1. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). Then check your answers in the text.
The poorest city in the USA is Detroit.1.
The economic recovery in the USA has been very fast.2.
The economic disaster known as the (Great) Depression was in the 1930s.3.
Banks are making healthy profits.4.
Only a few American cities are cutting their services.5.
In the USA, unemployed people only receive benefits for 99 weeks.6.
NEWS LESSONS / Jobless millions signal death of the American dream for many / Advanced
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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2010
Jobless millions signal death of the American dream for many
Level 3 Advanced
Key words1
Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text.
What do you know?2
A __________________ is a period when trade and industry are not successful and there is a lot1.
of unemployment.
In an economic __________________, things return to normal after a period of slow activity. 2.
If something is described as __________________, it is impossible to imagine.3.
__________________ is an unpleasant situation caused by a lack of money, food or other basic things.4.
__________________ are money and other assistance that the government gives people who need financial5.
help, for example, because they do not have a job.
If you are __________________, you need or want something very much.6.
If something is described as __________________, it causes you to have less self-respect.7.
If you are __________________, you are extremely frightened.8.
An __________________ building is one that is left empty or is no longer used.9.
If something is described as __________________, it is unpleasant and makes you feel upset and worried.10.
recession grim desperate degrading petrified
unthinkable distress recovery benefits abandoned

2. NEWS LESSONS / Jobless millions signal death of the American dream for many / Advanced
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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2010
Jobless millions signal death of the American dream for many
Level 3 Advanced
Jobless millions signal death of the
American dream for many
Paul Harris
15 August, 2010
Richard Gaines is one of the best-known faces
on Camden’s Haddon Avenue. It is a street lined
with cheap businesses and boarded-up houses.
Gaines runs a barbershop, a hair salon and a
fitness business. He works hard and is committed
to his community. But Haddon Avenue is not an
easy place to make a living at the best of times.
And these are far from the best of times.
Gaines recently saw just how badly the recession
has struck this New Jersey city, which is the
poorest in America. In happier times, local
businesses on Haddon Avenue could at least rely
on some trade from those who made their money
on the street. Young men bought flashy clothes
and got sharp haircuts and always paid in cash.
But no longer. The economy is now so bad that
even the criminals are short of money. “Even the
guys who got money from illegal means really
don’t want to spend it,” Gaines said.
This is just one example of the deep problems
hitting the American economy. The recovery
is very slow. The economy is showing signs of
going backwards again, as countries such as
Germany start to power forward. The numbers
of long-term unemployed are at levels not seen
since the Depression of the 1930s. The figures
are frightening and illustrate a society that
remains in deep trouble.
Though corporations, especially in the banking
sector, are making healthy profits, they are
not hiring new workers. At the same time,
government cuts are affecting city and state
governments alike, threatening tens of thousands
of jobs and cutting services. Schools, street
lighting, libraries, refuse collection, the police, fire
services and public transport networks are
all suffering.
America appears to be a society splitting down
the centre into a country of haves and have-nots.
“A once unthinkable level of economic distress
is in the process of becoming the new normal,”
warned economist Paul Krugman. Or, as Steven
Green, an economics lecturer, put it: “We are
really in a tough spot right now.”
There is a new name for those falling down the
black hole of joblessness that has opened up in
America’s economy. They are the 99ers. It is a
name that no one wants. It refers to the 99 weeks
of government benefits that the jobless can
qualify for in America. The benefits keep a roof
over their heads, pay the phone bill, put food on
the table and petrol in the car. But after 99 weeks
the payments stop – as is happening now for
millions of people. There are now more than
a million 99ers and the number gets bigger
each week.
But who are they? They are people like Anne
Strauss, 58, who spent 35 years working as a PR
professional. Despite spending every day hunting
for work, she has not had a job since June 2008.
She and her husband are now living on credit
cards, watching their debts grow. “Looking for a
job is the hardest I have ever worked,” she said.
Strauss, along with about 50 other 99ers,
protested on Wall Street last week, demanding
an extension of the benefits that could keep them
out of poverty. When you meet 99ers, you see
how angry they are that their lives have been
so badly affected, shattering the vision of the
American dream that many had felt they had
achieved. Donna Faiella, a 53-year-old New
Yorker, is one example. She spent 28 years
working in film production. She was successful
and had a career. Now she is desperate for a
job, any job, but she cannot find one. “I will do
anything. I will sweep floors. You think I look
forward to collecting unemployment? It is so
degrading,” she said angrily. Faiella has one
week of benefits to go. Then she will be a 99er. “I
am petrified. Do I become homeless?” she said.
If the 99ers symbolize a human segment of
society that America is slowly abandoning to
its fate, then Camden is the geographic centre
of that marginalization. Vacant lots and
burned-out abandoned houses line many of its
streets. Its 79,000 residents have the lowest
average household annual income of any city
in the US at just $24,000 (£15,000). In terms
of crime rates, it was the nation’s second-most
dangerous city last
1
2
3
4
9
5
7
8
6

3. 10
NEWS LESSONS / Jobless millions signal death of the American dream for many / Advanced
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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2010
Jobless millions signal death of the American dream for many
Level 3 Advanced
year. Some estimates reckon that about a
third of Camden’s houses are empty. A third
of its people are in poverty and a fifth
are unemployed.
It is a grim picture and it is getting worse.
Camden’s city government has huge debts
and is cutting services. In a city that has had it
tough for many years, these are hammer blows
for the residents. Yet to listen to America’s
politicians, many would think recovery is just a
matter of time. Yes, they say, the recession has
been hard, but America will pull through and
everything will be as it once was. It does not feel
that way for millions of Americans all across the
country. Camden is far from unique in cutting its
services. In Colorado Springs, more than a third
of street lights have been switched off to cut the
electricity bill. In Hawaii, schoolchildren were told
to stay at home for 17 Fridays to save costs. In
Atlanta, local bus routes were closed. Millions
of Americans are discovering that working hard,
doing the right thing and obeying the rules are
no longer enough.
Back at the 99er protest on Wall Street, Anne
Strauss feels that way. During her working
life she didn’t claim benefits to which she was
entitled because she thought she was doing just
fine. Now she is looking for help from the country
that she has always believed in. But the help is
not there. For Strauss, living on credit, desperate
to work, but with no job in sight, the American
dream looks a thing of the past, not the future.
“This is not the country I grew up in,” she said.
© Guardian News & Media 2010
First published in The Observer, 15/08/10
11
Comprehension check3
Choose the best answer according to the text.
Why are the 99ers so called?1.
a. because they have been employed for 99 weeks
b. because people have to wait for 99 weeks before they can claim unemployment benefits
c. because the government stops providing unemployment benefits after 99 weeks
Why is unemployment rising in America?2.
a. because labour costs are increasing
b. because corporations aren’t hiring new workers and services are being cut
c. because the recovery is slower than in Germany
What were the protesters on Wall Street calling for?3.
a. They wanted unemployment benefits to be increased.
b. They wanted the benefits to be paid for longer than 99 weeks.
c. They wanted the bankers on Wall Street to be fired.
Which of these statements is true?4.
a. Camden is the most dangerous city in the US.
b. Camden has the highest unemployment rate in the US.
c. Camden is the poorest city in the US.

4. Discussion7
Do you think the world is recovering from recession, or are the examples given in this article an indication
that problems are only just beginning? Give reasons for your answer.
NEWS LESSONS / Jobless millions signal death of the American dream for many / Advanced
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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2010
Jobless millions signal death of the American dream for many
Level 3 Advanced
Word-building6
Complete the sentences using the correct form of the word in brackets at the end of each sentence.
_______________________ is another word for unemployment. [JOB]1.
After 99 weeks, the _______________________ stop. [PAY]2.
The benefits are supposed to keep people out of _______________________. [POOR]3.
Camden is the _______________________ expression of the marginalization of a segment of society. 4.
[GEOGRAPHY]
Politicians say that _______________________ is just a matter of time. [RECOVER]5.
Street _______________________ is one of the services that is being cut. [LIGHT]6.
Adjectives + nouns5
Match the adjectives in the left-hand column with the nouns in the right-hand column to make expressions
from the text.
boarded-up a. haircuts1.
flashy b. unemployed2.
sharp c. income3.
healthy d. debts4.
dangerous e. profits5.
annual f. houses6.
huge g. city7.
long-term h. clothes8.
an adjective meaning1. fashionable or expensive in a way that is deliberately intended to impress people (para 2)
a two-word expression meaning2. people in a society who do not have much money or property (para 5)
a four-word expression meaning3. in a very difficult situation (para 5)
a verb meaning4. to destroy or seriously damage something (para 8)
a noun meaning5. the process of being prevented from having power or influence (para 9)
an adjective meaning6. available because no one else is using it (para 9)
a two-word noun meaning7. something that causes a lot of damage or harm (para 10)
a two-word phrasal verb meaning8. succeed in a very difficult situation (para 10)
Find the word4
Find the following words and phrases in the text.

5. NEWS LESSONS / Jobless millions signal death of the American dream for many / Advanced
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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2010
Jobless millions signal death of the American dream for many
Level 3 Advanced
1 Key words
recession1.
recovery2.
unthinkable3.
distress4.
benefits5.
desperate6.
degrading7.
petrified8.
abandoned9.
grim10.
2 What do you know?
F1.
F2.
T3.
T4.
F5.
T6.
3 Comprehension check
c1.
b2.
b3.
c4.
4 Find the word
flashy1.
have-nots2.
in a tough spot3.
shatter4.
marginalization5.
vacant6.
hammer blow7.
pull through8.
5 Adjectives + nouns
f1.
h2.
a3.
e4.
g5.
c6.
d7.
b8.
6 Word-building
joblessness1.
payments2.
poverty3.
geographic4.
recovery5.
lighting6.
KEY