English Learning Content: UN General Assembly 2025 Highlights

Dialogue

Alice: Hey Bob, guess what I just saw?

Bob: What’s up, Alice? You look like you’ve discovered a new flavor of ice cream.

Alice: Even better! They’re already talking about the UN General Assembly 2025 highlights!

Bob: *The* UN General Assembly? 2025? Are we already time-traveling through news cycles?

Alice: I know, right? It feels like they’re pre-announcing the Oscar winners for diplomacy.

Bob: “And the award for Most Vague but Hopeful Resolution goes to…”

Alice: Exactly! I mean, what even *are* the “highlights” for that kind of event? “World leaders politely agree to disagree”?

Bob: Probably a really long speech about climate change, followed by another really long speech about global peace, both delivered by someone who looks like they haven’t slept in a week.

Alice: Don’t forget the dramatic handshake photo-op! That’s always a big one. They’ll probably have a “Top 10 Handshakes of UNGA 2025” list.

Bob: I’d click that. Especially if there’s a surprise fist bump or an awkward air kiss involved.

Alice: Haha! Or the moment someone accidentally spills coffee on a crucial document. Now *that* would be a highlight.

Bob: Or a surprise pop concert by a delegation member. Imagine President X dropping a beat!

Alice: Okay, now you’re just making me want to actually watch it. Just for the potential chaos.

Bob: See? They’re clearly trying to build hype. “UNGA 2025: This time, it’s personal…ly tedious!”

Alice: You’ve got a point. But I guess it’s good they’re planning ahead for such important discussions, even if we joke about it.

Current Situation

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Comprising all 193 Member States, it provides a unique forum for multilateral discussion of the full spectrum of international issues covered by the UN Charter. While specific “highlights” for a future assembly like UNGA 2025 cannot be known yet, discussions and anticipations for such events often begin far in advance.

Countries and international organizations frequently prepare their agendas, diplomatic strategies, and potential resolutions well before the actual assembly. Public interest often focuses on major global challenges such as climate change, peace and security, human rights, and sustainable development. For a future assembly, “highlights” would typically refer to significant speeches by world leaders, groundbreaking resolutions passed, critical agreements reached, or notable diplomatic exchanges that could shape global policy.

The dialogue above humorously highlights the public’s perception of such formal events, often focusing on the perceived formality, lengthy discussions, and occasional unexpected human moments, rather than just the serious political outcomes.

Key Phrases

• What’s up?: A common informal greeting, similar to “How are you?” or “What’s new?”
  Example: “What’s up, guys? Want to grab some coffee?”
• News cycles: The continuous process of news being reported, discussed, and updated throughout a day or week.
  Example: “The scandal dominated the news cycles for days.”
• I know, right?: A casual phrase used to express strong agreement with what someone has just said.
  Example: “This weather is amazing!” “I know, right? Perfect for a beach day.”
• Politically agree to disagree: An idiom meaning to accept that two people have different opinions and choose to stop arguing about them, often in a polite way.
  Example: “We couldn’t decide on the movie, so we just had to politely agree to disagree and watch something else.”
• Photo-op: (Short for “photo opportunity”) A planned event where politicians or celebrities pose for photographs, often for public relations purposes.
  Example: “The ribbon-cutting ceremony was mostly a photo-op for the mayor.”
• Build hype: To create a lot of excitement and anticipation for something, often through promotion or advertising.
  Example: “The company is trying to build hype for their new smartphone release.”
• You’ve got a point: To acknowledge that someone has made a valid or sensible argument.
  Example: “Maybe we should leave early to avoid traffic.” “You’ve got a point, it does get busy later.”
• Drop a beat: (Informal/Slang) To start playing music, especially a rhythmic or rap beat. It can also mean to perform a rap or sing.
  Example: “The DJ is about to drop a beat that will get everyone dancing.”

Grammar Points

1. Present Continuous for Future Arrangements/Plans

   We often use the present continuous tense (be + -ing) to talk about definite plans or arrangements for the future, especially when a time or date is mentioned or implied.

   Example from dialogue: “They’re already talking about the UN General Assembly 2025 highlights!” (Implies a current, ongoing discussion about future plans.)

   Other example: “I’m meeting Sarah for lunch tomorrow.” (A definite arrangement.)

2. Future Simple (will / be going to)

   The future simple is used for various purposes related to the future:

   • Predictions or beliefs about the future: “It will rain tomorrow.” / “I think he is going to win the election.”
   • Spontaneous decisions: “I’ll help you with that.”
   • Intentions/Plans (be going to): “I’m going to start a new project next month.”
   • Promises/Offers (will): “I will call you later.”

   Example from dialogue: “They’ll probably have a ‘Top 10 Handshakes of UNGA 2025’ list.” (Bob’s prediction).

   Example from dialogue: “Now *that* would be a highlight.” (Alice’s hypothetical future event).

3. Idiomatic Expressions and Figurative Language

   The dialogue uses several expressions that aren’t meant literally, adding humor and vividness to the conversation.

   • “You look like you’ve discovered a new flavor of ice cream.”: A humorous way to say someone looks excited or delighted.
   • “Oscar winners for diplomacy.”: Compares the formal recognition of achievements in diplomacy to the prestigious Academy Awards, highlighting the idea of “pre-announcing” or speculating on future “wins.”
   • “Time-traveling through news cycles.”: Exaggerates how far in advance news about an event is being discussed, implying it’s unusually early.

   Understanding these helps you grasp the nuances and humor in native English conversations.

4. Question Tags for Agreement

   A question tag is a short question added to the end of a statement. While a standard question tag follows a grammatical rule (e.g., “It’s cold, isn’t it?”), the phrase “I know, right?” is a very common, informal way to express strong agreement and seek confirmation that the other person feels the same way.

   Example from dialogue: “It feels like they’re pre-announcing the Oscar winners for diplomacy.” “I know, right?“

   Other example: “That concert was amazing!” “I know, right? The band was incredible!”

Practice Exercises

Exercise 1: Fill in the Blanks

Complete the sentences using the correct key phrase from the list below. (Some phrases may be used more than once or not at all.)

(what’s up, news cycles, I know right, politely agree to disagree, photo-op, build hype, you’ve got a point, drop a beat)

1. “Hey, _______? Haven’t seen you in ages!”
2. The company is trying to _______ for their new game by releasing teaser trailers.
3. “That presentation was so boring.” “_______! I nearly fell asleep.”
4. After an hour of discussion, they decided to _______.
5. The politician’s visit was largely a _______ designed to boost his image.
6. “Maybe we should try a different approach.” “Hmm, _______.”
7. The incident dominated the _______ for weeks.

Exercise 2: Sentence Transformation (Future Tense)

Rewrite the following sentences, changing the verbs into the appropriate future tense (either will or be going to), based on the context given.

1. (Prediction) I think it (rain) _______ tomorrow.
2. (Arrangement) We (have) _______ a team meeting next Monday.
3. (Spontaneous decision) “I’m hungry.” “I (make) _______ you a sandwich.”
4. (Intention) She (study) _______ for her exams all weekend.
5. (Promise) Don’t worry, I (help) _______ you move.

Exercise 3: Identify Figurative Language

Read the sentences and explain the meaning of the underlined figurative phrase.

1. The new manager is really good; he’s already making waves in the company.
2. After his long journey, he looked like he hadn’t slept in a week.
3. The committee spent hours trying to herd cats to get everyone to agree on the proposal.

Exercise 4: Comprehension Questions

Answer the following questions based on the dialogue.

1. What news did Alice share with Bob?
2. What did Bob compare discussing UNGA 2025 highlights to?
3. What “highlights” did Alice and Bob jokingly suggest for the UN General Assembly?
4. Why does Bob think people are talking about UNGA 2025 so early?

Answers

Exercise 1: Fill in the Blanks

1. “Hey, what’s up? Haven’t seen you in ages!”
2. The company is trying to build hype for their new game by releasing teaser trailers.
3. “That presentation was so boring.” “I know, right! I nearly fell asleep.”
4. After an hour of discussion, they decided to politely agree to disagree.
5. The politician’s visit was largely a photo-op designed to boost his image.
6. “Maybe we should try a different approach.” “Hmm, you’ve got a point.”
7. The incident dominated the news cycles for weeks.

Exercise 2: Sentence Transformation (Future Tense)

1. (Prediction) I think it will rain tomorrow. (or is going to rain)
2. (Arrangement) We are having a team meeting next Monday.
3. (Spontaneous decision) “I’m hungry.” “I will make you a sandwich.”
4. (Intention) She is going to study for her exams all weekend.
5. (Promise) Don’t worry, I will help you move.

Exercise 3: Identify Figurative Language

1. Making waves: This means to cause a stir, create a noticeable impact, or cause controversy. The new manager is causing significant positive changes or generating a lot of discussion.
2. He hadn’t slept in a week: This is an exaggeration to describe someone who looks extremely tired or exhausted.
3. Herd cats: This idiom means to attempt to control or organize a group of people or things that are difficult to manage or organize, often because they are independent and uncooperative. The committee found it very difficult to get everyone to agree.

Exercise 4: Comprehension Questions

1. Alice shared the news that people are already talking about the UN General Assembly 2025 highlights.
2. Bob compared discussing UNGA 2025 highlights to “time-traveling through news cycles” and “pre-announcing the Oscar winners for diplomacy.”
3. They jokingly suggested highlights like “world leaders politely agree to disagree,” long speeches, dramatic handshake photo-ops (or a “Top 10 Handshakes” list), a surprise fist bump or awkward air kiss, someone spilling coffee on a crucial document, or a delegation member dropping a beat (performing a pop concert).
4. Bob thinks they are trying to “build hype” for the event.