Pronunciation ChallengeCNN10: Trump Impeachment / US Recovering from COVID-19 / Magnificent Northern Lights

Thank you, Ken. Have a good one, everyone.

^ ^

Question:
Do you guys think Donald Trump will come back to the political stage again someday?


【Timecode】

00:25-01:52 1. Trump Impeachment
01:57-02:58 2. US Recovering from COVID-19
03:00-04:19 3. Magnificent Northern Lights
04:23-04:47 Sentence of the Day
04:50-05:50 Vocabulary


【Transcript】

--- Trump Impeachment ---

First off, let’s begin with the former U.S. President, Donald Trump’s impeachment trial. Simply put, it’s over. He was found not guilty of the charge of incitement of insurrection. The House of Representatives accused Trump after a riot occurred at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th. The former president had spoken to his supporters at a massive rally earlier that day; his accusers said his words encouraged some of the people there to violently protest at the Capitol Building afterwards. After the House of Representatives impeaches, or formally charges, a president with a crime, the Senate decides whether to convict or acquit the leader. For a leader to be convicted, the Constitution says that two-thirds of the Senate, or 67 members, must find the president guilty. The final count was ten votes short of that, which means Former President Trump was therefore acquitted, making him the first American leader to be impeached twice by the House and acquitted twice by the Senate.

However, Donald Trump and the Trump organization are still the subjects of various legal investigations outside the federal government. So, in other words, it’s not over just yet.

--- US Recovering from COVID-19 ---

Finally, here is some good news. The number of new daily cases continues to decrease.
Since early January 2021, the numbers have steadily dropped, and officials say it's not just because of vaccinations, as only about four percent of the population has received vaccine doses.
Two major reasons for the decline are: One, people are reportedly doing a better job of wearing masks and keeping their distance from one another. And two, doctors believe there've been so many infections in some places that people have developed natural immunities to the virus.

However, new variants or mutations of COVID-19 could still cause new infections, and even after WHO’s investigation carried out in China, it's still unknown where and how the virus originated.

--- The Magnificent Northern Lights ---

In 1944, Iceland achieved its independence from Denmark while the country was occupied by Germany. Tourism has been a major industry in Iceland. It's one of the main reasons why its economy was charting steady growth before the coronavirus pandemic spread around the world last year. The winter nights are long in this European country, but that and its geological position in the North Atlantic can give visitors a spectacular view of the northern lights.

Iceland is one of the best places on planet Earth to check out the aurora borealis, better known to most people as the northern lights. Seeing this up close and personally has been described as "a pinnacle life experience" for the people who are lucky enough to witness it. When it happens between October to March, all you have to do is drive outside or take a bus, to a dark area and look up! You’ll have a chance to see green, blue and even red colors of beautiful bright light and enjoy this breathtaking force of nature.


【Vocabulary】

1. Impeach
to make a formal statement saying that a public official is seriously guilty

Ex: The governor was impeached for his wrongful use of state money.


2. acquit
to decide officially in a law court that someone is not guilty

Ex: The President was acquitted of all the charges against him.

3. twice
two times

Ex: Do the laundry. Don’t make me ask you twice.

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