UNIVERSITY OF RIJEKA

FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

Erin Blakemore
Eleanor Roosevelt broke the mould of what a First Lady could be
A Seminar Based on Article Analysis

COURSE: English Language 4 Workshop

PROFESSOR: Mr. Spec. Anita Memišević
STUDENT: Tara Posavec

Rijeka, May 2022.

CONTENT

1. ARTICLE................................................................................................................................1
1.1. Eleanor Roosevelt broke the mould of what a First Lady could be...........................1
2. VOCABULARY ANALYSIS.......................................................................................................6
2.1. WORDS.........................................................................................................................6
2.2. PHARASL VERBS............................................................................................................7
3.EXERCISES...............................................................................................................................10
3.1. Synonyms...................................................................................................................10
3.2. Antonyms...................................................................................................................10
3.3. Cloze test....................................................................................................................10
3.4. Questions...................................................................................................................11
3.5. Phrasal verbs..............................................................................................................13
3.6. Collocations................................................................................................................13
3.7. Sentence matching.....................................................................................................15
3.8. Prepositions................................................................................................................15
3.9. Translation..................................................................................................................16
4. Answer key........................................................................................................................17
5. References.........................................................................................................................19
5.1. Literature....................................................................................................................19
5.2. Internet sources.........................................................................................................19
5.2.1. Source of the article:...........................................................................................19
5.2.2. Sources used for the vocabulary analysis:..........................................................19
 1. ARTICLE

The following article “Eleanor Roosevelt broke the mould of what a First Lady could be” was
written by Erin Blakemore and published on March 31 st, 2022, on the website of National
Geographic.

1.1. Eleanor Roosevelt broke the mould of what a First Lady could be

A fierce advocate for the downtrodden during her husband’s presidency, Roosevelt spent her
later years pushing for human rights—pioneering work that still resounds today.

Eleanor Roosevelt's ground-breaking role as First Lady—advocating for refugees during

World War II and pushing for policies to help the poor—set the stage for her later
humanitarian work as a delegate to the United Nations. Here, she addresses the UN General
Assembly in 1947.

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On the evening of April 20, 1933, a plane took off from a Washington, D.C. runway. Its
precious cargo included two women in evening dresses, fur coats, and elbow-length gloves
they had worn to a formal White House dinner just hours before. Now, pioneering aviatrix
Amelia Earhart and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt were flying into the night sky.

The impulsive flight had come about when the two friends discussed Earhart’s fascination
with flying at night. So, they gathered a group of reporters, Earhart’s husband George
Putnam, and Roosevelt’s brother, Hall Roosevelt, to take an impromptu flight to Baltimore.
During the flight, Roosevelt spent time in the cockpit with Earhart and the plane’s captain,
revelling in the novel view of the night sky. She even considered becoming a pilot herself, but
her husband objected.

Eleanor Roosevelt had become First Lady just one month prior as her husband Franklin
Delano Roosevelt assumed the presidency of the United States. But she had already been
pushing boundaries for years. The daring First Lady would break the mould many more times
throughout a lifetime of public service—one who redefined what a president’s wife could do
for her country and who became a beloved figure for a nation fighting the Great Depression
and the Second World War.

An early life of privilege and public service

Anna Elizabeth Roosevelt was born in 1884 to a prestigious family: Her father’s brother was
President Theodore Roosevelt, and she grew up in a world of wealth and privilege in New
York. But Eleanor’s childhood was marked by tragedy: Her mother died of diphtheria when
she was seven and her father, an alcoholic, died when she was nine, shortly after a suicide
attempt brought on by delirium tremens. Eleanor was raised by her maternal grandmother,
who kept her relatively isolated and fed her shyness and insecurity with strict discipline and
exacting standards.

But education brought a teenaged Eleanor out of her shell and pointed toward a promising
future. At a finishing school in England at the turn of the century, she learned social ease and
independence. The school’s beloved headmistress, Marie Souvestre, instilled Eleanor with a
sense of her duties to others. After making her social debut, she began to volunteer at the
Rivington Street Settlement House in New York, where she worked as a teacher.

In 1902, a chance encounter with her fifth cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, led to a secret
romance. The young couple married in 1905; Eleanor’s uncle, Teddy Roosevelt, gave her
away at the altar. As a young wife and future mother of six children, Eleanor became half of
an unconventional marriage that would last four decades.

2
An unorthodox marriage

The marriage was happy, but Eleanor was devastated when she discovered her husband’s
affair with another woman in 1918. The couple almost divorced, but Franklin’s promising
political career and his mother’s disapproval of the marriage’s dissolution prevented it. The
couple’s friendly, supportive relationship continued, but the marriage was never the same.
The partnership became, in the words of their son James, “an armed truce that endured until
the day [Franklin] died.”

Another strain on the Roosevelts’ partnership was polio, which struck Franklin in 1921. The
disease paralyzed his legs, and it took years to rehabilitate; though he eventually learned to
walk short distances, he would need a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Disability was
stigmatized at the time, and he avoided being photographed in his wheelchair.

Eleanor encouraged her husband to pursue politics despite public stigma and remained
supportive of his political career as his political star—and her profile—rose. But as a young
wife whose husband had political aspirations, Eleanor was not entirely resigned to her role as
her husband’s helpmate; she was ambiguous about sex and motherhood and determined to
contribute to the world.

As he climbed from state senator to governor of New York and U.S. vice president, Eleanor
found a sense of worth and purpose in the social causes that would propel her through the
remainder of her life. She advocated for soldiers during World War I and later purchased a
private girls’ school with two friends, where she served as associate principal. She also
worked for the Democratic Party and the League of Women’s Voters and founded Val-Kill
Industries, where local farmers supplemented their incomes by creating furniture and home
goods.

A new kind of First Lady

But everything changed when Franklin won the presidency in 1932—the first of what would
become a record-setting four terms. The presidency was a triumph for Franklin—and a
tragedy for Eleanor, who reluctantly resigned from positions the administration felt to be a
conflict of interest.

This was deeply frustrating to Eleanor, who was maddened by the traditional function of First
Ladies as ornamental hostesses. “I knew what traditionally would lie before me,” she said

3
later, “and I cannot say I was very pleased with the prospect. The turmoil in my heart and
mind was rather great [the night of FDR’s election].”

And so, she decided to forge a new role all her own.

As First Lady during the Great Depression in the 1930s, Eleanor pushed for policies that
would help women, children, and the poor cope with the unprecedented economic downturn,
including expanded New Deal programs. She also pushed for more jobs for women in the
White House and forged connections with the press corps, instituting press conferences for
women reporters and offering in-depth access to Lorena Hickok.

The reporter, whom she called “Hick,” became a friend and mentor, and the pair developed a
30-year-long relationship that flew under the radar as part of the truce in her marriage to
Franklin. The AP reporter became Eleanor’s constant companion in the 1930s, and when the
almost inseparable couple were apart, they wrote passionate letters to one another, sometimes
multiple times a day. The nature of the relationship would only be confirmed in the late
1970s, when historians discovered thousands of often romantic letters.

Eleanor Roosevelt also felt it was her duty to befriend, represent, and communicate with
ordinary Americans. She wrote a nationally syndicated column, “My Day,” commenting on
the social issues of the day and revealing more about her personality and private life. It ran
almost daily between 1935 and 1962. Eleanor also travelled the nation almost ceaselessly,
meeting Depression-era Americans at union meetings, protests, and in their homes and
workplaces. Known as her husband’s “eyes and ears,” she served as a reminder of the
president’s interest in social programs and the New Deal.

Eleanor also continued to support causes close to her heart such as civil rights. She
symbolically resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution in 1939 when the
group refused to let Black soprano Marion Anderson sing at their entertainment venue in
Washington, D.C. Instead, the First Lady helped set up what would become Anderson’s
historic concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

An advocate for human rights

As the Great Depression segued into World War II, the First Lady shifted her focus to
boosting morale—both of Allied troops and on the home front—and helping the Europeans
displaced by the conflict.

4
One of her most important wartime causes was that of the children displaced by the war in
Europe. Eleanor advocated for a bill that would have allowed 20,000 German children into
the country. When the bill failed, she formed a committee to help refugee children enter the
U.S. with the help of temporary visitor visas. The U.S. Committee for the Care of European
Children ultimately helped resettle 300 children, most of them Jewish, and raised funds for
other efforts to help refugees.

In April 1945, on the verge of victory in Europe, President Roosevelt died. But though
Eleanor’s time in the White House was over, her humanitarian work was not.

In 1945, Roosevelt’s successor, President Harry S. Truman, appointed Eleanor a delegate to

the United Nations, where she served as the first chairperson of the United Nations
Commission on Human Rights. There, Eleanor helped draft the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and mobilized the world around humanitarian relief and international
cooperation. The ground-breaking declaration enshrined fundamental human rights for the
first time and now serves as the foundation for international law.

Eleanor Roosevelt’s legacy

The former First Lady would continue to espouse her favourite causes—and wade into
political controversy—for the rest of her life. A noted opponent of the Equal Rights
Amendment, she preferred the idea of legislation that protected women instead. She also
engaged in a thorny public debate about federal funding for religious schools, sparring with
Cardinal Spellman, who accused her of anti-Catholicism for her opposition to parochial
schools obtaining federal funds.

She had long been an icon and a divisive figure—an inspiration for advocates of marginalized
groups and a scapegoat for those who opposed her causes. But when Eleanor died in 1962 at
age 78, tributes poured in from both sides of the aisle.

Today, she is remembered not just for breaking the restrictive First Lady mould, but for using
her outsized influence to raise awareness and support for social justice causes that continue to
this day. Born before women had the vote, Eleanor Roosevelt refused to be bound by
convention, or her own fears. “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every
experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face,” she wrote in 1960. “You must do
the thing you think you cannot do.”

5
 2. VOCABULARY ANALYSIS

2.1. WORDS

fierce (adj.) - physically violent and frightening

- strong and powerful
downtrodden (adj.) - people who are treated badly and unfairly
resound (v.) - to sound loudly or for a long time, or (of a place) to be filled with sound
ground-breaking (adj.) - original and important; showing a new way of doing or thinking
about things
aviatrix (n.) – a woman who is an aviator
pioneering (adj.) - using ideas and methods that have never been used before
impromptu (adj.) - done or said without earlier planning or preparation
revel (v.) – to dance, drink, sing, etc. at a party or in public, especially in a noisy way
novel (adj.) - new and not resembling something formerly known or used
- original or striking especially in conception or style
diphtheria (n.) - a serious infectious disease that causes fever and difficulty in breathing and
swallowing
maternal (adj.) - behaving or feeling in the way that a mother does towards her child,
especially in a kind, loving way
- related to a mother's side of the family
exacting (adj.) - demanding a lot of effort, care, or attention
redefine (v.) - to change the meaning of something or to make people think about something
in a new or different way
beloved (adj.) – loved very much
debut (n.) - the occasion when someone performs or presents something to the public for the
first time
unorthodox (adj.) - different from what is usual or expected in behaviour, ideas, methods,
etc.
dissolution (n.) - the act or process of ending an official organization or legal agreement

6
stigma (n.) - a strong feeling of disapproval that most people in a society have about
something, especially when this is unfair
aspiration (n.) – something that you hope to achieve
ambiguous (adj.) - having or expressing more than one possible meaning, sometimes
intentionally
turmoil (n.) - a state of confusion, uncertainty, or disorder
unprecedented (adj.) - never having happened or existed in the past
ceaselessly (adv.) - in a way that does not stop, or seems to have no end
displaced (adj.) - having been forced to leave your home, for example by a war or dangerous
event
enshrine (v.) - to contain or keep something as if in a holy place
espouse (v.) - to become involved with or support an activity or opinion
thorny (adj.) – a subject or problem that is difficult to deal with
parochial (adj.) - relating to a parish (= an area that has its own church or priest)
divisive (adj.) - something that causes great and sometimes unfriendly disagreement within a
group of people
scapegoat (n.) - a person who is blamed for something that someone else has done

2.2. PHARASL VERBS

take off
1. if an aircraft, bird, or insect takes off, it leaves the ground and begins to fly
2. to suddenly start to be successful or popular
3. to suddenly leave somewhere, usually without telling anyone that you are going

come about
1. to happen, especially in a way that was not planned or expected

revel in something
1. to enjoy something very much, especially praise, popularity, or something that people
do not expect you to enjoy

7
grow up
1. to gradually become an adult
2. to behave like an adult; used to criticize someone who you think is being silly or
unreasonable
3. if a town or city grows up in a particular place or way, it develops there or in that way

point to/ toward

1. to make it seem likely that a particular fact is true or that a particular event will happen

lead to
1. cause things to happen or exist

give away
1. to show someone’s secret feelings
2. in marriage, ceremony, to formally bring a woman who is getting married to the front
of the church so that she is standing at the side of her future partner, and then to give
permission for her to marry

push for
1. to demand that something be done or to take strong action to cause something to
happen

wade into
1. to become involved in a difficult situation, often without thinking about it carefully

engage in
1. to take part in something

pour in
1. to arrive in overwhelming numbers or quantity
2. to flow or stream in (to some place or thing)
3. of people, to throng together and enter in (to some place or thing) in great numbers all
at once.

8
fly into
1. to be overcome by (sudden extreme emotion)

bring on

1. to make the start of a pain, illness, or problem start to happen

2. to help someone to improve their skills
3. to make plants or crops grow faster

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 3.EXERCISES

3.1. Synonyms – Provide at least two synonyms for every word given.

fierce (adj.)
aspiration (n.)
revel (v.)
espouse (v.)
novel (adj.)

3.2. Antonyms – Provide at least two antonyms for every word given.

beloved (adj.)
turmoil (n.)
ceaselessly (adv.)
downtrodden (adj.)
exacting (adj.)

3.3. Cloze test – Fill in the gaps with one appropriate word.

Eleanor Roosevelt __________1 felt it was her _____________2 to befriend, represent, and
communicate with ____________3 Americans. She _____________4 a nationally syndicated
column, “My Day,” commenting on the ____________5 issues of the day and revealing more
____________6 her personality and __________7 life. It ________8 almost daily _________9
1935 and 1962. Eleanor also travelled the nation almost ceaselessly, meeting Depression-era
Americans at union meetings, protests, and in _________10 homes and workplaces.

10
________11 as her husband’s “eyes and ears,” she served as ________12 reminder of the
president’s interest in social programs and _________13 New Deal.

3.4. Questions - Answer the following questions.

1. How was Eleanor related to Theodore Roosevelt?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

2. What was the name of Eleanor’s nationally syndicated column and how long did it
run?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

3. What events marked the presidency of Franklin Delano Roosevelt?

a) The Great Depression and The First World War

b) The Civil War and The Vietnam War
c) The Great Depression and The Second World War
d) The September 11 attacks and The Cold War

4. Eleanor Roosevelt was born in which state?

a) New York
b) Florida

11
 c) Alabama
d) Rhode Island

5. Eleanor’s mother died when she was a young girl. Her father died a year later, so she
was raised by her fraternal grandfather.

a) True
b) False

6. Eleanor was known as her husband’s:

a) arms and legs

b) eyes and ears
c) fingers and toes

7. Eleanor helped draft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

a) True
b) False

8. How were Eleanor and her husband Franklin D. Roosevelt related? When did they get
married and who gave Eleanor away at the altar?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

9. Who was Lorena Hickok?

_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________

12
10. When did Eleanor die and how old was she?

a) 1969, 74
b) 1962, 78
c) 1960, 78
d) 1962. 80
3.5. Phrasal verbs – Fill in the gaps with one of the given words (some of the
words must be changed)

pour lead give bring engage grow take wade

1. Ever since the national news ran our story, well wishes have been
___________in from around the country.

2. As a child, Jonah ___________ in various sports.

3. Traditionally, the father is the one who ___________ the bride away at the
altar, but in Eleanor’s case, it was her uncle.

4. The politician chose not to __________ in on the controversial topic during

her re-election campaign.

5. On the evening of April 20, 1933, a plane _________ off from a Washington,
D.C. runway.

3.6. Collocations – Fill in the gaps with one appropriate word that fits all three
sentences.

a) The population had shown _______________ determination to resist the

invaders.

The film became the centre of ____________ debate about censorship.

Eleanor was a _____________ advocate for the downtrodden.

13
 ANSWER: __________________

b) Its goal is to show how the frequency spectrum might be used by radio
services in the near and distant ____________.

These are brilliant results and a bright _________ awaits these students!

Peat extraction threatens the ___________ of these habitats.

ANSWER: ____________________

c) “You _____________strength, courage and confidence by every

experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face,” she wrote in
1960.
Join us for a week to ___________ an idea of what it is like to work in a
big office.

The seminar will focus on how innovation in design can help your business
_____________ a competitive advantage over your competitors.

ANSWER: ____________________

d) Eleanor Roosevelt spent her later years pushing for human rights—
_____________ work that still resounds today.

Patients will benefit from ________________treatments in world-class

facilities.

A _____________ programme to help stop young people falling into a life

of crime is proving a success.

ANSWER: _________________

e) The thrilling semi-finals set the ___________ for what should be a great
game.

Even experienced actors and singers can suffer from ___________ fright.

Students are tested at the end of each ___________ of the course.

ANSWER: _________________

14
 f) A chance ___________ with a girl on the train changed the course of his
life.

He survived a close ___________ with a polar bear when on an Arctic

expedition.

The memories of our brief ___________ were beginning to fade.

ANSWER: ______________
3.7. Sentence matching – Match the sentences from 1) to 5) with sentences from
a) to e).

1) In 1902, a chance encounter with her fifth cousin, a) When the bill failed, she formed a committee to help
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, led to a secret romance. refugee children enter the U.S. with the help of
temporary visitor visas
2) Eleanor advocated for a bill that would have allowed b) It ran almost daily between 1935 and 1962.
20,000 German children into the country.
3) She wrote a nationally syndicated column, “My c) Instead, the First Lady helped set up what would
Day,” commenting on the social issues of the day and become Anderson’s historic concert on the steps of the
revealing more about her personality and private life. Lincoln Memorial.
4) In 1945, Roosevelt’s successor, President Harry S. d) The young couple married in 1905; Eleanor’s uncle,
Truman, appointed Eleanor a delegate to the United Teddy Roosevelt, gave her away at the altar.
Nations, where she served as the first chairperson of the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights.
5) She symbolically resigned from the Daughters of the e) There, Eleanor helped draft the Universal
American Revolution in 1939 when the group refused to Declaration of Human Rights and mobilized the world
let Black soprano Marion Anderson sing at their around humanitarian relief and international
entertainment venue in Washington, D.C. cooperation.

3.8. Prepositions - Fill in the gaps with missing preposition.

Anna Elizabeth Roosevelt was born __________1 1884 ___________2 a prestigious family:
Her father’s brother was President Theodore Roosevelt, and she grew up __________ 3 a
world ___________4 wealth and privilege _________5 New York. But Eleanor’s childhood
was marked __________6 tragedy: Her mother died _________7 diphtheria when she was
seven and her father, an alcoholic, died when she was nine, shortly __________ 8 a suicide
attempt brought ________9 __________10 delirium tremens. Eleanor was raised _________11

15
her maternal grandmother, who kept her relatively isolated and fed her shyness and insecurity
_________12 strict discipline and exacting standards.

3.9. Translation - Translate into English.

Danas je pamte ne samo po tome što je razbila restriktivni kalup prve dame, već i po tome što
je iskoristila svoj ogroman utjecaj za podizanje svijesti i podršku ciljevima socijalne pravde
koji se nastavljaju i danas. Rođena prije nego što su žene imale pravo glasa, Eleanor
Roosevelt odbila je biti vezana konvencijama ili vlastitim strahovima. “Svakim iskustvom u
kojem stvarno prestanete gledati strahu u lice, stječete snagu, hrabrost i samopouzdanje”,
napisala je 1960. “Morate učiniti ono što mislite da ne možete učiniti.”

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

16
 4. Answer key

4.1. fierce (adj.) – intense, powerful, bold, ferocious, …….

aspiration (n.) – aim, ambition, longing, passion, …….
revel (v.) – bask, party, celebrate, ……
espouse (v.) – adopt, defend, support, advocate, ……
novel (adj.) – innovative, new, unusual, unique, ……

*These are some of the possible answers

4.2. beloved (adj.) – disliked, despised, hated, loathed, ……

turmoil (n.) – calmness, composure, peace, contentment, ……
ceaselessly (adv.) - ending, interrupting, ceasing, halting, ……
downtrodden (adj.) – rich, wealthy, respected, powerful, …….
exacting (adj.) - careless, flexible, easy-going, lenient, …….

*These are some of the possible answers

4.3. 1
– also, 2 – duty, 3 – ordinary, 4 – wrote, 5 – social, 6 – about, 7 – private, 8 – ran,
9 – between, 10 – their, 11 – known, 12 – a, 13 – the

4.4.
1. Theodore Roosevelt was her father’s brother - he was her uncle.
2. The name of Eleanor’s nationally syndicated column was “My Day” and it ran
daily between 1935 and 1962.

17
3. c)
4. a)
5. b)
6. b)
7. a)
8. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was Eleanor’s fifth cousin. They got married in 1905;
Eleanor’s uncle, Teddy Roosevelt, gave her away at the altar.
9. Lorena Hickok was a reporter and Eleanor’s friend and mentor. Hickok was also
Elanor’s alleged lover.
10. b)

4.5. pouring, engaged, gives, wade, took

4.6.
a) fierce
b) future
c) gain
d) pioneering
e) stage
f) encounter

4.7. 1 -d; 2- a; 3- b; 4- e; 5-c

4.8. 1
– in, 2 – to, 3 – in, 4 – of, 5 – in, 6 – by, 7 – of, 8 – after, 9 – on, 10 – by, 11 – by, 12
– with

4.9.

Today, she is remembered not just for breaking the restrictive First Lady mould, but
for using her outsized influence to raise awareness and support for social justice
causes that continue to this day. Born before women had the vote, Eleanor Roosevelt

18
 refused to be bound by convention, or her own fears. “You gain strength, courage and
confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face,” she
wrote in 1960. “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

*Possible translation

5. References

5.1. Literature

1. Longman (2000): Phrasal Verbs Dictionary, Pearson Education Limited

5.2. Internet sources

5.2.1. Source of the article:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/eleanor-roosevelt-life-and-
legacy (06.05.2022)

5.2.2. Sources used for the vocabulary analysis:

1. https://www.merriam-webster.com/
2. https://dictionary.cambridge.org/
3. https://www.thesaurus.com/

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