Michael Joseph Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson (born 1958) is truly a music legend. He became a superstar 1) ____ the age 2) ____ eleven as a member 3) ____ his family band The Jackson 5. His solo career earned him the title "King 4) ____ Pop". His studio albums have all become classics. Jackson is equally famous 5) ____ his high energy and complicated dance techniques such as the Moonwalk. He died 6) ____ 2009 7) ____ the age 8) ____ 50.

Jackson dominated the music charts throughout the 1970s, 80s and 90s. His distinctive vocal style, rhythm and fashion were perfect for the new music video age. MTV enthusiastically played his videos 9) ____ the world. His ‘Thriller’ video had all the excitement 10) ____ a major movie release. Jackson became a true icon 11) ____ pop culture and influenced dozens 12) ____ today’s top stars.

Jackson’s personal life created significant controversy and earned him a nickname he hated, ‘Wacko Jacko’. He angered many having plastic surgery and lightening his skin to look white. His reputation was badly damaged 13) ____ several high-profile child sexual abuse cases 14) ____ 2003 and 2005. The courts cleared him 15) ____ both occasions.

His awards and records are proof 16) ____ the phenomenal success he achieved. He won World Music Award's Best-Selling Pop Male Artist 17) ____ the Millennium, and was the American Music Award's Artist 18) ____ the Century. ‘Thriller’ remains the best selling album 19) ____ all time. ‘Vanity Fair’ magazine named him the "Most popular artist 20) ____ the history 21) ____ show business".

Vocabulary game

Work in pairs. Choose the words from the list to make sentences. The person with the most points is the winner.

brilliant, creative, distinguished, famous, gifted, glorious, outstanding, prominent, talented, well-known, achievement, discovery, experiment, exploration, explorer, trip, expedition, ship, captain, mainland, independence, president, elite, fame, genius, invention, research, achieve, to be famous for, carry out, to contribute, create, invent, make contribution to, land, capture, divide into, own, beat, establish, bury, exploit, route, crew member, island, renamed, slavery, inhabitant, return, significant

Use the sentences to talk about the president of your country.

Speaking

Read the text and talk about Barack Obama. Start like this: Barack Obama is the 44^th president of the USA. He was born …..

Barack H. Obama is the 44^th President of the United States.

His story is the American story — values from the heartland, a middle-class upbringing in a strong family, hard work and education as the means of getting ahead, and the conviction that a life so blessed should be lived in service to others.

With a father from Kenya and a mother from Kansas, President Obama was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961. He was raised with help from his grandfather, who served in Patton's army, and his grandmother, who worked her way up from the secretarial pool to middle management at a bank.

After working his way through college with the help of scholarships and student loans, President Obama moved to Chicago, where he worked with a group of churches to help rebuild communities devastated by the closure of local steel plants.

He went on to attend law school, where he became the first African-American president of the Harvard Law Review. Upon graduation, he returned to Chicago to help lead a voter registration drive, teach constitutional law at the University of Chicago, and remain active in his community.

President Obama's years of public service are based around his unwavering belief in the ability to unite people around a politics of purpose. In the Illinois State Senate, he passed the first major ethics reform in 25 years, cut taxes for working families, and expanded health care for children and their parents. As a United States Senator, he reached across the aisle to pass groundbreaking lobbying reform, lock up the world's most dangerous weapons, and bring transparency to government by putting federal spending online.

He was elected the 44th President of the United States on November 4, 2008, and sworn in on January 20, 2009. He and his wife, Michelle, are the proud parents of two daughters, Malia and Sasha.