The White House - Intermediate Article .pdf

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2021.
Home >> Adults >> General English >> NEWS LESSONS
The funds that maintain the White House’s ‘museum quality’
Level: Intermediate
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Warmer
a. Match these US presidents to the years they were president.
First Ladies
1. 1961–1963 a. Barack Obama
2. 1963–1969 b. Jimmy Carter
3. 1977–1981 c. George W Bush
4. 1989–1993 d. John F Kennedy
5. 2001–2009 e. George Bush Sr
6. 2009–2017 f. Lyndon B Johnson
b. Write the names of these former US First Ladies next to their husbands.
Rosalynn Jackie Michelle Laura Claudia (Lady Bird) Barbara
Key words
a. Find words in the article that match the definitions below.
1. protect something valuable from damage __________________________ (para 2)
2. the process of buying or getting something __________________________ (para 3)
3. a small attractive object used for decoration __________________________ (para 3)
4. people who give money to help an organization __________________________ (para 4)
5. make regular repairs to a building, road, vehicle etc so that it stays in good condition
__________________________ (para 4)
6. the person who looks after the objects in a museum __________________________ (para 5)
7. the government of a country _________________________ (para 7)
8. cloths that hang somewhere as a decoration __________________________ (para 9)
9. a complete set of plates and cups with the same design
(para 9)
10. feeling happy about what your actions (para 12)

Level: Intermediate
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b. Use some of the key words above to complete these sentences.
1. Joanne inherited a tiny but valuable from her grandmother.
2. I’m to say that we made the right decision.
3. It is expensive to big houses and keep them in the
best condition.
4. My parents never used the 48-piece dinner they got for
their wedding.
5. The current US plans to make climate change a priority.

Level: Intermediate
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Donations, fees and sales: the
funds that maintain the White
House’s ‘museum quality’
David Smith
3 March, 2021
Jackie Kennedy first visited the White House as
a girl. It was a boring experience. “There wasn’t
even a booklet you could buy,” she told Life
magazine. When she became First Lady, she
started transforming it into a mansion worthy of
a president – but someone had to pay.
In 1961, Jackie Kennedy founded the White
House Historical Association (WHHA) to
protect, preserve and give public access to
America’s most famous address. Three years
later, President Lyndon B Johnson created the
Committee for the Preservation of the White
House, a group of experts who work to keep
the “museum quality” of its public spaces.
The former First Lady Barbara Bush set up the
White House Endowment Trust, which is used
for public rooms and conserving collections.
The White House Acquisition Trust is used to
buy fine and decorative arts. Both trusts receive
money from the WHHA, which gets money from
private donations, membership fees and retail
sales, including an annual Christmas ornament.
Stewart McLaurin, president of the WHHA, said
it received about $7m from donors in 2020.
“People give to us to help maintain the White
House, not because of any particular president
or political party. Our donors are all across the
country from all walks of life; not just politically
active people but people who are interested in
historic preservation and American history.”
Changes to the White House’s first floor and
ground floor, which contains the State Dining
Room, Green Room, Blue Room and others,
are made in agreement with the White House
curator and the Committee for the Preservation
of the White House. First Ladies usually to play
an active role.
McLaurin added: “Every First Lady takes on
two, four, five projects.
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“Laura Bush did the Lincoln Bedroom and the
library. Michelle Obama did the State Dining
Room and the Old Family Dining Room, also
on the state floor. The Red Room was the
most important project we did with the Trump
administration.”
Between 2012 and 2015, the State Dining
Room was given a major upgrade, with the
White House Endowment Trust picking up the
$590,000 cost. Designers and materials were
selected by Michelle Obama, the First Lady,
and the preservation committee.
The Associated Press reported: “Silk draperies
with vertical stripes of blue and light brown
replace curtains made of white silk and
designed with flowers, baskets and ribbons.
The blue in the draperies is the same as the
‘Kailua’ blue on the china service and reminds
us of the waters that surround President Barack
Obama’s home state of Hawaii.”
The White House Endowment Trust only deals
with renovations within the White House walls.
McLaurin said he did not know who paid for
solar panels installed by Jimmy Carter or a
tennis court adapted by Barack Obama so it
could be used for both tennis and basketball.
In 2020, Melania Trump opened a new tennis
pavilion on the south grounds of the White
House. It was constructed in partnership with
the Trust for the National Mall and the National
Park Service and funded by private donations.
The WHHA, meanwhile, remains proud of its
links to Jackie Kennedy. McLaurin said: “I’m
constantly amazed. She was 31 when her
husband was elected president of the United
States and she served as First Lady for less
than three years, but the process and the
procedures that she put in place in the early
60s still govern historic preservation and
maintain the museum standard of the White
House today, 60 years later.”
© Guardian News and Media 2021
First published in The Guardian, 03/03/2021
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Level: Intermediate
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Comprehension check
a. Find the following information in the article and write it in your notebook.
1. the names of two trusts that receive funds from the WHHA
2. how much money the WHHA received from donors in 2020
3. other ways that the WHHA gets money
4. the amount of money given by one of these trusts to upgrade the State Dining Room
b. Are these statements true (T) or false (F) according to the article? Correct any that are false.
1. Jackie Kennedy went to the White House in the 1960s for the first time. T / F
2. She set up a trust together with Barbara Bush to maintain the museum quality of the T / F
White House.
3. The wife of each US president usually takes on some preservation and redecoration T / F
projects in the White House.
4. The curator and Committee for the Preservation of the White House have to agree before T / F
changes can be made to the White House rooms.
5. Changes and additions made to the grounds and gardens of the White House are T / F
paid for by the WHHA.
6. Melania Trump built a new sports area with a basketball court while her husband T / F
was president.
Using key language
a. Match the beginnings and endings of these phrases. Then find and underline them in the article.
1. worthy a. life
2. all walks of b. place
3. play an active c. cost
4. pick up the d. of
5. put in e. role
b. Match the phrases from activity a with the meanings below.
a. do something yourself and take responsibility for it
b. create rules, policies or procedures for people to follow
c. pay for
d. good enough for a specific purpose
e. used to describe a situation with people with different jobs and different positions in society
c. Then use the phrases to talk about the article.

Home Adults General English NEWS LESSONS
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Discussion
• Find the original article online and discuss the photos. Which room do you like best and why?
• What White House projects do you think that a future First Gentleman would be expected to do
during his wife’s or partner’s US presidency?
• Which area of your home would you most like to redecorate?
In your own words
What well-known official homes are there in your country? For example:
The president / prime minister of my country lives in …
The royal family have a palace / castle / mansion called …
Research one of these official homes and give a short presentation about it.
What is it called?
What is its address?
Who lives there?
How long do they live there for?
Who is likely to live there next?
When was it built? Who was the architect?
Who pays for the upkeep and redecoration of this place?
Are any of the rooms or grounds open to the public?
Level: Intermediate
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Level: Intermediate – Teacher’s notes
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Article summary: How is the US presidential
residence, the White House, maintained and
renovated, and who pays for this work?
Time: 90 minutes
Skills: Reading, Speaking, Writing
Language focus: Vocabulary
Materials needed: One copy of the
worksheet per student
1. Warmer
Without looking online, students answer the questions
in small groups or pairs. You could turn this into a class
quiz, giving one point for each correct answer.
Key:
1. 1961–1963 d. John F Kennedy Jackie
2. 1963–1969 f. Lyndon B Johnson
Claudia
(Lady Bird)
3. 1977–1981 b. Jimmy Carter Rosalynn
4. 1989–1993 e. George Bush Sr Barbara
5. 2001–2009 c. George W Bush Laura
6. 2009–2017 a. Barack Obama Michelle
Extension: if you’d like to extend this short quiz, ask
students to fill in the names of the missing US presidents
and First Ladies for the years not mentioned, between
1969 and the current time. Give an additional point for
each correct answer they can come up with (again,
without researching the answers first).
2. Key words
a. Students find words in the article that match the
definitions and write them onto the lines provided.
Note: these six former US presidents are all
mentioned in the article.
Key:
1. preserve
2. acquisition
3. ornament
4. donors
5. maintain
6. curator
7. administration
8. draperies
9. service
10. proud
b. Before reading the article carefully, students
use some of the key words to fill the gaps in the
sentences to ensure that they understand and
know how the words are used in other contexts.
Key:
1. ornament
2. proud
3. maintain
4. service
5. administration
3. Comprehension check
a. In the first part of this two-part comprehension
task, students find information in the text to answer
the questions.
Key:
1.
the White House Endowment Trust and the
White House Acquisition Trust
2. $7 million
3.
membership fees and retails sales, including
the sale of the annual White House
Christmas ornament
4. $590,000
b. In the second part, students decide whether the
statements are true or false according to the
information in the article and correct any that
are false.

Level: Intermediate – Teacher’s notes
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Key:
1. False. She first visited it as a girl.
2.
False. She set up a trust to maintain the
museum quality of the White House, but not
together with Barbara Bush. Later, Barbara
Bush continued this work and set up an
additional trust.
3. True.
4. True.
5.
False. The WHHA only deals with renovations
inside and not to the grounds.
6.
False. She built a new tennis pavilion. Obama
adapted a tennis court so that basketball could
be played there too.
4. Using key language
a. Students first match the words on the left and right
to make phrases from the article. Then, they should
find and underline them in the article and read them
again in context.
Key:
1. d
2. a
3. e
4. c
5. b
b. Students match the phrases with the definitions.
Key:
a. play an active role
b. put in place
c. pick up the cost
d. worthy of
e. all walks of life
c. Students then use the word pairs and phrases to talk
about or summarize the article.
To extend this task, ask them to write personalized
sentences, one for each phrase or expression that
they would like to learn to integrate into their active
vocabulary. Ask them to make the sentences relevant
to their own lives if possible, as this will make it easier
for them to remember the (new) language and use it
correctly in the future.
5. Discussion
Students discuss the questions that are directly related to
the topic of the article.
To see the photos in the original article, type white house
historical association jackie kennedy boris johnson +
Guardian into a search engine.
6. In your own words
Briefly brainstorm what official residences there are in
your students’ country or countries. Working with a partner,
students choose one of these residences and research it,
writing and giving a short presentation about it. Divide the
residences up if necessary, so that they don’t all present
on the same one.

The White House - Intermediate Article .pdf

The White House - Intermediate Article .pdf

The White House - Intermediate Article .pdf

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