Election

1: Match the vocabulary word with its definition.

a. Ballot d. Candidate f. Polls i. Campaigning
b. Election e. Political Party g. Issues j. Debate
c. Vote h. Coalition
_______ 1. The main topics for discussion or debate
_______ 2. To make a choice in an election or other poll
_______ 3. An organized group of people with similar beliefs who try to win elections
_______ 4. A piece of paper on which you write your vote
_______ 5. Where people go to vote
_______ 6. Working to win or achieve something as in an election
_______ 7. Discussing the pros and cons of an issue
_______ 8. The process for choosing someone or deciding something by voting
_______ 9. Someone who is up for election to a political office
_______ 10. A temporary union of different political parties that agree to form a
government together.

2: Complete the sentences with the correct form of

the word in brackets.
1. Her ____________________ (resign) came as a bit of a
shock, really.
2. In the UK, people become eligible to
____________________ (vote) at 18.
3. The result of the ____________________ (elect) should
be in fairly soon.
4. The new ____________________ (govern) will take over
in a few weeks.
5. There’s been quite a lot of __________________
(oppose) to the proposed new law
6. He’s one of the best-known __________________
(politics) commentators around.

3: Complete these sentences using words from the

newspaper stories.
1. There are two ________________________ in the US: the Democrats and the
Republicans. 2. In the UK, _________________________ are usually held every four or five
years to choose a new government.
3. “I’m definitely going to ______________________, but I still haven’t decided who for!”
4. In the US, the leader is the president, while in Australia and the UK, the leader is
called the __________________________.
5. Most _________________________ stations open at six-thirty in the morning and close at
ten at night. 6. They won 300 out of 420 seats, so they have quite a big
_________________________.
7. “I hate listening to political ___________________. Why don’t they become politicians
rather than going on TV and criticizing the ones we’ve got?”
8. There’s more speculation that the prime minister will _________________________ and
the government will collapse.

4. Discuss these questions:

1. Are you interested in politics? Why? 4. Do the decisions politicians make effect
Why not? you? How?
2. Do you vote? Why? Why not? 5. Would you ever want to be a politician?
3. What do you think of politicians? Why? Why? Why not?