US, Japan mark friendship with cherry tree planting

Category: Top Stories

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. first lady / fɜrst ˈlei di / (n.) – the wife of the leader of a state or country
    Example:

    The first lady accompanied the president during the ceremony.


  2. spouse / spaʊs / (n.) – a person’s husband or wife
    Example:

    My spouse and I got married abroad.


  3. sapling / ˈsæp lɪŋ / (n.) – a young tree
    Example:

    The sapling that we planted fifteen years ago has finally grown into a big tree.


  4. surgical / ˈsɜr dʒɪ kəl / (adj.) – relating to a medical operation
    Example:

    The doctor performed a minor surgical operation to close my wound.


  5. industrialized / ɪnˈdʌs tri əˌlaɪzd / (adj.) – used to describe a country, economy, area that has a lot of businesses and factories involved in producing goods
    Example:

    There are a lot of job opportunities in industrialized cities.


Article

Read the text below.

First Lady Jill Biden and Yuko Kishida, the Japanese prime minister’s wife, planted a cherry tree on the White House grounds to honor decades of friendship between their countries.


Kishida is on a rare solo visit to the United States. It’s the first time that the spouse of the prime minister has traveled alone to the United States, and Kishida was visiting at Biden’s invitation, according to the Japanese embassy in Washington.


She was in Washington to participate in activities to promote friendship between the U.S. and Japan, as well as cultural exchanges, the Japanese government said.


Biden also was hosting Kishida for lunch at the White House, followed by the tree planting ceremony.


The new sapling is a Yoshino cherry tree that was propagated from a cutting from a cherry tree that was planted on the south grounds in July 2017, the White House said. There are 23 cherry trees across the 18 acres of White House grounds.


The meeting between Biden and Kishida was rescheduled from January when Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, accompanied by his wife, met with President Joe Biden in the Oval Office. At the time, Jill Biden was unable to host Yuko Kishida because Biden was recovering from a surgical procedure performed two days earlier to remove several cancerous lesions from her skin.


The U.S. and Japanese spouses also were meeting several weeks before Kishida hosts the annual Group of Seven summit of leading industrialized nations, including the U.S., in mid-May in Hiroshima, Japan.


This article was provided by The Associated Press.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

  • Why do you think some countries use symbols as a representation of their friendship with another country (ex. to create a sense of partnership, to promote international affairs)? Discuss.
  • What symbol would you like your country to use to represent its friendship with another country (ex. an animal, a monument)? Why? Discuss.

Discussion B

  • Do you think first ladies and first gentlemen should also have a political role? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • In what way do you think first ladies and first gentlemen can support their spouses (ex. by getting involved in decision-making, by handling social and formal occasions)? Discuss.