The UN Quiz

  1. Who coined the term “United Nations”?
    A – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
    B – Theodor Rooosevelt
    C – Winston Churchill
  2. When was the UN founded?
    A – 1945
    B – 1955
    C- 1965
  3. How many member states are in the UN?
    A – 193
    B – 203
    C – other
  4. Who is the UN’s chief administrative officer?
    A – the President of the General Assembly
    B – the High Commissioner for Human Rights
    C – the Secretary General
  5. The UN Security Council has
    A – universal representation (that is, comprises representatives of all UN member states)
    B – five permanent and ten non-permanent members
    C – 54 members elected by the General Assembly for 3-year terms
  6. What countries have veto power in the UN Security Council?
    A – any country which is a member of the UN Security Council
    B – only a permanent member of the Security Council
    C – any country which has a UN membership
  7. If the General Assembly has to decide on important questions like defense, admission of new members and budget, the resolution is passed by
    A – a two-thirds vote
    B – by 51 % of the vote
    C – unanimously
  8. Which two countries are not members of the UN, but still can take part in debates?
    A – Liechtenstein and Monaco
    B – Andorra and Luxemburg
    C – the Vatican and Palestine
  9. The UN’s International Court of Justice has its seat in
    A – the Hague
    B – New York
    C – Geneva
  10. The last country recently admitted to the UN is
    A – South Sudan
    B – Montenegro
    C – Switzerland

You’re going to watch a video clip about how the UN works.

Before listening

An arm of an organization is a part of it responsible for a particular activity or a pool of a activities. Look at the chart below representing the six arms of the United Nations. What are they called?

HOW DOES THE UN WORK?

While listening

1.Watch the video and check your answers to the question above filling in the gaps in the chart. Write down the names of UN agencies in the order they appear (1- the General Assembly, 2, 3, etc.).

2.Answer the questions.

  1. When and how often does the UN General Assembly meet?
  2. Do countries vote proportionately to their size?
  3. What are the UN’s two permanent non-member observer states?
  4. What members of the Security Council have the right to veto?
  5. Why are non-permanent members of the Security Council elected on a rolling basis every two years, according to the presenter?
  6. What agency is in charge of carrying out the Security Council’s resolutions?
  7. What issues does the International Court of Justice deal with?

After listening

Read the definitions below and figure out the corresponding collocations. They are all from the video.

Fill in the gaps using the collocations from the exercise above.

  1. The question of equitable ____________ in the Security Council has been addressed by the General Assembly for more than two decades. It is believed that a Council that is more representative can improve the legitimacy and implementation of its decisions.
  2. When the Trusteeship Council fulfilled its mission, it was ____________. Although it formally remains an arm of the UN, its future role and even existence remains uncertain. The formal elimination of the Trusteeship Council would require the revision of the UN Charter.
  3. Russia ____________ several UN resolutions on the Syrian civil war. However, it has supported others, including a 2013 resolution that backed the elimination of Syria’s chemical weapons.
  4. Human rights violations such as crimes against humanity as well as genocide can be ____________, even when they were not committed in armed conflicts.
  5. If the conflict parties do not ____________ ____________ the UN resolution, the Security Council will decide on measures which may be non-military or military.
  6. Respect for human rights can be promoted through international humanitarian aid. Donor states can ____________ aid if the receiving state does not pay sufficient attention to certain criteria, such as the respect for human rights or the rule of law.
  7. In 1945 the UN had 51 original members. Twenty years later the number of its ____________ ____________ had more than doubled (to 117). By 1975, after most European colonies had ____________ ____________, it had further increased to 144.
  8. Effective communication in the workplace has a number of key benefits. When you ____________ ____________ within your business, you also enable your employees to work more efficiently and more creatively.

Fill in the gaps using the collocations from the exercises above and discuss the questions with your partner.

  1. What does the government of your country do to ____________ communication between different countries?
  2. How many countries are NATO ____________ states? Is it your country, too?
  3. What happens in the UN Security Council if its permanent member does not ____________ ____________ a decision?
  4. How can child ____________ be reduced?
  5. How do you think the UN helps to raise ____________ of ____________ in developing countries?
  6. Has your country seen ____________ ____________ in the field of economy or social life recently? What makes you think so?

The UN: Foundation