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  • Rob: Hello. This is 6 Minute English

  • and I'm Rob.

  • Dan: And I'm Dan.

  • Rob: Now, Dan. Do you know who

  • Michelle Obama is?

  • Dan: Er, yes. Maybe the most famous

  • woman in the world.

  • Former First Lady, which means

  • she was the wife of the President

  • of the United States of America.

  • Rob: That is correct. She's just

  • published her autobiography

  • and has been talking in

  • the UK about her life. Before we find out

  • more here is this week's question. When

  • did the title First Lady first become used

  • for the wife of the US president?

  • Was it in the:

  • a) 18th Century, b) 19th Century or

  • c) 20th Century? Any ideas, Dan?

  • Dan: This could be a trick question.

  • The first US presidents were in

  • the 18th Century, and

  • they had wives, but I think the actual term

  • may only have been introduced

  • much later - so I'm going to take

  • a wild guess and say the 20th Century.

  • Rob: OK. Well, I'll have the answer later

  • in the programme.

  • Michelle Obama's visit to

  • the UK was covered on BBC News.

  • According to this report, where did she

  • visit that she had visited before?

  • BBC News Report: The former First Lady

  • spoke openly about a number

  • of issues and one of

  • her main messages was about

  • empowerment. Earlier in the day

  • Mrs Obama revisited a school in

  • north London, a place where she says she

  • was first inspired to focus on education

  • during her time as the First Lady.

  • Rob: So, where did she revisit on this trip?

  • Dan: She went to a school in north

  • London. She said it was at

  • this school that she was

  • first inspired to focus on education. If you

  • are inspired to do something

  • you get a strong feeling

  • that you want to do something, you

  • feel a strong motivation

  • to achieve something

  • particular, often because of something

  • someone else had said or achieved.

  • Rob: The report also mentioned that she

  • spoke openly about a number of issues.

  • To speak openly about

  • something is when you discuss

  • a subject, often a difficult subject, without

  • trying to hide the facts or your feelings.

  • It's a phrase that is used when people talk

  • about things in their life that they find

  • difficult or embarrassing.

  • Dan: One of the things she spoke openly

  • about was her own feeling that she didn't

  • really belong, that she didn't really have

  • the skills or talent to be doing

  • what she was doing and

  • that she didn't deserve her position.

  • Rob: There is a name for that. It's called

  • imposter syndrome - that feeling where

  • you think one day everyone

  • will realise that you're really

  • not very good at what you do.

  • Dan: I get that feeling all the time!

  • Rob: I wonder why? Because

  • the thing with this imposter syndrome

  • is that it isn't justified.

  • It's more a lack of confidence or

  • a result of the way society labels us.

  • Dan: Well, anyway, back to the report,

  • Michelle Obama was also keen to talk

  • about the topic of empowerment.

  • That is giving

  • people the strength, confidence

  • and power to achieve

  • what they want in life by themselves.

  • Rob: Let's hear from Michelle Obama

  • herself now talking about how we

  • sometimes judge people based on their

  • class rather than their individual abilities.

  • Michelle Obama: That's often the mistake

  • that we make, we assume

  • that working class folks

  • are not highly gifted in their own right

  • when a lot of times your station in life

  • is limited by the

  • circumstances that you find yourself in.

  • Rob: She says here that we assume

  • things about people based on

  • their social status or station

  • in life. To assume means to make

  • a judgement which is not based on

  • the facts but on what

  • we think is true.

  • Dan: She uses the phrase in their own

  • right. When you say that someone

  • is talented in their

  • own right, it means that

  • their talent comes from their

  • own skills and abilities and not

  • because of any connection with any

  • organisation, individual or class that they

  • happen to be associated with.

  • Rob: Before we wrap up, time to get the

  • answer to this week's question.

  • When did the title

  • First Lady first become used for the wife

  • of the US president? Was it in the:

  • a) 18th Century, b) 19th Century or

  • c) 20th Century? And Dan, you said?

  • Dan: I thought the 20th Century.

  • Rob: Well, you were right.

  • Dan: Yay!

  • Rob: But let me finish. You were right in

  • that it was later than the 18th Century,

  • which was when the first US presidents

  • held their positions, but it wasn't

  • as late as the 20th Century.

  • It was the second half of

  • the 19th Century when the title

  • First Lady began to be used.

  • Now let's review today's vocabulary.

  • Dan: We started with the phrase

  • to talk openly about something.

  • This means to discuss something,

  • usually a difficult subject, without

  • hiding your feelings, emotions or facts

  • about that subject.

  • Rob: Then there was

  • the noun empowerment. This is the

  • process of giving people the feeling

  • that they are in control of their lives,

  • making people more confident

  • in their rights and abilities.

  • Dan: The verb inspire was next.

  • If you inspire people, you give them

  • the feeling that they want to

  • and can do something, something difficult

  • or creative. If you have that feeling

  • yourself, you are inspired.

  • Rob: Next there was the verb

  • to assume something. To assume means

  • to make a judgement about

  • someone or something

  • not based on proof, but on things you

  • think or believe to be true.

  • Dan: The next phrase was in

  • their own right. If someone is

  • successful in their own right,

  • for example, it means their success

  • is because of their own skills

  • and abilities, and not because of

  • who they work for, or work with

  • or which social group they come from.

  • Rob: And finally there was

  • the noun phrase station in life.

  • Dan: Your station in life is your position

  • in society - your social status.

  • Rob: And that brings us to the end of

  • this week's programme.

  • We'll be back soon and in

  • the meantime you can find us on

  • Instagram, Facebook, Twitter,

  • YouTube our App and of

  • course the website

  • bbclearningenglish.com.

  • Bye bye for now.

  • Dan: Bye!

Rob: Hello. This is 6 Minute English

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