily routine; feelings ; thoughts
> Syntaxe: In the positive
form, add an 's' to the base form of the 3rd person singular. If the verb
ends in -y preceded by a consonant, change the -y to -ies
Example: THINK
I think, you think, he/she/it thinks, we think, you think, they think.
Conjugate 'do' + not (don't and doesn't) + the base form
of the verb to make negatives or questions:
Do you play football on Sundays? Yes, I do. No,
I don't.
Fill in the gaps with the verbs (use the present simple):
Many people ........................... (use) the term "Uncle Sam"
to designate the U.S.A. They ........................... (think) that this
term ........................... (come) from Samuel Wilson. It ...........................
(not to come) from a fictitious character. This symbol ...........................
(represent) the federal government and the power of the USA.
V) VOCABULARY
Find the correct definitions.
| A) a poster B) History C) meat D) an army E) clothes F) a beard G) a finger H) Congress I) a barrel |
1) The flesh of animals used as food 2) Covering designed to be worn on a person's body 3) The legislature of the United States government 4) A sign posted in a public place as an advertisement 5) The hair growing on the lower part of a man's face 6) Any of the terminal members of the hand 7) The continuum of events occurring in succession leading from the past to the present and even into the future 8) A cylindrical container 9) A large number of people united for some specific purpose |
VI) ANSWERS
> Reading Comprehension: 1. (c) 2. (b) 3. (c) 4. (a) 5. (c) 6. (b) 7. (b) 8. (a) 9. (b) 10. (b)
> Oral Comprehension: (1) century - (2) beard - (3) picture - (4) 1917 - (5) men - (6) finger - (7) Want - (8) representation
> Grammar: Many people USE the term "Uncle Sam" to designate the U.S.A. They THINK that this term COMES from Samuel Wilson. It DOES NOT (=DOESN'T) COME from a fictitious character. This symbol REPRESENTS the federal government and the power of the USA.