Made in America

Last week on ABC TV’s World News, I accidentally came across a series called “Made in America: The Quest for American Jobs.”  ABC ran this series all week last week.  In the segment I saw, a family from Texas agreed to have everything that was not made in America removed from their home.  In return, World News was going to help them replace all their items with American made replacements.  After World News removed all the non-American made items, the family was left with almost nothing.  Even the American Girl doll was Made In China.  It is amazing how many things we buy that are not made here in America.

This task was a challenge.  Certain items were easily replaced with items that were of similar price.  The easier items to replace for similar cost were the furniture and textiles.  Appliances were another story entirely.  Through their study, they discovered that the only appliance companies that make their appliances 100% in the United States were the high-end ones.  Those high-end companies included Viking, Sub Zero, and Wolf   While these companies make top quality appliances, they are not realistic for the average American family.  World News compromised on that one and replaced their appliances with ones that were partially made in the US.

Two items that were extremely difficult to replace with American made ones were the television and the coffee maker.  In fact, they didn’t replace the family’s television.  Instead, they placed a picture where the television once was.

In the past few years, I too have been trying to purchase more items made in America.  Buying American made can help to keep jobs here.  Keeping jobs here helps employ more people, and that helps the economy.  

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/video/made-america-manufacturing-workers-world-news-labor-goods-economy-business-13061480?tab=9482930&section=1206853&playlist=13061594&page=1 

Vocabulary

segment (noun) - a piece of something


quest (noun) - a journey in search of something


replace (verb) - to put something new in place of something old


remove (verb) - to take away


compromised (verb) - came to an agreement


appliance (noun) - a piece of household equipment that runs on gas or electricity


purchase (verb) - to buy something


Cloze Activity

I showed a _______________ of the video from the show.

I went on a ________________ to find the perfect pair of shoes.


After arguing over what to eat for dinner, we _________________ and had pasta.


The kitchen __________________ I would most like to ________________ is the dishwasher.  It is really old!


You can _________________ tickets at the ticket window.  Each ticket costs $10.00.


The dentist ________________ a rotten tooth from the patient's mouth.

Grammar Point 

The words remove and replace are two words I used in this blog.  Both of these words begin with the letters re.  Re is a prefix that means again or going back to the original.   We use prefixes to change the meaning of the base word.  In the case of remove, move is the base word.  In the case of replace, the base word is place.  Can you think of any other words that begin with the prefix re?

Skype Shower

So my overachieving lawyer turned yoga instructor sister is having a baby.  Last year, she and her husband moved to Boulder, Colorado.  While we are very excited she is having a baby, it is difficult having her so far away.

Over Christmas, she and her husband, Dylan came to New York and stayed with me.  And then they extended their stay.    The day after Christmas snowstorm left them stranded in NY.  While I enjoyed having them with me for the extra five days, they were quite frustrated with the situation.  Because of this situation, she decided she could not come back to NY for a shower before the baby was born.

This left my mother and I in a predicament.  How were we going to have a baby shower without my sister?   The answer to our predicament…SKYPE.  We decided to have a luncheon at my mom’s house with all our family and friends.  During the luncheon, Jean will appear via Skype to open her gifts and say hello.

The shower is scheduled for the end of March.  After we have the virtual shower, I will write another blog to tell you how it went!

To learn more about Skype or download the software, click the Skype link below. 

Skype

Vocabulary

shower (noun) – a party given to a woman before getting married or having a baby

yoga (noun) – a type of exercise that involves stretching and relaxation

lawyer (noun) – someone who is an expert at the law and can counsel others about the law

stranded (adjective) – stuck or unable to move

frustrated (adjective) – feeling upset or impatient because you cannot change a situation

predicament (noun) – a situation where you don’t know what to do

Skype (noun) – an Internet telephone and videophone service

Cloze Exercises

We had a wedding ____________________ for my friend before she got married.

________________________ is a form of exercise that involves stretching and relaxation.

____________________________ are experts at the law.

We were _________________________ when we ran out of gas on the highway.

The students were __________________________ when they did not know the answer.

We were in a ________________________ over what to have for dinner.

Even though she lives far away, we can use __________________ to see her on a regular basis.

Grammar Point

We use the future tense in or writing to indicate an event that will happen sometime in the future.  Can you find all the verbs that I used in the future tense?