NEWS worthy Clips (3/3)

Update your vocabulary with news clips from around the world 

British Premier Gordon Brown: A Man of His Roots

A strong work ethic

As a boy, brown sold programs at the team’s home games. There years ago he helped rescue the club from the brink of .

Taith Rovers Chairman Dave Somerville, who got to know Brown during the struggle to save the club, sees qualities in the new prime minister that reflect his Kirkcaldy roots.

“if you take the mining industry, which no longer exists here, you see a long history… of people looking out of each other,” he said. “you also see a strong … that’s something that has been bred into Scotland, and I think you see a lot of it in Gordon Brown.”

The Scottish influence

Like the pesky Raith Rovers on the soccer pitch, Scotland as a whole has a reputation for puncturing above its weight in British politics. Of the 19 men who have been Britain’s

since 1902, nine have been Scots or have had strong Scottish ties.

The Scottish influence has been particularly pronounced in the Labour Party. Blair’s Cabinet was top-heavy with Scots. In addition to Brown, the late Robin Cook, George Robertson and John Reid were Scots who held prominent Cabinet posts over the past decade. Blair, who is English, was born and educated in Scotland.

Although brown seems to have made a deliberate effort to lower the Scottish profile, Scots still hold the key ministries in his Cabinet: Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling, Defense Secretary Des Browne and International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander are all from north of the border.

“It’s always nice to have Scotsmen the country”, mused editor Crow.

Vocabulary Focus

Punch above (one’s)weight (idiom)  ---to make a greater impact than would normally be expected

Top-heavy (adj)  ---having an excessive number of one particular thing, especially in proportion to the number of anything else

Profile(n)  ---the amount of public attention that something receives

Specialized terms

Pitch (n) --- an area marked for playing particular sports