Kadir Thank you! Woman What’s your name? Kadir

Presenter Yes, I hope so too. Nick, thank you for talking to
me today.
4.30 Culture 9 
Welcome to the White House!
In 1789, George Washington became the first President of 
the United States. Two years later, he chose this place to 
build the president’s house. Unfortunately, Washington died 
before the house was ready, so the first person to live there 
was the second president, John Adams. He moved into the 
house with his wife, Abigail, in 1800. Since then, every 
president has lived there.
Over the years, there have been many changes. The British 
set fire to the house in 1814 during a war between the two 
countries. Three years later, President Munroe organised 
the repairs. In 1901, President Roosevelt named the house 
the 'White House' and the next year, he started 
a programme to modernise it. This included building a new 
part of the house: the West Wing. In 1909, William Taft 
created the Oval Office in the West Wing, and this has been 
the president’s office since then.
The White House has 132 rooms, 35 bathrooms, eight 
staircases, three lifts, a swimming pool, a tennis court, 
a jogging track and a private cinema. It receives 30,000 
visitors a week. While it is the home of the US president and
his (or her) family, the White House is also a museum of 
American history.
4.31 Culture 9, Exercises 5 and 6
OK. This room we are in now is called the Roosevelt Room. 
The room is named after two US Presidents, Theodore 
Roosevelt and Franklin D Roosevelt. They were actually 
cousins. For a time it was called the ‘Fish Room’ because 
Franklin Roosevelt used it as an office and kept 
an aquarium in here. And in fact later President John F 
Kennedy had a huge fish on the wall as well. But then in 
1969 President Nixon changed the name. He hung portraits 
of the two Roosevelts on the walls and they have been here 
ever since. You can see them over there and over here. 
Solutions Third Edition Elementary
 
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That one is Theodore Roosevelt and this one is Franklin D 
Roosevelt. So this is the Roosevelt Room.
Next we move along the corridor and into the Cabinet 
Room. This is where the President meets with his staff. 
Notice the fireplace at the end of the room and the busts on 
each side of it: that is George Washington, the first 
President, on one side, and Benjamin Franklin on the other. 
The large table in the centre of the room was a gift from 
President Nixon. 
Now we go through the office of the President’s secretary to 
the most famous room of all. And here we are in the Oval 
Office, the office of the President. You can see the three 
large south-facing windows. And over here to the left this 
door leads outside to the Rose Garden. Look up at the 
ceiling and there is a medallion with the American eagle. 
That has been there since 1934 when Franklin Roosevelt 
renovated these offices. One of my favourite pieces in this 
room is the grandfather clock. It’s over 200 years old and 
has been in here since the 1970s. 
Each President chooses art for this room from the White 
House collection. Different Presidents choose different 
portraits to have on the walls. Most Presidents have hung 
a portrait of George Washington. As you can see, the 
current President has also chosen busts of Abraham Lincoln
and Martin Luther King Jr. 
Before we go, just take a look at the desk. That is one of six 
desks … 
Solutions Third Edition Elementary
 
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Elementary Student’s Book 
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Vocabulary Builder
4.32 Vocabulary Builder, Lesson IA, 
Exercise 2 
first second third fourth fifth sixth seventh
eighth ninth tenth twelfth twentieth twenty-
second thirty-first
4.33 Vocabulary builder, Lesson 7G, 
Exercise 3
1
seventy-five pence
2
forty p
3
three forty-nine
4
thirty-five pence
5
one pound twenty
6
a hundred and eighty pounds
Solutions Third Edition Elementary
 
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