President Obama hails strong UK-US alliance

News story	Words	Meanings
President Obama has told MPs and peers in Parliament that the UK and US have "one of the oldest and strongest alliances the world has ever known". Mr Obama got a standing ovation as he became the first US President to address both Houses of Parliament in Westminster Hall. Questions about the international community's strategy in Libya featured heavily during an earlier press conference on the second day of President Obama's state visit to the UK. "The President and I agree we should be turning up the heat in Libya," he [UK Prime Minister David Cameron] said, adding that "all options" for intensifying the pressure on the regime were being considered. "Gaddafi and his regime need to understand there will be no let-up in the pressure we are applying," he said. "I believe that we have built enough momentum that, as long as we sustain the course we are on, he (Gaddafi) will step down. Ultimately this is going to be a slow, steady process in which we are able to wear down the regime forces." (BBC News, 25 May 2011)	peers	(in Britain) members of the nobility; people who are from a high social class in the UK
	got a standing ovation	the crowd stood up while they clapped, to show respect
	Parliament	the parliament of the United Kingdom consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords
	strategy	long-term plan or policy
	featured	were important parts or aspects
	heavily	to a great deal
	turning up the heat	applying great or increased pressure
	options	alternatives; choices
	regime	a government, esp. an authoritarian one
	let-up	reduction in intensity
	momentum	progress or development that is becoming stronger
	sustain	maintain; continue for a period of time
	step down	resign
	wear down	weaken; reduce to submission

Model sentences and idiomatic expressions with “option”:

• This was not the only option open to him.

• Another option is to rent somewhere for six months.

• I'm keeping all my options open for the moment.

• There are various options open to you.

• She had the option of staying for an extra year.

• He was given one month's imprisonment without the option of a fine.

• Students have the option of studying abroad in their second year.

• I had no option but to (= I had to) ask him to leave.

• Going to college was not an option for me.

• We are currently studying all the options available.

• This particular model comes with a wide range of options (= things you can choose to have when buying something but which you will have to pay extra for).

Exercise

Fill in the blanks with the following words:

1. sustain 2. worn down 3. step down 4. let-up 5. regime

1. The . . . . . got rid of most of its opponents.

2. The cold, windy weather will continue this week with no . . . . . in sight.

3. The economy looks set to . . . . . its growth into next year.

4. US President Barack Obama called on Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi to . . . . . from power.

5. It was clear he was being . . . . . by the rumours over his future.

Answer key: 1. regime 2. let-up 3. sustain 4. step down 5. worn down