Pre-Reading
Background Information:
1 Dante’s work “The Divine
Comedy” 《神曲》 includes three
sections, what are they?
2 Read Chaucer’s work “The
Canterbury Tales”. What is it
about?
3 Read Virgil’s work after class.
Tell us the story of “Troy War”.
Ⅱ Word-Study
Word Formation
1. acquire/get/obtain
acquisition n.
acquisitive adj.
get/obtain
I managed to____ 2 tickets for
the concert.
Eg: Most people don’t like
whisky at first—it’s an _____
acquired
taste.
2 assume
Synonyms
presume
suppose
presumed/assumed
1 He got away and is____ to
be living in Spain.
2 从他们谈话的方式我推测他们是夫妻.
3 她应该单独见他的啊.
She was ___to meet him alone.
supposed
2 assume
Synonyms
presume
suppose
assume “假定，以为，假定为真的”，其中心理因素大于逻辑
推理的因素。
Assuming it rains tomorrow, what shall we do?
科学家们推测火星上没有生命．.
Presume “以为，认定，推测”，以经验作根据或合乎逻辑的
推
测，有较充分的理由，但结论
有可能不正确。重在推测且语气正式。
He got away and is presumed to be living in Spain.
从他们谈话的方式我推测他们是夫妻
From the way they talked I presumed them to be
a couple.
Suppose “认定，假想，猜想”，正式程度最低。强调一种尝
试性的建议、意见、而非某种确指或判断，即只陈述自己的意见。
It was quite reasonable to suppose they wanted
the money too.
3. Verbal affix
-ize/-ise
Word formations
-ize/-ise -fy -en
to cause to be; to make; to become
modernize / stabilize / realize / crystalize /
materialize /standardize / computerize / idealize /
capitalize
to put into stated place
hospitalize / centralize / socialize
-fy
to cause to be
purify / simplify / clarify / justify / notify /
simplify /
classify identify / terrify / qualify /
-en
to become
darken / weaken / blacken / sadden
to be made of
wooden / golden / woolen
Synonyms
4 certify
justify verify testify
1). certify to declare formally, esp in
writing or on a printed document （尤指
书面证明）
他证实了那是他妻子的笔迹.
2). justify
show that sth / sb is right,
reasonable or just （表明或证明某人或某
事是正当的，有理的或公正的）
•
They found it hard to justify their
son’s giving up a secure well-paid job.
3). verify
to check; to make sure sth
is true or accurate（证实，核查）
电脑核实了这些下载的数据很正确.
The computer verified the data
was loaded correctly.
4). testify declare as a witness, esp in
court; give evidence（提供证据，作证）
•
Two witnesses testified against her
and one in her favor.
5 disaster
Synonyms
accident/calamity/
catastrophe/misfortune
drought; earthquake; fire; flood; hurricane(飓风 );
storm; typhoon; tornado(龙卷风)；wreck(船难)；
collision；air crash ；
accident 常指不可预知的意外事故
calamity 正式用语。“灾难、祸患、不幸事件”。主要
指自然原因造成的严重的不幸与灾难
E.g.
The president called on the whole country to fight
against the natural calamity.
catastrophe “烈性灾难”，如二战时欧洲犹太人受到法
西斯德国的大规模屠杀和30万中国人在南京被日军残杀等
事件都可被称为catastrophe. E.g.
misfortune; mishap 小灾小难
6. body / faculty / staff
body group of people working or acting as
a unit a body of supporters
a legislative body a government body
the student body the governing body
faculty
the whole teaching staff in
one of the departments or in the whole
university
The entire faculty of the university will
attend the meeting.
•
Staff (usu. sing)
group of assistants working together in a
business, etc responsible to a manager or a
person in authority
the hotel staff the shop staff
We need more staff in the office.
2. Those people doing administrative work
a head teacher and her staff
(校长及全体教师）
The school staff are expected to
supervise school meals.
resource
Synonyms
source
origin
resource 主要指个人、集体，特别是一个国家等所拥有的
物质财富、财力、资源、原材料等。一般用复数形式。
resource作为不可数名词时，意为“机智、应变能力”。
We must exploit the natural resources of our country.
He was a man of great resource.
source “水源，源头，发源地，某种东西、信息或疾病的
起因，来源，出处”。Source 用作复数形式时，通常指
用于研究或调查的最原始的资料和文件。
The reporter refused to name the source of the
information.
historical sources史料 sources materials原始资料
origin 常指某事的“起源、由来”，还指“出身、血统”。
He is a man of noble origin.
8. sensitive / sensible
• sensible
reasonable
a sensible person / suggestion
• sensitive
easily hurt, damaged, affected,
offended, upset
a sensitive nerve
heat-sensitive
a sensitive girl sensitive to criticism
While-Reading
1 Text Structure
2 Theme
3 Language points
Theme
The
author
tries
to
clarify
the
purpose of a university: to put the
students in touch with the best
civilization that human race has
created.
The end of Theme.
Text Analysis
Structure of the Text
Part 1 (paras.
1— 8 ) :
•It describes the
writer’s encounter with
one of his student.
•Restates what the writer still
believes to be the purpose of a
university: putting its students
Part 2
(paras. 9-14 ) : in touch with the best
civilizations the human race
has created.
Teaching Focus
1 Irony (sarcastic and humourous)
Euphemism 委婉语
2 verbal affix: -ize/-ise
3 Grammar: as/could have done
4 Sentence structures:
have no business doing sth.
5 Long sentences paraphrase
Language Points
• Questions for paragraph 1:
• 1 Under what circumstance did the professor
meet the student? What does “disaster” refer to?
• 2 What did the student look like? How did he
behave?
• 3 What was the course the professor offered?
Was the student interested? what did he say to
the professor one day?
•
1Let me tell you one of the earliest
disasters in my career as a teacher.
•career: n./ adj.
Synonyms
occupation
profession/trade
D
• e.g.:Mr. Smith had an usual ____: he
• was first an office clerk, then a sailor,
and ended up as a school teacher.
• A. profession
B. occupation
• C. position
D. career
• adj. career man / woman
• derivation: careerism 发达主义以升官为目的主义
•
careerist 野心家，不顾一切想要发达的人
• occupation指人们正在从事的职业或工作
• profession指经过长期学习或训练后才能获得的
专门的职业。 该词常用语表达通过某种资格考试
或获得某个学位后的脑力劳动者所从事的职业。
• trade 指需要有熟练技术的、以营利为目的的职
业，主要指手工业。
• vocation: a job one does because one thinks
one has a special fitness or ability to give
service to other people; 胜任且符合兴趣的工作，
以服务为宗旨的工作。
2…I was fresh out of …Kansas City.:
I had just completed my graduate
studies and began teaching at the
University of Kansas City.
be fresh out of sth.: to have just come
from a particular place; to have just had
a particular experience. 刚用完，刚卖完
e.g.
We’re fresh out of tomatoes.
He was fresh out of words.
3 Part of the student body…teach
me something.
The word "beanpole" means "a tall thin
person". Here the writer deliberately
evokes a "beanpole", a pole farmers use as
a support in vegetable gardens.
part of the student body: one of the
students
the student body: all the students of the
university
body: a group of people who work or act
together社团，团体
6. body / faculty / staff
body group of people working or acting as
a unit a body of supporters
a legislative body a government body
the student body the governing body
faculty
the whole teaching staff in
one of the departments or in the whole
university
The entire faculty of the university will
attend the meeting.
technical school
4 I could have pointed out① that [he had enrolled, not
in a drugstore-mechanics school, but in a college]
and ②that [ at the end of his course he meant to
reach for a scroll that read Bachelor of Science.:]
intend to
obtain
certificate
have…written
I could have told him that he was now not
getting training for a job in a technical school
but doing a B. S. at a university.
(1) enroll in : officially join a course, school, etc.
e.g.
他参加了两个月的托福学习.
He is enrolled in a two-month course for TOEFL.
When he failed the national college entrance
exams, he decided to enroll in a technical school.
5 It would certify that he had specialized in
pharmacy, but it would further certify that
he had been exposed to some of the ideas
mankind has generate within its history.:
state officially
be introduced to
produce
in the past
•The B. S. certificate would be an official proof that
the holder had special knowledge of pharmacy but
it would also be a proof that he/she
• had learned/absorbed some profound ideas of the
past
(1) certify that: to state especially in
writing,
e.g.
This is to certify that Ms. Li Lin
worked for IBM Beijing Office from
January 1998 to June 2000.
(2) specialize in: to limit all or most of
one's study, business, etc. to a
particular activity
E.g.张教授专门研究美国话剧．
Professor Zhang specializes in American
drama.
My sister specializes in contract law.
(3) be exposed to (usually, a
new idea or feeling): to be given
experience of it, or introduced to
it, 使处于…作用或影响之下
e.g.
我们应该接触不同的文化.
(4) generate: to produce or
create sth.
generate ideas/electricity
a technical training
6 That is to say, he had not entered school
but a university
and in universities students enroll for
both training and education.:
• Why did the professor draw a line between
training and education? In what way are
they different?
• education: is used in a broad sense, not only
the process of acquiring knowledge and
developing skills, but also that of improving
the mind.
7 I could have told him all this, but it was fairly
obvious he wasn't going to be around long
enough for it to matter.
to be present
I didn’t tell him.
whether I told him all this
to be important
8 "For the rest of your life," I said, "your days are going
to average out to about twenty-four hours."
 (1) average out (to): (informal) to
come to an average level or standard.
平均为…
 e.g.大学每天平均花20元饭钱.
 Meals at the university average out to
about 20 yuan per day.
 The couple's income averages out to
5,000 yuan a month.
真题搜索
 The ____ runner can run 2 miles in fifteen
minutes. (CET-6, 1997年6 月)
A. common B. usual C. average D. general
 The ____ driver thinks accidents only happen
to other people.( TEM-4, 1994年)
A. average B. common C. usual D. normal
 The ____ family in Chinese cities now spends
more money in housing than before. (TEM-4
2002年)
A. normal B. average C. usual D. general
9 hold (= hold good): to be true or valid, to
apply; to remain in a certain state,
•
• e.g.
•
•
<口>继续有用（或有价值）
What he said still holds good.
Can the good weather hold?
10. ...be usefully employed.
be employed in doing sth.: ( written) to spend
your time doing sth.
• Example:
1 那人整天忙于读啊，写啊，以及打太极.
That man's days were employed in reading,
writing and doing Chinese boxing.
2 那位老妇人成天忙于给孙子们编织毛衣．
The old lady was busily employed in knitting
sweaters for her grandsons.
11 Assume you have gone through
pharmacy school ...:
• Suppose/Let's imagine you have completed
your studies of pharmacy ...
•go through: 经历，经过；审阅，检查；做完工作等
collocation
• go back on 食言，背弃
• go in for 参加从事，追求
• go into进入, 加入, 探究,
• go for去找, 努力获取, 被认为,
主张, 拥护
• go after 追求追逐
• go over仔细检查，复习
• go on
真题搜索
• 1) David likes country life and has decided
to ____ farming. (CET-6, 1997,6)
A
• A. go in for
B. go back on
• C. go through with D. go along with
2) Then the speaker ____
B the various
factors leading to the present economic
crisis. (CET-4, 1995, 6)
A. went after
B. went into
C. went for
D. went on
A
• 3) The terrorists might have planted a
bomb on a plane in Athens, set to ____
when it arrived in NY. (CET-6, 1999,6)
• A. go off
B. get off
• C. come off
D. carry off
4) There are other problems which I don’t
propose to ____ at the moment. (CET-4, 1996,1)
A. go into
B. go around
A
C. go for
D. go up
5) Will you ____ this passage to see if there is any
misprint?
B
A. look up
B. go over
C. dwell on D. work out
6) The early pioneers had to ____ many hardships
to settle on the new land. ( CET-4,200,6)
A. go along with
B. go back on
C
C. go through
D. go into
make sure
poisonous chemical
• 12 You will see to it that the cyanide
stays out of the aspirin, that the bull
doesn't jump the fence, or that your
client doesn't go to the electric chair as
a result of your incompetence.
out of control
death sentence
You have to take responsibility for the work you do. If you're a
pharmacist, you should make sure that aspirin is not mixed with
poisonous chemicals. As an engineer, you shouldn't get things out of
control. If you become a lawyer, You should make sure an innocent
person is not sentenced to death because you lack adequate legal
knowledge and skill to defend your client.
1Let me tell you one of the earliest
disasters in my career as a teacher.
•career: n./ adj.
Synonyms
occupation
profession/trade
D
• e.g.:Mr. Smith had an usual ____: he
• was first an office clerk, then a sailor,
and ended up as a school teacher.
• A. profession
B. occupation
• C. position
D. career
• adj. career man / woman
• derivation: careerism 发达主义以升官为目的主义
•
careerist 野心家，不顾一切想要发达的人
真题搜索
 The ____ runner can run 2 miles in fifteen
minutes. (CET-6, 1997年6 月)
A. common B. usual C. average D. general
 The ____ driver thinks accidents only happen
to other people.( TEM-4, 1994年)
A. average B. common C. usual D. normal
 The ____ family in Chinese cities now spends
more money in housing than before. (TEM-4
2002年)
A. normal B. average C. usual D. general
•
•
•
•
•
•
average, common, general, universal, usual
这一组形容词都有"普通"的意思。
average a.普通的，一般的，它强调的是一般水准或普通水准；通常在
有数字出现的情况下，表示"平均的"。
The average runner can run 2 miles in fifteen minutes.跑步者15分钟内
平均跑两英里。
common a.常见的，普通的，不足为奇的，有时引申为"平凡的"，强调事
物的共同性。另外，它还有"公共的，共同的"之意。
Car accidents are a common occurrence.交通事故是很普通的事件。
general a.普通的，一般的，表示涉及到各方面，强调整体性而非个别和
例外，该词的反义词为particular。
In general, the economy is doing well now.总的来说，现在的经济形式
还不错。
universal a.普遍的，比general语气更强，有"全然没有例外"的意思。
Poverty is a universal problem all over the world.贫困是世界各地普遍存
在的问题。
usual a.通常的，惯常的，强调"习惯性的，符合规章制度的"，是个一般
用语。
see to it that 务必做到，保证
• 你能保证所有的邀请都是今天发出去吗？
• Can you see to it that all the invitations are
delivered today?
• I'll see to it that everything is ready before the
guests arrive.
• see to: 注意，照料，办理，保证；修补，诊治，
• e.g.
• The security of the goods must be seen to.
You ought to have your eyes seen to by a doctor.
• 真题搜索：
D
• The politician says he will ____ the welfare of the
people.(CET-6,1997,1)
• A. prey on
B. take on
C. get at
D. see to
真题搜索
1)Putting in a new window will ____
cutting away part of the roof. (CET-4,
2000, 6)
A. include B. involve
B
C. contain D. comprise
2) The main road through Littlebury
was blocked for three hours today after
an accident ____ two lorries. (TEMA
4,1996)
A. involving B. including
C. combining D. containing
Synonyms
13 involve comprise/contain/embrace
hold/include
• comprise 指有许多部分集中在一起构成整体。在意义上，常
指组成或构成抽象的事物。在用法上，常用作及物动词，多用
主动语态。在非正式场合或不严格情况下，也用作不及物动词，
与of搭配。
• E.g.
• 50 states comprise the United States.
• The board of management comprised of very
zealous and able men.
• contain 着重指被包容的东西是整体中的组成部分，也指在一
个大的容器中容纳许多小的事物。
• embrace 强调把全部包括在内，只用于事物。
• hold 指某一物体能接纳一定数量的人或物，侧重只能容纳或
有足够的容量。
• include 它的宾语是所包含的部分内容。
• involve 侧重指抽象事物所包含的成分。着重于基本部分与整
体的内在联系。
14 Along with everything else, they will probably be
what puts food on your table, supports your wife, and
rears your children.
In addition to all other things (such
as satisfaction) these professions
offer, they provide you with a living
so that you can support a family—wife
and children.
along with: in addition to sb. /sth
e.g.
他和他的朋友一起去旅行．
She placed the bank notes, along
with the change and receipts, back in
the drawer.
15. may it always suffice.
your income
be enough to support
a family
• suffice: v. to be enough
• sufficient----adj. enough
• sufficiency----n. the state of being or
having enough
• efficient
16 do with:
• (1)（与what连用）用，利用 e.g.
• I don’t know what to do with this strange
object.
• (2)（与what连用）对待，处理 e.g.
• They do not know what to do with all the
garbage here.
• (3)（与what连用）放置
• What do you do with rice straw in your
country?
• (4) （与could，can连用）想要，需要 e.g.
• I could do with a drink.
be introduced to
17 Will the children ever be exposed to a
reasonably penetrating idea at home?
to an extent that is
good but not very
good
deep and acute
• Will your children ever hear you talk about
something profound at home?
Exercise
(1) be exposed to (usually, a new idea or
feeling): to be given experience of it, or
introduced to it, 使处于…作用或影响之下
e.g.
我们应该接触不同的文化.
we should be exposed to different cultures.
(2) reasonably: to a degree that is fairly
good but not very good, e.g.
她想找一个离大学还算比较近的地方.
She wants to find a place reasonably close
(= not far from) to her university.
18 Will you be presiding over a family that
maintains some contact with the great
democratic intellect?
• Will you be head of a family who brings up
the kids in a democratic spirit?
• preside over :
• (1) to be in charge or to control a meeting
or an event, here used humorously（over/at）
主持，主管； e.g.
• He has presided at a seminar for social
psychologists.
• (2) (over) 掌管，领导；preside over a
revolution
• (3)（以主人身份）招待客人
• e.g. preside at table / preside for sb.
• (4) 领奏，主奏 (at) e.g. preside at the piano
真题搜索
Although it was his first experience
as chairman, he ____ over the
meeting with great skill. (CET6,1998,6)
A. presided B. administered
C. mastered D. executed
Mr. Anderson presided ___ the board
meeting on behalf of the Chairman.
(TEM-4, 1993)
A. at
B. during
C. on
D. in
maintain
sustain/contain
retain/detain/attain
• to maintain a sustainable
development
• How to maintain China’s economy
on a regular and healthy track?
The basket could hardly_____ the
weight of fruit.
A. retain
B. sustain
C. maintain D. remain
19 be out to do sth. /for sth.:
to be trying to get or do sth. 一心
谋求，力图获得
The company is out to break into
the European market.
These shops are out to trick you
into buying what you don't need.
20"I hope you make a lot of it," I told him,
"because you're going to be badly stuck for
something to do when you're not signing checks.”
sarcastic
pay for what’ve bought
no to know what to do
• If you don't have any goal in life apart from
making money to satisfy your desire for
material riches, go ahead and make a lot of it.
(1) be stuck for sth.: not to know
what to do in a particular situation,
想不起来，不知所措
e.g.
演讲中,他突然不知道说什么好了.
In the middle of the speech, he was
stuck for words (= he didn't know
how to go on).
(2) signing checks: paying for what
you've bought by signing checks
21.If you have no time for Shakespeare, for a basic
look at philosophy, for the continuity of the fine
arts, for [that lesson of man's development ]we
call history—then you have no business being in
college.
human race
call?
should not be
• If you don't want to improve your mind and
broaden your horizon by studying a little
literature, philosophy and the fine arts and
history, you shouldn't be studying here at
college.
have no business doing sth.
have no business to do sth.: to have
no right to do sth. , shouldn‘t have
been/be doing sth.
无权，没有理由
e.g.
你没有权利告诉我如何去做．
You've no business telling me what to
do.
他那天不该去游泳．
He had no business to go swimming
that day.
on the point of achieving
an ignorant person who can
only use
machines by pushing the
buttons
22. You are on your way to being that new species
of mechanized savage, the push-button
Neanderthal.
type
man who is intellectually
simple and can only work
machines
• You will soon become an uneducated, ignorant
person who can only work machines and operate
mechanical equipment (one who doesn't know
anything about literature, music, the fine arts, culture
in general, etc. ).
personification
23.Our colleges inevitably graduate a number of
such life forms, but it cannot be said that they
went to college; rather the college went through
them without making contact.
push-button savages
the fact is/ more accurate
they learnt nothing
A number of such push-button savages get college
degrees. We cannot help that. But even with their
degrees, we can't say that these people have received a
proper college education. It is more accurate to say that
they come through college without learning anything.
rather
Synonyms
rather/fairly/pretty
“适度地”，“在某种程度上”，或“不很”之意，修
饰形容词或副词。
rather good play rather poor work
rather hot
rather small
a rather nice day a rather pretty woman
fairly tidy / friendly
a quite nice guy a quite promising future
a pretty simple question
(1) life forms: used sarcastically,
meaning these people are living creatures,
but can't think and reason
(2) go through (a person) (like a
dose of salts): (of food, etc. ) to be
quickly excreted/to pass through the body
as waste matter without being digested;
here, used figuratively and sarcastically
24 No one gets to be a human [being unaided.]
a civilized person
without the help of others.
get to be/to do sth.:
to reach the point at which you are,
 E.g.
Once you get to know her better, you'll
realize she is compassionate at heart.
他的心不在焉越来越是个问题。
His absent-mindedness is getting to be a big
problem.
memorials
for example
26.You pass the great stone halls of, say,
M.l.T., and there [cut into the stone] are
the names of the scientists.
•If you pass the great stone hall of a
university, M. I. T. (Massachusetts
Institute of Technology) for example,
you'll see the names of the scientists cut
into the stone.
be attentive
• 27 Yet any of you who managed to stay awake
through part of a high school course in
physics, knows more about physics than did
many of those great scholars of the past.
(the) chances are: it is likely ；here
“chance” 译作“可能性，很有可能发生
的情况”（常用作复数）。
E.g.
我们很可能成功．
The chances are that we’ll succeed.
28 And as this is true of the techniques of
mankind, so it is true of mankind's spiritual
resources.
人类技术的发展是如此，人类精神财富的积累也是如此。
be true of /for (a person or a situation):
to apply to, 对…适用，符合于
e.g.
这场歌剧很不错.音乐不错，演员的表演也很不错
It's a wonderful opera. The music is superb. The
same is true of the acting.
年轻人爱往前看，老年人往后看，所有国家都如此．
The young tend to look ahead while the old
like to look back upon the past. This is true
of all nations.
• 29. For a great book is necessarily a gift; it
offers you a life [you have not the time to
• live yourself], and it takes you into a world
[you have not the time to travel in literal time].
Question:
in reality
Give an example to
illustrate this point
of view.
30. in essence: basically, by nature
e.g.
He is in essence an outgoing person.
In essence they were asking for the
impossible.
too anxious to make money
31. If you are too much in a hurry, or too arrogantly
proud of your own limitations, to accept as a gift to your
humanity some pieces of the minds of Aristotle, or
Chaucer, or Einstein, you are neither a developed human
nor a useful citizen of a democracy.
accept their great ideas as sth useful
• 31. (1) liberal arts: subjects of study
that develop students' general
knowledge and ability to think, rather
than their technical skills 大学文科
• (2) liberal arts college: （大学里的）文学
院
• (3) the specialized schools:
departments of a university that
teach particular subject or skill, e.g.
• medical/law school, the school of
dentistry
32 "We are here to make available to
you, as best we can, that expertise."
"Our role/job/task is
to do our best to provide such
knowledge for you (to become both
specialists and civilized humans). "
(be) here to do sth.: used to show your
role in a situation, e.g.
We're all here to help you.
After-Reading
1 Exercises
2 Writing Technique
Grammar
1 as 引导让步状语从句，句子进行了倒装
New as I was to the faculty,…..
Much as I like him, I don’t love him.
2 could have told……
could 后接动词的完成时态，表示“本来能够
做某事但没有做”。
我本来能够通过考试的（但实际上没通过）。
I could have passed the examination.
collocation
• go through: 经历，经过；审阅，检
查；做完工作等
• go back on 食言，背弃
• go in for 参加从事，追求
• go into进入, 加入, 探究,
• go for去找, 努力获取, 被认为, 主
张, 拥护
• go after 追求追逐
• go over仔细检查，复习
• go on
真题搜索
• 1) David likes country life and has decided
to ____ farming. (CET-6, 1997,6)
A
• A. go in for
B. go back on
• C. go through with D. go along with
2) Then the speaker ____
B the various
factors leading to the present economic
crisis. (CET-4, 1995, 6)
A. went after
B. went into
C. went for
D. went on
A
• 3) The terrorists might have planted a
bomb on a plane in Athens, set to ____
when it arrived in NY. (CET-6, 1999,6)
• A. go off
B. get off
• C. come off
D. carry off
测4) There are other problems which I don’t
propose to ____ at the moment. (CET-4, 1996,1)
A. go into
B. go around
A
C. go for
D. go up
5) Will you ____ this passage to see if there is any
misprint?
B
A. look up
B. go over
C. dwell on D. work out
6) The early pioneers had to ____ many hardships
to settle on the new land. ( CET-4,200,6)
A. go along with
B. go back on
C
C. go through
D. go into
Writing Technique
Euphemism 委婉语
jump the fence
go to the electric chair
Euphemism, or “language pollution”,
or “double speak,” as some call it, is
often intended to obscure or hide the
real situation.