The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is a well-known international organization, which helps refugees and asylum seekers.  The first interview in the Global Voices project on the ACE Blog is with Mr. Shinji Kubo, the Senior External Relations Officer at the UNHCR office in Tokyo.  Daisuke Yagishita, a third-year ACE student in the School of Political Science and Economics, conducted the interview with Mr. Kubo in English.  The interview contents are divided into three parts: the mission and history of the UNHCR, practical ways to prepare for an international career, and three personal stories of UNHCR helping people. 

Please download and print out the three attachments below for the following exercises.

1. Pre-listening Exercise: Key Vocabulary

Match the word or phrase with a synonym or a definition.  After you finish, check your answers at the bottom of the page.

Pre-reading Exercise.Mr. Kubo.UNHCR Part 1.pdf

2. Watch the Video Interview: Part I 

Read the interview transcript, paying attention to the vocabulary words or phrases in bold-faced print.

Transcript Mr. Kubo UNHCR Part 1 Vocabulary.pdf

3. Listen to the audio recording below the video interview. 

Fill in the missing words and phrases in the Cloze exercise.

Cloze.Exercise.Mr. Kubo UNHCR Part 1.pdf

4. After you complete the Cloze exercise, check your answers in the transcript.

5. Further Reading and Listening Materials

UNHCR Home Page

http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c2.html

What UNHCR does

http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646cbf.html

Who UNHCR helps

http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c11c.html

Where UNHCR works

http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c206.html

UNHCR Video Galleries

http://www.unhcr.org/pages/4ac9fdae6-page1.html

The Human Story

http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49c3646c24e.html