PE 4/1 Al Gore’s Speech – Part 1

The question facing us is, simply put, will we seize this opportunity for change?

* simply put: stated in a few words

ex> Let me make this clearer for you: simply put, you’re fired.

That’s why I came here tonight: to tell you why I feel so strongly that we must seize this opportunity to elect Barack Obama president of the United States.

* seize the opportunity: to take advantage of favorable conditions

ex> If you don’t’ seize the opportunity to travel while you are young, you will regret it when you are older.

Take it from me, if it had ended differently, we would not be bogged down in Iraq; we would have pursed bin Laden until we captured him.

* take it from me: believe me

ex> Take it from me, this is the best apple pie I have ever eaten.

* bogged down: stuck in something; mired

ex> We were bogged down by enemy fire and were forced to retreat.

We would not be facing a self-inflicted economic crisis; we would be fighting for middle-income families.

* self-inflicted: harmful to oneself

ex> The company’s problems appeared to be self-inflicted.