Chapter 1
Environment
Sample Reading
Read the following news and try to guess the meaning of the italic and blackened
words and then check your answers.
Focusing on the environment
Each day the newspapers publish lots of news stories. If you look closely, however,
you will see that they usually fall into a relatively small number of categories, such as
politics, crime, science, disasters, and international relations.
This is one reason you can learn to read news stories more quickly than many other
types of English-language reading materials. By focusing on particular topics, you
will quickly become familiar with the subjects covered and their most common
vocabulary.
Here we are going to look at one of the most important categories: environment. Most
environmental stories follow some very clear patterns. For example, they tend to
involve conflicts. This often involves industries and the people in the surrounding
areas who are affected by the wastes they produce. Or it may concern a disagreement
over how a piece of land should be used — whether it should be "developed" or
whether it should be preserved in its natural state, for example.
People are interested in environmental stories because they know they might be
affected. They know that they and their family members could one day be harmed by
air pollution, toxic water or a chemical spill.
They are also interested in environmental stories because they usually involve
conflicts — often between ordinary people like themselves and vested interests like
rich business people or influential politicians.
In covering environmental stories reporters usually begin with the people involved,
especially those who have been harmed in some way. In this way, environmental
stories often differ from other types of stories which focus on more "important"
people like government ministers or leaders of the opposition. It is not unusual for an
environmental story to focus on poor farmers or fishermen.
Reporters are trained to get the facts and to present them as fairly as possible.
Environmental reporters, however, are often faced with a dilemma because they are
forced to take sides. Sometimes it is pretty obvious that one side in a conflict has done
something wrong.
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Still, both sides must be presented. But this does not mean they also must be given
equal space or attention. When something bad happens, for example, it is natural to
focus on the people adversely affected.
Environmental reporters also face another daunting challenge. The science involved
is often extremely complex. It is not necessary to be a scientific expert, however.
It is also important to remember that most readers are not experts either. Thus,
reporters try to explain the science in terms that ordinary people can understand.
Environmental stories are selected mainly in two different ways. First, there is a
reaction to something that happens — a chemical spill, for example. Here reporters go
to the scene and get the facts, later interviewing experts if they need to. Secondly,
reporters also look for trends or recurrent events and then investigate to find out what
is going on.
Notes:
1. toxic: poisonous
2. vested interests: people or groups who benefit from something and who want to
continue to benefit
3. dilemma: a problem which is very difficult or impossible to solve
4. adversely: negatively
5. daunting: so difficult as to be frightening or worrisome
Here are two news stories for you to read. They are both good examples of the issues
commonly found in stories involving the environment.
Story 1: Songkhla Bay
1. This story involves a dispute. Which two groups are directly involved in the
dispute?
2. What is the environmental issue involved?
3. Is there an economic issue involved as well? If so, what is it?
4. What action did one of the groups take to try to force a solution to the
problem?
5. What is this group demanding?
6. Have any other people or groups been affected by this dispute?
7. Has the dispute been resolved, i.e., has a permanent solution been found?
Here is some vocabulary to help you better understand the story.
Fragile: easily damaged or broken
Orchestrated: planned and organised
Consignments: orders
Depleted: used up; reduced in quantity
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fine-meshed nets: nets with very small holes
got their way: won their demands (i.e., got what they wanted)
Songkhla Bay blockade lifted
But trouble looms at Andaman ports
Post Reporters
Inshore fishermen ended their 12-day blockade of Songkhla Bay at noon yesterday as
an estimated 400 police officers stood by.
But as a fragile calm returned to the Gulf port, inshore and deep-sea operators on the
Andaman coast threatened to mount their own blockades.
The 300-boat blockade ended as one police unit persuaded 100 fishermen to leave
their vessels, and another kept order at the Krom Luang Chumphon Monument, where
a larger number was rallying.
Police said the inshore crews, protesting against night-fishing by deep-sea boats, did
not resist, and they were taken to Singha Nakhon district office for questioning.
So far, none had been charged, but there had been reports police wanted to arrest six
men alleged to have orchestrated the blockade.
The police moved in after the inshore crews ignored appeals to end the blockade from
the prime minister and two MPs from his Democrat Party.
As the blockade was lifted, two freighters set out from Songkhla.
Pol Lt-Gen Supachai Liewchalermwong, deputy chief of Region 9, said the protest
had damaged the local economy. Local sources said the protest had held up many
consignments, among them 5,000 tonnes of sheet rubber bound for China. The
inshoremen in Songkhla and other southern provinces say night operations by the
bigger boats have depleted coastal fish stocks and other marine resources. They have
demanded a ban on fine-mesh nets and the use of lights.
However, the deep-sea operators are determined to resist any such ban. Pol Capt
Aryuth Ammartyothin said he and other deep-sea operators would take action to
protect their businesses.
In Phang-nga, 300 inshore men said they would blockade Andaman ports unless the
National Fisheries Policy Committee responded positively to their demands by
Monday.
They said the Agriculture Ministry's March 15, 1996 announcement allowing
deep-sea boats to use lights within 3km of the shore must be scrapped.
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More than 100 deep-sea operators gathered in support of the announcement in Phuket
and said they would mount a blockade if the inshore men got their way.
Story 2: gas emissions
This story is a bit more positive than the first story since its shows that environmental
problems can sometimes be (at least partially) solved. The story is also an excellent
example of the type of vocabulary you are likely to see in stories dealing with air
pollution caused by industries. As you read, make a list of all the words and phrases
that refer to bad smells. You will find nouns, verbs and adjectives.
Here are some points to consider as you read:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
What is the environmental problem covered in the story?
What was the cause of the problem?
What has been done to resolve the problem?
Has the problem been completely eliminated?
Who has been most affected by the problem and how have they been affected?
Is it possible to say with complete certainty that the people's physical
problems were caused by air pollution?
Here is some vocabulary to help you better understand the story.
Abatement: reducing the strength or seriousness of something
Endure: to experience something painful or unpleasant for a long timed
Incinerate: to burn
Volatile: likely to change quickly and often
Haunted: frightened or worried, esp. by a memory
Spectre: the expectation of something unpleasant happening
Conceded: admitted
guinea pigs: small animals which are often used in scientific experiment
Factories improve anti-pollution device
Residents around Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate are resigned to living with the stench
that occasionally hangs over the area, but agree it is not as bad as it was.
Phra Khru Sara Dhamma Sobhol said the reek of waste gases from factories has
lessened as offending factories have improved their pollution abatement equipment.
The occasional foul smell was unavoidable as a result of minor accidents or plant
shutdowns for maintenance, he said.
Residents around this mainly petrochemical industrial estate agreed.
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"Overall, it is far better than it was two years ago when we had to endure the stench
many days in a month. Now it is about once a month," said Tiwa Poplook, leader of
Soi Ruam Pattana community.
The rank odors are caused by sulphur used in petrochemical processing, chemical
leakages during transportation, and chemical waste, as well as emissions from burnt
crude oil from the refinery, according to Virah Mavichak, deputy director-general of
the Industrial Works Department.
At the height of the problem in June 1997, two refineries, four petrochemical plants
and a fertiliser plant were found to have failed to prevent leakages.
The petrochemical plants have largely solved their problems but the two refineries'
efforts were delayed until last year because they had to wait for pollution control
equipment.
Star Petroleum Refining Co (SPRC) said it has spent 200 million baht on a sulphur
filtering system and a "ground flare" system to incinerate volatile organic
compounds and crude oil emission, the major causes of stench.
The company said it completed the installation last June. Rayong Refining Co (RRC)
claimed to have invested 100 million baht in a similar scheme and said installation
was finished in March this year.
At Map Ta Phut Phan Phitthayakan School, staff and students continue to be haunted
by the spectre of the foul smell which had disrupted classes and sent many to the
nurse's room.
Students conceded that the stench has lessened, but they still visit the nurse's room.
On some days, the nurse's room may treat up to a hundred students.
Chaweewan Suwanthong, 41, a health education teacher who supervises the nurse
room, said most students complained about breathing difficulties and headache.
However, she said it could not be concluded that the foul smell was the cause of the
high rate of admission.
Five teachers were recently reported to be suffering from cancer.
However, a provincial doctor said it was too soon to concluded that the tumours found
were caused by pollution from the industrial estate, given the fact that such tumours
take 15 to 20 years to form.
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A teacher who did not want to be named said students and teachers have inhaled
chemical-tainted air for nearly three years, and it was hard to believe that their
symptoms of nausea and respiratory problems were just psychological.
"The school has decided to relocate rather than continue exposing our students to
chemical emissions, like guinea pigs," the teacher said.
From:
http://www.bangkokpost.net/education/stutips.htm
Classroom-reading
Read the following news and try to guess the meaning of the italic and blackened
words, then do the exercises:
The Greening of China
---- As the economy has grown, so have waste and pollution. But there’s big money in
repairing the environment
By rights, the city of Xining ought to be a pretty nice place to live. A remote
provincial capital of 2 million people, it’s perched 2,275 meters up, right on the edge
of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It’s flanked by the 4,000-meter-plus peaks of the Daban
Mountains and sits astride the Huanbgshui River, coursing down from the plateau.
But Xining is hardly an alpine idyll. In fact, it often looks more like an industrial
nightmare. Thick smoke pouring from its 10 smelters blocks the view of the
mountains, while the city’s five chemical plants have long fouled the river with their
waste. Outside the city, loggers have denuded the mountain slopes of their forests,
and millions of sheep, goats, and yaks have left lush pastures rutted and barren.
China has won praise lately for high-visibility cleanup campaigns in showcase cities
such as Beijing and Shanghai. But much of the rest of the country is paying the price
of economic expansion. More than half of China’s main waterways have excessive
levels of chemical and biological pollutants. And one recent survey found that nearly
a third of China’s largest cities have air that’s barely fit to breathe. That has given
China the world’s highest rate of chronic respiratory disease, with a mortality rate
five times that of the U.S. “ It is very clear that, with pollution, China still faces very
critical challenges,” says Jostein Nygard, a China specialist at the World Bank.
This is plenty distressing for those who have to drink China’s water and breathe its air,
of course, but it’s also bad for business. At some point, pollution is going to get in the
way of China’s ultrafast development. Factories ---- especially high-tech ones ---need clean water to aid manufacturing, and farmers need fresh water for their fields.
Workers who suffer chronic lung infections are less productive than healthy ones.
Children with high levels of lead in their blood or nagging intestinal ailments can’t
study and learn. Inefficient factories waste precious energy and water. Deforestation
and overgrazing destroy productive land, while acid rain damages crops. Economists
estimate that the financial toll on China from the constant bombardment of
environmental insults ranges as high as 7% of gross domestic products every year.
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In short, China cannot afford to stand by and watch its environment collapse. That’s
why the Communist leadership has taken its cleanup effort beyond the biggest cities.
The government is committed to spending $85 billion by 2005 on environmental
protection across the vast nation. Of that, some $68 billion will go to major projects
such as installing scrubbers on more than 50 large coal-fired power plants, building
hundreds of sewage-treatment facilities, and putting emissions monitors on industry
smokestacks. An additional $11 billion will fund construction of scores of
hazardous-waste treatment and disposal plants in the next three years. Much of the
remainder will be spent to plant trees on deforested land and to enforce new
regulations.
OLYMPIC INCENTIVE
But while the cleanup campaign across China is serious, Beijing will continue to be
the star. One big reason: To win its bid to host the Olympics in 2008, the capital had
to promise huge improvements in air and water quality. The city plans to build new
sewage-treatment plants and introduce strict new limits on vehicle emissions. “ It puts
heavy pressure on us, but we will try our hardest to achieve our targets,” says Pei
Chenghu, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Environmental
Protection, which has pledged to spend 4% of the city’s gross domestic product ---some $1.5 billion annually ---- on environmental protection.
All that money means lots of potential profits for companies that can help in the
cleanup. Already, pollution fighting in China has become a $20 billion annual industry,
and it’s growing by roughly 20% a year, according to the China Association of
Environmental Protection Industry, a Beijing trade group and consulting form.
Companies from around the world are rushing in to sell China smokestack scrubbers
that cut emissions from power plants, build sewage-treatment and water-purification
facilities. “ The next 5 to 10 years will be a golden era for environmental protection,”
predicts Li Baojuan, deputy director of the industry association.
One area that’s seeing plenty of investment is water. In 1998, Britain’s Thames Water
PLC sank $23 million into China’s first privately funded water-treatment project and
today provides clean water to 2 million residents of Shanghai. Then last year, Thames
spent $70 million to buy a 49% stake in China Water Co., which treats drinking and
waste water in seven Chinese cities. “ China has the potential to become one the top
countries we work in,” days Kyeong Choi, China country director for Thames. “ I
don’t think any serious player could afford to ignore this opportunity.” Another
company making a big bet on China is Veolia Water of France. Veolia has invested
$242 million in a water-treatment-and-supply joint venture in Shanghai.
Another crucial part of China’s cleanup is a drastic reduction in coal consumption.
The preferred substitute is clean-burning natural gas, and the switch can yield
dramatic results. By yearend, Beijing is scheduled to finish refitting more than 40,000
small boilers and 10,000 large coal boilers with gas systems. The plan is to convert
Beijing entirely to gas before the Olympics start in 2008. The shift has already
doubled the capital’s annual clear days, to 203 last year. “ You wouldn’t have thought
Beijing had any mountains around it before,” says the World Bank’s Nygard.
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Plenty of corporations are already profiting from China’s big cleanup. India-based
Cummins Inc. has invested $140 million in factories making low-emission diesel
engines for bulldozers, excavators, and buses. Cummins imports engines fueled by
natural gas for mainland bus fleets, and is looking into manufacturing them in China
as well. Nearly a dozen cities in China have bought machines that monitor auto
emissions from Mustang Dynamometer of Twinsburg, Ohio. “ Companies are
becoming more and more conscious of the importance of the environmental
protection industry in China,” says Huang Jianghua, Mustang’s chief representative in
the country.
The continuing restructuring of China’s economy doesn’t hurt, either. In the past six
years, more than 70,000 state enterprises ---- including hyperpolluting chemical plants,
steel-makers, and cement producers ---- have been shuttered. To replace them, China
is encouraging light electronics and technology startups. To keep automobile fumes in
check, scores of emissions-testing centers have been set up across Beijing and in other
large cities. By next summer, cars in the capital will be required to meet the tough
emissions standards in place in the European Union. And since 1999, Beijing has
deployed more than 1,900 buses running on compressed natural gas, the largest such
fleet in the world. By 2008, the city hopes to have 18,000 electric and natural
gas-powered buses on the streets.
New laws and regulations are helping, too. Leaded gasoline is now banned in Beijing,
Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Chengdu. A clean production law will soon require
polluting companies to report on their emissions and recycle some products. The new
measure will also grant preferential loans and tax exemptions to clean producers. And
a law requiring that all infrastructure producers. And a law requiring an assessment of
environmental impact came into effect on Sept.1.
WEAK ENVIRONMENTAL COPS
All those laws, though, won’t do anything if they can’t be enforced. The ministries of
Construction, Land & Resourced and Agriculture regularly overrule the less-powerful
State Environmental Protection Administration when projects are slowed by land use
and emissions regulations. Even though the laws outline sweeping goals for the
cleanup of air and water, penalties for polluters often amount to slaps on the wrist.
Furthermore, laws are often vaguely worded and hard to implement. “ Even the
enforcement agencies often aren’t sure how to apply legislation,” says Husayn A.
Anwar, managing director of Sinosphere Corp., a Beijing environmental consultancy.
There’s a bigger problem related to the growing chasm between rich and poor.
Factories facing regulation in wealthy regions often pick up and move to poorer areas,
where authorities are more concerned about jobs and tax revenues than they are about
the environment. For example, faced with stiff new local antipollution laws, paper and
chemical plants in the rich coastal province of Jiangsu have shifted their
manufacturing to Jiangxi in recent years. “ It’s one thing to have regulations, but
another to enforce them,” says Bruce Murray, the Asian Development Bank’s
representative in China.
Worse, for every step forward, China often seems to be taking two steps back. Even as
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pollution in big state-controlled factories is beginning to be addressed, smaller, less
easily regulated private enterprises are causing environmental headaches. That
includes everything from unregulated coal mines spread across the Mainland, to paper
mills along the flood-prone Huai River in Anhui Province. In addition, China’s
farmers are using ever more pesticides and fertilizers on their fields. And as
consumers get richer, they pollute more. There is more auto traffic and car exhaust,
more trash from the purchase of consumer goods, more sewage from rapidly growing
cities.
But, as in much of the rest of the world, the rise in living standards is also leading to
calls among members of the new middle class for greater attention to the environment.
Newspapers are writing about the problem more often, and independent
environmental groups are springing up. As Beijing’s leaders try to balance the needs
of development with the imperative to clean up, it may well be the citizens who lead
the way.
By Dexter Boberts in Xining
From: BusinessWeek, European Edition/October, 2003
Notes:
Perch: To stand, sit, or rest on an elevated place or position.
Astride: Situated on both sides of.
Alpine: Of or relating to high mountains.
Idyll: A scene or an event of a simple and tranquil nature.
Smelter: An apparatus for smelting. 熔炉.
Lush: Having or characterized by luxuriant vegetation.
Rut: To furrow. 犁
Showcase: A setting in which someone or something may be displayed, especially to
advantage.
Respiratory: Of, relating to, used in, or affecting respiration.
Nagging: 恼人的.
Intestinal: Of, relating to, or constituting the intestine. 肠的; 属于、关于、或组成
肠的：
Bombardment: 炮击, 轰击
Scrubber: An apparatus that is used for removing impurities from a gas.
Smokestack: A large chimney or vertical pipe through which combustion vapors,
gases, and smoke are discharged.
Shutter: To cause to cease operations; close down.
Slaps on the wrist: A nominal or token punishment.
Chasm: A pronounced difference of opinion, interests, or loyalty.
Fill in the blanks:
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1. In journalistic writing, “The Greening of China” is called ___________, it means
________________________________ and its function is _________________;
while “---- As the economy has grown, so have waste and pollution. But there’s
big money in repairing the environment” is called _______ with the function of
__________________________.
2. The
main
idea
of
the
first
paragraph
is
____________________________________________;
its function is
______________________________________________---.
3. The reasons for Chinese government to make the decision of taking cleanup efforts
are
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
_______________.
4. The government may spend ________ on environmental protection by 2005. The
focuses
of
environmental
protection
are
___________________________________________________.
5. Beijing’s gross domestic product is ______________________.
6. To
businessmen,
the
environmental
protection
means
__________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________; and the responses of
companies
are
__________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________.
7. The biggest problem for environmental protection in China today is
___________________________________________________ while the hope is
_________________________________________________________________.
8. Translate the following sentence: I don’t think any serious player could afford to
ignore this opportunity. __________________________________________.
Classroom – exercises:
1. Watching the news and do the exercises:
1) What’s the main idea of the news?
2) Fill in the blanks:
Researchers are finding pollution not only makes it hard to breathe, dirty air can also
raise your risk of stroke: the ______leading cause of death among Americans. In the
study of over ________ cases of stroke, Harvard scientists identified a ___ higher risk
for the most common type of stroke on days with high air pollution. One percent may
not sound like a lot, but ________ cases of stroke are expected this year in the US.
That ____ can contribute to thousands of additional life threatening incidence
3) What can you do to protect yourself from the noxious air out there?
2. Try to find out the meaning of the following headlines:
1) "South Park" Parked by Complaints
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Following the Dec. 7 season finale of South Park, titled "Bloody Mary," the Catholic
League for Religious and Civil Rights slammed the network for its irreverent
portrayal of church icons and sought to block the episode from being rebroadcast.
It appears the group may have met with success. A repeat of the finale was scheduled
to air Wednesday night, but was pulled from the Comedy Central lineup without
explanation.
2) Restaurant chills bones of customers
HARBIN: It seems hardly the cosiest of settings but a new restaurant in the city is
enjoying a roaring trade.
Customers are greeted with a frosty reception as soon as they walk through the doors
at the eatery, which is solely made of ice.
3) Book: CIA Ignored Info Iraq Had No WMD
A new book on the government's secret anti-terrorism operations describes how the
CIA recruited an Iraqi-American anesthesiologist in 2002 to obtain information from
her brother, who was a figure in Saddam Hussein's nuclear program.
4) Pricey coffee good to the last dropping
Would you pay $175 for a pound of coffee beans which had passed through the
backside of a furry mammal in Indonesia?
Apparently, some coffee lovers wanting to treat themselves to something special are
lapping it up.
Kopi Luwak beans from Indonesia are rare and expensive, thanks to a unique taste
and aroma enhanced by the digestive system of palm civets, nocturnal tree-climbing
creatures about the size of a large house cat.
5) Egypt cabinet gets first veiled minister
Egypt's cabinet reshuffle brought in only a handful new faces, but for the first time in
the history of the country, they included a veiled woman.
Homework
Read the following news and do the exercises:
Passage 1
China rules out curbs on low-emission cars
(Xinhua)
China Wednesday demanded a nationwide canceling of restrictions on low-emission,
economical cars, setting the end of this March as the deadline.
The move is part of efforts to reduce oil consumption and air pollution, said a report
issued by the National Development and Research Center (NDRC) Wednesday.
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The report said that low-emission cars would be charged less parking fees, an attempt
to attract more consumers to buy environment-friendly and energy-saving vehicles.
Small cars are also encouraged to be used as taxies and more investment will be made
in low-emission, oil-saving cars, including research on engines, the report said.
To date, small autos are not permitted to run in more than 80 cities in the country
despite Primer Wen Jiabao's call for doing away with restrictions on cars with low
emission, low oil consumption and high efficiency last summer.
In China's national capital, Beijing, for example, cars that have below 1.0-liter
emission are not permitted to travel in the Chang'an Boulevard, the longest and most
bustling street.
"If Beijing truly cancels (restrictions on small cars), my 0.8-emission liter chery QQ
(a Chinese domestic auto brand name) can take me directly to the office. I won't have
to make a detour and it will save time and oil," said a man surnamed Gao, who works
in an office-building in the Chang'an street.
Signals favoring low-emission cars are being read in the market. According to
statistics, the first nine months of this year witnessed the number of cars below
1.6-litre emission standing at 1,240,900, accounting for 64.17 percent of the total and
the sale of cars below 1.0-litre emission rose by 93.69 percent year on year to
248,000.
Industrial statistics show that China imports 40 percent of its total oil consumption,
one third of which is used in car engines.
Owing to soaring world oil prices, China has seen its refined oil price rise five times
in 2005.
The number of private cars is expected to reach 17 million by the end of this year
from the 2000 figure of 6.25 million, more than double during the previous five-year
period, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
1. Please explain the meaning of the headline in English.
2. What did China do on Wednesday? What are the purposes of doing so? And why?
3. Try to guess the meaning of the italic words.
4. Translate:
Owing to soaring world oil prices, China has seen its refined oil price rise five times
in 2005.
Passage 2
Rongcheng Lake's swans stay away as pollution bites
Sun Xiaohua
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RONGCHENG, Shandong: In 1991, more than 6,000 swans came to Rongcheng Lake
in East China's Shandong Province to spend the winter, but this year the number has
dropped to just 1,200.
Yuan Xueshun, head of Rongcheng Whooper Swan Protection Association, has
engaged in the protection of swans for nearly 30 years.
"It is not an issue of swan protection, but of swan survival," said Yuan.
Deng Jia, a press photographer agrees.
"I first came to Rongcheng in 2001 to take pictures of the swans," he said.
"Swans used to fly over my head on the street. But now it is hard to see any of them."
This winter has been especially tough for the swans, not only because of record
snowfalls, but also bird flu.
Fears over a possible outbreak have made local residents drive away the swans,
disrupting the bird's normal life, Yuan said.
In good weather, Yuan goes on his food distribution mission every two days. In
snowy days, he does it every day.
He spreads corn grains and Chinese cabbages. "Swans like sweet, crisp and fresh
food," said Yuan. "I want to feed them apples and small fish or shrimp, but I don't
have enough money."
Yuan has already been lucky enough to get help from local people, who donated more
than 3,000 yuan (US$370) and 7 tons of corn to him.
Last year, International Foundation for Animal Welfare (IFAW) helped him with
10,000 yuan (US$1,233) to buy foodstuffs, and this year they plan to give even more.
"The food I provide can only serve as a supplement for the swans' daily menu," Yuan
said. "Their major sources of food still come from nature."
However, the natural environment in Rongcheng is deteriorating.
In the harbour of Mashanwan, about 70-odd swans were playing on the frozen lake,
while the rest nibbled on small pieces of wheat seedling from under the thick snow.
One swan, left behind by the others, was limping painfully, with one of its legs
obviously hurt.
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"I have watched this injured swan for a month," Yuan said. "Its partner might have
already died. But with enough food, it is likely to recover."
"Among those swans, nearly half are under aged," said Sun Quanhui, an expert with
the IFAW.
These swans are 1 or 2 years old. "It is hard for them to find proper dwelling places
and enough food," Sun said. "It is also hard to tell whether or not they can pass
through the harsh winter."
The port of Yandunjiao, one of Yuan's places for leaving corn grains, is full of
garbage left by local people, such as plastic bags, abandoned shoes, rotten vegetables
and even a dead cat.
"The most harmful things are outdated medicines, pesticide and rat poison," said
Yuan. "They can kill swans."
Yuan has tried to persuade local villagers not to throw the waste into the sea.
"But it is a habit of the villagers for years," said an official of the villagers' committee.
"We set the dustbins on one side of the village, but people do not take the trouble to
go there."
Near the waterside, a resort has been built for attracting tourists to come to watch
swans.
"The buildings and human activities might scare the swans, if the distance between
them is too short," Sun said. "And the waste from the resort will pollute the swans'
drinking water source."
Also in the area there is a power grid. "The height of cables is similar to the swan's
flying height. It is easy for swans to fly into cables."
What is more, shrimp and sea cucumbers are grown in the reserve. "At night, the
fishermen use searchlights to stop thieves and swans. This strong light influences their
sleep patterns," Yuan said.
"I am afraid that at the current speed of reduction, no swans will come to Rongcheng
for winter in the near future."
(China Daily 01/03/2006 page1)
1. In the headline, “bites” means _______; in journalistic writing, “Sun Xiaohua” is
called ________ and “RONGCHENG, Shandong” is called _________; the 1st
paragraph is called ________, its function is _________________.
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2. Where can you find this piece of news?
3. What might hurt the swans?
4. Try to guess the meaning of the italic words.
Passage 3
One of world's best glacial "data bank" melting more quickly in NW. China
(Xinhua)
The thawing of the No.1 glacier of the Tianshan Mountains in northwest China's
Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region has accelerated, due largely to global warming,
local scientists say.
The trend indicates the affluent data the glacier carries about climate and environment
in both modern and ancient times are losing at a quicker rate, the scientists added.
Approximately 120 kilometers away from the regional capital, Urumqi, the No.1
glacier is the nearest from a city in the world. With its typical sediments, the glacier is
appraised as "living fossils". Until now it has been the best place for glacial
observation in China, boasting one of the best preserved glacial records in the world.
Li Zhongqin, head of the Tianshan Mountains Glacier Observation Station under the
Chinese Academy of Sciences, said that ice corings picked up from glaciers were seen
as best carriers for data of ancient climate and environment. The data recorded in
glaciers were better than those by tree's growth rings and earth and deep-sea
sediments in terms of definition and fidelity（可靠性）.
According to the observation station, over the past 45 years in which glacial data were
collected, the No.1 Tianshan glacier had its thickness down by 11 meters. And the
decrease was up to more than 20 meters in some parts of the glacier.
An analysis on the glacial data collected between 1958 and 2003 showed that the No.
1 glacier lost 18.38 million cubic meters of ice.
1. What is special about the No.1 glacier?
2. Try to guess the meaning of the italic words.
Passage 4
How Can We Safeguard Our Water
Reducing Demand
New York City is a metropolis of flamboyant excess, except when it comes to water.
No one would suspect it, but the Big Apple has clamped down on water wasters, and
after 10 years of patching leaky pipes and replacing millions of water-guzzling toilets,
the city is now saving billions of gallons of water every year.
15
Back in the early 1990s New York City faced an imminent water shortage, and it was
getting worse with every flush, shower and tooth brushing. With an influx of new
residents and an increase in the number of drought years, the city needed to find an
extra 90 million gallons of water a day ---- about 7 percent of the city’s total water use.
Instead of spending nearly $ 1 billion for a new pumping station along the Hudson
River, city officials opted for a cheaper alternative: reduce the demand on the current
water supply, which was piped in from the Catskill Mountains.
Officials knew that persuading New Yorkers to go green and conserve water would
require some enticement ---- free toilets. The city’s Department of Environmental
Protection ( DEP ) stepped in with a three-year toilet rebate program, which began in
1994. With a budget of $ 295 million for up to 1.5 million rebates, the ambitious
scheme set out to replace one third of the city’s inefficient toilets ---- those using
more than five gallons of water per flush ---- with water-saving models that do the
same job with only 1.6 gallons per flush. With the rebate program, the DFP hoped to
meet the largest part of its water-saving goal.
New Yorkers embraced the plan. Some 20,000 applications arrived within three days
of its start. By the time the program ended in 1997, low-flow toilets had replaced 1.33
million inefficient ones in 110,000 buildings. The result: a 29 percent reduction in
water use per building per year. The DFP estimated that low-flow toilets save 70
million to 90 million gallons a day citywide ---- enough to fill about 6,700
Olympic-size swimming pools.
But more efficient flushes weren’t enough. The toilet rebate program happened
concurrently with the city’s water audit program, which continued today. For much of
the city’s history, the amount building owners paid for water was based on the size of
their property. Following a law passed in 1985, however, the city began keeping tabs
on water use and charging accordingly. The law dictated that water meters be installed
during building renovations, and the same requirement was applied to construction of
new homes and apartments beginning in 1988. As of 1998, all properties in the city
must be metered. Homeowners who want to keep their water bills down under the
new laws can request a free water-efficiency survey from Volt VIEWtech, the
company that oversees the city’s audit program. Inefficient fixtures and distribute free
faucet aerators and low-flow showerheads. Low-flow showerheads use about half as
much water as the old ones, and faucet aerators, which replace the screen in the faucet
head and add air to the spray, can lower the flow of water from four gallons a minute
to less than one gallon a minute. Volt VIEWtech had made several hundred thousand
of these inspections, saving an estimated 11 million gallons of water a day in
eliminated leaks and increase efficiency.
In efforts to save even more water, New York City had gone outside the home and
into the streets. Water officials have installed magnetic locking caps on fire hydrants
to keep people from turning them on in the summer. The city is also keeping an eye
underground by using computerized sonar equipment to scan for leaks along all 32.6
million feet (6,174 miles ) of its water mains.
Although the city’s population continues to grow, per person water use in New York
dropped from 195 to 160 gallons a day between 1991 and 1999. From all indications,
16
this trend is following its upward path. Water conservation works. And New Yorkers
are proving that every flush makes a difference.
Recycling
In the world’s arid regions, even sewage water cannot be thrown away. Namibia is the
driest African country south of the Sahara Desert. Blistering heat evaporates water
faster than rains can rejuvenate the parched landscape, and there are no year-round
rivers. Residents of the capital city, Windhoek, must do more than just conserve water
to secure a permanent supply. They must reuse the precious little they have.
By the end of the 1960s, most underground aquifer and reservoirs on seasonal rivers
near Windhoek had been tapped dry by the capital’s burgeoning population, which
has grown from 61,000 to more than 230,000 in the past 30 years. Transporting water
from the closest permanent river, the Okavango ---- some 400 miles away ---- was too
expensive. This crisis inspired city officials to implement a strict water conservation
scheme that includes reclaiming domestic sewage and raising it once again to
drinkable standards.
The city’s first reclamation plant, initially capable of producing only 460 million
gallons of clean water per year when it went on line in 1968, is now pumping out
double that amount ---- enough to provide about 23 percent of the city’s yearly water
demands. Official hope to boost that supply number to 51 percent with an upcoming
facility now under construction.
To make wastewater drinkable, it must undergo a rigorous cleaning regimen. First,
large solids are allowed to settle out while biofilters remove smaller organic particles.
Advanced treatment remove ammonia, and carbon and sand filters ensure that the last
traces of dissolved organic material are eliminated. The final step is to purify the
water by adding chlorine and lime. To guarantee a safe drinking supply, the reclaimed
water is tested once a week for the presence of harmful bacterial, viruses and heavy
metals. Compared with local freshwater sources, the reclaimed water is equal or better
in quality.
Despite 32 years of access to high-quality recycled water, the residents of Windhoek
still doggedly opposed its use for personal consumption. For this reason, most of this
purified wastewater irrigates parks and gardens. But sometimes people don’t have a
choice about their water source. In times of peak summer demand or during
emergencies such as drought, local freshwater reservoirs are strained, and Windhoek
relies heavily on treated effluent to boost supply. During the drought of 1995, for
instance, reclaimed water accounted for more than 30 percent of the clean water piped
into homes.
Officials hope to bolster support for the recycling program through enhanced public
education ---- like letting the word slip that besides irrigating the city’s greenery,
treated wastewater is the secret ingredient in the prized local brew.
---- Diane Martindal, Scientific Americans
1. Multiple-choice
1) The serious water shortage of New York City mainly resulted from
_____________ .
17
2)
3)
4)
5)
A. citizen’s too wasteful consumption of water
B. too many new immigrants
C. too many leaky pipes and water-guzzling toilets
D. too many new residents and successive drought years
What can be concluded as the main reason for New Yorkers to welcome the
toilet rebate program?
A. They are fully aware of the serious situation of water shortage and eager
to do their bit.
B. Their old toilets are too old and in bad condition.
C. The replacing of toilets are free of charge.
D. The new toilets can really save a lot of water.
The first sentence of paragraph 6 implies that __________________.
A. people in New York City are not allowed to turn fire hydrants on
B. some people in New York City tend to use the water from fire hydrants to
cool themselves down on hot days
C. some magnetic locking caps on fire hydrants are missing
D. water in fire hydrants are too important to be used for ordinary purposes
All the following are mentioned as the measures taken by the New York City
EXCEPT ____________________.
A. repairing leaky pipes and replacing water-guzzling toilets
B. keeping taps on water use and charging according to the amount used
C. preventing people from using the water from fire hydrants and
supervising leaks from water mains
D. rationing water supply during dry seasons
What is the cleverest idea thought out by the Windhoek officials to promote
the using of recycled water?
A. Spreading the news that the special-treated wastewater makes local beer
win prize.
B. Enhancing public education on using recycled water.
C. Mixing the recycled water with fresh water.
D. Propagating that the reclaimed water is as clean as local fresh water or
even better in quality.
2. Complete each sentence with a word or a phrase given blow ( in its appropriate
form if necessary ).
Opt for
step in
embrace
set out
concurrent
Keep ( close ) tabs on sb./ sth.
Check sth. for sth.
Oversee
Dictate
boost
( go/ come ) on line
enticement
1) We hope these regions will ___________ democratic reforms.
2) Her opinions are often __________ with the manager’s.
3) After college, Bill ___________ the army over college.
4) Parents have ___________ to provide homework help in the afternoon program.
5) The police have been __________ Rogers since he got out of prison.
6) He was appointed team leader to __________ the project.
18
7) If there is a power failure, the emergency generators should _________ within 15
minutes.
8) She is a very careful secretary; she always _________ her typing for errors.
9) The special offers from the department store are intended to _________ people to
buy.
10) The winning of the match had greatly __________ our team’s confidence.
3. Translate:
Water conservation works. And New Yorkers are proving that every flush makes a
difference.
like letting the word slip that besides irrigating the city’s greenery, treated
wastewater is the secret ingredient in the prized local brew.
What you should learn from this chapter:
1. 10 words and 1 typical sentence relate to environment;
2. Reading of news on this topic. Please read no less than 2 items every day.
For your reference:
---- acid rain: rain that has an abnormally high level of acid, usually caused by
industrial or oil-refining operations.
---- air pollution: air that has become saturated with harmful chemicals, carbon
monoxides, dust, and other contaminants.
Cities across the U.S. are cracking down on air pollution by enforcing auto emissions
control, limiting the use of wood burning stoves, and by monitoring factory pollution.
---- biodegradable: adj. Anything that is capable of being broken down and absorbed
in a natural environment.
---- biosphere: the spectrum of life on Earth from the crust into the lower atmosphere.
---- ecology: the study of organism and their relationship with their environment.
---- ecosystem: the interactions between organisms and their physical environment.
---- electropollution: excessive amounts of electromagnetic waves in the environment
due to the widespread use of electricity and electrical equipment.
---- endangered species: a species that in on the brink of extinction.
---- energy crisis: also called “ energy crunch”
---- environmental awareness: a term used to describe the level of knowledge and
consciousness that the public has regarding the environment, environmental issues,
etc.
----environmentalist: an individual who is an activist for the environment.
---- erosion: to gradually wear away or erode, esp. caused by running water.
---- fallout: the descent to earth of radioactive particles, such as after a nuclear
explosion.
---- food chain: the predatory chain in which successively larger organisms feed on
smaller ones.
---- green friendly: a term refers to products that are biodegradable.
---- green movement: a campaign that promotes ecology and fights pollution.
19
---- Green Peace: an international non-governmental environmentalists organization
that campaigns to prevent the killing of whales, to halt the polluting of the seas, and
oppose the nuclear power industry.
---- green rage: a term taken from the book “ Green Rage”, which refers to the radical
environmental movement.
---- green revolution: the informal name for a complex group of agricultural
development programs devised by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations.
---- greenhouse effect: an increase of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere that
keeps radiated heat from escaping and thus raising the earth’s temperature.
---- NIMBY: an acronym that means not in my back yard. It is a slogan that expresses
objection to having something undesirable, such as nuclear waste, in one’s locality.
---- oil spill: a term that refers to the accidental leakage of oil from a tanker into a
water supply.
---- oil slick: a layer of oil floating on water.
---- organic biomass: sewage sludge.
---- Ozone: slang for pure, fresh air.
---- pesticides: poisons used to protect crops from insects and to kill unwanted plants.
---- rain forest: a dense evergreen forest located in a tropical region that had
abundant rainfall all year long.
---- recycling: the reprocessing of used materials, esp. non-biodegradable products.
---- reforest: the plant new trees on land that was once forested.
---- renewable resource: any resource that can be naturally replaced, such as lumber.
---- resource: a means that is available for supplying an economic want such as land,
water, wood, etc.
---- secondary pollutant: a pollutant formed in the environment by the combination
or reaction of other ( primary ) pollutants.
---- smog: abnormally dark and heavy fog and mist created by absorbing chemical
fumes and smoke, esp. in urban areas.
---- soil conservation: the management of soil in order to minimize erosion while
maintaining or enhancing its ability to sustain crops.
---- solar energy: the radiant energy of sunlight. It is a non-polluting alternative of
fossil fuels.
---- throw-away society: a term used to describe modern society in which many
products are made to use and then discard.
---- toxic waste: nuclear waste.
---- tree hugger: environmentalists who came to Congress to lobby their cause.
---- zero population: a condition in which the birthrate is equal to the death rate.
Sentences:
1. The local chemical plants and the villages have no more quarrels about how
much compensation there should be for environmental pollution, as the
industrial wastes are bringing benefits to both sides.
2. The area’s drinking water was found to contain quantities of pollutants well
above the permitted levels.
20
Chapter 2
Disasters
Sample Reading
Read the following article and try to:
1. Find out the method recommended by the author for newspaper reading. Why did
the author make such a recommendation? Have you ever tried this method? How
do you think of it?
2. Make use of the knowledge and vocabulary you get from the example for further
readings.
Common news stories
The news remains much the same year after year. The people and places in the news
may change rapidly, but the events that we consider to be newsworthy do not. Wars,
strikes, scientific discoveries, elections, natural disasters, trade agreements, the deaths
of world leaders — all these events and many more will find their way onto the pages
of newspapers no matter what year it may be. And each topic has certain consistencies.
It is likely to have a set of frequently-used vocabulary, for example. Thus, you could
expect to see words like flames, gut, and char in a fire story and candidate, poll, and
ballot in a story about an election. Most stories typically follow familiar sequences of
events. A crime story might go something like this: crime, arrest, trial, verdict
(decision) and sentencing (announcement of punishment). And it will take place in
familiar settings (the crime scene, a police station, a courtroom, a prison, etc.) and
will involve people playing familiar roles (defendants, defence attorneys, prosecutors,
judges, etc.).
Here let’s take one of the clearest examples of a topic with consistent content: a
tropical storm. Tropical storms generally follow a sequence similar to many other
types of storms. Below we will follow this sequence and use some of the vocabulary
most likely to be found in each stage of the sequence:
A tropical storm
Storm warnings Thanks to modern science, meteorologists are now
usually able to predict tropical storms early enough so that people in
the storm's path can be warned in advance. If it looks like the storm
could be a serious one, people can take precautions like boarding up
their houses or evacuating low-lying coastal areas.
The storm hits Severe tropical storms plough through the countryside,
leaving a path of devastation in their wakes. Winds lash coastal
communities, uprooting trees, ripping off roofs and collapsing
buildings in the process. A storm may abate temporarily as it moves
inland only to regain its full fury as it hits open water again.
Torrential rains accompanying the storm swell rivers and the surging
waters then overflow river banks, submerging the surrounding area,
and isolating communities until the flood waters recede.
21
Rescue work begins Rescue workers begin looking for victims as soon
as the storm subsides enough to make it safe for them to do so. They
comb the debris for survivors, assist the injured and, if necessary,
dispose of the bodies of those who perish to prevent epidemics.
Emergency hospitals and temporary morgues are set up. Appeals for
blood donations are made through the media.
Casualty tolls and damage estimates The first statistics concern the
number of dead and injured. In the confused aftermath of a storm,
however, the first casualty tolls are usually inaccurate, and it may be
days, even weeks before the true figures are known. The same is true of
damage estimates.
Future consequences If there has been serious loss of life and
property, people naturally turn their attention to how to prevent
similar occurrences in the future. While there is little they can do to
prevent tropical storms, they can minimize their effects. Warning
systems can be improved, emergency shelters provided, flood walls
built or strengthened, pumps installed, storm insurance plans
introduced, and, most importantly, people can be educated on how to
deal with disasters when they happen.
When a major storm hits in your area, you can expect to see stories on each stage of
the sequence outlined above. And if you follow the story over the days and weeks that
it remains in the news, you will have built an excellent background for the many
future stories on this subject that are bound to occur.
From: http://www.bangkokpost.net/education/stutips.htm
abate
aftermath
appeal
board up
casualty
collapse
comb
debris
devastation
dispose of
donation
emergency
epidemic
estimate
evacuate
fury
Storm or disaster-related vocabulary
weaken; subside
period after a storm; wake
request
protect a building by putting thin pieces of wood (boards) across
windows, doors, etc.
dead or injured person
cause to fall down
search very carefully
damaged remains; broken pieces of things
destruction; very severe damage
get rid of
money or goods given to needy people
concerning sudden or unexpected danger
widespread disease
approximate calculation of judgment
leave an area
strength; force
22
inaccurate
isolate
lash
meteorologist
minimize
morgue
overflow
perish
plough
precaution
predict
rescue
rip off
shelter
submerge
subside
surge
survivor
swell
toll
torrential
uproot
victim
wake
not completely correct
cause to be separated from
hit hard--like a whip
scientist who studies the weather
reduce to the least possible amount
place where dead bodies are kept
(of water) to go over the sides
to die
move through with damaging force
preventative measure; action taken to prevent something unpleasant
from happening
forecast; to say an event will happen in the future
to assist someone who is in danger
forcefully pull off
place to stay
flood; cover with water; inundate
weaken; abate; to be reduced in level
move rapidly with great force
person who continues to live after being in serious danger
expand; increase in volume
number (of dead or injured)
extremely heavy
knock over so the roots are torn up out of the ground
a person who has been harmed
aftermath; period after a storm
Classroom-reading
Now please read the following report about the terrible tsunami. Make use of the
knowledge you’ve just got and try to guess the meaning of the italic and blackened
words, then do the exercises:
Sea Surges From Massive Quake Kill Over 13,000 Across South Asia
By Alan Sipress and Peter S. Goodman
Washington Post Foreign Service
JAKARTA, Indonesia, Dec. 26 -- An earthquake centered off the western end of the
Indonesian archipelago unleashed a series of tsunamis Sunday that crashed into
coastal towns, fishing villages and tourist resorts from Sri Lanka to India, Thailand
and Malaysia, killing more than 13,000 people in at least nine countries and leaving
thousands missing.
The 9.0 magnitude quake was the strongest in 40 years and the fourthmost-powerful since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
23
The resulting convulsion in the vast Indian Ocean was felt as far away as East Africa,
more than 3,000 miles from the epicenter, where fishermen were stranded and resorts
were closed by the surging tides.
Walls of water as high as 30 feet littered the shorelines of southern Asian countries
with death and debris. The toll was most devastating along the coasts of Indonesia, Sri
Lanka and India, where hundreds of bodies washed back ashore and entire villages
were demolished.
The initial quake struck the western end of Indonesia's Sumatra island at 6:58 a.m.
local time, flattening buildings and sending a wall of water higher than the tops of
coconut palms into the towns and villages in the province of Aceh, witnesses said.
The epicenter was located 155 miles southeast of the provincial capital of Banda Aceh
and 200 miles west of Medan, Sumatra.
Indonesian Health Ministry officials put the toll in Aceh and the neighboring province
of North Sumatra at nearly 4,500 and predicted more victims would be discovered
after rescue teams reached remote hamlets cut off by the disaster. In Indonesia, as
elsewhere throughout the region, it was impossible to determine the exact toll, which
will likely not be known for some time.
In Sri Lanka, about 1,000 miles west of the epicenter, a massive surf struck nearly the
entire coast of the island nation. National police reported that at least 6,090 people
were killed, many of them on the eastern shore near the port of Trincomalee, as well
as in the south. About 170 children were feared lost in an orphanage, the Associated
Press reported.
The death toll elsewhere was estimated at 3,000 in India, as many as 1,000 in
Thailand, 48 in Malaysia, 10 in Burma, and 32 in the Maldives. In Somalia, on the
eastern coast of Africa, at least nine people were reported killed by floodwaters,
according to news services. At least two children were killed in Bangladesh.
At least three Americans were among the dead -- two in Sri Lanka and one in
Thailand, according to Noel Clay, a State Department spokesman. He said a number
of other Americans were injured, but he had no details.
In Aceh, the tsunami "destroyed buildings, homes, markets and streets in almost all
coastal areas," said Mauludi, an Indonesian Red Cross worker north of the affected
area. He recounted hearing what sounded like repeated explosions coming from the
coast. When he left his home to investigate, he spotted a wave towering above the tree
line about a mile inland. Military authorities said they expected to retrieve many more
corpses from the trees, where they remained after the waters receded.
More than 1 million people were left homeless in Indonesia, and rescuers on Monday
combed seaside villages for survivors, the Associated Press reported.
More than half the deaths in Indonesia were reported in Banda Aceh, where Tia
Andarita, a telephone operator, said she watched from her third-floor office as two
buildings collapsed and then seawater surged through the streets. "Many people were
panicked and ran away to rescue themselves," she said.
Over the following hours, tsunamis triggered by the sudden, traumatic shift in the
seafloor raced across the Andaman Sea and Bay of Bengal toward coastal
communities.
24
In Sri Lanka, witnesses reported seeing the sea retreat as swiftly as it had struck,
leaving corpses floating in the lingering floodwaters and the remains of homes, cars
and fishing boats littering the beach. Roads, electricity and telephone lines were
severed. Reports that more than 1,000 had died in the rebel-controlled northeast of Sri
Lanka were impossible to confirm.
Thousands of people were unaccounted for in Sri Lanka. One million others, about 5
percent of the population, were displaced as many fled for higher ground, hauling
their radios, televisions and other valuable possessions on bicycles and seeking refuge
in schools and temples.
"I think this is the worst-ever natural disaster in Sri Lanka," N.D. Hettiarachchi,
director of the National Disaster Management Center, told Reuters.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga declared a national disaster, deploying Sri
Lanka's 20,000-member armed forces to help evacuate people from stricken areas,
and appealed for international relief. Rescue efforts were proceeding slowly because
police and military bases had been flooded.
"Our naval base in Trincomalee is under water, and right now we are trying to
manage the situation there while rescuing people," Jayantha Perera, a spokesman for
the Sri Lankan navy, told Reuters.
Officials said that the waves had dislodged land mines and unexploded ordnance left
over from the country's two-decade civil war, posing hazards not only for rescue
teams but villagers who remained in the area.
In India, a tsunami inundated a broad swath of the country's southeastern coast and
flooded offshore islands. Hundreds of bodies washed up on the long, popular
oceanfront near Madras, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu, and officials said they
expected more to come ashore in coming days. Officials reported that about 1,700
people had died in Tamil Nadu.
The Indian interior minister, Shivraj Patil, told local television that at least 200 others
had died in the neighboring state of Andhra Pradesh. But local residents said that at
least 400 fishermen were missing, and 200 Hindu worshipers who had gone to the
beach in the early morning hours to take a sacred dip were unaccounted for. About
100 fatalities were also reported in both Pondicherry and Kerala.
The official Press Trust of India news agency, quoting a local police commander, said
another 1,000 people had perished on India's Andaman and Nicobar islands, located
off the western tip of Sumatra. "The situation is very grim," said Inspector General
S.B. Deol of the Indian police.
From: http://washingtonpost.com
Notes:
Archipelago: A large group of islands.
Unleash: To release or loose from or as if from a leash.
Tsunami: A very large ocean wave caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic
eruption.
Magnitude: A measure of the amount of energy released by an earthquake, as
indicated on the Richter Scale.
25
Convulsion: Violent turmoil.
Epicenter: The point of the earth's surface directly above the focus of an earthquake.
Strand: To bring into or leave in a difficult or helpless position.
Surging: 浪涌, 冲击 ( surge: To move in a billowing or swelling manner in or as if
in waves. )
Litter: To scatter about.
Demolish: To tear down completely; raze.
Hamlet: A small village.
Orphanage: A public institution for the care and protection of children without
parents.
Towering: Very great or intense.
Retrieve: To get back; regain.
Corpse: A dead body, especially the dead body of a human being.
Recede: To move back or away from a limit, point, or mark.
Panic: (panicked; panicking; panics )To affect or be affected with panic(A sudden,
overpowering terror, often affecting many people at once ).
Trigger: To set off; initiate.
Traumatic: adj.外伤的, 创伤的; 治外伤的( trauma: a serious injury or shock to the
body, as from violence or an accident.)
Sever: To set or keep apart; divide or separate.
Deploy: To bring (forces or material) into action.
Stricken: Affected by something overwhelming, such as disease, trouble, or painful
emotion.
Appeal: An earnest or urgent request, entreaty, or supplication.
Relief: Aid in time of danger, especially rescue from siege.
Dislodge: To move or go from a dwelling or former position.
Unexploded: adj.未爆炸的,未发射的,装着炸药的
Ordnance: Military materiel, such as weapons, ammunition, combat vehicles, and
equipment.
Inundate: To cover with water, especially floodwaters.
Swath: Something likened to a swath; a strip.
Dip: 【宗】为 ...... 施浸礼
Fatality: A death resulting from an accident or a disaster.
Answer the following questions:
1. According to the classification of A Tropical Storm, how many stages have been
mentioned in this report? What are they? Which one is the emphasis? Why? Which
stage(s) is /are not mentioned? Why?
2. When? Where? What happened? And what is special? And what’s the result? How
about the situation of each country that was affected?
3. Read the parts that describe the tsunami and try to make a short description about
a storm of yourself.
4. Translate:
The 9.0 magnitude quake was the strongest in 40 years and the fourth26
most-powerful since 1900, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga declared a national disaster, deploying Sri
Lanka's 20,000-member armed forces to help evacuate people from stricken areas,
and appealed for international relief
Classroom – exercises:
Watching:
1. 1) What does the news tell us?
2) Fill in the blanks:
The casualty figure seems to be still fairly, er, low, I mean, ____ reported dead.
But the number of injured have, has risen from ______ earlier to about ______
now. _____ houses are believed to have been, to have collapsed, and more others
are damaged. Now, it is happened apparently in the, in the countryside. So the
__________ is not where you have a, a densely populated place.
2. 1) What’s the name of the storm? Where is it?
2) Why was the storm in the record book?
3) Where would it make a landfall over the weekend?
4) What are the names of the other two strong storms?
5) Try to point out the possible route of the storm on the map.
Try to write two headlines for the following report: one tries to show the main idea
while the other try to be attractive.
JAKARTA, Indonesia, Jan. 4 -- A torrent of rock and mud engulfed a mountain
village on Indonesia's main island of Java on Wednesday, killing 16 people and
leaving about 200 others missing and feared dead.
Police and local officials said that a landslide smashed through Cijeruk village in
Central Java province, smothering more than 100 homes under 20 feet of earth. The
torrent largely buried the local mosque, where officials said many villagers were
offering their dawn prayers. Other buildings were reduced to heaps of shattered wood
and debris.
The landslide was the second in a week of heavy rains on the island, where 77 people
were killed Sunday night in the coffee-growing area of Jember, about 540 miles east
of Jakarta, the capital.
Homework
Passage 1
Read the following news and answer questions:
1. When and where did U.S. begin to delivery aid?
2. How much was the international relief? Which government gave the largest
donation?
3. What’s the situation of the inflicted area now?
4. Did the relief supplies come quick or slow? Why?
27
5. Try to guess the meaning of the italic words.
U.S. Begins Aid Delivery in Sumatra
Japan Becomes Top Donor With $500 Million Pledge
By Edward Cody
Washington Post Foreign Service
Sunday, January 2, 2005; Page A01
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, Jan. 1 -- The first U.S. Navy helicopters fluttered in from
an offshore carrier group Saturday and ferried aid to flattened towns along the
western coast of Sumatra island largely cut off from help since a tsunami six days ago
inflicted one of history's great disasters on Indonesia.
A day after the United States increased its contribution to the tsunami reconstruction
effort to $350 million, Japan raised its pledge from $30 million to $500 million. With
Japan's donation, the largest from any government, about $2 billion has been
promised for emergency aid for an estimated 5 million people in South Asia and parts
of Africa.
"It's the biggest outpouring of relief in such a short period of time," said Jan Egeland,
the U.N. emergency relief coordinator. "International compassion has never been like
this."
Aftershocks shook the region Saturday, including a 6.5-magnitude tremor 215 miles
west of this hard-hit provincial capital, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.
Smaller quakes were felt in northern Sumatra island and the remote Indian island
groups of Nicobar and Andaman to the north.
Tropical rains poured down in intervals throughout the day, adding to the misery of
tens of thousands of refugees living in tents or without shelter. Heavy rains also fell in
Sri Lanka, creating flash floods that sent villagers running for high ground, according
to news agency reports from Colombo, the capital.
Navy relief deliveries, carried out by a dozen specially fitted SH-60 Bravo helicopters
from the USS Abraham Lincoln, marked the start of a large-scale international relief
operation that residents of devastated Aceh province have been awaiting for nearly a
week. Relief officials said the deliveries of food, water and medicine were particularly
welcome along the shore south of Banda Aceh, where the wall of water destroyed a
series of bridges and left the main road impossible to navigate.
"We are basically here to do whatever is needed," said Capt. Larry Burt of Lamore,
Calif., who commanded the Navy's first group to arrive at Sultan Iskandar Muda
Airport in Banda Aceh.
"I hope to get more stuff in here and start delivering it," said Cmdr. Frank Michael of
Dallas, Pa., who piloted one of the craft.
The dull-gray Navy helicopters, usually deployed to hunt submarines, flew in from
the Lincoln carrier group, which was steaming a few miles east of Banda Aceh in the
now-tranquil Indian Ocean. With help from Australian and Indonesian military
personnel, U.S. forces loaded supplies for immediate delivery southward.
According to civilian relief officials who flew over the disaster zone, significant relief
is needed in coastal areas. Indonesian navy ships have delivered supplies to Meulaboh,
28
a destroyed port 110 miles south of here, they said, but thousands of homeless and
hungry victims have lined the main road north and south of the town, looking in vain
for shelter and food since the tsunami washed away their villages.
As Burt and Michael spoke on the tarmac, C-130 Hercules transport planes from the
Australian, U.S. and Indonesian militaries whined onto the runways with deliveries of
more relief supplies. Singaporean Super Puma military helicopters joined Indonesian
air force craft churning up the air, while trucks drove in and out picking up cargo.
After days during which foreign governments seemed slow to respond to Indonesia's
massive tragedy, there was a sense of sudden acceleration in the international relief
operation.
Alwi Shihab, coordinating minister for social welfare, defended his efforts against
complaints from many victims and Indonesian rescue volunteers that Indonesian and
international officials were slow in getting started. "It's not that we are doing
nothing," he said at a news conference here.
For the first time since the tsunami struck, heavy equipment such as front-end loaders
was seen pushing away debris and mud from Aceh's destroyed city center. But
soldiers continued to pick up bodies from the streets and most of the city remained
without utilities and a working government.
Because many local officials were killed, Shihab said, the Interior Ministry will fly in
more than 300 officials from Jakarta, the capital, to staff provincial and municipal
administrations across Aceh province. Seeking to give an idea of the scope of the
difficulty he faces, Shihab said 150,000 people made homeless by the disaster have
crowded into 20 different refugee camps in Banda Aceh, without counting the
thousands who have found refuge with relatives or are still wandering flattened
villages along the western coast.
U.N. officials said the up-tempo in relief flights created a traffic jam in the skies over
Indonesia and Sri Lanka, the two hardest-hit countries in a disaster whose confirmed
death toll exceeded 123,000. Egeland estimated that the toll actually is about 150,000,
when the missing are counted -- and may never be known with precision.
Indonesia, with at least 80,000 dead and possibly as many as 100,000, by far had the
largest number of victims among the countries bordering the Indian Ocean that were
hit by the tsunami. Sri Lanka, with 28,700 dead, came next. India had 9,000 dead and
Thailand had 4,800 confirmed dead. Across the region, thousands of people remained
missing and were presumed dead.
U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan said in an interview being aired Sunday on the
ABC News program "This Week" that the reconstruction process could take years. "It
will differ from country to country," he said, "but my own sense is that you probably
have five to 10 years."
In Thailand, the government brought in elephants to help clear debris along southern
beaches. "Elephants could work better in pulling out the remains of collapsed
buildings and houses, especially in areas flooded with mud or hilly areas," said
Siriphong Leeprasit, a local official in Phangnga province quoted by the Associated
Press.
29
Paul Shumack, a Brisbane physician who heads an Australian medical rescue team,
said the international aid effort was particularly slow to get up to speed in Aceh
because news of the extent of the death and destruction here trickled out slowly,
leading to tardy decisions by world leaders. In addition, he pointed out, the
earthquake and tidal wave caused such vast destruction that much of Sumatra island's
infrastructure and officialdom was shattered, slowing Indonesia's official response.
"It's a disaster of huge magnitude, a magnitude that is almost beyond conceiving," he
said. "It took a hell of a long time to realize the magnitude of what happened, and then,
given the logistics, to react."
Relief officials also complained that Indonesian military and civilian officials have
slowed the process with bureaucratic requirements and lack of coordination. Until
the U.S. military operation began Saturday, the aid organizations that seemed most
effective were self-contained operations with their own vehicles and supplies, freeing
them from reliance on Indonesian authorities.
Australian medical teams, for instance, have been at work for several days in Banda
Aceh and surrounding towns. Shumack said his team brought enough food to feed its
members for 20 days and enough equipment and medicine to treat 500 people a day
for 10 days.
Many of the patients the Australians have treated suffered from gangrene contracted
after infection of deep cuts and tears received while being tumbled along with the
debris during the tsunami. The injuries went without treatment for nearly a week,
allowing the gangrene to take hold. As a result, doctors have resorted to amputation
on several occasions.
Japan, which has already dispatched two naval destroyers and a supply ship to waters
off Thailand, is also in the midst of deploying additional troops to aid in rescue
operations, officials said in Tokyo.
Despite the quickening flow of international aid, supplies were still slow in reaching
the millions of people who need them, officials acknowledged. Piles of boxes were
stacked up at the airport in Aceh, for example, and Rizal Nordin, governor of
Northern Sumatra province south of here, said hundreds of tons were piling up at a
staging area in Medan.
"The scale of the disaster is just too big," Andi Mallarangeng, a spokesman for
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, told reporters. "We can bring in
the aid, food, but we need manpower to distribute them."
Tsoeng Hasanudin, a coordinator for the International Tzu Chi Buddhist Foundation
at Aceh airport, said his Taiwan-based group had hundreds of boxes of relief supplies
waiting to be distributed but could not find the trucks to get them moving. "We need
more trucks," he complained.
Correspondent Anthony Faiola in Tokyo and special correspondent Noor Huda
Ismail contributed to this report.
From: http://washingtonpost.com
Notes:
Helicopter: An aircraft that derives its lift from blades that rotate about an
approximately vertical central axis.
30
Flutter: To move or fall in a manner suggestive of tremulous flight.
Ferry: To transport (people or goods) especially by aircraft.
Inflict: To deal or mete out (something punishing or burdensome); impose:
Compassion: Deep awareness of the suffering of another coupled with the wish to
relieve it.
Aftershock: A quake of lesser magnitude, usually one of a series, following a large
earthquake in the same area.
Tremor: A shaking or vibrating movement, as of the earth.
Tranquil: Free from commotion or disturbance.
Tarmac: A tarmacadam road or surface, especially an airport runway.
Whine: To produce a sustained noise of relatively high pitch.
Churn: To move with or produce great agitation.
Acceleration: The act of accelerating ( the increasing of speed ).
Front-end: Of or relating to the forward parts of a vehicle.
Loader: n.装货的人, 装货设备, 装弹机
Up-tempo: A fast or lively tempo, as in jazz. 节奏加快的（爵士乐中的）快速或活
泼的节奏
Trickle: To move or proceed slowly or bit by bit.
Tardy: Occurring, arriving, acting, or done after the scheduled, expected, or usual
time; late.
Infrastructure: The basic facilities, services, and installations needed for the
functioning of a community or society, such as transportation and communications
systems, water and power lines, and public institutions including schools, post offices,
and prisons.
Conceive: To apprehend mentally; understand.
Logistics: The management of the details of an operation.
Bureaucratic: adj.官僚政治的
Coordination: The state of being coordinate; harmonious adjustment or interaction.
Gangrene: Death and decay of body tissue, often occurring in a limb, caused by
insufficient blood supply and usually following injury or disease.
Contract: To acquire or incur.
Infection: The pathological state resulting from having been infected. 有传染病的;
被感染后所处的病态.
Hold: To defer the immediate handling of.
Resort: To have recourse. 诉诸，依靠进行求助.
Amputation: 【医】截肢(术)
Dispatch: To relegate to a specific destination or send on specific business.
Destroyer: A small, fast, highly maneuverable warship armed with guns, torpedoes,
depth charges, and guided missiles.
Stack up: (使)堆积; (使)堆放在一起
Passage 2
Read the following passage, try to tell what signs of renewal are mentioned and try to
guess the meaning of the italic words as well as translate the blackened sentence.
31
Signs of Renewal Emerge in Indonesia
Markets Reopened, Roads Cleared In Devastated Aceh
By Alan Sipress
Washington Post Foreign Service
Monday, January 3, 2005; Page A01
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia, Jan. 2 -- A week after a tsunami devastated the
western end of Sumatra island, the streets of this provincial capital are beginning
to show a semblance of rejuvenation, with markets reopening, power and water
restored to nearly half the city and a paralyzing fuel shortage ended.
The most notable progress came over the weekend as the Indonesian government
dispatched scores of bulldozers, backhoes and trucks to excavate mountains of sludge
and rubble from long stretches of downtown streets. The effort has not only helped
spark the first stirrings of commercial activity but also aided the military's search for
at least 30,000 bodies still believed to be decomposing amid the debris.
A massive international drive is taking shape in response to the earthquake and
resulting tsunami that left nearly 140,000 people dead in 12 countries, including more
than 94,000 in Indonesia. Governments have pledged $2 billion for relief, and a
summit in Jakarta is planned for later this week to discuss the distribution of the aid.
For the second day, U.S. Seahawk helicopters flying from the USS Abraham Lincoln
off Sumatra delivered food and water to remote villages along the west coast of Aceh
province, part of the largest U.S. military operation in South Asia since the Vietnam
War. U.S. Marines were also heading to Sri Lanka.
But the relief efforts in Indonesia remained uneven, slowed by poor coordination
among military, civilian and foreign officials.
In Banda Aceh, the hardest-hit areas remain buried under rubble and impassable by
vehicle, but neighborhoods farther inland were largely untouched by the flood. The
main impact there was the result of severed utilities, a collapse of local government
following the deaths of many public employees and a shortage of food and fuel
usually imported from the rest of the country.
By Sunday, however, the Ulee Kareng market about 10 miles from the coast had
grown so busy that knots of traffic formed on the main street. Despite reports of price
gouging, shoppers jostled for space . Vendors hawked leafy greens, bananas and
oranges off low wood-plank tables and live chickens out of woven cages. Hills of
brilliant red chili peppers rose from the gravel on the roadside.
"It's still difficult to get enough supplies here, but more are coming," said Eddy Yahya,
20, a coconut peddler.
Vendors reported that the activity was the result of increased truck shipments from
Medan, in North Sumatra province, which provides Aceh with much of its goods. The
road connecting Medan with Banda Aceh was largely spared by the tsunami.
Kamarudin Zulfkifli, 29, who sells plastic bags of sugar and cooking oil, said the first
shipments came Friday, followed by many more a day later. Muhammed Jafar, 30,
whose egg trays were stacked a dozen high on the sidecar of his bicycle, said he also
began receiving supplies from Medan on Friday.
32
The goods, however, are now commanding inflated prices beyond the reach of many.
Some items cost 50 percent more than usual, and sugar and cigarette prices have
doubled, shoppers said.
"So many of us lost a lot of stuff. Our houses were completely destroyed. We don't
have enough money to buy goods," lamented Sulaiman, 47.
Budi Atmadi Adiputro, a top Indonesian official overseeing relief and reconstruction
efforts in Aceh, said electricity, knocked out across Banda Aceh by the floods, had
been restored to about 40 per Aceh but not down the west coast, which was closer to
the epicenter of the earthquake that triggered the tsunami. Clean drinking water was
being supplied to the same areas that were receiving electricity, he added.
Though cellular telephone service had been restored in much of the province, land
lines still did not function. Adiputro attributed this mainly to the deaths of
three-quarters of the telephone company's 50 employees in the province.
The floods had also crippled Banda Aceh's road network, tearing up pavement and
blockading streets with wood and metal rubble, household belongings, overturned
cars, beached fishing boats and mud. By Sunday, Adiputro said, about 70 percent of
the roads were passable.
Officials had also resolved the fuel shortage, which had stalled some relief operations
and created gas lines up to half a mile long. The tsunami had destroyed two of the
province's three tank farms, interfering with the distribution of fuel to Banda Aceh
and the west coast, according to Adiputro. Now fuel for the capital is being stored in
tankers off the coast, he said.
After a week, the shock that blanketed Aceh along with the rubble has started to lift.
Drivers, who late last week were flouting basic regulations, had begun stopping for
red lights. A few barbershops and video game parlors had pulled open their shutters
alongside the numerous workshops for repairing cars and motorbikes that survived the
tsunami.
Indonesian officials said that the east coast of Aceh was doing even better, with some
schools resuming classes.
The west coast, however, was in far worse condition. Some communities, where more
than two-thirds of the residents were thought to have died, were so badly battered that
survivors would have to be relocated, according to Alwi Shihab, Indonesia's senior
welfare minister who traveled by helicopter Sunday to the city of Calang and a
neighboring village.
Calang, Shihab said, "is going to be an abandoned city. It is not going to be a living
area anymore." He added that the government would eventually rebuild the roads and
other infrastructure so residents could return, but until then they would be evacuated
to Banda Aceh or Meulaboh.
In Banda Aceh, the Ulee Kareng market recorded an important milestone in its
recovery Sunday with the reopening of the Jasa Ayah coffeehouse. Survivors crowded
into the shop, famed for selling the province's best coffee, took their familiar places
around nearly two dozen marble tables and sipped short glasses of the renowned brew.
Some simply watched the street, looking out at the mounting traffic and the green
tents of a refugee camp just beyond.
33
A pair of notices had been posted on the otherwise bare walls of the coffeehouse
advising customers that service would be suspended for 20 minutes whenever it was
time for Muslim prayer. This was a new practice at Jasa Ayah but one readily
understood.
"The signs mean we should learn a lesson from the disaster," said Yusraini, 23, a
waiter with slicked back hair and tight black jeans. "We should be close to God."
From: http://washingtonpost.com
Notes:
Semblance: An outward or token appearance.
Rejuvenation: n.返老还童,恢复活力.
Paralyze: To impair the progress or functioning of; make inoperative or powerless.
Bulldozer: n.推土机
Backhoe: An excavator whose bucket is rigidly attached to a hinged pole on the boom
and is drawn backward to the machine when in operation.
Excavate: To expose or uncover by or as if by digging.
Sludge: Mud, mire, or ooze covering the ground or forming a deposit, as on a
riverbed.
Decompose: To decay; putrefy.
Amid: prep. Surrounded by; in the middle of.
Knot: A tight cluster of persons or things.
Gouge: To extort from. To swindle.
Jostle: To vie for an advantage or a position.
Hawk: To peddle goods aggressively, especially by calling out.
Gravel: An unconsolidated mixture of rock fragments or pebbles.
Inflate: To raise or expand abnormally or improperly.
Blockade: To set up a blockade (The isolation of a nation, an area, a city, or a harbor
by hostile ships or forces in order to prevent the entrance and exit of traffic and
commerce.) against.封锁
Stall: To employ delaying tactics against.
Flout: To show contempt for; scorn.
Batter: To damage, as by heavy wear.
Passage 3
Five dead as earthquake hits Indonesian island
JAKARTA (AFP) - Five people including a mother and child died when a powerful
earthquake hit the Indonesian island of Sumatra on Monday, the head of the
Indonesian national earthquake centre said.
The quake measuring 5.6 on the Richter scale hit the western Padangpanjang region at
9:44 pm (1444 GMT), Fauzi told AFP.
The official, who like many Indonesians only uses one name, said five people died
while two others were seriously injured and five slightly hurt.
“There are several houses collapsed,” Fauzi said.
At least 70 homes in the Batipuh area of Padangpanjang were badly damaged by the
quake, said Erwin, an official with the meteorological and geophysics office in the
34
effected town.
He said many residents were calling his office asking about possible major
aftershocks.
“A lot of people here are a bit traumatized from last night’s quake,” Erwin said.
A series of weaker aftershocks followed the quake, which was centred about eight
kilometres (five miles) southeast of Padangpanjang, a town about 70 kilometres north
of the West Sumatra capital of Padang.
Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are common in Indonesia, a huge archipelago of
more than 18,000 islands and islets strung along the so-called “Pacific ring of fire”.
Thirty-seven people were killed by an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the Richter scale
at Nabire, in Indonesia’s far eastern Papua province, on February 6.
On January 2 one person was killed and about 30 injured by a quake measuring 6.1 on
the islands of Bali and Lombok.
Another earthquake struck the Maluku archipelago on January 29 but did not cause
any injuries or major damage.
Translate:
某人告诉法新社：“昨晚 9 点，XX 地区发生了里氏 5.6 级的地震。”
受害地区 （灾区）
余震
火山爆发
Passage 4
Swaziland declares national disaster due to drought, AIDS
MBABANE (AFP) - Swaziland’s prime minister has declared a national disaster due
to the combined effect of AIDS , drought and hail and appealed to the international
community for help. Prime Minister Themba Dlamini made the declaration—the first
since 1992 -- on Wednesday and announced that the disaster had been gazetted, the
Times of Swaziland reported Thursday.
Dlamini told the paper: “The kingdom of Swaziland is seriously facing a humanitarian
crisis that stems from three adjoining fundamental trends, namely drought and land
degradation, increasing poverty and HIV /AIDS.
“The combination of these trends and severity of the situation leave no doubt in my
mind that the kingdom of Swaziland is indeed in a desperate scenario, which requires
urgent national and international intervention,” he said.
The tiny kingdom, wedged between South Africa and Mozambique, has suffered its
fourth successive year of drought, combined with a serious problem of AIDS, which
affects about 38.6 percent of the adult population, according to the latest government
figures.
Dlamini, who had concluded a tour of the hardest-hit eastern areas said: “Indeed the
situation is bad. The continuing drought and lack of rain have prevented many
planting their fields.”
“The deadly combination of HIV/AIDS and poverty has produced a novel situation
that has increased the vulnerability of families,” Dlamini said. Sarah Laughton, the
UN World Food Programme’s (WFP) emergency co-ordinator in Swaziland, said the
organisation estimated that around one in five people were in need of aid.
35
“The situation has definitely worsened since October last year, when people were still
hopeful about the rain. What happened is in December and January is that it had
become clear that the rains were not sufficient,” she told AFP.
“People are resilient, but their ability to cope has been severely stretched.”
She said the WFP welcomed the declaration, as some donors had been waiting for
such a declaration before deciding on giving more aid.
“You would expect donors to make further contributions,” she said. Laughton added
the WFP was pleased that the government had linked the crisis to HIV/AIDS.
“Drought is not the only issue. We are very pleased that he (Dlamini) acknowledged
that. It’s appropriate.”
The WFP distributes food at 179 points around the country on a monthly basis in the
form of a package that includes maize, beans, oil and a high-protein corn-soy blend,
specifically targeted toward HIV/AIDS sufferers.
Swaziland’s agricultural ministry said in December it needed to import some 86,000
tonnes of maize this year, more than half the 148,900 tonnes needed to feed its
population of around 1.1 million people. Farmers have run out of maize stocks as a
result of poor harvests. Some 217,000 Swazis already depend on the food aid
provided by WFP and the government.
Much of southern Africa is suffering from lower than average rainfall for the current
summer season.
Fill in the blanks:
1. Swaziland is a tiny _________ in ___________; its problem is caused by
_______________, _______________ and _______________.
2. The complete form of WFP is ________________________________.
Passage 5
Thousands forced from homes by Jakarta flooding as five reported dead
JAKARTA (AFP) - Thousands of Jakarta residents have been forced to flee their
homes by flood waters up to two metres (6.6 feet) deep that have claimed five lives,
officials in the Indonesian capital and press reports said.
Jakarta flood control centre official Wagiman, who like many Indonesians only uses
one name, said at least 10 neighbourhoods had been inundated, forcing at least 10,000
to seek temporary refuge in mosques or civic offices.
“Public kitchens have been readied but not yet set up. We will ask help from other
agencies if the flood gets worse,” he told AFP.
Koran Tempo newspaper reported that a boy aged 10 was electrocuted when he tried
to lift a television above the water that poured into his house.
The evening Suara Pembaruan daily said two teens Donny and Reza, both 13, were
swept away in a canal while Muhammad, 16, died while operating a small ferry.
Munah, 63, died in a separate incident the paper said without giving details.
Police and officials at the Jakarta flood centre could not confirm the deaths.
Water close to one metre deep inundated hundreds of shops at a market in the Cipulir
area of South Jakarta, swamping several cars and causing massive traffic jams.
36
A public order officer said waters reached a depth of two metres at Kampung Melayu
in East Jakarta. In the north of the city, water as high as one metre flooded a posh
residential area.
Flooding is a near-annual rainy season ordeal for residents in parts of the city of eight
million.
The several days of rain that have fallen in Jakarta are nothing unusual for this time of
year, the local weather office said.
Two years ago floods and landslides that hit several parts of Indonesia killed at least
147 people including 67 in the Jakarta region. That disaster cut the main highway to
Jakarta’s international airport and inundated up to 20 percent of the city.
More than 330,000 people in the capital were left temporarily homeless amid
allegations that the administration of city Governor Sutiyoso failed to put effective
flood control measures in place.
The airport highway has since been reinforced with a flood wall and Sutiyoso has
evicted thousands of people from riverside shanties because he alleged they
contributed to flooding.
The meteorology bureau recorded 110 millimetres of rain in Jakarta on Thursday, and
150 millimetres at Depok on the southern outskirts, said Hariadi of the bureau.”This is
still close to normal,” he said.
Flooding occurs in Jakarta because many districts are below sea level or alongside
rivers and their tributaries, Hariadi said.
Rain will continue for a few more days but with a reduced intensity of between
50-100 millimetres daily, he said.
Answer the following questions:
1. What’s the meaning of “claim” in the first paragraph?“who like many Indonesians
only uses one name” is mentioned in the second paragraph. Why did the author
mention this?
2. Please try to find out the 5Ws in this news. What is the emphasis of this news?
Why?
3. If you were an editor, and there was no enough space for this news, which
paragraphs would you cut? Why?
What you should learn from this chapter:
1. 10 words and 1 typical sentence relate to disasters;
2. Reading of news on this topic. Please read no less than 2 items every day.
For your reference:
---- aftershock: a smaller tremor following the main shock of an earthquake.
Two huge aftershocks occurred within days in the aftermath of the recent California
earthquake.
---- ambulance
When my brother broke his leg up on the mountain, I rode with him in the ambulance
on the way to the hospital.
37
---- avalanche: a large mass of snow, ice, and mud moving rapidly down a mountain.
Five skiers are missing in an avalanche that occurred in Aspen, Colorado.
---- black ice: a thin sheet of ice, often caused by freezing mist on roadway.
Highway patrol investigators said that the 4-car pile up was caused by black ice.
---- blizzard: a violent snow storm.
A major blizzard knocked out power lines across the entire state of Wyoming last
winter.
---- body count: the number of people killed in a crime or disaster.
The body count from the earthquake is now up to 45.
---- bolt of lightning: a common, streaking flash of lightning, usually with thunder.
Every year there are several reports of people who have been struck by a bolt of
lightning in the U.S.
---- catastrophe: a major disaster
The breaking of the dam created a catastrophe for the local residents by flooding the
entire valley.
---- collapse: to break, fall
The collapse of the West River bridge is still under investigation.
---- collision
A 5-car collision was reported at 8:30 a.m. this morning.
---- contaminate: to introduce a foreign substance that pollutes a particular
environment.
Millions of gallons of bottled water has been recalled due to a reported bacterial
contamination.
---- cyclone: an advancing wind system with heavy rain that rotates around a
low-pressure pressure center.
Some areas of the U.S. have a high tendency to be hit by cyclones.
---- damage
Officials estimated that over $1 billion worth of damage was done by the quake.
---- deadly
Three people were killed in a deadly lightning storm Tuesday night.
---- debris: the damaged remains left over from a violent act of nature.
Volunteers worked for days clearing away the debris left by the hurricane.
---- degree
Officials are trying to determine the degree of damage caused by yesterday’s
earthquake.
---- demolish: destroy
The tornado completely demolished three houses in our neighborhood.
---- devastate: ruin
This town was devastated by a tornado three years ago.
---- drought: a prolonged period without rain.
Federal aid has been embarked to provide relief in drought-stricken areas.
---- dust storm: a whirlwind of dust in a dry region with hot, electrically charged air.
A dust storm has caused several accidents on the interstate by the 34th street.
---- earthquake
38
The Los Angeles earthquake of 1994 was declared a federal disaster by President Bill
Clinton.
---- ecocatastrophe: a destructive upset in the balance of nature, esp. from people’s
activities or negligence.
Oil spills from large tankers are responsible for the cause of ecocatastrophes around
the globe.
---- EL Nino: an unusually warm Pacific Ocean current that occurs periodically and
often causes catastrophic weather conditions.
Climatologists have been tracking an EL Nino in the Pacific and giving hurricane
warnings to cities along the coast.
---- epicenter: the Earth’s surface directly above the true center of the earthquake.
Interestingly, at the epicenter of the recent California earthquake was a porno shop.
---- eruption: the violent release of steam and lava from a volcano.
The eruption of Mount St. Helens in 1980 is one that the world will never forget.
---- evacuate: to leave an area immediately.
Residents had to be evacuated during the flooding of the Mississippi River in 1993.
---- eye: the calm region in the center of a cyclone or hurricane.
The sudden calm after the incredible winds made me realize that we were now in the
eye of the hurricane.
---- famine: the condition of not being able to produce sufficient food within a given
area.
India and Ethiopia have a long history of famines.
---- fatality: death; a person who die in an accident or a crime; an accident causing
death.
Interstate highway accidents have totaled 13 fatalities so far this year.
---- flammable: having the characteristics of catching fire.
Flammable materials must be properly disposed of.
---- flash flood: a sudden, localized, massive rush of water due to heavy rainfall.
Heavy spring rains caused flash flooding in several areas across the state.
---- hail: a shower of small lumps of snow or compacted ice pellets.
Hail is graded and termed by various sizes including: pea, marble, golf-ball, hen’s egg,
tennis ball, grapefruit, and football.
---- landslide: a mass of rock and earth moving rapidly down a slope.
A massive landslide forced the closure of the mountain road through East River
Canyon.
---- magnitude: a measurement of the intensity of an earthquake.
The magnitude of the earthquake surprised the entire city.
---- meteor shower: a cluster of falling rocks, incandescent from passage through the
Earth’s atmosphere, generally burned up before reaching ground.
In the summer of 1993, we watched a rare meteor for several hours in our backyard.
---- monsoon: a seasonal windstorm that brings heavy rains off the Indian Ocean.
A monsoon has been sweeping the coast of India for the last week.
---- mud slide: a mass of mud, swelled by rain or flood, moving down slope.
Crews are working around the clock to clear roads that have been blocked by a mud
39
slide.
---- relief: aid
Hundreds of volunteers worked to provide relief for the flood victims.
---- restore: to bring back to a former or original state.
Electrical power was finally restored after a two-day blackout.
---- Richter scale: a way of expressing the magnitude of an earthquake.
The earthquake registered 8.1 on the Richter scale.
---- rubble: debris
Volunteers are combing through the rubble in search of the victims.
---- survivor: a person who lives after an accident or a disaster.
Only 18 survivors emerged from the plane crash.
---- tidal wave: an unusually high sea wave, often following an earthquake or
resulting from high winds and storm.
Two fishing boats capsized under a 20-ft. tidal wave.
---- toll: the number of death.
The death toll from the earthquake is rising day after day.
---- tornado: violent whirlwind, advancing over land with a funnel-shaped cloud; a
twister
Kansas has always been a hotspot for tornadoes.
---- trapped
Ten men were trapped under a cliff when the avalanche hit.
---- typhoon: a tropical cyclone in the China Sea.
When is the typhoon season in Japan?
---- volcano: a vent in the Earth’s crust from which steam and molten rock are
expelled.
Residents in Japan had to be evacuated when an inactive volcano suddenly erupted.
---- wreckage: broken and disordered parts or material from ship; etc. wrecked.
Search crews combed through the wreckage in an attempt to find any survivors.
1. The earthquake was reported to have been the area’s strongest since 1968 quake,
which claimed 76 lives.
2. An earthquake measured at 5.6 degrees on the Richter scale shook the capital and
the surrounding area at mid-night yesterday.
3. Government officials said they fear the death toll will rise into the hundreds with
thousands more left homeless by the disaster.
4. Torrential rains accompanied by thunder and lightning caused havoc in many
areas.
5. The surging flood waters carried with them whole trees and boulders.
6. The 80-mile per-hour winds tore off roofs, ripped down power cables and
uprooted trees, leaving countless people homeless.
Chapter 3
Accidents
Sample Reading
40
Read the following article and try to:
3. What was the method recommended?
4. Try to guess the meaning of the blackened words.
5. Read the news used as example and try to find out: where? When? Why? And
what’s the result?
Topic by topic
One of the fastest ways to build your vocabulary through the newspaper is on a topic
by topic basis.
You can do this by focusing on stories within general categories of topics like
elections, basketball games, or visits by important people. You can also follow a
particularly interesting story for several days or more. In each case, you will begin to
see a set of words commonly associated with the topic.
If you can’t understand them from context, this is a good time to open your dictionary.
Your time will be well spent because you will see many of these key words so often
that they will soon be almost impossible to forget.
Let’s illustrate this idea with one of the most common stories: fire. There are not
many ways to tell fire stories and news writer use a relatively limited vocabulary to do
so. Below are some of the most frequently-used words:
Fires are commonly called blazes in the newspaper. If they are very big
and hot, they might be called infernos, or if they are especially deadly,
the term holocaust might be used. Fires have several parts: smoke,
bright-yellowish flames, and small bits of fire known as sparks. Smoke
is said to billow high into the sky, flames engulf (surround and cover)
what they burn, and sparks fly. Fires depend on flammable (able to
burn) materials, but they are often caused by carelessness. In Thailand,
faulty electrical wiring is a common cause. Although it is difficult to
prove, arson (deliberate setting of a fire) is often suspected as well.
The job of the firefighters is to extinguish (put out) fires and to contain
(prevent from spreading) them. High winds, inadequate fire prevention
systems and poorly constructed buildings can all severely hamper
(hinder, make difficult) these efforts.
Fires often erupt (start very quickly) and they may race as they spread
from building to building. Fires are very angry (they rage) and loud
(they roar like a lion). And, of course, they destroy (demolish,
devastate, raze) things. Two words relating to destruction are quite
specific to fires: gut (burn the insides of) and char (blacken). Fires
leave rubble and debris (broken pieces of things) strewn (scattered)
everywhere in and around the fire site. Firefighters comb (search very
41
carefully) the debris for possible survivors, for bodies of victims who
might have perished (died) and for the cause of the fire itself.
If there is enough warning, people can be safely evacuated (helped to
leave) from a burning building. But when a fire breaks out, the natural
reaction is to flee (escape) as quickly as possible. This can lead to
panic, and some people may perish in the stampede (uncontrolled rush
to escape) that results. Those who are unable to escape may succumb
to (die from) heat, flames, fumes (gases) or smoke inhalation
(breathing in). This can happen very quickly, so it is important to begin
rescue (saving from danger) efforts immediately.
Try it out
Below are some sections from an actual fire story. Notice how many of the above
words you will find—plus some words that weren’t included. You can add them to
your list and we suggest you continue doing so as you read other fire stories.
Probe launched after blaze at Mah
Boonkrong
REPORTS of inadequate fire prevention and alarm systems at Mah
Boonkrong are to be investigated following yesterday’s blaze, the eighth at a
shopping centre since October.
Firemen rescued people from lifts as thousands of shoppers and store
workers fled the centre in Patumwan when fire broke out in the afternoon. No
serious injuries were reported but a number of firemen were overcome by
fumes.
The fire started in a neon sign at the Domon dress shop on the third floor of
the building, which was under renovation, and spread to two adjoining shops,
one of which, the For You shoe shop, reopened yesterday after
refurbishment.
Fire Brigade commander Pol Maj-Gen Anek Wongwanich said the sprinkler
system in the building malfunctioned.
Pol Maj-Gen Anek also said guards closed entrances after the building was
evacuated, hampering firemen, who had to punch holes through glass
partitions to gain access.
42
Special Branch Pol Lt/Cpl Somphol Chantraprapakul, who was working as a
guard, said he saw sparks and smoke at the sign but was unable to douse it
with an extinguisher.
Classroom-reading
Now please read the following report about a fire. Make use of the knowledge you’ve
just got and try to answer the following questions:
1. What happened? When? Where? What’s the cause? What’s the result?
2. If you were an official in Lima, what would you do after the fire to prevent similar
disasters?
3. Fireworks are also favoured by Chinese. What should we do to avoid possible
disaster caused by them?
Fireworks Cache Explodes in Crowded Area of Downtown Lima,
at Least 77 Killed
By Monte Heyes
Associated Press writer
Lima, Peru (AP) ---- A cache of fireworks exploded at a shop near a street market in
downtown Lima, spreading fire through four blocks of apartments and stores. At least
77 people were killed and 115 others injured, the Civil Defense chief said.
The initial blast ripped through a fireworks shop at about 8 p.m., Lima Fire Chief
Tulio Nicolini said. Flames rushed through the three-and-four-story buildings as
firefighters and volunteers dragged people from the burning structures.
Bodies charred beyond recognition were scattered in the streets and in buildings.
Police carried badly burned victims stripped to their underwear in makeshift
stretchers made of plastic sheeting.
One firefighter rushed from a burning building with a baby in his hands as people
stumbled out into the smoky street, where flames had gutted parked cars.
A dozen people trapped behind security bars on the second floor of a building pushed
their arms through broken windows and screamed to be rescued.
Civil Defense chief Juan Luis Podesta said 77 bodies had been found by early Sunday
and 115 people were being treated for burns in several hospitals.
Interior Minister Fernando Rospigliosi said the fire was brought under control shortly
before midnight.
Rospigliosi said the victims included shopkeepers who had shut themselves inside
their stores to deter looters.
Efforts to fight the blaze were hindered at first by low water pressure and by crowds
of onlookers blocking fire trucks from the scene.
Tulio said 440 firefighters were called in from several districts to fight the blaze,
about four blocks from Peru’s Congress in the historic downtown section of Lima.
Officials cut electricity to the area to limit the possibility of short circuits, and
firefighters used portable generators to power floodlights trained on the blaze.
43
Twenty municipal water trucks were sent to the scene to support the firefighters.
Streets in the area were ankle deep with water and long plumes of smoke rose into the
night sky.
Police blocked the site to keep out looters. The fire broke out in an area of aging
buildings, some of them from the colonial era, used as shops and apartments.
President Alejandro Toledo cut short a trip to the north of Peru to return to the capital.
He declared Sunday and Monday national days of mourning.
Fireworks are popular in Peru during Christmas and New Year celebration and are
sold on streets through the capital during the season. Rospigliosi said the sale of
fireworks should be banned in Peru.
2002-12-30 14:19:32
From: Guide to English Newspaper Reading and Understanding
Notes:
Cache: A hiding place used especially for storing provisions.
Rip: To become torn or split apart..
Char: To burn the surface of; scorch.
Strip: To remove clothing or covering from.
Sheet: A broad, thin, usually rectangular mass or piece of material, such as paper,
metal, glass, or plywood.
Stumble: To proceed unsteadily or falteringly; flounder.
Gut: To destroy the interior of.
Deter: To prevent or discourage from acting, as by means of fear or doubt.
Looter: 掠夺者, 抢劫者, 强夺者.
Generator: One that generates, especially a machine that converts mechanical energy
into electrical energy.
Floodlight: A unit that produces a beam of intense light; a flood. 探照灯，泛光灯产
生强光束的装置；探照灯
Classroom – exercises:
Watching:
1. What does the news tell us?
2. Fill in the blanks:
Zhang Zuoji (Heilongjiang Governor): The ____________of the waters of the
Songhua River has led to the _________ of water supply to the city of a few million
people. This is a matter we must not take lightly. Officials from the various_____
must treat this matter with utmost importance and see to it that we can ______ our
water supply to the city.
Anchor: It's also bad news for the city's_________ and other industries. Tourists flock
to Harbin to see the________ Ice Festival, featuring sculptures carved out of ice. For
the city officials, however, the biggest toll of Harbin's water crisis will be the danger
of____________.
Writing:
44
Try to write a news summary of about 80 words according to the following facts:
Introduction
Thirteen coal miners were trapped after an explosion inside the Sago Mine in
West Virginia. The cause of the explosion is unknown. Click through the
timeline to read the progression of events according to Roger Nicholson, Gene
Kitts and Ben Hatfield, representatives of International Coal Group, which
owns the mine.
Monday
6:31 a.m.
An underground explosion causes a power outage at Sago Mine as two crews
entered the mine to resume production after the holiday. All 13 members of the
first crew are trapped.
6:40 a.m.
Surface workers receive a call from the second, six-person, crew reporting the
power outage. The crew begins to exit the mine. Nicholson says the mine
superintendent headed underground shortly afterward to investigate and
ordered the dispatcher to begin the notification process. The mine
superintendent made it about 9,000 feet into the mine before encountering
dangerous levels of carbon monoxide and turning around.
5:00 p.m.
Bulldozer and drilling crews arrive on site and begin survey operations to
determine the best drilling location.
5:51 p.m.
An eight-member rescue team enters the mine accompanied by a coal
company foreman. The team tests the air about every 500 feet and has to
disconnect the power to the phones they use to communicate with the surface
before each test in case there is any combustible gas present.
6:23 p.m.
First rescue team reports from 1,000 feet into the mine that carbon monoxide
and methane levels are within normal range.
6:30 p.m.
A second rescue team enters the mine. Several other teams remain on
standby.
8:30 p.m.
Drilling equipment is on site over miners' expected location, about 2 miles from
the mine's entrance and 260 feet below the surface.
10:30 p.m.
Drilling is scheduled to begin. Coal company officials said they will drill a
small-diameter hole to provide fresh air. It is expected to take four to six hours
to reach the miners' expected location.
10:45 p.m.
Rescue team reports safe levels of carbon monoxide and methane levels at
4,800 feet from mine's entrance. No problems with the structure of the mine
45
have been reported.
Tuesday
4:30 a.m.
Drilling of a hole to provide fresh air to trapped miners has begun, officials
announce in a news conference.
6:50 a.m.
Drilling begins on a second hole that will be used to install air quality
monitoring equipment.
7:42 a.m.
No signs of life have been detected at the mine, says Ben Hatfield of the
International Coal Group. A camera dropped through the completed drill hole
showed little damage to the area but no survivors. Air tests returned
discouraging results, with dangerous levels of carbon monoxide in the area
where the trapped miners were thought to be.
10:30 a.m.
Rescuers reach 10,200 feet into mine; miners believed to be trapped between
11,000 feet and 13,000 feet from entrance.
11:20 a.m.
Rescue teams move ahead of the search robot, which officials believe has
become bogged down in muddy conditions.
5:00 p.m.
Ben Hatfield, president of International Coal Group, says rescue teams are
1,000-2,000 feet from where the miners are trapped, and that distance should
be closed within 5 hours. Officials say they don't know the cause of the blast,
though it resembled a methane explosion.
9:10 p.m.
Ben Hatfield announces that the body of one of the miners has been found in a
mine car. Rescue crews are still searching for the remaining 12 men.
11:49 p.m.
Church bells ring as reports first indicate that 12 miners have been found alive.
Wednesday
2:14 a.m.
One miner, Randal McCloy, is rescued and taken to a nearby hospital in critical
condition after being trapped underground for nearly 40 hours.
2:30 a.m.
Hatfield informs family members at the church that all but one of the miners are
dead, contrary to earlier reports that 12 were found alive.
2:44 a.m.
Miners' relatives begin to tell reporters including CNN's Anderson Cooper that
they had been told all but one of the miners were dead.
3:09 a.m.
Ben Hatfield, president of International Coal Group, announces that despite
previous reports, only one survivor was found in the mine.
8:15 a.m.
46
Doctors say lone survivor Randy McCloy is suffering from severe dehydration
and a collapsed lung. The 27-year-old is being sedated and remains in a
critical condition, they add.
3:30 p.m.
Ben Hatfield announces that miner Randal McCloy Jr. is being treated in a
hospital, and acknowledges the courageous efforts of the rescue teams.
"We prayed for 13 miracles," Hatfield says. "Despite our grief and despair at
the loss of our 12 co-workers, we want to celebrate the one miracle that was
delivered."
Homework
Read the following news and do the exercises:
Passage 1
Read the following article and try to answer the following questions:
What happened in the news? What’s the reason? What’s the result?
There are quite a few quotations in the news. Whose words were quoted? Why?
What do you think of Alvarez? What sentence you would give him if you were the
judge?
L.A. Train Crash Blamed on Suicidal Man
At Least 11 Dead, More Than 180 Hurt After SUV Is Left on Tracks
By Kimberly Edds and William Branigin
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 26 -- At least 11 people were killed and more than 180 were
injured Wednesday when a commuter train derailed after crashing into a car parked on
tracks north of Los Angeles, then sideswiped an oncoming train, knocking it off its
rails.
Authorities said the SUV, a Jeep Cherokee, was left on the tracks by an apparently
suicidal man, who jumped from the vehicle moments before the southbound
commuter train plowed into it.
It was the worst train wreck in the United States since March 1999, when an Amtrak
train hit a truck and derailed in Illinois, killing 11 people and injuring about 100. In
the deadliest train wreck in recent years, an Amtrak train plunged off a railroad bridge
near Mobile, Ala., in September 1993, killing 47 people.
The SUV was hit shortly after 6 a.m. Pacific time by a southbound Metrolink train,
which then went off the rails and started a deadly chain reaction, authorities said.
After derailing, the commuter train, which was being pushed by its engine, struck a
Union Pacific locomotive parked on a side track, knocking it onto its side, fire
department officials said. The commuter train, en route to Union Station in Los
Angeles from the western suburb of Moorpark, then buckled, sideswiping a passing
northbound train that was headed toward Burbank.
Diesel fuel in the locomotive caught fire as a result of the crash, and flames spread to
parts of the wreckage before being extinguished.
47
The driver of the SUV, identified as Juan Manuel Alvarez, 25, of Compton, Calif.,
was taken into custody, and police said he would be charged with homicide. They said
the abortive suicide attempt did not involve terrorism.
"This is a complete outrage," Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca angrily told
reporters at the scene of mangled rail cars and smoking wreckage in the suburb of
Glendale, north of downtown Los Angeles. He said the driver would be held
accountable.
"You don't put your car on the track and put yourself in harm's way and all these
passengers in harm's way," Baca said. Among the dead was a deputy in Baca's
department who was riding the southbound train to work. In a light drizzle, rescue
workers paused to salute the flag-draped stretcher carrying the body of Deputy James
P. Tutino as it was removed from the wreckage.
"This whole incident was started by a deranged individual that was suicidal,"
Glendale Police Chief Randy Adams told a news conference. "I think his intent at that
time was to take his own life, but [he] changed his mind prior to the train actually
striking the vehicle."
Just hours before maneuvering his car onto the tracks, Alvarez had twice tried to kill
himself, slashing his wrists and stabbing himself in the chest, police said. When those
attempts failed, they said, he got into his car and headed for the tracks behind a
Costco store.
Several train passengers said they saw Alvarez jump from his SUV just before the
southbound train plowed into the vehicle, Adams said. Approximately 250 people
were aboard the two commuter trains traveling in opposite directions at the beginning
of the morning rush hour.
Rescue workers initially thought Alvarez was a crash victim when they found him
wandering near the scene, bleeding from his wrists and chest. But he was arrested
after saying he was the driver of the SUV that was struck by the train.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he muttered as he walked around the crash site, authorities said.
Alvarez was taken to USC Medical Center for treatment of his self-inflicted wounds,
and police moved to book him on multiple counts of homicide. Adams described him
as "upset, remorseful but cooperative." The police chief said Alvarez has a criminal
record involving drugs.
The force of the crash hurled passengers down the aisles and into tables as the rail
cars twisted and turned before finally coming to rest. At least one train car caught fire.
Bleeding and dazed, passengers scrambled to escape the battered rail cars as smoke
filled the air. Employees of the Costco warehouse next to the train tracks ran out to
help the injured, bringing blankets and water. A triage center was set up in the store's
parking lot as firefighters rushed to the scene, began extinguishing the flames and
worked to free passengers trapped inside the twisted wreckage.
Nearly 400 rescuers searched the debris for victims, some of whom were carried away
on stretchers. Firefighters dropped search cameras into tiny spaces inside the crushed
compartments, looking for signs of life.
Authorities said that 123 people were taken to 15 hospitals and that about 40 people
were in critical condition. About 60 people were treated at the scene and released.
48
Bruised and bloodied passengers from the Metrolink train en route to Los Angeles
from Moorpark said they had heard a loud rumbling before the crash, which sent
people tumbling down the aisles.
"I thought it was an earthquake because of the sound of gravel underneath the train,"
Hemlata Thomas, 67, told the Associated Press.
Train rider Jeff Vergeldedios told a local television station, "We felt a sharp jolt, and
then it felt like we were hitting gravel." Touching his bandaged head, he said, "All of
a sudden we had a big hit. And that was it."
"It sounded like someone dropped a bundle of lumber on top of our building," said
Lynn Causey, 44, who manages a lumber yard next to the train tracks. "The building
was just shaking."
After hearing the crash, Causey, who often rides the same train, rushed to help move
injured passengers away from the wreckage. If he had not driven to work because it
was raining, he said, "I would have been there, standing up with my bicycle. I would
have been right at the door, getting ready to get off. I wouldn't have had anything to
hold on to. I would have been killed."
Tracy West, 38, of Los Angeles said the car she was in tipped over at a dangerous
angle.
"I was flipping over people until I landed a couple of feet ahead and hit a cup holder,
armrest or something," she told the AP. "Then when it was over, I saw that I was
bleeding and had bruises all over."
From: http://washingtonpost.com
Notes:
Commuter: One that travels regularly from one place to another, as from suburb to
city and back.
Derail: To run or cause to run off the rails.
Sideswipe: To strike along the side in passing.
Plow: To move or progress with driving force.
Buckle: To cause to bend, warp, or crumple.
Diesel: A vehicle powered by a diesel engine.
Custody: The state of being detained or held under guard, especially by the police.
Homicide: The killing of one person by another; a person who kills another person.
Mangle: To mutilate or disfigure by battering, hacking, cutting, or tearing.
Accountable: Liable to being called to account; answerable. 应负责任的；有责任的
Derange: To disturb mentally; make insane.
Maneuver: A controlled change in movement or direction of a moving vehicle or
vessel, as in the flight path of an aircraft.
Slash: To make a gash or gashes in. 割开,在…上弄有一个或几个切口
Stab: To pierce or wound with or as if with a pointed weapon.
Hurl: To send with great vigor; thrust.
Daze: To stun, as with a heavy blow or shock; stupefy.
Triage: A process for sorting injured people into groups based on their need for or
likely benefit from immediate medical treatment. Triage is used on the battlefield, at
disaster sites, and in hospital emergency rooms when limited medical resources must
49
be allocated.
Rumble: To move or proceed with a deep, long, rolling sound.
Tumble: To collapse; to drop.
Gravel: An unconsolidated mixture of rock fragments or pebbles.
Jolt: To cause to move jerkily.
Tip: To move to a slanting position; tilt.
Flip: To toss in the air, imparting a spin.
Bruise: An injury to underlying tissues or bone in which the skin is not broken, often
characterized by ruptured blood vessels and discolorations.
Passage 2
Read the following article and try to answer the following questions:
What happened in the news? When? Where? What’s the cause and what’s the result?
What did people do after the accident?
What’s the function of the article Some Major Train Disasters Since 1900 after the
news? Do you think that’s useful?
Iranian Train Explosion Kills 200
TEHRAN, Feb. 18 -- Burning railroad cars laden with gasoline and fertilizer exploded
in northeastern Iran on Wednesday, killing more than 200 people, many of them
firefighters who had surrounded the derailed cars, according to the official Islamic
Republic News Agency.
The massive explosion came after 51 freight cars careered out of control for several
miles and derailed near Neyshabur, a city of 170,000 about 400 miles east of Tehran.
The derailment ignited a series of fires that drew scores of firefighters, rescue workers
and onlookers from surrounding villages.
The toppled cars spilled gasoline, sulfur, fertilizer and other industrial chemicals on
either side of the east-west rail line, which at the site of the explosion runs through an
area of one-story mud brick homes. When the spilled substances ignited, the
percussive force of the explosion brought down the roofs of several buildings near the
tracks.
News pictures broadcast on state television showed hellish scenes of tangled metal
illuminated by flames of orange, pink and bright red. Plumes of gray and black smoke
swept past crowds of onlookers and rescue workers wearing surgical masks against
the toxic smoke.
Hospital workers told reporters of treating injuries similar to those in Bam, the city in
southern Iran where an earthquake killed more than 40,000 people on Dec. 26. The
predawn quake brought down the heavy mud brick that many Iranians use to construct
their homes. It was unclear how the string of freight cars went out of control. Initial
reports raised the possibility that the incident might have been initiated by a mild
tremor, but the U.S. Geological Survey recorded no seismic activity in the area,
according to the Associated Press. The blast was so powerful, however, that Iranian
sensors registered it at tremor with a magnitude of 3.6.
Mohammad Maqdouri, the head of local emergency operations, said the runaway cars
50
rolled out of the station on their own at about 4 a.m., set on their way by “some
vibrations,” according to the state news agency.
Without a locomotive, the freight cars rolled downhill to the next stop, about 12 miles
away at the village of Kayyam, where they jumped the track and overturned. Several
ignited, and firefighters and rescue workers converged on the scene. Onlookers
gathered from surrounding houses. The massive explosion occurred hours later, at
9:37 a.m., Maqdouri said. The blast shattered windows six miles away and severely
damaged five villages along the tracks, according to the state news agency.
“Official vehicles mounted with loudspeakers are roaming the city, calling for
volunteers to donate blood,” said Saeed Kaviani, editor of the local Sobh-e-Neyshabur
newspaper, in a telephone interview reported by the Associated Press. The editor said
dozens of people remained buried under the rubble of their homes in the villages.
The dead included many firefighters, as well as several prominent local officials. The
official news agency said the provincial governor and two senior emergency response
officials perished while supervising efforts to control the fire.
Estimates of the number of people injured ran from 300 to 400, transported by
ambulance or military helicopter to Mashhad and Neyshabur. Of the 200 people
treated at three hospitals in Neyshabur, 80 percent were injured when their homes
collapsed, the news agency reported. The remainders were being treated for burns or
effects of the blast.
After the explosion, the area came under the control of the Islamic Revolutionary
Guard Corps, the elite fighting force that is responsible for disaster response in Iran. It
closed off the area, citing fears of more explosions.
From: http://www.washingtonpost.com/
Some Major Train Disasters Since 1900
A list of some of the major train disasters since 1900:
_ May 22, 1915: Gretna, Scotland. Passenger train collides with a troop train, killing
227 people.
_ Dec. 12, 1917: Modane, France. Troop train derails near the entrance of Mt. Cenis
tunnel, 543 killed.
_ Jan. 16, 1944: Leon Province, Spain. Train wrecks in the Torro Tunnel, more than
500 killed.
_ Mar. 2, 1944: Salerno, Italy. Train stalls in a tunnel, suffocating passengers. 521
killed.
_ Oct. 22. 1949: Nr. Dwor, Poland. Danzig-Warsaw express derails, more than 200
killed.
_ Apr. 3, 1955: Guadalajara, Mexico. Train plunges into a canyon, 300 killed.
_ Sept. 29, 1957: Montgomery, West Pakistan. Express train collides with stationary
oil train, 250 killed.
_ Feb. 1, 1970: Buenos Aires, Argentina. Express train rams stationary commuter train,
236 killed.
_ Oct. 6, 1972: Saltillo, Mexico. Train carrying religious pilgrims derails and catches
fire, 208 killed.
_ June 6, 1981: Bihar, India. Train crashes after bridge collapses in flash floods during
51
monsoon, more than 400 killed.
_ Jan. 4, 1990: Sindh Province, Pakistan. Overcrowded 16-car passenger train collides
with standing freight train, more than 210 killed.
_ Sept. 22, 1994: Tolunda, Angola. Faulty brakes cause a train to plunge into a ravine,
300 killed.
_ Aug. 20, 1995: Firozabad, India. A speeding passenger train crashes into a train that
had stalled after hitting a cow, 358 killed.
_Aug. 2, 1999: Gauhati, India. Two express trains collide head-on, more than 285
killed.
_Feb. 20, 2002: Cairo, Egypt. An overcrowded train en route from Cairo to the
southern city of Luxor burst into flames, then travels 2 1/2 miles before the driver
stops. More than 360 people die.
_ Feb. 18, 2004: Neyshabur, Iran. Runaway train cars carrying fuel and industrial
chemicals derail, setting off explosions destroy five villages. At least 200 people
killed.
From: http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGAH481FTQD.html
Notes:
Laden: adj. 装满的, 负载的, 苦恼的
Career: To move or run at full speed; rush.
Ignite: To cause to burn.
Percussive: 有强大震动力的; 令人震惊的.
Hellish: adj. Of, resembling, or worthy of hell; fiendish; highly unpleasant.
Tangle: To mix together or intertwine in a confused mass; snarl.
Illuminate: To provide or brighten with light.
Plume: A feather, especially a large and showy one.
Toxic: Capable of causing injury or death, especially by chemical means; poisonous.
Seismic: Of, subject to, or caused by an earthquake or earth vibration..
Blast: A violent explosion, as of dynamite or a bomb.
Sensor: A device, such as a photoelectric cell, that receives and responds to a signal
or stimulus.
Magnitude: A measure of the amount of energy released by an earthquake, as
indicated on the Richter Scale.
Vibration: The act of vibrating.
Locomotive: A self-propelled vehicle, usually electric or diesel-powered, for pulling
or pushing freight or passenger cars on railroad tracks.
Converge: To tend toward or approach an intersecting point.
Mount: To set in position for use.
Rubble: Irregular fragments or pieces of rock used in masonry. 粗石,用于砖石建筑
的不规则碎片或碎块
Elite: A group or class of persons or a member of such a group or class, enjoying
superior intellectual, social, or economic status.
Suffocate: To kill or destroy by preventing access of air or oxygen.
Canyon: A narrow chasm with steep cliff walls, cut into the earth by running water; a
52
gorge.
Collide: To come together with violent, direct impact.
Stationary: Not moving.
Monsoon: A wind from the southwest or south that brings heavy rainfall to southern
Asia in the summer.
Ravine: A deep, narrow valley or gorge in the earth's surface worn by running water.
Stall: To employ delaying tactics against.
Passage 3
Read the following article and try to answer the following questions:
1. What’s the emphasis of this news, the accidents or the rescue activity? Can you
get what happened from this news? Why did the reporter write in this way?
2. What made the rescue difficult?
Troops find no survivors in Kam Air crash
Published Monday, February 7, 2005
KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - NATO troops scouring the wreckage of an Afghan
airliner atop a snowy mountain peak today found human remains amid the debris but
no sign that any of the 104 people on board survived the crash, a spokesman said.
Relatives swarmed toward the freezing mountain to try to retrieve the bodies, but they
were turned back by Afghan security forces struggling to mount a recovery operation.
Clear skies allowed a Spanish Cougar helicopter to drop five Slovenian mountain
troops onto the mountaintop 20 miles east of Kabul this morning.
They struggled through the deep snow among several pieces of torn fuselage.
"They did find human remains," NATO spokeswoman Maj. Karen Tissot Van Patot
said. It was impossible to say how many bodies the remains belonged to, she said. The
troops were lifted out again as visibility deteriorated.
Officials think all those aboard - most of them Afghans but also including more than
20 foreigners - perished in what would be Afghanistan’s worst aviation disaster. Six
Americans were believed to be on board.
The Boeing 737-200, flown by Kam Air, Afghanistan’s first post-Taliban private
airline, vanished from radar screens Thursday afternoon as it approached Kabul
airport in a snowstorm from the western city of Herat. There were 96 passengers and
eight crew members aboard.
NATO helicopters spotted parts of the wreckage some 11,000 feet up Chaperi
Mountain on Saturday, but freezing fog, low clouds and up to 8 feet of snow had
prevented alliance and Afghan forces from reaching the site.
By late today, 100 Afghan soldiers had gotten to within 150 yards of the crash site,
Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Mohammed Zaher Azimi said. He said that they
would camp there overnight and that he hoped medical teams would arrive tomorrow
to begin collecting the bodies.
The Afghan troops had been searching for a land route to the area because any other
route, such as helicopter, had earlier been thought to risky.
53
At the town of But Khak, German and French soldiers ran mine-detecting equipment
over a makeshift landing pad Afghan officials said would be used as a staging post,
although the Afghan Defense Ministry said no bodies would be brought down before
tomorrow.
Afghan soldiers set up a checkpoint on the nearby road to stop relatives and reporters
from traveling to the foot of the mountain and possibly getting in the way of the
recovery operation.
They decided against halting a truck full of relatives who insisted on mounting their
own search for their loved ones, but they persuaded others that it was futile.
Awaz, an Afghan traveling with 14 other family members in two sport utility vehicles,
said he wanted to bring back the body of his 22-year-old brother, Baz Mohammed,
before it was harmed by the extreme cold and scavenging birds.
"I will know his face, or his shalwar kameez" baggy pants and shirt "or I will find his
ID card in his pocket," Awaz, who like many Afghans goes by one name, said before
he was turned back.
From:
http://www.showmenews.com.
Notes:
Scour: To clear (an area) by freeing of weeds or other vegetation.
Debris: The scattered remains of something broken or destroyed; rubble or wreckage.
Swarm: To fill with a crowd.
Slovenian: n. 斯洛文尼亚人[语] adj. 斯洛文尼亚人[语] 的
Fuselage: The central body of an aircraft, to which the wings and tail assembly are
attached and which accommodates the crew, passengers, and cargo.
Deteriorate: To grow worse; degenerate.
Makeshift: Suitable as a temporary or expedient substitute.
Pad: A helipad. 直升飞机起降台
Stage: To stop at a designated place in the course of a journey.
Halt: To cause to stop; arrest.
Futile: Having no useful result.
Passage 4
Read the news and answer the questions in the blanket:
After 44 Hours, Hope Showed Its Cruel Side
Toll of Mine Tragedy Much Greater Than 12 Deaths
( What do we call this part in journalistic writing? Try to
get the meaning of this part after you finished reading the news. )
By Tamara Jones and Ann Scott Tyson
( What do we call this part in journalistic writing? )
Washington Post Staff Writers
( What can you get from this part? )
Thursday, January 5, 2006; A01
( What can you get from this part? )
54
SAGO, W.Va. ( What do we call this part in journalistic writing? )-- The storm
kicked up sometime before dawn Monday, sweeping across the scabbed mountains
and bare winter woods with enough ferocity to jolt people awake in this Appalachian
hamlet. County Commissioner Donnie Tenney felt his blue farmhouse rattle. Thunder,
he thought. The phone roused him again. It was his sister. Someone from her prayer
chain had told her there had been an explosion at the Sago Mine. Men were trapped.
Six miles away in Buckhannon, Upshur County's only incorporated town, tiny St.
Joseph's Hospital prepared for multiple casualties. At the small Baptist church down
the muddy road from the mine, anxious families slowly gathered. Nineteen men had
entered the coal mine that morning. Only six had escaped. ( What do we call this part
in journalistic writing? Is it a delay one or a direct one? )
"With each hour that passes, the likelihood of a successful outcome diminishes,"
reported Bennett K. Hatfield, president of International Coal Group Inc., which owns
the mine. The tiny hollow was soon a jumble of network satellite trucks, emergency
vehicles and the black cars of state officials.
For 44 heart-wrenching hours, an extraordinary drama would unfold before a
watching nation, a tragedy made cruel not because hope was abandoned, but
because it was embraced. Jubilation would evaporate into blind rage, prayers would
become curses and uncertainty would swell into terrible accusation. ( Can you try to
translate this paragraph? )
Twelve bodies would eventually be pulled from the Sago Mine.
But the toll was much greater than that. ( How many people died in this accident?
Why did the writer make such a sentence here? Please answer this question after you
finished reading the whole news. )
The first day passed in a blur of uncertainty. Upshur County was once dominated by
coal, but now the mines were scattered and few. It was still considered good work in a
depressed region, and some of the miners drove an hour or more to work at Sago. It
wasn't uncommon to find fathers and sons, uncles and brothers following one another
into the deep tunnels.
Now, even after a new generation found work in the small businesses or big retail
chains that have come to dominate the landscape, the community suddenly found
itself pulled to the mines again. Quietly, efficiently, the rituals of comfort and solace
were set in motion. At Sago Baptist Church, the Red Cross appeared with cots and
blankets and headache medicine. Women arrived at the church with baked hams and
potato salad and homemade cakes. Counselors and preachers circulated among the
distraught family members.
Sago Mine had been cited for scores of safety violations, but officials from
International Coal, which took ownership and began running the mine in November,
said none posed the immediate threat to miners' lives that would have prompted
mining regulators to close it down.
After the explosion, it took 24 hours for rescuers to create a road for drilling
equipment, pinpoint the location and complete the hole that gave them their first
glimpse into the area where they believed the miners were located.
55
The mine was shaped like a backward capital F, with the stem two miles long.
Rescuers were guessing that the miners were in the farthest corner from the entrance;
they established a fresh-air base half a mile from that spot. Teams with oxygen gear
would communicate by hand-held radio to the fresh-air base, which in turn would use
a crude phone to report to a command center above ground where Hatfield and other
officials waited.
The mining officials trekked to the church and the media site for occasional briefings.
The initial news was grim: Carbon monoxide levels in the mine far exceeded the level
that would allow human survival. A microphone was lowered into the earth, and
rescuers pounded away 260 feet above, hoping survivors might hear, but there were
no sounds in response. "We are clearly in the situation where we need a miracle,"
Hatfield told reporters Tuesday afternoon, "but miracles happen."
The explosion appeared to have come from a sealed inactive part of the mine; the
exact cause is still under investigation, but it "resembled" a methane blast, Hatfield
explained. When cameras found no signs of collapse or major damage from the blast,
those gathered in the church began reassuring one another that maybe the men could
survive, maybe they had escaped to a safe pocket somewhere. "Maybe," one hopeful
woman told television reporters, "they got on the other side of the air."
Helen Winans, waiting for word about her 50-year-old son, Marshall Winans, was
annoyed at the way people kept asking their what-if questions when officials appeared
for briefings. Marshall Winans's wife and three grown children were there, and
siblings and in-laws, and friends as well. "I told them all along that whole crew was
comin' out alive," Helen Winans recalled. "Miracles do happen."
The Rev. Jerry Murrell, pastor of the Way of the Holiness church in Buckhannon, was
one of the local clergy members keeping vigil with the families at Sago Baptist.
"There were times of intense prayer, and times of softly singing hymns," he said.
"Ministers would take turns reading Scripture. The one we seemed to keep turning
back to was Romans 8:28 where the Apostle Paul promises that all things work
together for good to those who love God."
On Tuesday night, the first body was found 11,200 feet from the entrance portal of the
mine. The portal bus that would have transported the missing crew was discovered
intact.
Rescue crews pushed deeper into the mine. Inside the church, relatives dozed on pews
or cots. But tension was growing, and people began retreating to their cars for respite.
Helen Winans decided to try to catch a nap in her truck. She awoke to find her
grandson pounding on the window shortly before midnight. "Hurry!" he cried.
Murrell was standing inside the church talking to Gov. Joe Manchin III when they
heard someone suddenly scream, "They're alive! They're alive!"
"There was just this roar of jubilation," the preacher said. People fell into one
another's arms, laughing and weeping. "People were dancing, praising God, thanking
Him."
Underground, rescuers had heard moaning and found the spot 13,225 feet deep into
the mine where the miners had barricaded themselves behind one of the thin plastic
curtains called battices used to direct air flow or close off an opening. All appeared to
56
have used the breathing apparatuses that provide oxygen for an hour, mining officials
found.
It was at this point, Hatfield told a news conference later Wednesday, that the
disastrous chain of miscommunication began. The moaning miner was in extremely
critical condition. Speaking through a full-face oxygen mask, a rescuer radioed word
up to their fresh-air base, which then contacted the rescue command center, and "said
12 were alive," Hatfield recounted. Within minutes, the church bells were ringing and
the hollow was mobbed with cheering townspeople and families. The relatives waited
to hear when they would be reunited with the loved ones they had feared dead.
"We were told they would be coming to the church to greet their families," Murrell
recalled. "They even told us which door they would come in, and how to prepare, that
immediate family members should line up first. People were singing songs, kids were
dancing in the aisles. The exuberance just began to build, it was just unbelievable."
In Buckhannon, nurses at St. Joseph's had cleared a wing on the second floor for the
dozen miracle patients the hospital expected any minute. Extra staff members were
called in, hospital spokeswoman Lisa Turner said, and 12 teams were assembled so no
miner would have to wait for treatment. Warming blankets were prepared, and IV
poles set up. A special yellow decontamination tent was set up in case any survivors
had been exposed to noxious chemicals.
At 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, the report came into the command center that one survivor
was on his way out of the mine, but that the other 11 showed no signs of life. For
nearly two hours, waiting for medical teams to reach and assess the miners, company
officials "clung to hope" that the men were comatose and might be revived, Hatfield
said.
Rescue teams brought a miner later identified as Randal McCloy Jr., 27, to the surface
about 1:20 a.m., and the ambulance carrying the survivor sped to St. Joseph's, with
news crews following. News of the miners' miraculous survival had come right at
deadline for East Coast newspapers.
Medical teams descended into the mine to examine the remaining men and provide
urgent care or to confirm that they were dead. At that point, Hatfield said, the
company tried to send word through state police to the church that they didn't know
whether there were more survivors. But that word never got through, and mining
officials didn't go to the church themselves to relay the doubt. It was nearly 2:30 a.m.
when Hatfield received definitive word from the medical teams inside the mine: All
11 remaining men were dead.
The crowd in the church had grown restless. People huddled in blankets on the front
porch, waiting for their loved ones to appear. "I could just see Marshall walking out
and saying, 'Huh. Mom, what're you doing here?' " Helen Winans said. "He's always
been cool and calm as a cucumber."
Lynette Roby didn't know anyone in the mine, but she lives nearby and pulled her
three young children from bed and headed to the church to join the celebration when
she heard the miraculous news. Three hours had passed since the church bells first
pealed when the governor accompanied Hatfield and a large police escort to face the
families. "Everyone was screaming and clapping and yelling," Roby said, but their
57
gleeful anticipation was quickly shattered. The governor was hanging his head.
Hatfield was saying something about miscommunication, and then blurted out the
soul-crushing news: Only one man had made it.
People lunged forward, and shouts rose from the crowd.
"Liar!"
"Hypocrite!"
Inside the church, people began screaming. Elizabeth Buton, 20, a Red Cross
volunteer, was frightened. Some in the crowd had been drinking, she said, and people
started threatening to go home and get guns and go after the mining officials.
The ministers implored people to pray for the lost men, but Murrell remembers the
bitter cries in reply.
"What good would it do to pray now?"
Helen Winans was appalled by the ugliness. "You don't carry on like that in the house
of the Lord," she said. Roby saw people fainting, others lunging for the officials. "I
grabbed the kids and took off. It was awful."
By Wednesday evening, a shaken Hatfield had told a news conference that "the
presumption is that these miners tried to exit when they became aware of the
explosion. They felt the percussion and heard the noise, perhaps. We believe they
probably encountered heavy smoke, very dense smoke."
McCloy, a father of two, remained in critical condition Wednesday night at West
Virginia University Ruby Memorial Hospital. The Associated Press reported that he
was experiencing problems from oxygen deprivation, which affected his heart, liver
and kidneys, and perhaps his brain. He was on dialysis because of kidney damage
caused by dehydration ( Can you try to guess the meaning of this word? ), the AP
reported. The bodies of the 12 other miners were all recovered by Wednesday
morning and were sent to the Upshur County medical examiner.
At the tiny church, the crowds were gone, but people trickled back for a candlelight
service. Church bells rang in a haunting reminder of lost happiness, as fellow miners
of the dead men gathered to sing hymns and honor their "brothers."
None of the families returned to the church where they had waited and prayed and
finally left in anger and despair. But a young coal miner spoke in a choked voice of
the fallen veterans who mentored him as a "red hat," or newcomer, to the dangerous
trade.
"Every time I go in that mine, I'll be thinking of the men who didn't make it out," said
Ricky Black, a third-generation miner who worked just last week with the ill-fated
crew.
Passage 5
Read the following news, try to find out what happened and try to guess the meaning
of the blackened words:
Oil spill Alaska's biggest since 1989
ANCHORAGE (Reuters) -- A cargo ship that ran aground, split in two and poured
fuel oil into the Bering Sea in December ranks as one of the biggest spills in Alaska,
58
dwarfed only by the 1989 Exxon Valdez disaster, state environmental officials said
Thursday.
Among the reported environmental impacts of the wreck of the Malaysian-flagged
Selendang Ayu, which ran aground in the state's Aleutian island chain, are 1,600 dead
birds and oil in the plumage of bald eagles and the fur of red foxes.
The grounding site, off the uninhabited western coast of Unalaska, is remote, rugged
and a haven for sea birds and marine mammals.
It is managed as part of the sprawling Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge and
is important habitat for Steller sea lions, Steller Eiders and Aleutian sea otters, species
listed as endangered or threatened.
The U.S. Coast Guard and other government agencies estimate that 321,047 gallons
poured from the vessel, out of the 424,000 gallons of intermediate-grade fuel oil and
18,000 gallons of diesel fuel on board.
"It's pretty safe to say that this is definitely the largest intermediate fuel oil spill that
we've ever had," said Leslie Pearson, manager of the state Department of
Environmental Conservation's emergency prevention and response program.
Though much smaller than the 11 million-gallon Exxon Valdez event, the spill's
environmental effects have been difficult to quantify because of the area's fierce
weather, treacherous terrain, scarce winter daylight and general remoteness.
"This is a significant spill, and there's been significant resource damage," said Greg
Siekaniec, manager of the Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge.
But figuring out how many birds were killed and what type of birds were victims will
take some detailed scientific study, Siekaniec said.
Causing other concerns is the escape of some of the 60,198 metric tons of soybeans
the Selendang Ayu was carrying, intended for China.
Some soybeans have coated the beaches with layers up to 4 feet thick, Siekaniec said.
State officials closed commercial fishing in the area around the wreckage.
The 738-foot Selendang Ayu grounded after being adrift for two days in the Bering
Sea.
Crewmen were unable to restart the engine after shutting it down for repairs.
Most crew members were evacuated shortly before the December 8 grounding, but six
died when a Coast Guard rescue helicopter was struck by a large wave and crashed.
From: http://www.cnn.com/
What you should learn from this chapter:
1. 10 words and 1 typical sentence relate to accidents;
2. Reading of news on this topic. Please read no less than 2 items every day.
For your reference
1. An accident involving a jack-knifed 18-wheeler and 4 other vehicles killed two
people and injured six others today.
2. A passenger jet with at least 34 people aboard was flying south when it
disappeared from radar and communications were lost.
59
3. Traffic congestion costs the country about $2.3 billion a year in lost productivity,
health problems and wasted fuel.
Chapter 4
Disease and Health
Sample reading
Read the following article and try to answer the following questions:
1. What do CJD and BSE mean?
2. What is the people’s reaction to the mad-cow disease? In Major’s view, who
should take the responsibility for the beef scare?
3. Who is to blame for the epidemic of the disease? How does Switzerland fight the
disease?
4. Is the EU willing to help Britain to solve the problem of the beef scare? Why or
why not?
5. Can Britain kill all the mad cow? Explain.
6. Did the EU leaders take beef with gusto? So you think it possible for Europeans to
like beef as before? State the reason.
Anything But Beef
Consumers across the continent, panicked by fear of mad-cow disease, continue to shun steak
and roasts.
And the European Union steps in to stern what is no longer just Britain’s problem.
By Scott Sullivan and William Underhill
Distraught callers jammed Germany’s consumer hot lines with “mad cow” questions
all week. Is milk safe to drink? ( Yes. ) Can you catch the disease from sitting in
leather chairs? ( No. ) In London, where the panic began, an insurance company
introduced customized coverage for humans who are worried about contracting the
illness. For a £40 annual premium, Millennium Insurance Management promises a
£40,000 payout to any policy-holder upon diagnosis. Shoppers in Britain and across
the Continent developed a sudden appetite for spring lamb and veggie burgers ---anything but steak. Sales of beef tumbled by a third in France, Spain, the Netherlands
and Belgium. In Germany, they plunged 40 percent ---- and slaughterhouses sent their
workers home on forced vacations. The World Health Organization announced an
emergency meeting to be held in Geneva this week.
At the center of the storm, Prime Minister John Major flung blame in all directions.
60
“ What has happened is collective hysteria ---- partly media, partly opposition and
partly European,” the British prime minister declared. Yet even in the ranks of his
own Conservative Party, some members are openly critical of the way Major’s
government has handled the crisis. “ It has been at best clumsy, at worst
catastrophic, ” says Edwina Currie, a Tory member of Parliament and former health
minister. Two weeks ago press leaks forced the health minister, Stephen Dorrell, to
make a hasty disclosure. Scientists had found 10 individuals dead or dying from a
new strain of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a rare but lethal degenerative brain
condition. Worse yet, they suspected that the infection might have come from cattle
infected with mad-cow disease. That was frightening news in a country where roughly
160,000 cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) have been reported since
1985. It scared other Europeans, too. They consume roughly more than half of
Britain’s exported beef ---- considerably more than 250,000 metric tons in 1995 alone.
Early last week the European Union imposed a worldwide ban on exports of British
beef and byproducts, from gelatin to cosmetics. Major howled that the prohibition was
illegal, but it scarcely mattered. International demand for British beef had already
dropped to just about zero. The ban remained. Farmers and butchers unions in
Germany and France applauded. They had complained for years about being
undersold by British farm products, and they hailed the Health Ministry’s disclosure
as a backhanded vindication.
Swine fever: By midweek that attitude began to change. The ban was supposed to
protect the European market against fears of tainted beef. Instead, the public regarded
the move as an official confirmation of the mad-cow threat. Europe’s homemakers
quit buying beef of any sort, whether British or domestic. The unions began
complaining of a “ crisis of consumer confidence.” France’s president, Jacques Chirac,
and Germany’s chancellor, Helmut Kohl, phoned Major and offered their support.
Kohl recalled that the European Union had come up with about $300 million to help
Germany and Belgium halt an epidemic of swine fever a decade ago. Last year the
European Agricultural Fund produced an unexpected surplus of $5 billion. Some of
that money could help compensate Britain’s stricken beef farmers. On the eve of the
EU’s Inter-Governmental Conference, such a move might even convince the British
that Europe could actually be useful.
Indeed, at the conference that opened on Friday in Turin, the continent’s leaders
turned the summit into a pep rally for Major, for Britain ---- and for beef. Little
business was on the schedule, so the leaders were free to set their own agenda. Chirac
insisted there was “ not a shred of scientific evidence ” that mad-cow disease can
infect human beings. Major, noticeably more cautious, proclaimed British beef “ safe
in the ordinary meaning of the word.” Jacques Santer, the European Commission’s
president, called for “ a return to consumer confidence ” and hinted that Britain’s
export ban might be lifted “ very soon. ” Others denounced the “ mass hysteria ”
sweeping Europe. “ Instead of mad cows,” cracked Austria’s chancellor, Franz
Vranitzky, “ we should be talking about mad reporters.”
But the crisis is no tabloid fantasy. On the contrary, it’s just as serious as the money
the summit leaders pledged to rescue the beef industry. They earmarked up to $2.5
61
billion in EU funds to support beef prices and to compensate British farmers for
livestock that may be destroyed in order to eradicate the mad-cow threat. They also
ordered a series of emergency round-the-clock talks between Britain’s agriculture
minister, Douglas Hogg, and representatives of the European Commission. The
assignment is to draw up a plan for how to eliminate the disease and how to pay for
the job. The plan is supposed to be presented at a full-dress meeting of Europe’s farm
ministers this week. If the EU’s Standing Veterinary Committee approves, Britain’s
beef embargo may be lifted within days.
Europe wants results for its money. “ There are no blank checks, nor should the
impression be given that we are just waiting to pay out, ” declared Franz Fischler, the
EU’s agriculture commissioner. Last week Britain made a few token gestures, such as
outlawing the use of cattle feed containing kind of mammalian meat or bone meal.
The country’s mad-cow problems are thought to have originated from the use of cattle
feed containing the remains of sheep that were infected with scrapie, a similar brain
disease. The practice was discontinued in 1988, and the incidence of BSE has
declined dramatically. About 2,000 cases a month were reported in 1994; so far this
year the rate has been about 300 a month.
That’s still 300 cases a month more than the Europeans want to see. They are
expected to demand that Britain’s farmers destroy significant numbers of their cattle,
especially older animals that may have been exposed to tainted feed. Last week the
British government said it was considering that step for as many as 4.5 million cattle;
some officials have even spoken of killing some of the country’s nearly 12 million
beef and dairy animals ---- a grisly project that would cost as much as £10 billion.
Even to dispose of that many carcasses would be a Herculean task. Burying them in
landfills might put drinking-water supplies at risk from dangerous diseases. Burning
them on open-air pyres wouldn’t reach temperatures hot enough to kill all pathogens.
The safest method is cremation, but in all of Britain there are only 10 facilities
licensed for the incineration of livestock carcasses. By one estimate, those crematories
would need 70 years to process 12 million head of cattle.
Many Britons balked at the idea of even a limited culling of the country’s herds.
“ What we are talking about is slaughtering healthy animals at the taxpayers’ expense,
not to protect the public but to restore their confidence, ” complained Sir Jerry
Wiggins, chairman of the Commons Select Committee on Agriculture. Erik Millstone
of the Science Policy Research Unit added, “ There is no way in which you can
calculate how many cattle you need to put in the incinerator before confidence is
restored.” Some commentators found the very notion absurd. Simon Jenkins, a
columnist for The Times, wrote: “ Like some primitive tribe we are expected to
immolate our property to propitiate the raging gods.”
What’s strange is that the Europeans are hardly raging. The British government didn’t
even bother to give advance warning to the European Commission before issuing its
mad-cow news two weeks ago. And many Europeans think British cows, British feed
and British carelessness are responsible for spreading BSE on the Continent. After
Britain, Switzerland has Europe’s highest incidence of ESE ---- more than 200 cases,
all told. Unlike the British, the Swiss have taken aggressive steps to fight the disease,
62
such as spot checks on feed manufactures. In France and Ireland, the entire herd is
eliminated when a single case is discovered. Yet despite all qualms, Europe continued
to import beef until last week’s ban. Many other trading partners have been far less
obliging. The threat of BSE has prompted a U.S. ban against British beef since 1989
and a similar ban in Australia since 1988.
Spinal cords: Agricultural and public-health experts in Britain find many other
serious flaws in the government’s handling of the mad-cow epidemic. Officials waited
18 months after discovering the first cases of BSE to declare it a “ notifiable ” disease,
requiring that all cases be reported to the authorities. They waited nearly three years to
forbid use of cattle brains and spinal cords in food for humans. The government
offered to compensate farmers for any suspected BSE cases they destroyed ---- but at
far less than the animal’s normal value, a rate that discouraged farmers from reporting
the disease in their herds, according to critics. “ It could all have been over in a
month,” says Millstone. “ It might have cost a few million pounds. But that’s a
fraction of what it’s going to cost now.”
Currie argues that the government likewise fumbled when it disclosed the possible
link between CJD and mad-cow disease. “ If you are going to announce a health
scare,” she says, “ you have to announce at the same time what you are going to do
about it. ” The government has yet to announce any preventive measures beyond a
few tightened restrictions, such as the ban on mammalian meat in cattle feed. Currie
herself knows all too well how easy it is to start a public health panic; she left her post
as health minister after helping touch off a scare in the winter of 1988-89 over the
safety of British eggs and other farm products.
In Turin, they were still looking for a solution. Meanwhile, they tried to head off the
consumer stampede with confident smiles and bold speeches. No matter how many
British cows are destroyed, European beef sales are not likely to return to their
pre-scare levels for a long time ---- if ever. Like many Americans, Europeans have
been cutting down on their intake of beef in recent years, and the mad-cow panic will
probably intensify that trend. Even so, the leaders gamely battled on. “ At lunch, they
served us veal, ” Chirac told reporters in Turin. “ Every one of the presidents and
prime ministers ate it with gusto.”
While the dining and talking continued in Turin, scientists in Britain issued more bad
news. The new strain of CJD was implicated in another case, bringing the total of
suspected victims to 13. The 29-year-old woman died in February at a hospital in
Kent. Further tests are needed to confirm the diagnosis. Meanwhile the hospital’s
menu continued to feature beef ---- imported from Argentina.
With Theresa Waldrop in Bonn
( From Newsweek, April 8, 1996 )
Notes:
Distraught: very anxious and troubled almost to the point of madness.
Tumble: to fall suddenly.
Catastrophic: of or caused by catastrophe ( = a sudden, widespread, or extraordinary
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disaster); disastrous.
Strain: kind, sort.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD): 一种罕见而致命的海绵状病毒性脑病；疯牛病。
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE): mad-cow disease.
Backhanded: oblique or roundabout:
Vindication: The defense, such as evidence or argument, that serves to justify a claim
or deed.
Tainted: infected.
Chancellor: a prime minister in some European countries.
Pep: brisk energy or initiative and high spirit.
Earmark: To reserve or set aside for a particular purpose.
Full-dress: adj.正式的,大规模的
Mammalian: 哺乳动物
Scrapie:痒病；一种绵羊和山羊身上常见的致命的病，症状为间断性搔痒，肌肉
协调性丧失，并且神经中枢系统逐渐退化
Carcass: the body of a dead animal.
Pyre: a high mass of wood for (ceremonial) burning of a dead body.
Pathogen: [微生物] 病菌, 病原体
Cremation: the act of burning ( a dead person or animal ).
Balk: to be unwilling to face or agree to something difficult or unpleasant.
Cull: to take from a group and kill.
Incinerator: One that incinerates, especially an apparatus, such as a furnace, for
burning waste. 焚化炉焚化器，特指一种装置，比如烧废品的炉子
Immolate: to kill as a sacrifice.
Propitiate: to win the favor of ( somebody who is angry and unfriendly ) by some
pleasing act.
Qualm: an unpleasant feeling, often of being nervous or unsure before doing
something.
Spinal cord: 脊髓.
Notifiable: ( of certain diseases ) needing by law to be reported to an office of public
health.
Fumble: to handle ( something ) without neatness and skill; mis-handle.
Turin: a city of NW Italy.
Stampede: here a sudden mass panic about BSE.
Veal: meat from the young of a cow.
Gusto: eager enjoyment ( in doing or having something.)
Classroom-reading
Read the following news and try to answer the following questions:
1. What changes are there in the French people’s attitude towards food? What caused
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the changes?
2. Why do some French people prefer the traditional way?
3. How does the reporter use statistics and quotes to show that the French people are
eating less meat, bread and wine?
4. How does the trend in drinking wine change in France?
5. What did the survey find out, and what is the obvious advantage of the French
eating habit?
6. This news also has talked something about the mad-cow disease, but the reporter
wrote from a different angle. Can you try to compare the different writing angles
of this news and the news you just read?
7. Translate:
The baking industry began a campaign last year to encourage more people to eat
bread, with the slogan, “ If we don’t keep eating bread, one day there won’t be
any more.”
At Dinner Table, More Than Beef Falls From Grace
By Craig R. Whitney
Paris, May 2 ---- Mad cow disease may be changing menus and habits throughout
Europe, but in France, beef is not the only thing that is disappearing from the table.
The French eat less daily bread and not even a quarter of them drink wine daily with
meals any more, as their way of life becomes more hurried, more health-conscious,
and well, more like life everywhere else, including the United States.
And for all the 70 percent butterfat cheese the French still consume, health
consciousness and weight watching have begun to change the way they look at eating
meat. Making money used to be known as “earning your beefsteak”. No longer.
Marc Nourry, wearing a white apron the other day in his Boucheries Reunies meat
market, sees the changes every day. “ We’ve been selling less and less red meat even
before the crisis, but since March I’ve been selling less than half as much beef as I
usually did.”
“ But all kinds of things are very different nowadays ---- Sunday used to be our
biggest day, but these days most people go away for the weekend, and everybody
always seems to be on a diet.”
Since Britain set off an international crisis by reporting a possible link between
bovine spongiform encephalopathy in British cattle and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease,
which destroys human brain tissue, beef has been piling up in freezers all over Europe.
The European Union banned the export of British beef on March 27, but millions of
European consumers no longer want beef or veal, no matter where it comes from,
according to butchers here who fear the change will be permanent.
Mr. Nourry’s meat market is the kind of place you picture when you think of the way
people have traditionally done their food shopping in France ---- often, still, at
open-air markets, with separate stops at the butcher’s, the baker’s, the greengrocer’s
and, this being France, the local wine merchant’s as well.
But 65 percent of the French buy most of their food in supermarkets these days,
though some are having second thoughts, perhaps because they cannot ask a live
65
butcher where the meat comes from.
“ I never bought meat in supermarkets, and I wouldn’t think of it now,” said a
customer making her way down the Rue des Belles Feuilles. “ At least with butchers
we have some guarantee that the meat really isn’t British, but at the supermarket, who
knows?”
Even before the “mad cow” scare, the French were consuming 17 percent less beef
than they were in 1980, and 28 percent less veal, according to statistics gathered by
the consumer division of the Finance and Economics Ministry.
But the bottom fell out of the French meat market with the British crisis in March.
Since then, wholes sale butchers’ business has slipped 20 to 50 percent, trade groups
say.
Consumption of fish and fowl has been rising here since the late 1980’s, along with
health awareness, but vegetarianism has not yet become as widespread in France as it
is in the United Stated, despite such famous converts to the cause as Brigitte Bardot.
Even bread isn’t sacred in France any more, according to the baking trade. Where the
French ate a daily average of 20 ounces of bread per capita in 1960, last year they ate
an average of 5 ounces of it.
Women eat even less, an average of barely 4 ounces of bread a day, according to the
National Association of French Millers, and often the bread they eat is not the
traditional crusty baguette but softer stuff sold prepackaged in supermarkets.
“ Bread is a part of our identity, ” said Agriculture Minister Philippe Vasseru recently.
The baking industry began a campaign last year to encourage more people to eat
bread, with the slogan, “ If we don’t keep eating bread, one day there won’t be any
more.”
At the Bechu Bakery on the Avenue Victor Hugo, where the words on the window
advise shoppers that bread is even better if people actually eat it, customers still line
up on Sunday mornings to buy baguettes for lunch. But according to Roland Amon,
the owner, “ Younger customers buy a lot less than their parents did. ”
Bakers are like winemakers ---- we all use very simple basic materials, but everybody
produces a product that tasted unique,” he said. “ It’s uniformity that will kill us. ”
But today, if you think the French never sit down to a table without a bottle of wine,
even rough vin ordinaire in plastic containers, marketing surveys done by the wine
industry say you are wrong. Drinking wine with meals is no longer a daily habit for
nearly 80 percent of the French people today. As recently as 1980, it was, for 41
percent of them, according to the Vinexpo institute, affiliated with the principal wine
trade organization in Bordeaux.
And the trend away from wine drinking is even stronger among people under 25,
according to a poll of 4,000 people the institute commissioned last year.
Nearly 70 percent of 14-to-25-year olds surveyed then said they never consumed any
wine, compared with 48 percent in 1980, and 87 percent of young non-drinkers said
the reason was that they did not like the way wine tastes. Fifteen years ago, nearly a
quarter of all 25-year-olds in France said they drank wine regularly with meals. Last
year, less than 5 percent did.
Colette Barbey, a widow in her 80’s who lives in Neuilly, said, “ I can’t get over my
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granddaughter cooks. She will fry a couple of crepes and maybe a bit of ham, with a
salad, and call that dinner.”
Describing herself as “ part of a tradition dating from the 19th century, really, ” Mrs.
Barbey said that family lunches 30 years ago at her house always consisted of four
courses. “ My husband always wanted a carefully composed meal at fixed hours, and
we always had wine.”
A survey by the Center for Research on the Study and Observation of Conditions of
Life recently showed that 47 percent of the French now eat lunch outside of the home
at least once a week. The noontime family meal at home used to be the only one at
which meat was served, but the urban way of life of dual-income, commuting families
has altered that tradition.
Surprisingly, most said their usual meal was often potatoes and vegetables. Only 5
percent admitted to eating hamburgers at restaurants.
Doing as the French do can have its advantages. According to the International
Journal of Obesity, only 6.2 percent of men in France and 6.3 percent of women were
classified as obese last year, compared with 32 and 33.5 percent in the United States.
From: The New York Times, May 3, 1996
Notes:
Crusty: Having, resembling, or being a crust.
Baguette: A small, narrow loaf of French bread often used for sandwiches.
Affiliate: To adopt or accept as a member, subordinate associate, or branch..
Obesity: n. The condition of being obese; increased body weight caused by excessive
accumulation of fat.
Obese: Extremely fat; grossly overweight.
Classroom exercises
Watching and answer the questions:
1. How old is the girl now? How old was she when she first had the trouble?
2. What’s the trouble the girl has?
3. What can you learn from the girl’s experience?
Read the following news and write a lead for it:
The study, published yesterday in the June issue of The American Journal of Public
Health, reported that men and women who smoke cigarettes face twice the risk of
suffering a first heart attack as do non-smokers.
The annual incidence of first heart attacks among pipe and cigar smokers was also
found to be higher than among non-smokers, but not as high as among cigarette
smokers.
Men who are “least active”, both on and off the job, are twice as likely as “moderately
active” men to suffer a first heart attack and four times as likely to suffer a fatal heart
attack.
Men who were classified as “most active” showed no advantage in terms of heart
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attack rate over men considered “moderately active”. The authors reported that other
differences between active and inactive men, such as the amount they smoked, could
not account for their different heart attack rates.
The heavier men in the study had a 50 per cent greater risk of suffering a first heart
attack than the lighter-weight men. An increased risk was also found among women
who had gained a lot of weight since age 25.
None of the differences in risk associated with weight could be explained on the basis
of variations in smoking and exercise habits, the authors stated.
The incidence of heart attacks was also found to be higher among white men than
among non-whites and among Jewish men than among white Protestants and
Catholics. But the heart attack rate among Jewish women was not markedly different
from that among non-Jewish women.
Homework
Read the following news and do the exercises:
Passage 1
Read the following article and try to answer the following questions:
1. What is special about the bird flu in Hong Kong?
2. How do people catch influenza?
3. How could we prevent a pandemic situation of the bird flu?
Latching On to a Horror
On a spring day in 1997, Dutch virologist Jan De Jong received an unusual specimen
of influenza from a colleague in Hong Kong. The sample had been harvested from a
sick 3-year-old boy and matched no known human flu strain.
Tests at a colleague’s lab in Rotterdam found that the boy had been sickened by a bird
flu virus. It was the first evidence that birds could give influenza directly to people.
Two days later, De Jong was on a plane to Hong Kong. “We had to act very, very
quickly,” recalled De Jong, now a senior investigator at Rotterdam’s Erasmus
University. “We realized this could be a pandemic situation.”
Authorities eventually ordered the eradication of every chicken, duck and goose in
Hong Kong. All told, six people, including the boy, died before the outbreak of avian
flu faded. But the troubling findings in the Dutch lab continue to haunt health
authorities worldwide.
The virus dubbed H5N1 has now spread throughout Asia. Although it is innocuous in
wild waterfowl, it is so unfamiliar to the human immune system that scientists fear it
could seed a deadly influenza pandemic. All it needs is to transform itself so it can be
transmitted between humans ---- a possible scenario if enough people are infected.
Once inside human cells, it could mutate on its own or merge with pieces of human
influenza already adapted to spreading among Homo sapiens. Influenza assails its
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victims with high fevers and aches that, in the most serious cases, can lead to
secondary infections, pneumonia and death.
“Past epidemics have been limited to a few million chickens,” De Jong said. “But we
are now talking about the whole area of Southeast Asia, so we have to multiply the
risk by hundreds of thousands.” The discovery in 1997 “was a profound moment,”
said influenza researcher Kennedy Short---- emeritus professor of the University of
Hong Kong. “What really hit me was the sudden realization that the next pandemic
could arise, doing so right on our doorstep.”
H5N1 resurfaced in 2001, 2002 and 2003. Last year, while the world was focused on
the SARS virus, two Hong Kong residents who had visited China were infected with
H5N1, and one died.
The latest outbreak has engulfed 10 countries throughout Asia. Authorities have
exterminated millions of domestic chickens and ducks to contain the bird epidemic.
At least 21 people have died in Vietnam and Thailand.
So far, scientists believe nearly all the human victims contracted the disease from
birds. In two cases, however, investigators haven’t ruled out human-to-human
infection.
“It’s incredibly troubling,” said Richard Webby, influenza researcher at St. Jude
Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis. “The more chance that virus has of
interacting with humans and human viruses, the more danger we’re in.”
If the virus succeeds in tweaking its genome to become a far-traveling human scourge,
it will join a rogue’s gallery of killer influenza viruses that have struck humanity
through the millennia.
Years of work by Robert Webster at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in
Tennessee and colleagues revealed that ducks and other wild waterfowl harbor a
smorgasbord of 15 different H types and nine distinct Ns. All of these exist in
relatively unchanging form and are able to mix in every combination.
Their conclusion was that all influenza is ultimately bird influenza; every flu virus on
the planet today can probably trace its lineage back to the gut of a waterfowl. Perhaps
Homo sapiens only met this killer after we domesticated ducks and brought both a
valuable food source and a simmering reservoir of sickness forever close to our
hearths.
Although chickens can get sick, these wild water birds have lived with the virus for so
long that they typically don’t fall ill. They just house the virus in their guts and
excrete it in their feces. For humans, this reservoir in birds is the ultimate parts
warehouse for pandemics, and it can never be eradicated.
Luckily, bird influenzas are extremely hard to catch, even when people deliberately
try (and in their laboratories, some scientists have). They are not adapted for living in
people, in part because they need bird-like receptors to latch onto cells, and a warmer
bird-like temperature to multiply in.
In fact, scientists had long supposed that creating a new pandemic flu required a third
party ----the pig ---- as a mixing vessel to make the bird-human jump. Pigs have
human and bird receptors in their respiratory tracts.
That’s why the 1997 Hong Kong outbreak from flu caught directly from a bird was
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such a shock.
The notion was so outlandish that scientists first suspected contamination from a
nearby lab where Shortridge was working on animal flu.
De Jong spent days in the lab of his colleague, Dr. Wilina Lim, making absolutely
sure the sample she had sent him was pure. Lim’s lab was meticulous, its paperwork
perfect. Contamination from a bird seemed out of the question. It was time to sound
the alarm. Webster, in Memphis, heard the news and scrawled a note to himself: “H5
in a child!”
Over the next few months, 17 others sickened and five of them died, all from an
H5N1 virus that was traced to exposure to poultry. Testing revealed that there was a
lot of H5N1 in Hong Kong. About 20% of the chickens in the live bird markets
harbored it, and so did some ducks and geese. Some of the H5N1 strains weren’t
harmful, but some appeared to mutate, becoming lethal to poultry. Soon chickens
were dying horribly.
Shortridge recalled walking through the markets testing birds when he spotted what
looked like a “chicken Ebola” in action. One moment, birds happily pecked their
grain; the next, they fell sideways in slow motion, gasping for breath with blood
slowly oozing from their guts.
“The infection was obviously tearing away at the inside of the birds,” he said. “My
reaction was: ‘This virus must not escape from Hong Kong.’ “
Laboratory sleuthing later revealed that the 1997 H5N1 virus that killed people and
poultry was an exotic hybrid cobbled together from three separate viruses.
The H5 piece came from a virus in a goose. The N1 piece came from a second virus in
a quail. The remaining flu genes came from a third virus, also in quail. And quail
probably served as the mixing pot where the three came together.
“Who would have thought the quail would be involved in all of this?” Shortridge said.
In hindsight, it is likely that people have occasionally contracted flu from birds for
eons. Poultry infections would flare, a farmer might sicken, then the outbreak would
die out without spreading. But today’s crowded world is different. People and their
birds are constantly on the move. Unprecedented numbers of domestic flocks provide
vast barracks for the propagation of viruses that can be repeatedly introduced from
wild birds. Workers toil among the flocks unprotected by masks or gloves.
The three viral building blocks that were used to cobble together Hong Kong’s 1997
H5N1 virus never left, Shortridge said. They were found in birds in the Hong Kong
markets and in geese in southern China. Such ingredients are probably widespread in
the region. There are other parts of the world where threats could be smoldering, and
other threats besides H5N1.
Poultry influenzas are not uncommon. A severe outbreak of H5N2 influenza in
Pennsylvania chicken farms in 1983 led to the culling of 17 million birds at the cost of
close to $65 million. Last year, 31 million poultry were exterminated in the
Netherlands to put a stop to an outbreak of another, H7N7 type of flu virus there. A
veterinarian died and more than 80 other people contracted eye infections.
And a lethal new type of influenza might yet come from a pig, not a bird.
Shortridge said that the message from the Asian bird flu outbreak is that nations need
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to identify potential viral threats long before they flare up and spread past
containment.
That means routinely going into farms and markets to take blood samples from pigs
and fowl. It means constantly tracking what viruses the animals are harboring and
keeping an eye out for sudden changes.
Even if you do all that, influenza is an unpredictable beast that can catch you if your
back is turned.
“The thing about flu is to expect the unexpected. Be looking all the time,” Shortridge
said. “Look at the normal first, for that which you might expect. And then look for
what you don’t.”
From: http://latimes.com.
Notes:
Virologist: n. 滤过性病原体学者
Pandemic: Epidemic over a wide geographic area.
Avian: Of, relating to, or characteristic of birds.
Dub: To honor with a new title or description.
Scenario: 现场，出事地点
Mutate: To undergo or cause to undergo mutation. 经历变化或使经历变化
Homo sapiens: The modern species of human beings, the only extant species of the
primate family Hominidae.
Pneumonia: 肺炎.
Emeritus: Retired but retaining an honorary title corresponding to that held
immediately before retirement:
Engulf: To swallow up or overwhelm by or as if by overflowing and enclosing.
Exterminate: To get rid of by destroying completely; extirpate.
Tweak: To pinch, pluck, or twist sharply.
Genome: 染色体组
Scourge: A source of widespread, dreadful affliction and devastation such as that
caused by pestilence or war.
Rogue: An unprincipled, deceitful, and unreliable person; a scoundrel or rascal.
Millennia: pl. form of millennium (a span of one thousand years ).
Smorgasbord: A buffet meal featuring a varied number of dishes. A varied collection:
Lineage: Direct descent from a particular ancestor; ancestry.
Gut: The bowels; entrails; viscera.. 内脏肠；内脏；腑脏
Excrete: To separate and discharge (waste matter) from the blood, tissues, or organs.
Feces: Waste matter eliminated from the bowels; excrement. 粪便；排泄物
Latch: To close or lock with or as if with a latch. 锁住,用门闩或好象用门闩锁住或
关住
Respiratory: Of, relating to, used in, or affecting respiration. 呼吸的，与呼吸有关
的，用于呼吸的或影响呼吸的
Tract: A system of organs and tissues that together perform a specialized function:
71
Outlandish: Conspicuously unconventional; bizarre. 奇特的明显异常的；稀奇古怪
的
Meticulous: Extremely careful and precise.
Contamination: The act or process of contaminating. The state of being
contaminated.
Scrawl: To write hastily or illegibly.
Lethal: Capable of causing death.
Ebola: virus[微] 埃博拉病毒.
Ooze: To flow or leak out slowly, as through small openings.
Sleuth: To track or follow.
Exotic: Intriguingly unusual or different; excitingly strange.
Hybrid: Something of mixed origin or composition..
Cobble: To put together clumsily; bungle.
Quail: 鹌鹑
Eon: An indefinitely long period of time; an age.
Flare: To erupt or intensify suddenly:
Smolder: To exist in a suppressed state.
Veterinarian: A person who practices veterinary medicine. 兽医
Passage 2
Scouring the Market for SARS
The civet cat, a nocturnal mammal similar to the weasel, is served in southern China
in a variety of ways: roasted whole, braised in brown sauce or standing in for tiger
flesh in the classic Dragon, Tiger and Phoenix Soup.( The dragon is snake meat, the
phoenix ordinary chicken. ) Some diners believe cooked civet has medicinal
properties, such as a warming effect during the winter months.
A team of Chinese microbiologists last week confirmed that the civet could indeed
produce a unique effect on the human body: it might cause SARS. They’ve also
extracted the virus from a species of wild dog and found antibodies ---- evidence of an
earlier infection ---- in a Chinese badger. Those results probably confirm the
long-dreaded notion that overly close cohabitation of man and animal is brewing up
new, fatal plagues. Hong Kong’s bird flu of 1997 was just such a creation: a virus
harmless in waterfowl that jumped species to infect chickens and then mutated again,
killing six people before authorities got it under control by wiping out 1.4 million
chickens.
It’s a positive development that scientists have managed to identify animals that may
be the hosts for SARS. The potentially awful news: SARS might be present in a range
of creatures too wide to culled or controlled easily. “ I am not happy (about this
development),” say Dr. Yi Guan, a university of Hong Kong (HKU) microbiologist
and co-leader of the study team. “ I am very worried.”
The SARS coronavirus is the 14th known member of a family of viruses named for
their distinctive crown-like shape. Eleven exist in animals ---- dogs, rats, mice, pigs,
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cows, rabbits and turkeys ---- and two infect the human race, in which they produce
that most familiar of all ailment: the common cold. Scientists, who have long
suspected that humans were originally infected with common-cold coronaviruses by
contact with an unknown animal many centuries ago, had already posited a possible
animal connection in the current outbreak. The fact that many of the initial victims in
China’s southern province of Guangdong worked in livestock markets and restaurants
was also a promising indicator. After the virus’s genome was decoded in mid-April,
that assumption looked increasingly likely: SARS was fundamentally different from
human-cold viruses and therefore couldn’t be a mere mutation. Farmers in
Guangdong, who often test positive for antibodies against a wide range of flus, had
none for SARS ---- it was a totally new disease in humans.
In early May, scientists from HKU and Shenzhen’s Center for Disease Control
decided to test animals sold in one large food market in Shenzhen, including house
cats, hares beavers and the Chinese muntjac, a small deer. When they examined
sputum, feces and blood of the masked palm civet, they hit pay dirt. All six of the
civets tested, according to Professor K. Y. Yuen, head of the microbiology department
at HKU, carried huge amounts of a coronavirus strikingly similar to the SARS agent.
The scientists sequenced its genome and found the two viruses to be nearly identical.
The World Health Organization points out that the results don’t definitively prove that
civets or other animals gave humans SARS. But theoretically, a civet bite or sneeze
could infect its owner ---- so could the handling of a butchered carcass. ( The virus is
unlikely to survive cooking, so it probably wasn’t contracted by a diner in a
restaurant. )
The coronaviruses from the civets weren’t a precise match for the SARS virus: they
had 29 nucleotides, the building blocks of the viral RNA, that the human viruses
lacked, making them only 99.8% similar. A 0.2% variance, however, could be enough
to constitute a significant mutation. In addition, their S genes were different from
those of the SARS virus; that gene contains the blueprint for the virus’s distinctive
spike protein, which interacts with the immune system of the host. Knowing the
genetic differences in the two viruses could help scientists develop treatments.
The findings of the Hong Kong and Shenzhen microbiologists are just a start, admits
Dr. Zheng Bojian, the other leader of the team. Many more animals need to be studied.
No house cats proved positive for the virus in the small-scale study, which was a relief.
But, Zheng adds, his team wasn’t screening for infected pets. Zheng speculates that
SARS could have reached humans from civets through an intermediary host, such as a
domesticated animal species with even closer contact with humans.
To solve this mystery and discover the real origins of SARS scientist like Dr. Yi, the
energetic microbiologist who plucked some of the civets from Shenzhen food markets
himself by grabbing the slippery cats by the feet, will continue testing animals in the
province, widening the net to other species. “ The sampling work is very hard and
difficult,” Yi says. “ This could take years and years.” One animal they may have
trouble finding is the civet. Chinese police have cracked down, and the civet cages
were all empty at Guangzhou’s sprawling Sinyuan market over the weekend. “ You
can’t buy a civet now for $ 10,000,” marveled one shopkeeper. Bad news for
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gourmands ---- but good tidings for the race.
---- Anthong Spaeth, Time, June 2, 2003
1. Multiple-choice
1) We can draw the conclusion from the research conducted by microbiologists
from Hong Kong and Shenzhen that ____________ .
A. the civet cat is the real origin of SARS
B. it is still too early to say that the civet cat gives humans SARS
C. the virus from the civet cat is identical to the SARS virus
D. SARS case was first reported in Guangzhou because people there like to
eat civet cats
2) In 1997, Hong Kong authorities wiped out 1.4 million chickens because
__________ .
A. the infected chickens passed the bird flu virus to humans
B. all these chickens were infected
C. Hong King people didn’t like to eat chickens
D. Chickens polluted the environment
3) The SARS outbreak teaches us a lesson that ________ .
A. we should have sought help from the World Health Organization earlier
B. to protect us from the SARS, we should not catch the common cold or the
flu
C. it is not safe to butcher and eat certain species of animals
D. we should not have eaten civet cats
4) Scientists think that the civet cat ________ .
A. has a warming effect during the winter
B. has medicinal effects
C. will cause SARS
D. may be the origin of the SARS
5) Which of the following statements cannot be inferred from paragraph 4?
A. Common cold is caused by a coronavirus.
B. SARS virus and human-cold virus belong to the same family.
C. The shape of SARS virus is like a crown.
D. Common cold-virus was passed to humans from animals.
2. Complete each sentence with a word or a phrase given blow ( in its appropriate
form if necessary ).
Medicinal
agent
unique
sprawl
assumption
scour
pluck
crack down
extract
gourmand
1) The detective ___________ the scene of the crime for clues.
2) The hospital room had a __________ smell.
3) We can ________ oil from olive.
4) Rain and sun are the ___________which help plants to grow.
5) The gardener _________ out weeds from the garden.
6) The government _________ on violators.
7) The city ___________ out into the countryside.
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8) A lover of good food is a __________.
9) That building is ___________ because all the others like it were destroyed.
10) Their ___________ that their project under way was something entirely new
proved to be untrue.
Passage 3
Breaking Bread
It pays to tell people what they want to hear. Witness the continuing popularity of the
Atkins diet, the granddaddy of nearly all the low-carbohydrate, high-protein regiments
clamoring to banish your love handles. Here’s a plan that promises you can eat pork
rinds and Brie and still lose weight. Dr. Robert Atkins books have sold some 15
million copies over the past 30 years, and his potential audience just keeps growing.
More than 60% of American adults are overweight or obese, according to the latest
estimates.
On some level, most of us figure the low-carb message has to be too good to be true.
Certainly that’s what we’ve heard over and over from the medical and nutritional
establishments, which still maintain that the healthiest way to lose weight is a adopt a
low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet. But Atkins, who died earlier this year after a fall, may
yet get the last laugh. Two new studies in the New England Journal of Medicine
suggest that there may be more health benefits to a low-carb diet than mainstream
researchers had previously thought possible.
The results are preliminary but nevertheless intriguing. In both studies, test subjects
who followed a low-carb diet lost at least twice as much weight as those on a
conventional high-carb, low-fat diet after six months. Even at that, the average weight
loss for the low-carb dieters, all of whom were obsess, was a modest 13 1bs. In the
first NEJM study and 15 1bs, in the second. Forty percent of the subjects dropped out
of the experiments before completing them. Both studies also showed that the
Atkins-style diet boosted the levels of high-density lipoprotein ( HDL ), the so-called
good cholesterol, in the blood and lowered the amount of potentially dangerous fats
called triglycerides.
But don’t reach for those pork rinds just yet. While the new studies showed an initial
benefit, the advantages gradually disappeared over the long term. After a year, folks
on the low-carb diet had regained much more weight than those on low-fat diets. And
as Dr. Dean Ornish – on the opposite side of many debate with Atkins – points out,
you would expert HDL levels to go up with a low-carb diet, since HDL acts as a kind
of dump truck for scavenging fatty compounds. It will also take years to determine
whether low-carb diets – which stint on carbohydrate-laden fruits and vegetables –
increase the risk of kidney or bone damage, cancer and other conditions.
Even with the publication of these two studies, most health professionals, including
me, still won’t feel comfortable recommending an Atkins-style diet. Good health
consists of more than a few positive numbers on a blood test or a bathroom scale.
There are just too many unknowns about the long-term impact of a low-carb diet on
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your health.
Plus, if we’ve learned anything over the past several decades of fighting the battle of
the bulge, it’s that short-term diets are no substitute for what should be lifelong
changes in your habits. You have to move to maintain a healthy weight – hard enough
to break a sweat at least 30 minutes a day most days of the week ( 45 minutes if
you’re trying to lose weight ). You have to eat those fruits and vegetables – five to
nine servings the size of your fist – every day. And while you’re at it, it doesn’t hurt to
simplify your life and strengthen your bonds with family and friends.
That may not be the kind of advice most of us want to hear. But that doesn’t make it
any less the truth.
---- Sanjay Gupta, M.D., Time, June 2, 2003
1. Multiple-choice
1) If you are on a low-carb diet, _________________ .
A. you have less fatty compounds in your body
B. you eat more fruits and vegetables which are full of carbohydrate
C. you may increase the possibility to develop cancer
D. it is easier to lose weight than those on low-fat diet
2) According to the medical and nutritional establishments, the healthiest way to
lose weight is to __________ .
A. adopt a low-fat, low-carb diet
B. adopt a low-fat, high-carb diet
C. adopt an Atkins-style diet
D. adopt a low-carb, high-protein diet
3) According to the two NEJM studies, we got to know that the Atkins diet
____________ .
A. originated from the low-carbohydrate, high-protein regimens
B. lost its popularity nowadays
C. lowered the levels of HDL in the blood
D. reduce the amount of fats that are possibly dangerous
4) Which one doesn’t contribute to your health?
A. Jogging 30 minutes every day.
B. Eating five apples every day.
C. Stinting on carbohydrate-laden food.
D. Cycling 45 minutes every day.
5) The author maintains that ___________ .
A. it is uncertain weather a low-carb diet is healthy in the long run
B. an Atkins-style diet is not healthy
C. an Atkins-style diet is not so good as a conventional one
D. people should do away with an Atkins-style diet
2. Complete each sentence with a word or a phrase given blow ( in its appropriate
form if necessary ).
Consist of
lose weight
recommend
clamor
stint
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banish
substitute
boost
simplicity
preliminary
1) The public are ___________ in the press for pollution control.
2) She ___________ all thoughts of a restful holiday from her mind.
3) She is doing a lot of exercises in the hope of _____________ .
4) We have made an advertising program to ______________ local products abroad.
5) All this is ____________ to the main election struggle.
6) She __________ herself of food in order to let her children have enough.
7) She was strongly ___________ for the post.
8) New York City __________ five boroughs.
9) Fantasies are more than __________ for unpleasant reality.
10) The teacher had to ___________ the instructions so that children can understand.
What you should learn from this chapter:
2. 10 words and 1 typical sentence relate to health;
3. Reading of news on this topic. Please read no less than 2 items every day.
For your reference:
1. Common bacterial diseases such as meningitis and pneumonia could be
conquered during the 1990s by new vaccines, an international medical
conference here has been told.
2. For most people, whose lives have not been touched by AIDS, the news
brought home for the first time the grim reality that AIDS, the frightening
epidemic is spreading unabated, inevitably striking more and more victims.
3. In a desperate search for something to arrest the disease, doctors are eager to
go head with multidrug experiments and more extensive tests of existing
drugs.
4. Most people probably do not need to take vitamin pills to improve their health,
yet millions of people do. The American Medical Associations noted that
vitamins can help keep people healthy when used correctly.
5. A local medical professor has put forward a new theory to explain how
chemicals in the environment cause cancer, and has synthesized several
different compounds to treat the disease based on his theory.
Chapter 5
Entertainment
Sample Reading
TV Could Nourish Minds and Hearts
By Ellwood Kieser
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Despite questions of the motivation behind them, the attacks by the President
and the Vice President on the moral content of television entertainment have
found an echo in the chambers of the American soul. Many who reject the
messengers still accept the message. They do not like the moral tone of American
TV. In our society only the human family surpasses television in its capacity to
communicate values, provide role models, form consciences and motivate human
behavior. Few educators, church leaders or politicians possess the moral
influence of those who create the nation’s entertainment.
Every good story will not only captivate its viewers but also give them some
insight into what it means to be a human being. By so doing, it can help them
grow into the deeply centered, sovereignly free, joyously loving human beings God
made them to be. Meaning, freedom and love – the supreme human values. And
this is the kind of human enrichment the American viewing public has a right to
expect from those who make its entertainment.
It is not a question of entertainment or enrichment. These are complementary
concerns and presuppose each other. The story that entertains without enriching
is superficial and escapist. The story that entertains without entertaining is
simply dull. The story that does both is a delight.
Is that what the American viewing public is getting? Perhaps 10% of prime-time
network programming is a happy combination of entertainment and enrichment.
I think immediately of dramas like I’ll Fly Away and Life Goes On or comedies
like Brooklyn Bridge and The Wonder Years. There used to be television movies
rich in human values, but they have now become an endangered species. Sleaze
and mayhem. Murder off the front page. The woman in jeopardy. Is there too
much sex on American TV? Not necessarily. Sex is beautiful, even holy, part of
human life, a unique way for husband and wife to express their love. No doubt
there is too much dishonest sex on TV. How often do we see the aching emptiness,
the joyless despair that so often follows sex without commitment? And certainly
there is too much violence. It desensitizes its viewers to the horrors of actual
violence and implies that it is an effective way to resolve conflict. I seldom see the
dehumanization that violence produces, not only in its victims, but also in its
perpetrators. And I never see the nonviolent alternative – the way of dialogue and
love – explored. Jesus has much to teach us here. So do Gandhi and Martin
Luther King. Ninety-four percent of the American people believe in God; 41%
go to church on any given Sunday. But you’d never know it by watching
American TV. We seldom see TV characters reach for God or fight with Him,
despite the theatricality latent in their doing so. Why is that? I find television too
much concerned with what people have and too little concerned with who they are,
very concerned with taking care of No.1 and not at all concerned with sharing
themselves with other people. All too often it tells us the half truth we want to
have rather than the whole truth we need to hear.
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Why is television not more fully realizing its humanizing potentiality? Is the
creative community at fault? Partially. But not primarily. I have lived and
worked in that community for 32 years, as both priest and producer. As a group,
these people are not the sex-crazes egomaniacs of popular legend. Most of them love
their spouses, dote on their children and hunger after God. They have values. In
fact, in Hollywood in recent months, audience enrichment has become the
in-thing. ABC,CBS and NBC have all held workshops on it for their
programming executives. A coalition of media companies has endowed the
Humanitas Prize so that it can recognize and celebrate those who accomplish it.
And during the school year, an average of 50 writers spend a Saturday a month
in a church basement discussing the best way to accomplish it. All before the Vice
President’s misguided lambasting of Murphy Brown.
The problem with American TV is not the lack of story-teller of conscience but
the commercial system within which they have to operate. Television in the US is
a business. In the past, the business side has been balanced by a commitment to
public service. But in recent years the fragmentation of the mass audience, huge
interest payments and skyrocketing production costs have combined with the
FCC’s abdication of its responsibility to protect the common good to produce an
almost total preoccupation with the bottom line. The networks are struggling to
survive. And like most businesses in that situation, they make only what they feel
the public will buy. And that, the statistics seem to indicate, is mindless, heartless,
escapist fare. If we are dissatisfied with the moral content of what we are invited
to watch, I think we should begin by examining our own consciences. When we
tune in, are we ready to plunge into reality, so as to extract its meaning, or are
we hoping to escape into a sedated world of illusion? And if Church leaders want
to elevate the quality of the country’s entertainment, they should forget about
boycotts, production codes and censorship. They should work at education their
people in media literacy and at mobilizing them to support quality shows in huge
numbers.
That is the only sure way to improve the moral content of America’s
entertainment.
Time, Sept.14, 1997
Notes:
1. have found an echo in the chambers of the American soul: 已在美国人灵魂的殿
堂中引起回响。
2. help them grow into the deeply centered, sovereignly free, joyously loving human
beings God made them to be: 帮助人们成长，成为上帝创造人的本来面目：沉
稳、独立、自由、充满欢乐与爱心。
3. escapist: 逃避现实的
4. Sleaze and mayhem: 庸俗与暴力
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5. It desensitizes its viewers to the horrors of actual violence and implies that it is an
effective way to resolve conflict: （电视）暴力（镜头）使观众对真实暴力的恐
怖产生了麻痹，而且还给人一种暗示，即暴力是解决冲突的一种有效途径。
6. dehumanization: 非人化（结果）
7. perpetrators: 施暴者
8. on any given Sunday: （在）每个星期天
9. As a group, these people are not the sex-crazes egomaniacs of popular legend: 这
些人整体来说并不是一般人传说的那种纵欲过度的自大狂。
10. in-thing: 时髦的东西，流行的事物。
11. All before the Vice President’s misguided lambasting of Murphy Brown: 这一切
都在副总统对《风云女郎》的错误抨击之前。Murphy Brown 系当年一部收
视率颇高的电视剧。该片中的女主角立志不嫁人，却甘心成为单亲妈妈。这
一剧情曾招致人们的非议，甚至副总统 Gore 也提出批评，认为该片误导了
观众，败坏了家庭价值观念。
12. FCC: The Federal Communications Commission, 联邦通讯委员会，系美国电
视媒体的主管机构。
Questions:
1. According to the author, who should be responsible for the problems of TV
programs?
2. Translate:
television too much concerned with what people have and too little concerned with
who they are, very concerned with taking care of No.1 and not at all concerned with
sharing themselves with other people.
Classroom-reading
Hollywood Demons
Politicians are blaming the entertainment industry
for debasing the nation’s values and undermining social harmony
Michael Prowse
When President Bill Clinton took office the American people doubted the vitality
of the US economy. After four years of steady growth and the creation of an
extra 10m jobs, the focus is switching from the material to the spiritual. People
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are worrying less about productivity and more about values – the intangible
codes of conduct that underlie behaviour and determine the quality of social life.
The serious disorder that afflicts US society is increasingly seen as caused not
primarily by poverty or other economic factors, but by a breakdown of
traditional ethical norms. Changes in social mores, especially in the counterculture
years of the 1960s, resulted in an “anything goes” philosophy that contributed
directly to the rise in violence, drug abuse, divorce and out-of-wedlock births. Such
problems can be tackled, if at all, only by achieving a national moral
regeneration.
Pundits are not certain what caused the erosion in moral sensibilities, but many
believe the mind-numbing violence and amorality of commercial television and
popular films have dragged people down. When Mr. Bob Dole, the Republican
presidential candidate, visited Hollywood last week, he was careful to praise the
entertainment industry. The film Independence Day – which depicts Americans
saving the world from evil aliens – was the kind of show that “ lifts up our
country rather than dragging it down”. But in stressing Hollywood’s ability to
“ shape attitudes and outlooks”, he returned to the theme of a diatribe last year
when he accused executives of debasing the nation by “ creating nightmares of
depravity.”
The public was so supportive of Mr. Dole’s critique that Mr. Clinton has been
struggling to co-opt the issue since. Mr. Clinton recently called on Congress to
pass legislation requiring TV sets to contain a V-chip, which allows parents to
block offensive material. A few weeks later he bullied broadcasters into
accepting a “ rating system ” similar to that of films to rank TV shows for sex,
violence and crude language. Finally, last week he obtained agreement that all
TV stations would include at least three hours per week of “ educational”
programmes in their daytime schedules.
Does the emphasis on values make any sense and can politicians achieve
anything worthwhile in this sphere? At some fundamental level, the importance
of values is undeniable. If everyone abided by the norms of any of the main
religions, most social problems would vanish. People would cease harming others
or themselves. And they would rush to help those in distress, eliminating the
need for public welfare programmes. If moral standards were sufficiently high,
much of the rationale for government of any kind would disappear.
Politicians cannot directly improve people’s morals. But many philosophers have
argued they have a duty to remove or mitigate the influences that drag people
down. Plato argued that even poets such as Homer ought to be banned because
their art had a “ terrifying capacity for deforming even good people”. Poetry, he
wrote, gratified the passions and established a “ bad system of government in
people’s minds”. What, one wonders. Would this sensitive soul have made of
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prime-time US television, of its unchanging diet of gratuitous violence and sexual
infidelity?
Plato’s arguments have been resuscitated by Mr. William Bennett, an adviser to
Mr. Dole and a former education secretary in the Reagan administration. Mr.
Bennett published his best-selling Book of Virtues in 1994 and has since acquired
a national reputation as a moral crusader. In a speech in Hollywood earlier this
year, Mr. Bennett argued that TV writers were disingenuous when they claimed
their work had no social consequences because it was pure entertainment.
Scripts, he pointed out, were developed by gifted and creative writers to have
maximum impact. They were bound to “ incline and condition people toward a
certain world view”.
That world view, he argued, is a crude and destructive form of hedonism. The
message ceaselessly relayed by the US TV and film industries is that the
“ summum bonum of life is self-indulgence, self-aggrandisement, instant
gratification; the good life is synonymous with licence and freedom from all
inhibitions.”
It is hard to show scientifically that TV and films influence the way people think
and act. We cannot re-run history to see what would have happened without
them. Yet it is absurd to claim that so expressive a medium has no impact; if TV
is unable to affect people, learning of any sort would be next to impossible. Given
that young people spend more time watching TV than doing anything else
( including studying ), it is plausible that it does shape their hearts and minds.
But what can a society that values individual freedom do about it? Outright
censorship is unacceptable because nobody ( Mr. Bennett included ) has a
monopoly on wisdom. Surprisingly, perhaps, the US is reaching in a rational
fashion. It is moving, with the V-chip, to protect children from the worst excesses
of commercial TV. And politicians are sensibly encouraging a vigorous public
debate about values and the influence of the entertainment industry. Over time,
public pressure should lead to voluntary changes in the kind of TV shows and
films produced, with beneficial social consequences. That, at any rate, is what
should happen in a society that values both economic freedom and moral
integrity.
From Financial Times, August 5, 1996
Notes:
1. Demons: an evil spirit; devil
2. intangible: not perceptible to touch, eluding the grasp of the mind
3. Changes in social mores, especially in the counterculture years of the 1960s,
resulted in an “anything goes” philosophy that contributed directly to the rise in
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violence, drug abuse, divorce and out-of-wedlock births: There were some
changes in the moral customs in the years of the ‘60s. In those years people,
chiefly the young people among whom Bill Clinton was one, rebelled against the
traditional cultures. These changes resulted in a cynical attitude that everything
will be alright. This attitude was responsible for such anti-traditional
behaviours as violence, drug-abuse, divorce and out-of-wedlock births.
4. Pundits: an authority or critic
5. amorality: immorality
6. diatribe: angry or violent attack in words
7. depravity: wickedness, viciousness; corruption
8. co-opt: to absorb; take over
9. V-chip: a microchip, which can be used by parents to prevent material harmful
to children from appearing on TV screens.
10. rating system: a system employed to rank films shows for sex, violence and
crude language.
11. rationale: the fundamental reason; the whys and where-fores
12. mitigate: to lessen ( the evil, harm, etc )
13. gratuitous: without reason, ground or proof; unnecessary
14. infidelity: sex with sb. Other than marriage partner
15. resuscitated: to bring or come back to life or consciousness
16. crusader: a person who takes part in a struggle or movement for the defense or
advancement of an idea, principle, etc.
17. disingenuous: insincere, not frank, weakening
18. hedonism: belief that pleasure is the chief good
19. summum bonum: the greatest or supreme good ( as the ultimate ethical objective )
尽善尽美
20. self-aggrandisement: （名利、权势等方面的）自我膨胀或扩张
21. plausible: seeming to be true or reasonable
Questions:
1. Why is people’s focus switching from the material to the spiritual?
2. What has caused the serious disorder that afflicts US society today? What
does an “ anything goes ” philosophy mean? What has it resulted in?
3. What has dragged people down? What is Bob Dole’s attitude toward
Hollywood? Why is Mr. Clinton so interested in Dole’s critique of it? And
what has he asked Congress to do?
4. Why did Plato say even poets such as Homer ought to be banned?
5. What enables TV to have impact on people? What world view do people have
as a result of the TV and film industries’ influence on them?
6. What can Americans do or what should they do about the influence of the
entertainment industry?
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Classroom – exercises:
2. Watching the news and do the exercises:
1) What’s the main idea of the news?
2) Translate:
if we didn't have television then how could we be watching a show
honoring the people who make television on television if there was no television?
Winning is not important, what is important is how you feel about yourself,
and of course you're gonna feel a lot better about yourself if you win. But let's be
realistic. Most of you tonight will not win, so, let's look at the bright side of not
winning.
2. Read the following article and try to make a summary on most important facts
about Oscar:
Do You Want to Know Something About OSCAR?
Have you ever wondered how the OSCAR came about? Or how the Academy Awards
got started? Who was the mogul behind creating this now world famous organization?
What did it cost to join the Academy? When was the first OSCAR presentation and
who attended? Find the answers to these questions in this article.
Who helped to start the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences?
AMGM’s Louis B. Mayer, actor Conrad Nagel, director Fred Niblo and 1926 head of
the Association of Motion Picture Producers, Fred Beetson.
What was the original name?
The International Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
What was the original intent?
To mediate labor disputes.
When did the name change?
In May, 1927, when 36 members officially formed a non-profit corporation chartered
under the laws of California and deleted the word international to name the
organization The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences.
Who makes up the Academy membership?
Membership in the Academy is limited to those who have achieved the highest level
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of distinction in the arts and sciences of motion pictures. Members currently represent
14 branches — Actors, Art Directors, Cinematographers, Directors, Documentary,
Executives, Film Editors, Music, Producers, Public Relations, Short Films and
Feature Animation, Sound, Visual Effects, and Writers. At this time, there are over
5,700 voting members of the Academy.
How many members does the Academy have today?
A The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is a professional honorary
organization composed of over 6,000 motion picture craftsmen and women.
How does a film or performance get nominated for an Academy Award?
Awards are presented for outstanding individual or collective efforts of the year in up
to 25 categories. Up to five nominations are made in most categories, with balloting
for these nominations restricted to members of the Academy branch concerned.
Directors, for instance, are the only nominators for Achievement in Directing.
Nominations for awards in the Foreign Language category is made by large
committees of members drawn from all branches. Short Film and Documentary
nominees are selected by the Branch Screening Committee made up of active and life
members of the Short Film; Feature Animation and Documentary Branches
respectively. Best Picture nominations and final winners in most categories are
determined by vote of the entire voting membership of over 5,800 individual
filmmakers.
Who was the first president?
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. was elected president May 4, 1927 at a dinner banquet at the
Biltmore Hotel. Louis B. Mayor paid for the banquet. Fairbanks was responsible for
selling the Academy memberships at $100 and recruited 231 members that night.
How did the idea for an award come up?
Fairbanks came up with the idea and an Awards Committee went into action in 1928
deciding that each member would get one vote in his or her perspective union.
Were the categories the same as now?
Interestingly, no. Getting categories sorted out was a problem, partly because of the
introduction of talkies in 1927, which blurred the category lines. There were two
director categories, one for Directing and one for Comedy Directing . A third
writing category existed at the time. Title Writing was in along with Best Original
Story and Best Adaptation .
What was the first ceremony like?
Some nominees – urged mostly by their studios – were among the 300 attendees,
others were not. The ceremony was May 16, 1929 at 8 p.m. Academy president
Douglas Fairbanks, Sr. handed out all the awards, William C. DeMille served as
chairman.
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Where was the Academy housed?
Initially the Academy rented several different offices, then in 1946 it moved to 9038
Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. In December 1975, the Academy dedicated its new
seven-story headquarters at 8949 Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills. By then the
Academy had created the Players Directory, the Margaret Herrick Library, the Samuel
Goldwyn Theater, all which were then located in the same building.
When the holdings of both the Herrick Library and the Film Archive were too large,
the Academy arranged a 55-year lease in 1988 with the City of Beverly Hills for the
conversion of its historic Waterworks building in La Cienega Park, which became the
new home of the Academy's film research facilities, designated as the Center for
Motion Picture Study. A decade later and more growth within the Herrick Library and
Film Archive, necessitated another move in 2002 when the Academy purchased what
had originally been the first Hollywood television studio on Vine Street, and
converted it into a home for the Film Archive. In honor of two of the Academy's
founders—Douglas Fairbanks and Mary Pickford—the La Cienega facility, which
still houses the Herrick Library, was renamed the Fairbanks Center for Motion Picture
Study, and the Vine Street building is now known as the Pickford Center for Motion
Picture Study.
Why are Academy Awards called Oscar?
A In 1929 art student/graduate George Stanley was given $500 and the task of
sculpting the award from a design by Cedric Gibbons, who revealed a naked man
plunging a sword into a reel of film, the five slots in the reel representing the five
unions. Nominees not selected as the winner were given Honorable mention scrolls.
Initially the award was solid bronze, then a white plaster and today a metal alloy gold-plated britannium. The statuette is 13½ inches tall and weighs a 8 ½ pounds. The
only alterations to the award were in 1945 when the pedestal was extended and the
Belgian black marble base was changed to metal.
Officially named the Academy Award of Merit, the statuette is better known by a
nickname, Oscar, the origins of which aren't clear.
A popular story has been that Academy librarian and eventual executive director
Margaret Herrick said that it resembled her Uncle Oscar. A reporter allegedly
overheard her and helped brand the golden guy. In any case, by the sixth Awards
Presentation in 1934, Hollywood columnist Sidney Skolsky used the name in his
column in reference to Katharine Hepburn's first Best Actress win. The Academy itself
didn't use the nickname officially until 1939.
How many OSCARs have been handed out?
Prior to 1949, the statuettes were not numbered. Since that year, starting with a
somewhat arbitrary number 501, each Oscar statuette has worn his serial number
behind his heels.
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What is the official dictum of the Academy?
The purposes of the Academy are to advance the arts and sciences of motion pictures;
foster cooperation among creative leaders for cultural, educational and technological
progress; recognize outstanding achievements; cooperate on technical research and
improvement of methods and equipment; provide a common forum and meeting
ground for various branches and crafts; represent the viewpoint of actual creators of
the motion picture; and foster educational activities between the professional
community and the public-at-large.
Who is Eligible to Vote for the Academy Awards?
Voters must be members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Initial voting is restricted to members of the Academy branch concerned. For
instance, when the first wave of ballots is mailed to all members of the Academy,
only directors may nominate other directors. Once the first round of voting is
done and the field has been narrowed to no more than five nominees in each
category, then all members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
are allowed to vote for a winner in most categories, including Best Picture.
The History of the Academy Awards
Soon after the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences was founded in 1927, a
committee of seven members was given the task of creating an Academy Awards
presentation. Though the idea was shelved for nearly a year due to other pressing
Academy issues, the plans for an awards ceremony presented by the Awards
committee were accepted in May 1928. It was decided that all films released from
August 1, 1927 through July 31, 1928 would be eligible for the first Academy
Awards.
The first Academy Awards ceremony was held on May 16, 1929. It was a quiet affair
compared to the glamor and glitz that accompany the ceremonies of today. Two
hundred and fifty people attended the black-tie banquet that evening in the Blossom
Room of Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. Though this was the first time these awards
were to be given, the attendees were not anxious. Unlike the secrecy that surrounds
the winners of today's ceremonies, the winners of the first Academy Award ceremony
were announced three months early. After everyone had eaten dinner, Douglas
Fairbanks, the president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, stood
up and gave a speech. Then, with the help of William C. de Mille, he called the
winners up to the head table and handed them their awards. The statuettes that were
presented to the first Academy Awards winners were nearly identical to those handed
out today. Sculpted by George Stanley, The Academy Award of Merit (Oscar's
official name) was a knight, made of solid bronze, holding a sword and standing upon
a reel of film.
The very first person to receive an Academy Award didn't attend the first Academy
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Awards ceremony. Emil Jannings, the winner for best actor, had decided to go back to
his home in Germany before the ceremony. Before he left for his trip, Jannings was
handed the very first Academy Award.
From: http://romanticmovies.about.com/
Notes:
Mogul: A very rich or powerful person; a magnate.
Mediate: To resolve or settle (differences) by working with all the conflicting parties.
Blur: To make indistinct and hazy in outline or appearance; obscure.
Designate: To give a name or title to; characterize.
Archive: A place or collection containing records, documents, or other materials of
historical interest.
Slot: A narrow opening; a groove or slit.
Pedestal: An architectural support or base, as for a column or statue.
Allegedly: adv.依其申述.
Arbitrary: Determined by chance, whim, or impulse, and not by necessity, reason, or
principle.
Dictum: An authoritative, often formal, pronouncement.
Homework
Read the following news and do the exercises:
Passage 1
Read the following article and try to answer the following questions:
1. What’s the difference between the five candidates for the top Oscar and those
years ago? How did people response to it?
2. What’s the meaning of the headline?
Best-Picture Race Lands Outside Mainstream
By the numbers, the Academy Awards are roughly 50 percent less relevant than they
have been the last five years. While all five candidates for the top Oscar have
managed respectable ticket sales, they collectively have been seen by fewer
moviegoers than any batch of best-picture nominees in 20 years.
For the first time since the 1997 "Titanic" juggernaut, no blockbuster is in the mix,
and it's the first time in 15 years without at least one $100 million hit among the
best-picture contenders going into the Oscars.
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By Sunday, a week before the Oscars, the domestic gross should total about $315
million for "The Aviator," "Million Dollar Baby," "Ray," "Sideways" and "Finding
Neverland."
A year ago, best-picture candidates had grossed $696 million a week before the
Oscars.
This year's five nominees have sold about 51 million tickets, down 50 percent or more
from each of the previous five years, when admissions for the best-picture field
ranged from 100 million to 118 million.
Audiences for the five top Oscar picks have not been this small since the 1984 awards,
when "Amadeus" won best picture. "Amadeus" and its rivals "Places in the Heart,"
"The Killing Fields," "A Passage to India" and "A Soldier's Story" had been seen by
about 41 million people.
This is not just an exercise in pointless arithmetic. Executives at the Academy of
Motion Picture Arts and Sciences know from experience that a hugely popular film
leading the best-picture race helps attract viewers for the Oscar telecast, whose ratings
have been in a funk over the last five years.
"We don't have a `Titanic' or a `Lord of the Rings' out there. I think it's fair to say it
does concern us a bit," said Bruce Davis, the academy's executive director.
The Oscars drew their biggest audience ever when "Titanic" won the 1997
best-picture prize. Going into Oscar night, "Titanic" had grossed nearly a half-billion
dollars on its way to a $600 million domestic haul and $1.8 billion worldwide payday.
A year ago, the largest audience in four years tuned in to see the academy crown $377
million sensation "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" as best picture.
"Eyeballs staring at the movie screen translates to eyeballs staring at the TV screen,"
said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "People
like to have a vested interest in what they're watching. When `Titanic' does $1.8
billion in worldwide box office, you've got a lot of people out there with a vested
interest."
Edging toward $90 million, "The Aviator" leads this year's roster, followed by "Ray,"
which topped out at about $75 million and is now on home video. "Million Dollar
Baby," "Sideways" and "Finding Neverland" are in the $45 million to $55 million
range.
The last three years, there has been a "Lord of the Rings" megahit competing. Other
past blockbuster contenders included "Gladiator," "The Sixth Sense," "Saving Private
Ryan," "Forrest Gump" and "Ghost."
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"This is an unusual year in that there's not a blockbuster in the mix," said Steve Gilula,
head of distribution for Fox Searchlight, which released "Sideways."
The big hits of 2004 included "Shrek 2," "Spider-Man 2" and "The Incredibles," but
they were lighter flicks that never drew much best-picture buzz. And liberal-minded
Hollywood did not give serious best-picture consideration to the religious blockbuster
"The Passion of the Christ."
The feature-animation competition arguably could be called the real best-picture
competition for mainstream movie fans.
At $436 million, "Shrek 2" far out-grossed the entire best-picture lineup combined.
Add in "The Incredibles" ($259 million) and "Shark Tale" ($160 million), and the
three animated nominees did more than 2 1/2 times the business of the five
best-picture contestants.
The Oscars, though, are not necessarily a place for popular sentiment, often singling
out small films such as this year's "Vera Drake" or "Being Julia" for key nominations.
"I have never equated the Academy Awards with how much money a movie takes in,"
said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal, which released "Ray." "That's
the People's Choice Awards. This is not about the public. This is about the industry
bestowing its awards on what they think are the best films of the year."
When a major commercial hit such as "Titanic" or "Return of the King" does triumph,
it's because critical and popular appeal happen to coalesce.
"If you look at the movies this time, they're not the big special-effects type of movies
that usually gross those type of numbers," said Mike Rudnitsky, head of distribution
for Miramax, which released "The Aviator" and "Finding Neverland."
"They're intelligent scripts with tremendous performances. No matter what the box
office, it's the quality of the films when it comes to the Oscars."
Critics take potshots at the Oscars regardless of how the nominations pan out,
academy director Davis said.
In years when commercial hits dominate, Oscar voters are accused of pandering to
popular taste, Davis said. When smaller films prevail, the academy is criticized for
being out of step with the mainstream, he said.
The studios behind the top nominees this time say the lineup is a victory for artistic
merit.
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"I think it's a tribute to members of the academy," said Dan Fellman, head of
distribution for Warner Bros., which released "Million Dollar Baby." "They vote with
their hearts, not looking at the box office."
Notes:
Juggernaut: Something, such as a belief or an institution, that elicits blind and
destructive devotion or to which people are ruthlessly sacrificed.
Blockbuster: Something, such as a film or book, that sustains widespread popularity
and achieves enormous sales.
Funk: A state of severe depression.
Vest: To invest or endow (a person or group) with something, such as power or
rights.
Roster: A list, especially of names.
Flick: A light, quick blow, jerk, or touch.
Buzz: Pleasant intoxication, as from alcohol.
Bestow: To present as a gift or an honor; confer.
Coalesce: To come together so as to form one whole; unite.
Potshot: A criticism made without careful thought and aimed at a handy target for
attack.
Pander: To cater to the lower tastes and desires of others or exploit their weaknesses.
Passage 2
Read the following article and try to find out the title, the author and the main content
of the book mentioned in it. And also try to have a general idea about what the
musician is going to do. Pay attention to the blackened words.
Amos Expresses Herself with New Album, Book
By Barry A. Jeckell
NEW YORK (Billboard) - "At midlife, Tori Amos understands that she cannot rule
life's tidal shifts, only navigate them," Ann Powers writes near the end of the new
book "Tori Amos: Piece by Piece," which she co-wrote with the artist. "She is a rider
of the waves, her sense of the future defined by an undiminished faith in music's
power."
Rarely has a summary been so dead on.
"You can't stop time," Amos tells Billboard. "And I think that's why, the thing about
songs, and it has always been this way for me, they try and capture time in a way that
you can't capture sunlight and hold it."
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"Piece by Piece" (Broadway Books, Feb. 8) was conceived over the course of two
years of conversations with Powers. What began as a chronicle of the making of "The
Beekeeper," her eighth studio album and second for Epic (due Feb. 22 in the States,
Feb. 21 internationally), along the way became an exploration of what makes this
enigmatic artist tick.
"I felt that now would be the time, before I forget my process, to reveal some of the
ways that I've been able to continue to create in the music business," Amos says. "Not
just as a musician, but as somebody that has to navigate the business side of it and as
somebody that wanted to become a mom and wanted to have a relationship."
PREACHER'S DAUGHTER
From her North Carolina upbringing under a strict Methodist preacher father and
book-loving Cherokee-heritage mother to her days studying classical piano at
Baltimore's Peabody Academy and her struggles with the music business, her story is
a fascinating one.
And it's the entirety of her life, as well as a healthy appetite for researching legends,
religious texts, folklore, spirituality and art that informs "The Beekeeper."
"The concept is that there are six gardens, no different than that there are six sides to
the cell in the beehive," Amos says. "The songs live within these six gardens (that)
represent the emotional life of this female character whose voice we hear on the
album."
In seeking out a traditional setting for her ideas, Amos needed look no further than the
beekeeping legacy that exists around Cornwall, England, where she now lives with
her husband, sound engineer Mark Hawley, and their daughter, Natashya.
"As I started to trace its history, it began to fit into place," she says. "I was thinking
about pollination, and we go back to bees and the pollinating of that female worker
bee with that male organ of that flower. I brought in the organ, the Hammond B3
organ, to marry with the piano, so that the music would reflect the concept."
FANATICAL FOLLOWING
"For Tori, there is this kind of built-in, fanatical, very passionate fan base that will
follow her wherever she may roam," Epic senior VP of marketing Lee Stimmel says.
Beyond access to a streaming version of the lead single, "Sleeps With Butterflies,"
months ago at toriamos.com, eager fans have been able to preview one song from
each "garden" during the six weeks preceding the album's release. They also have
been offered excerpts from "Piece by Piece" and the ability to pre-order a special
edition of the album that includes a DVD and 24-page booklet.
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Furthering the intimate connection between the artist and the devoted will be a series
of book signings starting with a Feb. 23 in-store at Barnes & Noble in New York's
Union Square.
April will bring a U.S. theater tour with Amos and just her Bosendorfer piano and a
Hammond B3.
"Tori alone at the piano tours are intense and very popular, which is why we're doing
smaller venues so we get back to that intimate setting," her manager, John
Witherspoon, says. "We did the last tour with just drums and bass and Tori, so we're
going back to purely solo for the first time since 2001."
A similar European tour will follow, with plans to play some festivals there in June, at
which time "Piece by Piece" should be available throughout the continent. A
full-scale U.S. tour is slated for summer.
From http://news.yahoo.com/
Passage 3
The following is a report about a fashion presentation. If you are interested in this
field, read it carefully, you can get a lot special terms and expressions useful in
describing such shows; for the others, just try to find out the author’s opinion about
this presentation and tell the reason.
The Bold and The Beautiful and The Boring at Michael Kors
Lauren David Peden
Fashion Wire Daily February 10, 2005 - NEW YORK - We love Michael Kors, we
really do. Since he unveiled his first collection back in 1981, the witty and affable
Lawn Guyland native has cornered the market on Fifth Avenue/Hamptons/Palm
Beach chic, and given women of means some of the classiest, toniest,
well-bred-with-a-wink clothing around.
But watching Kors’ presentation in Bryant Park this morning — attended by actress
Laura Linney, Melania and The Donald and fashion’s heavy hitters: Anna Wintour,
Glenda Bailey, Roberta Myers, Andre Leon Talley, Elizabeth Saltzman, Helen
Schifter and so on and so forth — one was struck by an unshakable, and unfortunate,
sense of dee-luxe deja vu.
Things got off to a nice start when Romina emerged in a bright red cashgora melton
princess coat with handsome Brad hot on her heels wearing a donegal tweed
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three-piece suit, and the two did a fast-paced lap up and down the parallel runways
while Madonna “Vogued” through the speakers.
The Material Girl wasn’t the only blast from the past. A by-the-numbers military suit
followed with bright brass buttons, red trim and epaulets (all that was missing was the
bugle), and by the time Carmen Kass took to the stage in a sweeping sable coat and
cashmere flannel suit, hair flying behind her as if en route to the Concorde, we were
overcome by a “been there, done that” sense of ennui — which only got stronger as
the show progressed.
As polished as a shiny new penny, these were, with a few notable exceptions, looks
that left nothing to chance and that played, to this reviewer at least, like a pastiche of
Michael Kors’ Greatest Hits. Round fur hats seemed lifted from the designer’s Fall
2002 collection as did the men’s parkas, which were shiny silver this time rather than
white. Kass sported a deep-veed pullover that, while sexy, felt like a retread from last
spring.
Problem is, Kors is still in his prime as designer — with his business strong and
getting stronger, thanks to last year’s MICHAEL launch and this season’s "Project
Runway" involvement, which has helped make him a household name in those fly
over states where the ladies don’t lunch — or summer in St. Barts. So why play it so
safe?
Kors’ guys were tarmac-ready in slim nutria coats and houndstooth flannel trousers as
well as nylon ski pants and cashmere snowflake sweaters for apres-ski. The women
were similarly outfitted in overscale raccoon or shredded fox bathrobe coats worn
with simple cashmere pullovers and more wool flannel suits and trousers. It was all
lovely. It was luxurious. It was lacking in any surprise or innovation whatsoever.
We did love the gals’ silk faille and nylon ski pants, which were wonderfully cut with
zippered slash pockets and silver snaps on the waistband. And there was a zen-like
crispness to the stark red/black/white color mix, interrupted only toward the end when
Karen Elson emerged in a pleated-bodice amethyst jersey dress that acted as a
refreshing palate cleanser for the visual senses.
Kors also scored big with a black ski sweater with red sleeve stripe cinched atop a
poufy red silk faille knee-length skirt, accessorized with a black knit watch cap with
sunglasses perched on the model’s head. Ditto a black cashmere shell worn with
tweed ombre feather skirt, a short-sleeved heather gray turtleneck paired with an ivory
crystal feather dance skirt (cha-cha-cha) and Carmen Kass in a simple — and simply
sublime — black cashmere sweater over a red silk floor-length skirt that hung straight
in the front with a big bustle train trailing behind. All of which called to mind the
sporty American elegance of style icons like C.Z. Guest and Babe Paley while still
remaining firmly entrenched in the here and now. This is the Michael we love!
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From http://news.yahoo.com/
Passage 4
Find out the main idea of the following news:
J.Lo in Spotlight With Grammy Performance
NEW YORK - Jennifer Lopez is returning to the spotlight. The singer-actress had all
but disappeared after calling off her wedding to Ben Affleck, which brought an end to
the media circus known as "Bennifer."
And she's been mum on her reported marriage last June to singer Marc Anthony.
But the debut of her new fashion collection, Sweetface, has been the buzz of New
York Fashion Week. It is the final runway show of the week, tonight at the tents in
Bryant Park, and Anthony, R&B stars Ashanti and Ja Rule are expected to attend.
Her show will be taped for an hour-long MTV special, "Jennifer Lopez: Beyond the
Runway," that is set to air Feb. 24. The special will focus on her design career, which
began when the singer-actress launched a line for teens in 2001.
"I really think this is going to be a rebirth for us — a big step," Lopez said in a
statement. "I've had a passion for fashion for so long."
Lopez also is slated to perform with Anthony at Sunday's Grammy Awards show in
Los Angeles, the first time they have performed together live.
The Recording Academy didn't announce the song the couple would perform. Lopez
has a new album due out March 1 titled, "Rebirth," and she may be performing a song
from the album for the Grammys.
From http://news.yahoo.com/
What you should learn from this chapter:
4. 10 words and 1 typical sentence relate to entertainment;
5. Reading of news on this topic. Please read no less than 2 items every day.
For your reference:
Try to get the meaning of the following words and get familiar with them.
Entertainment ------People
Actor
actress
artist
audience
backing group
ballerina
choreographer
cast
composer
conductor
dancer
director
drummer
guitarist (lead / bass)
magician
musician
orchestra
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Painter
pianist
playwright
producer
saxophonist
sculptor
Singer
vocalist
violinist
Entertainment ------ Arts and Crafts
Carving
drawing
knitting
painting
pottery
sculpture
sewing
Entertainment ------ Artistic Events
Ballet
concert
exhibition
film
play
opera
Entertainment ------ Inside the Theater
Aisle
box
circle
curtain
footlight
gallery
lighting
microphone
orchestra pit
row
screen
scenery
set
Speaker
stage
stalls
wings
workshop
Entertainment ------ Places
art gallery
cinema
concert hall
exhibition center
museum
opera house
stadium
theater
Entertainment - Verbs
Applaud
boo
conduct
exhibit
perform
play (a part)
Sentences:
1. The Venice Film Festival is eager to lead the fight against “ Hollywood
imperialism” but its director freely admits you need all the glitz and glamour of
the big stars to attract the crowds.
2. The audience was held spell-bound and seat-bound throughout the recital by Liu
Huan, who sang 16 signature songs.
3. Eight years ago the black woman and the white man in the Oscar winning film
were married. They have survived their families’ shock and disapproval and the
stares and unwelcome comments of strangers.
4. “ That it has become a cliché – that a certain kind of character smokes,” said
Lindsay Doran, a Hollywood producer. “ And when people think of it that way,
sometimes they’re challenged to do something else.”
5. A recent study completed by Dr. Heinrich Applebaum on the effects of television
on children is not about violence, but about how television gives children a false
sense of reality.
6. The Ministry of Information Industry issued yesterday a regulation on
administration of Internet broadcasting bulletin system (BBS), saying that all BBS
users should be responsible for their released information.
美国电影分级制
美国电影由于遭到观众尤其是家长及宗教和政界保守派认识的抨击，1968 年美国电影协会
决定实行， 即按内容分级，说明适合哪一类观众观看的制度。具体分级影片如下：
G-rated films G 级影片：即适合一般观众观看的影片( general audience )，也可以说
是家庭影片 ( family films / movies );
M-rated films M 级影片：即适合成年观众( mature audience ) 观看的影片;
R-rated films
R 级影片：即限制( restricted ) 观看的影片，意为如无家长陪看，16
岁或 17 岁以下青少年不得观看;
X-rated films
X 级影片：即 16 岁以下青少年禁看的影片。1990 年改为 NC-17.
NC-17
17 岁以下儿童禁看的影片 ( no children under 17 admitted );
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XXX-rated films
XXX 级影片：电影协会并未定出此类影片，而是电影院或色情影片商用
此说明某些电影具有强烈的性爱曝光镜头，招徕看客。
此外，还有：
PG-films
宜在家长指导( parental guidance )下观看的影片;
PG-13
13 岁以下儿童宜在家长指导下观看的影片( parent guidance suggested under
13 ).
Chapter 6
Opinion Writing
Sample Reading
Read the following passage and try to find out how to read opinion writing: how to
catch the main idea and how to appreciate the language.
Opinion writing
The best known opinion column in the Bangkok Post is its editorial entitled Post
Opinion. It is here the editors (or guest editors) are free to comment about local or
international issues. And it is here that you will find some of the liveliest language in
the newspaper. Editorial writers are not shy and when they believe something is
wrong they will say so in very strong words indeed.
Catching the main idea—in two minutes or less!
Good readers know how to get the main idea from Post Opinion very quickly,
probably within one minute. They use different methods, but the most common
is probably something like this one: (1) Read the headline (2) Read the first
paragraph (3) Read the last one or two paragraphs (4) Form a theory of what the
main idea is (5) Test your theory by quickly skimming the beginnings of the
remaining paragraphs. Let’s try this with an editorial that appeared in the
Bangkok Post on November 29, 1995. First let’s look at the headline, the first
paragraph and the last two paragraphs:
If Surakiart goes, so should all the rest
So, we are told, Finance Minister Surakiart Sathirathai could be the
first cabinet member to face the axe. We are also told, but from other
sources, that the assumption could be too hasty. Even if Prime Minister
Banharn Silpa-archa is willing to replace Dr Surakiart, finding someone
trusted by both Mr Banharn and the public will not be easy, especially
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since that someone will have to face the kind of antagonistic attention that
Dr Surakiart has faced.
By comparison, Dr Surakiart looks like a good minister. Or put it
another way, if he goes, so should all the rest.
Already, we should have a good idea of what the editorial is about. We can surely expect some
harsh criticism of cabinet ministers other than Finance Minister Dr Surakiart Sathirathai. Clearly
they must be far worse than he is and if he is forced to resign, they should also resign. Let’s test
our theory by skimming the beginnings of the remaining paragraphs:










Whatever happens, whenever it happens, the torrent of criticism
directed at the former Chulalongkorn University law dean is unfair.
Dr Surakiart's one really serious error was when he agreed to be
finance minister.
He can be criticised for being too weak in trying to stamp out inflation.
But he cannot be blamed for the slump in the stock market.
The only mistake Dr Surakiart took with regard to the stock market
was....
In all other respects, Dr Surakiart has been as good as we could
expect....Not so the rest of the Cabinet..
In economic policy, for example, just take a look at Commerce
Minister Chucheep Harnsawat.
Take a look also at Montri Pongpanich...
Look outside economics. Sanoh Thienthong...
And then there's Thaksin Shinawatra....And there's the former warrior
for democracy, Defence Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh....
From this brief overview we can be quite confident that the five ministers mentioned
apart from Dr Surakiart will come under some very strong criticism indeed.
Now, let’s have a look at the complete passage:
If Surakiart goes, so should all the rest
So, we are told, Finance Minister Surakiart Sathirathai could be the first cabinet
member to face the axe. We are also told, but from other sources, that the assumption
could be too hasty. Even if Prime Minister Banharn Silpa-archa is willing to replace
Dr Surakiart, finding someone trusted by both Mr Banharn and the public will not be
easy, especially since that someone will have to face the kind of antagonistic attention
that Dr Surakiart has faced.
Whatever happens, whenever it happens, the torrent of criticism directed at the former
Chulalongkorn University law dean is unfair. Dr Surakiart has not really made many
mistakes. The spotlight should be on other ministers who could do the country far
more damage. He can be criticised for being too weak in trying to stamp out inflation.
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Many economists have done so. But he is backed by the Bank of Thailand and it is
still too early to judge conclusively who is right.
But he cannot be blamed for the slump in the stock market. Any lack of confidence
has to be blamed on the entire Banharn government whose members came to power
with such a negative image that restoring confidence is bound to be an uphill struggle.
Instead of trying to do that, many ministers have pressed ahead with controversial
actions that might just impress their constituents, but not the nation as a whole.
The only mistake Dr Surakiart took with regard to the stock market was to allow
himself to be panicked into providing a rescue package. Some stock speculators might
be pleased; taxpayers in general should be worried about the package's implied
message that the government will always take the risk out of gambling on stocks.
In all other respects, Dr Surakiart has been as good as we could expect from any
finance minister. Not so the rest of the Cabinet, and that is why the media's focus on
Dr Surakiart is not only unfair to him, but also to the country.
In economic policy, for example, just take a look at Commerce Minister Chucheep
Harnsawat. In one breath he embraces the cause of free trade in the name of tackling
inequalities, and he pledges not to allow the bureaucracy to hinder business.
In another he orders the precise opposite: he throttles tapioca exports through the
unjustifiable practice of allocating quotas, costing an estimated billions of baht in
export earnings, and depriving the country’s poorest farmers of a large chunk of
hard-found income. No one picks up the issue because millions of farmers struggling
in poverty in remote areas cannot command the same media attention as one stock
investor who shot himself in the middle of Bangkok. Mr Chucheep is not even
obliged to give a coherent explanation, and so he rambles on about Philippine rice
farmers and rubber prices as if that had anything to do with tapioca.
Take a look also at Montri Pongpanich whose main enthusiasm at the Agriculture
Ministry is to invent new ways for the ministry to buy and sell fertiliser and seeds,
build dams and dig waterways, preferably at “top speed” and beyond public
scrutiny—just as he did in a previous incarnation with the Hopewell elevated road and
rail project. Are the stock speculators interested? Only if one of the favoured
companies is listed.
Look outside economics. Sanoh Thienthong has done nothing at the Public Health
Ministry to justify his claim to the Interior portfolio. Far from showing that he has the
welfare of the public at heart, Mr Sanoh has merely succeeded in antagonising doctors
all over the country. And then there's Deputy Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
whose preferred solution to traffic problems is to offer policemen quasi-bribes from
his own ample pocket. And there's the former warrior for democracy, Defence
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Minister Chavalit Yongchaiyudh, who now finds free speech inconvenient. And so
on.
By comparison, Dr Surakiart looks like a good minister. Or put it another way, if he
goes, so should all the rest.
The language of Post Opinion
The language of news stories must be neutral. Opinions are often expressed in news
stories, but they come from the people quoted, not from the writer. In fact, you should
not be able to determine the writer's opinion in a news story.
Editorials are almost completely different. The writer’s job is to give an opinion. This
is done in a number of ways—through adjectives and adverbs, through sarcasm and
satire, and through very direct criticism or praise. That is one reason editorials can be
fun to read.
Some readers may be surprised at how critical the editorial is of the present
government. The Thai press (especially the print media) is quite free, so it is not
unusual for newspapers to criticise the government quite severely. It is also
important to note that the Bangkok Post does not support any political party or
coalition. It was critical of the previous government as well.
Notes:
allocate
to set apart for a particular purpose
antagonistic
negative behaviour showing hatred and sharp opposition
beyond public scrutiny away from the attention of the public, i.e., without
adequate controls
bribe
money offered to influence someone's behaviour
coherent
easy to understand
conclusively
putting an end to doubt; with certainty
constituents
voters; people represented by an MP
deprive
to prevent from having
embrace
support
face the axe
to be about to be dismissed from a job
hasty
quick and without careful consideration, often with bad results
hinder
to slow the progress of
in one breath...in another (breath)
At one time he says... and at another time he
says (the opposite)
obliged
having an obligation (duty) to do something
previous incarnation an earlier “life” (time) in the same position
quasipartly; in some ways
ramble on about
(negative) to talk at great length in a disordered wandering
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way
slump
spotlight
stamp out
tainted
throttle
uphill struggle
decline; period of slow or weak activity
focus of attention
to eliminate completely
impure; unclean; made to seem undesirable or unclean
to severely slow the progress of; to choke
difficult job
Classroom-reading
Read the following article and try to answer the following questions:
1. What does this article try to tell us?
2. What’s the name of the book mentioned in this article? Who is the author?
What made him to write such a book?
3. What do you know about the book from the article? ( e.g.: the content, the
language……)
4. What does the last paragraph of this article tell us?
'In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs': Reflections on Iran
By PICO IYER
IN the prosperous northern Tehran suburb of Elahiyeh, ladies who lunch visit a
French-trained psychologist downtown (to talk of their adulteries, no doubt), while
their teenage daughters (''matchsticks marinated in Chanel,'' in Christopher de
Bellaigue's pungent words) get nose jobs, hang around the pizza parlor and perform
oral sex on their boyfriends so they'll still technically be virgins when married off to
their first cousins. Occasionally the ''morals police'' stop by in Land Cruisers to check
handbags for condoms, but Elahiyeh honors the age-old Iranian principle of veiled
surfaces and highly embroidered interiors. Indeed, when de Bellaigue and his Iranian
wife invite one of the Ayatollah Khomeini's former hoodlums to lunch -- an Indian
meal -- the man and his wife marvel over the apartment's interior design.
This is the Iran of only a very, very few, of course, and de Bellaigue devotes only two
dashing pages to it in his impenitently stylish and arresting debut book, ''In the Rose
Garden of the Martyrs.'' Yet it speaks for his method of pitching us into the very heart
and streets of the Iranian revolution today, its troubled consciences, and giving us so
jolting a sense of ordinary lives and human losses that we can no longer see the
country in simplistic, public-policy terms of ''conservatives versus reformists.'' A
young British journalist who writes for The Economist, de Bellaigue aims to
complicate from within a world that too many of us associate only with turbaned
ayatollahs and slogans of ''Death to America.'' That former hoodlum, for example,
introduced to us as Mr. Zarif, laid mines in the war against Iraq at 15, joined a
seminary at 17 and now, playing around with screenwriting, can barely recognize the
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places where he sent people to their deaths. Civil wars, de Bellaigue is agile enough to
see, often take place invisibly.
The guiding method of ''In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs'' is to zoom in on a
handful of individuals whose cases, unraveled in detail, can give us, you could say,
the people's version of (and a sequel to) Ryszard Kapuscinski's classic portrait of
pre-Revolutionary Iran, ''Shah of Shahs'' (1982). We see loyalists who fought for the
revolution and now mostly fight against it; widows in the holy city of Qom who sidle
up to mullahs and say, ''Excuse me, sir, would you be interested in doing a good
deed?'' (knowing that the religious leaders are more than ready to pay to do the deed);
the ''thick-necks,'' thugs of the bazaar whose names de Bellaigue renders as
''Cockroach Asghar,'' ''Cocky Muhammad,'' ''Skull-Cooker Mehdi.'' The results, as
befits a famously sinuous and sophisticated culture, are seldom what we expect (one
of the strongest defenses of the revolution, as giving people new opportunities to go to
school, to learn musical instruments, even to choose their own partners comes, as it
happens, from a dissident intellectual who has had six consecutive newspapers shut
down). Yet the vignettes also cohere to form a withering portrait of a lost and
disenchanted country of heroin addicts, 13-year-old prostitutes and grace notes
mocked by the ruins all around.
Part of the power and richness of de Bellaigue's account comes from his sense that
history is alive and bleeding for Iranians, and from his ability to command a
''worldliness'' and a ''relish for the morally ambiguous'' as pronounced as their own.
The book begins with a scene of crowds weeping and flagellating themselves over the
death of Imam Hossein, son of the Prophet's son-in-law, murdered more than 1,300
years ago. Later it catches the enduring mix of aestheticism and violence in the
culture (nicely captured in the book's title) by reminding us how Shah Abbas I, who
constructed the exquisite city of Isfahan in the 17th century, murdered his eldest son,
blinded his second son and then saw his little grand-daughter killed by her own father,
that son he had blinded, in an elaborate act of vengeance. Among other things, the
scenes of history made vital recall to us that many in the Islamic world think in terms
of centuries, even millenniums; their enemies in Washington often can scarcely
remember what happened last week.
De Bellaigue's particular interest, as again suggested in his title, is in the punishing
eight-year war against Iraq, which left everyone the loser and, he suggests, dealt a
death-blow to the revolution by the time it concluded in 1988. More than 25,000
Iranians fell in a single battle -- almost half as many casualties as America sustained
during the entire Vietnam war -- and even those who survived were known sometimes
to go home and slit the throats of their own 2-year-olds. As ever, though, in recreating
the fighting in gripping, first-person descriptions, de Bellaigue does not show us the
Iran we expect: one man cites Plato and Aristotle in the trenches; another, soon after
describing knifing an Iraqi in hand-to-hand combat, says, ''I had big problems with the
Marxists. I couldn't understand what they were saying, while I felt as though I
understood [Karl] Popper perfectly.'' To this day, some Iranians, the book reminds us,
102
hold the West responsible for arming Saddam Hussein with poison gas and believe
that the West actually manufactured the war to deplete two Islamic powers in one
shot.
Like any journalist who has covered the country since 2000 -- he is the rare Western
correspondent to be stationed in Tehran -- de Bellaigue gives us full accounts of the
regime's murders and the people brave enough to stand up to them, and describes
President Khatami's wavering attempt to steer a course ''between God and freedom.''
But the strength of his book lies mostly in its sense of unofficial history, the whispers
and unscripted mutterings of a proud, suspicious, highly cultured and elegiac people
whose lives, as even Vita Sackville-West noted 80 years ago, take place mostly
behind closed doors. Taaruf , or ''ceremonial insincerity,'' is one of the principles that
de Bellaigue isolates at the heart of Iran, making it more curtained still from outside
view. People repeat invitations only in the hope (the knowledge) they will not be
taken up; others issue brutal putdowns in the most flowery of words. By showing us
the intricacy of Persian culture, he begins to explain why, for example, the head of
Iran's security council was one of the only foreign leaders to come out publicly in
favor of George W. Bush just before the 2004 election, though only two years earlier,
the same Bush had appointed Iran to the ''axis of evil.''
As some of this suggests, de Bellaigue writes with an imperial confidence that may
remind some readers why his principal employer, The Economist, is more known for
panache and provocation than for dutiful A B C's, and there are moments when he
tries too hard to summon a novelist's intensity (calling soldiers in the trenches ''lads,''
for example, as if they were boys down at the pub), or takes one shortcut too many
(calling Hafez, the mystical poet who wrote of a metaphorical intoxication, ''a
strenuous oenophile''). The British ''occupy a privileged position in Iran's
demonology,'' he notes with typical wryness, and with his irreverence and sculptured
ironies, he seems certain to increase that standing. Yet many of his quick
pronouncements are what make the book most engaging: ''Two centuries of
semicolonization sometimes seem worse than unambiguous colonization; at least the
unambiguously colonized got railways and sewers and unambiguous independence.''
''In the Rose Garden of the Martyrs'' is not, happily, the memoir promised in the
subtitle ''A Memoir of Iran.'' Memoirs are beginning to emerge with increasing
frequency from Iranians in exile, who recreate the beauties they have lost or take us
into an aromatic, languorous world that could not be farther from Iran today. Besides,
revolutions, like divorces, leave few disinterested parties. Part of de Bellaigue's
authority comes from the fact that he's an Iranian once removed; though he studied
Persian at Cambridge, he had no great interest in the country when he first visited, in
1999, he says, but when he fell in love with the woman now his wife he decided to
move there. The result is that one senses no ax ground or point being proved (his
wife's parents occupied ''nice ministry positions'' under the Shah, he writes, but that
does not stop him from being pitiless toward the Shah's excesses).
103
An account of Iran is, of course, acutely timely at a moment when the country may
become the next target of our government's meliorist ambitions. Yet the difference
between a journalist and a writer is that the former is telling us what happened
yesterday, while the latter, by looking equally closely at the day's events, tells us what
may happen next year. A writer can also show us such an archetypal shape to
revolutions that he begins to describe not only Iran but revolution in far-off Cuba and
other places, too. De Bellaigue is a defiantly literary writer, and he gives us a sense of
Tehran today so immediate and insistent that we can hear and feel the unending
anxieties of those who, if we attack them, will, alas, become nothing but statistics.
Pico Iyer's most recent books include a set of linked essays, ''Sun After Dark,'' and an
Iranian novel, ''Abandon.''
From:
http://nytimes.com/
Notes:
Adultery: 通奸, 通奸行为.
Marinate: To soak (meat, for example) in a marinade. 腌泡，浸泡把（例如肉）泡
于腌泡汁中.
Chanel: (女式服装)夏娜尔式的(尤指一种无领直统茄克衫).
Pungent: To the point; sharp.
Hoodlum: A gangster; a thug.
Impenitently: 不知悔改地
Debut: A first public appearance, as of a performer..
Turban: A traditionally Moslem headdress consisting of a long scarf of linen, cotton,
or silk that is wound around a small cap or directly around the head.
Ayatollah: A high-ranking male Shiite religious authority, generally assuming a
political role and regarded as worthy of imitation. 阿亚图拉;高级的男性伊斯兰教
什叶派宗教权威，一般担任一个政治角色并被认为是值得仿效的对象
Seminary: A school, especially a theological school for the training of priests,
ministers, or rabbis.
Screenwriting: n. & adj.电影剧本创作(的)
Agile: Characterized by quickness, lightness, and ease of movement; nimble.
Zoom: To move about rapidly; swoop.
Unravel: To separate and clarify the elements of (something mysterious or baffling);
solve.
Sidle: To move sideways.
Mullah: A male religious teacher or leader..
Thug: A cutthroat or ruffian; a hoodlum.
Sinuous: Not direct; devious.
Dissident: One who disagrees; a dissenter..
Vignette: A short, usually descriptive literary sketch.
Disenchant: To free from illusion or false belief; undeceive.
Flagellate: To whip or flog; scourge.
Aestheticism: Devotion to and pursuit of the beautiful; sensitivity to artistic beauty
and refined taste.
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Deplete: To decrease the fullness of; use up or empty out.
Waver: To exhibit irresolution or indecision; vacillate.
Elegiac: Of, relating to, or involving elegy or mourning or expressing sorrow for that
which is irrecoverably past.
Imperial: Outstanding in size or quality.
Panache: 夸耀；显示；炫耀
Provocation: The act of provoking or inciting.
Metaphorical: 隐喻性的, 比喻性的.
Intoxication: 陶醉.
Demonology: The study of demons or belief in or worship of demons.
Wryness: 扭曲, 扭歪.
Unambiguous: Having or exhibiting no ambiguity or uncertainty; clear.
Sewer: An artificial, usually underground conduit for carrying off sewage or
rainwater.
Memoir: 回忆录；自传.
Aromatic: Having an aroma; fragrant or sweet-smelling.
Languorous: 怠惰的, 没精打采的.
Meliorist: 卓越的人。
Archetypal: 原始模型的, 典型的
Classroom – exercises:
Watching the news and do the exercises:
3) Who is Aron Ralston? What happened to him?
4) Why did the hosts and the hostess mention “those affected by hurricane”
again and again?
5) What book is written by Aron Ralston? How much do you know about the
book?
Here are some words that may be helpful for your understanding:
spirituality n. 精神性, 灵性
parallels 导轨
burrito n. 墨西哥玉米煎饼
depredation n. 掠夺, 破坏痕迹
tendon n. [解]腱
Homework
Read the following news and do the exercises:
Passage 1
Reading movie reviews
Most of us love to go to the movies — but if there are many movies in town to choose
from, the choice can be difficult. Movie reviewers like to help with that choice.
Movie reviews are written, not to tell you what to see, but to help you decide whether
or not you would like to see a certain film. Movie critics offer their opinions on the
105
qualities of a particular movie. Sometimes their reviews are positive and other times
they are negative. Different reviewers may have very different opinions about the
same movie. What one movie reviewer finds entertaining, another may find
disappointing.
Besides offering their opinions, movie critics also tell a little about the story line to
catch our interest and perhaps encourage us to venture to the theatres to see the
movies for themselves.
Most reviews include certain kinds of information and organise that information in
similar ways. Knowing what to expect can help you get the facts you need and
understand the writer's opinions. Here's what you can expect in a typical movie
review.
Title and
deck
The title of the review and the deck (a
sentence in special print above the review)
suggest the reviewers opinion — whether
he or she thinks the movie is worth seeing
or not.
Where
At the top of the review, is the name the
movie and the places where it can be seen.
Introduction Here the reviewer tells us why he or she
thinks the movie is good or not. There is
also often a brief summary of what the
movie is about, the story line and what kind
of movie it is — adventure, horror,
romance, for example.
Actors'
Roles
This part gives a short description of the
main characters and names the actors who
play the parts. Reviews refer to roles the
actors have play in other movies.
Story line
In this part you find out more about the
story line and also where and when the
movie takes place and what the setting or
mood is. There may be more information
about the roles as the reviewer talks about
the story line.
Conclusion
The reviewer may conclude with an
interesting or thought-provoking question
or statement to tempt you to see the movie
106
for yourself. Our local reviewer sometimes
makes a link with a local situation or social
attitude.
Here are some excerpts from K. Rudeen's review of The Insider.
No smoking without fire
REVIEW: Heavyweight performances drive this promising Oscar contender
The Insider In English at EGV, UA, UMG,
Siam Square, Cineplex and World Trade Centre
Director Michael Mann and actors Al Pacino and Russell Crowe combine their
eclectic talents to make The Insider a powerful suspense drama, a film serious viewers
can't afford to miss as the Oscar hopefuls queue up for local screening.
Superficially, the film shows how traditional investigative journalism exposes the
shameless lies of greedy businessmen; but at its heart it tells the story of two men's
struggle against the mighty forces of the capitalist establishment.
Pacino plays Lowell Bergman, a 60 Minutes producer who persuades Jeffrey Wigand
(Crowe), a former executive of a giant tobacco company, to blow the whistle on his
former employer's alleged malpractices concerning public health. Bergman finally
convinces Wigand to talk, only to find out that his network, CBS, has decided to kill
the controversial scoop for fear of ensuing legal troubles. This forces Bergman to go
behind his bosses' backs in his crusade to pressure CBS into airing the interview;
while Wigand, his sole ally, is left to face the devastating consequences of his
disclosures.
The Insider is based on the Vanity Fair article The Man Who Knew Too Much, and the
film presents a fairly accurate report of this true account which finally led to the $246
billion lawsuits between 49 states and the US tobacco industry. But truth isn't what
most concerns us: The movie is engaging, fact-packed, fast-paced, and, in a way,
inspires us with mixed feelings of anger and surprise at how little we know about the
ethical standpoints of these billionaires.
At the centre of the film are the performances of Pacino and Crowe. Bergman is a
seasoned newsman who upholds the liberal ideology of a free press ("Are you a
newsman or a businessman?," he barks at a CBS executive); and Pacino simply does
what he always does best: slick, ranting, incisive, with a deadpan sense of humour.
These are the kind of characters films tend to glamourize.
107
More impressive, however, is the Australian-born Russell Crowe. He's perfect for the
role of the man who knows too much. Wigand, gagged by the confidentiality
agreement he signed with the company, is miserably weighed down by all the secrets
he's not supposed to divulge; he speaks in a near whisper, eyes lowered, as if the most
crucial parts of his speech get blocked in his throat.
Christopher Plummer plays another key character, Mike Wallace, a veteran
correspondent of 60 Minutes and close friend to Bergman.
But despite all the complications, The Insider is simple to follow. Unlike other
investigative hits, for example All The President's Men, which tells the story of how
two Washington Post reporters uncovered the Watergate scandal, The Insider doesn't
drown us in an ocean of information. The strategy is clear: This film focuses on the
characters, not the process.
And, alas, that only makes me wish to see characters like Bergman and Wigand in this
country — not the self-proclaimed heroes, but people who're at least interested in
telling the truth about the cigarettes we smoke, the water we drink, the chickens we
eat. If we're talking exposés, there are plenty of stories to expose in this complacent,
mai pen rai Thailand.
Questions:
1. What’s the purpose of writing movie reviews?
2. What can we expect in a typical movie review?
3. Please list all the things you could get about The Insider. Do you think they can
help you to make a decision on whether to watch it or not?
Passage 2
Their Youth
Naturally they capitalize on their youth and beauty, but their skills go far beyond the
physical aspects. Though quite different in other respects, Miss Maximova has
something of the radiance of Margot Fonteyn. She lights up the stage with her petite,
mischievous sparkle, and she dances with a buoyance that completely reflects her
personality…
It is characteristic of the ensemble principle on which the Bolshoi operates that
Natalia Bessmertnova, the troupe’s third ranking ballerina, should turn up
unannounced in the comparatively minor part of the Queen of the Driads. Though
brief, she made its opportunities count with a serene elegance of style and technique
that aroused anticipation of more extended roles.
Alexander Lavreniuk took over the Toreador with a welcome addition of refinement
and aloofness, and Rimma Kerelskaya, the Queen of the Driadston opening night,
injected more variety and less routine into the street dancer. Maya Samokhalova, the
previous street dancer, did the first variation in the last act, but we’ll have to take that
on faith.
108
Fill in the blanks:
This is a comment on a performance of _________; _____ ( how many ) performers
were mentioned in the comment; the author’s basic attitude toward the performance is
___________________________________________.
Passage 3
The rose in a venerable subject in the history of painting but there are no roses to be
found in this history quite like those that appear in the painting of Bert Carpenter,
whose one-man show is now installed at the Zabriskie Gallery, 699 Madison Avenue
at 63rd Street.
For Mr. Carpenter, while lavishing a familiar lyricism（抒情诗） on the realization of
this conventional subject, manages to transform it into something quite different – the
materials of “ heroic” painting.
Mr. Carpenter projects his imagery of roses on a monumental scale, making of each
petal, leaf and stem a weighty architectural member. The roses in his paintings are
giant roses, monument roses – roses that carry the humble dimensions of nature into
the realm of pictorial fantasy. And yet, he effects this magical changes in scale
without sacrificing anything of the “realism” of his depictions. These roses, as large
as the head of man, retain all their tender luminosity（光辉）.
As a sheer technical feat, the exhibition is remarkable. But it is also extremely
interesting as virtuoso painting（名家画）. Mr. Carpenter has adopted something of
Alex Katz’s pictorial strategy in enlarging his subject to more than life-size, and the
particular “cropping” he employs seems to owe something to Philip Pearlstein’s
painting – Mr. Carpenter often cuts off the tops and bottoms of his roses the way Mr.
Pearlstein crops his views of naked models. But whatever he may have borrowed in
the realm of formal ideas, Mr. Carpenter’s pictures establish a presence all his own.
He is an interesting and powerful painter.
Fill in the blanks:
This is a comment on _________. The name of the artist is ____________. The
author’s main comment on his works is
______________________________________________________________. If you
want to have a look at the works mentioned in the article, you should go to
________________________________________________________.
Passage 4
The Aim of Suicide Bombers ---- and How to Beat Them
The ultimate goal of the suicide bomber is to force a reaction on the part of the
soldiers targeted by the attack, to make them see the civilian population around them
as a potential enemy, and respond accordingly. When every civilian carrying a white
attacker, then even soldiers who are not normally trigger-happy may be goaded by
109
fear into harming innocent people. It is important to realize that stopping the suicide
attacker before he ( or she ) commits his attack is next to impossible; he will certainly
try to detonate his explosives as soon as a soldier approaches.
The Israeli army has been forced to deal with suicide attackers over the past 20 years
in southern Lebanon, as well as more recently in the West Bank and Gaza strip. The
Israeli experience has shown that the only hope of countering this phenomenon lies in
thwarting the attack before the attacker sets out on his mission.
The suicide bomber is not a lone “crazy” acting out of rage. Rather, he is the tip of an
operational iceberg consisting of recruiters, intelligence gatherers, bomb-makers, and
trainers. All of these elements are vulnerable to counter-terrorist operations, provided
that one has accurate intelligence and the military capability to act decisively against
them.
In Israel, such counter-terrorist operations often take the form of “targeted killing”
operations against those responsible for sending the suicide bomber on his mission.
However, if the intelligence needed to do this is lacking, it falls to defensive measures
to stop the attack, or at least to minimize the damage. Roadblocks, checkpoints, and
surprise inspections can help in locating the suicide attacker and preventing him from
reaching his target. Precautions must be taken not to create easy targets for suicide
attacks, by avoiding the concentration of soldiers in one place or housing command
centers in multi-story buildings.
In dealings with the civilian population, the possibility of booby traps must be taken
into account. Thus, someone wishing to surrender should be checked from a distance
to see that he is not carrying explosives. Vehicles should be prevented from directly
entering a military base or checkpoint. All services provided by members of the
indigenous population should be subject to stringent security checks.
The military should also be aware of the possibility of multiple suicide attacks, where
explosives are detonated in sequence in order to target first responders or to overcome
consecutive obstacles in the way of penetration of a protected space.
The possibility of suicide operations on the modern battlefield complicates the
military campaign, and requires a whole different mindset from risks and be ready to
change their collective behaviour in accordance with the changing circumstances,
without playing into the enemy’s hands by targeting the civilian population.
--Boaz Ganor, The Guardian, April 2, 2003
1. Multiple-choice
1) The suicide bomber commits suicide to ____________ .
A. kill himself / herself only
B. revenge on the soldiers
C. make the soldiers see the civilian population around then as a potential enemy,
and respond accordingly
D. kill some innocent people out of rage
2) From the passage, we can infer that ___________.
A. the suicide bombers are well organized
B. the suicide bombers often act alone, and nobody help them
110
C. most of the suicide bombers commit their attacks out of crazy motivation
D. most of the suicide bombers are trained in southern Lebanon
3) In preventing the occurrence of suicide attacks, counter-terrorist operation
requires ______________.
A. one with accurate intelligence
B. one with the military capability to act decisively
C. one who has taken every precaution not to create easy targets for suicide
attacks
D. all of the above
4) Who is often the first targeted killing for the counter-terrorist operations?
A. The suicide bomber
B. The suicide bomber’s leaders
C. The surrender
D. The bomb-maker
5) The military may walk straight into the bombers’ trap if they ________.
A. greet the one who wishes to surrender with careful checks
B. are alert all the time
C. allow vehicles to enter directly into a military base or checkpoint
D. put all services provided by members of the indigenous population under
stringent security checks
3. Complete each sentence with a word or a phrase given blow ( in its appropriate
form if necessary ).
Checkpoint
goad
counter
thwart
precaution
Consecutive
stringent
detonate
penetration
be subject to
1) __________ safety measures should be taken when he enter that anti-virus
biotech laboratory.
2) Attackers used a mobile phone to _______ the car bomb at Jakarta’s Marriott
Hotel.
3) She ________ that she was too busy to be thorough.
4) Western cultures ________ through the East in the form of Hollywood films.
5) They _________ him into entering the pitch dark basement by saying he was a
coward.
6) He took every _________ but still got a bad deal on that used car.
7) This time the police _________ the murderer’s plan in advance.
8) Vehicles are stopped at several __________ along the border.
9) All of us _________ to the laws of nature.
10) The streets of New York City are numbered in _________ order.
What you should learn from this chapter:
6. 10 words and 1 typical sentence you got from this chapter;
7. Reading of news on this topic. Please read no less than 2 items every day.
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Chapter 7
News on Education
Sample Reading
Read the following article and try to answer the following questions:
1. What was President Bush’s requirement for the high schools? Why did he make
such requirements? What will he do to help fulfill the plan?
2. What are the different responses about the plan?
3. What did Stuart do to help low-achieving students?
'No Child' Expansion Is Outlined
High Schools Would Face Increased Accountability
By Michael A. Fletcher and Maria Glod
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, January 13, 2005; Page A19
President Bush yesterday proposed extending federal testing and accountability
requirements to the nation's high schools, which for decades have been plagued by
troubling dropout rates and flagging achievement levels.
In a speech at J.E.B. Stuart High School in Falls Church, the president outlined a $1.5
billion plan that would require students to take annual tests in reading and
mathematics through 11th grade. Under the No Child Left Behind Act, which Bush
signed into law three years ago, public school students are required to take annual
tests in grades 3 through 8. Schools face an escalating series of sanctions if students
perform poorly on the exams.
"Testing is important. Testing at high school levels will help us to become more
competitive as the years go by," Bush said. "Testing in high schools will make sure
that our children are employable for the jobs of the 21st century."
Bush's plan to expand the testing requirements into secondary school was applauded
by education advocates, who noted that school improvement efforts most often focus
on students in lower grades despite clear shortcomings among high school students.
"We're excited to see the federal government step up its involvement in high schools,
long the most ignored and least effective part of our educational system," said Tom
Vander Ark, executive director for education programs at the Bill and Melinda Gates
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Foundation. In recent years, the Gates foundation has invested $800 million in high
school improvement projects around the country.
Stuart Principal Mel Riddile, who introduced Bush in a gymnasium decorated with
football and track championship banners, said the president's plan will prod educators
to do more to help low-achieving students.
"What I said to the president is: The end of the book is just as important as the
beginning of the book," Riddile said. "The students need instruction at every level,
particularly if they come from a disadvantaged background."
Just 36 percent of the nation's high school seniors are proficient in reading, according
to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a respected federal test. The
picture is even bleaker when it comes to math, a subject in which only 17 percent of
the nation's 12th-graders are proficient, according to the latest NAEP statistics. Those
achievement levels have changed only slightly since the 1970s.
Currently, about 68 percent of the nation's ninth-graders graduate from high school,
with the others dropping out or earning equivalency diplomas. And among those
students who graduate and go on to college, more than half are forced to take remedial
classes, according to the Association of American Colleges and Universities.
"We should have turned our attention to high school a long time ago," said Patricia
Sullivan, director of the Center on Education Policy, a research organization. "But
there is a belief that if you get it right with students by third grade, you're golden. But
the problem is, we're not getting it right."
Bush's plan was met with immediate skepticism from congressional Democrats, who
say that despite sharp increases in federal education spending in recent years, the No
Child Left Behind Act remains underfunded.
Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), ranking minority member of the House Committee on
Education and the Workforce, said that Bush undercut his credibility with many
Democrats by not putting more money into the No Child Left Behind law. "This
proposal for high school, regardless of what merits it might or might not have, will
encounter stiff resistance in Congress and in the country until President Bush fulfills
the commitments that have already been made to our public schools," Miller said.
"Adding new mandates while schools lack the resources to meet the current demands
will not help schools."
In his remarks, Bush said that he will earmark $1.5 billion for the proposal in his
upcoming budget, but much of the money will come from existing programs. "We've
got money in the budget to help the states implement the tests. There should be no
excuse saying, well, it's an unfunded mandate," Bush said. "Forget it -- it will be
funded."
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The president also proposed increasing funding for rigorous Advanced Placement and
International Baccalaureate programs. The programs are popular among
high-achieving students and have become a virtual requirement for those who hope to
attend selective colleges.
Bush asked Congress to increase funding for two small programs that train high
school teachers in math and reading instruction for under-performing students. "It
sounds odd, doesn't it, for the president to stand up and say we need to focus on
reading in high school," Bush said, "but that's the state of affairs."
Bush said one of the reasons he wanted to come to Stuart was that the diverse school
had long struggled academically but has made a dramatic turnaround in recent years.
Riddile, who said teachers rely on standardized tests to track each student's
performance, attributes the success to programs such as mandatory after-school
tutoring for failing students, remedial reading classes and wake-up calls for students.
More than 50 percent of the approximately 1,500 students live in poverty, and about
66 percent do not speak English as a native language.
In 1998, only 65 percent of juniors at Stuart passed Virginia's standardized English
test. But last year, 94 percent passed. The school's SAT scores climbed more than 100
points in the past five years, and about 90 percent of seniors go on to college.
Said Riddile: "If we can do it, anybody can do it."
From:
www.washingtonpost.com
Notes:
Flagging: Declining; weakening.
Escalate: To increase in intensity or extent.
Sanction: The penalty for noncompliance specified in a law or decree.
Prod: To goad to action; incite.
Bleak: Providing no encouragement; depressing.
Equivalency: Equivalence. 均等，相等，相当.
Underfund: To provide insufficient funding for.
Baccalaureate: A farewell address in the form of a sermon delivered to a graduating
class. 毕业班临别宗教仪式在布道仪式中给毕业班的告别演讲
Classroom-reading
Read the following article and try to answer the following questions:
1. What is the content of the tutoring program mentioned in the news? What’s the
purpose of it? And what’s the function?
2. Can you explain the meaning of the headline?
3. There are a lot descriptions with many difficult words in this news. What’s the
function of these descriptions? If you don’t know the meaning of some of the
words, can you still understand this news?
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At Stanford, Tutoring Helps Make a Janitor Less Invisible
By SAMUEL G. FREEDMAN
DOROTEO GARCIA worked his usual morning shift as a janitor in the art museum,
set along the palm-lined promenade leading into the Stanford University campus.
Hours before the doors opened and the tourists arrived, he moved nimbly in heavy
work boots, well practiced in making himself unobtrusive and being ignored.
He passed amid the Egyptian mummy case and Zulu beadwork, the silver dragons
from China and the Rodin bronzes, all those treasures, vacuuming carpets, mopping
floors, dusting shelves, sponging tables, emptying garbage cans, scrubbing toilets. He
earns $10.14 an hour at a university whose students pay nearly $40,000 a year in
tuition, fees, and room and board.
Then lunch break came on this blustery January day and Mr. Garcia zipped up his
jacket and headed for his English lesson. Through the arches and across the tiled
arcades of the campus, this hacienda with skateboards and latte, he reached El Centro
Chicano, the hub for Stanford's Hispanic students. Eric Eldon, the Stanford senior
who tutored him, was waiting.
They sat in a small conference room with posters of Cesar Chavez, the late leader of
the United Farm Workers, and opened a binder of lessons. Today's was titled "Making
Requests." With his high rounded cheeks and hooked nose, Mr. Garcia had a profile
like something from a bas-relief at Chichén Itzá. Mr. Eldon, with spiky black hair,
scruffy beard and very horizontal glasses, looked more like a character from a Gus
Van Sant or Richard Linklater film.
An immigrant father, age 41, and an American-born student of 23, they bent together
over a list of "polite expressions" for a janitor to use with his boss. They lingered over
the phrase "Can I bother you?" as Mr. Eldon explained that, yes, bothering someone is
usually impolite, but in this sentence meant something more like, "Is it O.K. if I ask
you?" They went through dialogues of a Stanford faculty or staff member requesting a
janitor's help.
Before the lunch break ended, Mr. Garcia was on the final page of the lesson,
developing a more sophisticated kind of request - a letter to the governor of California
on the issue of allowing undocumented immigrants to obtain a driver's license. Hardly
anyone around Stanford beside Mr. Eldon knew it, but Mr. Garcia had grown up in
Mexico reading the political novels and essays of Octavio Paz, Carlos Fuentes and
Gabriel García Márquez. When you are a janitor in a university of affluence, a
university of soft hands, there are a lot of things people don't know about you.
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Bridging that divide was one of the major reasons for creating the tutoring program at
Stanford and several other campuses in the Bay Area. Jointly operated by student
volunteers, janitorial contractors and Local 1877 of the Service Employees
International Union, the project brings together as many as 55 pairs of janitors and
students at Stanford.
For the union and its members, 85 percent of them immigrants from Mexico and
Central America, the English classes meet both immediate and long-range goals.
Learning even the rudiments of English can save a janitor from being fired for not
responding to a request he does not understand. With some fluency, a janitor can get
off the night shift and onto days. A rank-and-file janitor can try to become a shop
steward. An immigrant can try to pass the citizenship test.
For the Stanford students, meanwhile, the tutoring provides a sense of purpose and
human connection that cannot be taught. Many of these undergraduates won
admission partly by doing "community service" for the most cynical of reasons, to
build their résumés. Their courses here resound with the armchair radicalism of
Orientalism, neocolonialism, deconstructionism, white studies, critical race theory,
queer theory, blah blah blah.
"There's a lot of privilege in this place and a lot of ignorance about that privilege," Mr.
Eldon said. "People are used to having maids and servants. If they trash their dorm,
they're used to having someone else clean it up." He continued, "You can take classes
on all sorts of highfalutin political theories and trends. But to me, none of them
teaches as much as being connected to people outside of Stanford."
Fittingly, then, the tutoring program arose from an alliance between Local 1877 and
Stanford students as the union was engaged in several bitter rounds of contract
negotiations in 2000. One outcome of the union's organizing efforts statewide,
meanwhile, was the establishment of an educational trust fund, with employers
contributing one cent for each hour worked by each janitor. Local 1877 put its share
of the fund toward the tutoring system, both at colleges and high-tech companies
(where paid teachers lead the literacy classes). Most of the project's current budget of
$500,000 a year, though, comes from state aid.
IN the three years that Mr. Eldon has known Mr. Garcia, three years of barbecues and
soccer games as well as English lessons, the student has crossed the actual and
metaphorical divide between Palo Alto and its hardscrabble neighbor, East Palo Alto.
There, beyond the 101 Freeway, Mr. Garcia splits a one-room apartment with his son
Ernesto, a Stanford janitor and community-college student. His wife and younger son
remain in Oaxaca. Mr. Garcia keeps his snapshots of them on the wall, and he keeps a
native Mexican cactus outside the front door.
Sometimes, in sentimental moments, Mr. Garcia writes poetry about the people and
place he left nine years ago. At a distance, it is easy to remember the good parts, not
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the failed economy that sent him from high school into the farm fields, from the
depleted fields into town to sell tools, and from town to El Norte.
After nearly four years of tutoring, Mr. Garcia has become at least a bit less invisible.
He has spoken to incoming freshmen as part of orientation. He wrote an op-ed column
for the student newspaper. And he has even written a poem about his time on the
night shift that is now part of the curriculum for his fellow janitors. It reads in part:
He doesn't carry books or binders
He uses a mop and feather duster
Instead of a computer
he works with a vacuum
He keeps the university clean
while everyone else sleeps...
But now at one in the morning
a janitor dreams while awake
hoping for a better future
for his kids.
From http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/26/
Notes:
Promenade: A public place for a leisurely walk.
Unobtrusive: Not undesirably noticeable or blatant; inconspicuous.
Blustery: 大风的, 吵闹的.
Arcade: An arched, roofed building or part of a building.
Hacienda: A large estate or plantation in Spanish-speaking countries.
Hub: A center of activity or interest; a focal point.
Scruffy: Shabby; untidy.
Rudiment: A fundamental element, principle, or skill, as of a field of learning.
Cynical: Scornful of the motives, virtue, or integrity of others.
Radicalism: The doctrines or practices of radicals. 激进主义激进的教条或行动
Orientalism: A quality, mannerism, or custom specific to or characteristic of the
Orient.
Neocolonialism: A policy whereby a major power uses economic and political means
to perpetuate or extend its influence over underdeveloped nations or areas.
Deconstructionism: 解构，拆析哲学运动和文学评论理论对传统的关于事实、象
征和真理的设想提出疑问，断言词组只能指代其它词组，并试图表明文本的表述
是如何推翻它本身的意义的.
Highfalutin: Pompous or pretentious. 夸张的，目空一切的.
Barbecue: A social gathering, usually held outdoors, at which food is cooked over an open flame.
Hardscrabble: Earning a bare subsistence, as on the land; marginal.
Deplete: To decrease the fullness of; use up or empty out.
Classroom – exercises:
Watching
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Item 1
4. What’s the main idea of the news?
5. Fill in the blanks:
Students from more than _____ countries have come to China to learn Chinese. But
comparatively, there aren't a lot of Americans _______ to study mandarin. China's
economy could soon be ____________ in the world. But most Americans still choose
to study French or Spanish at school.
Item 2
1. What’s the main idea of the news?
2. Fill in the blanks:
Well, most students we ______ didn't in fact to get it right. A new study by American
Institutes For Research found that ___________ of 4-year-college students and nearly
75% of 2-year-college students lack the ability to _________ a tip, compare prices or
even _________ a checkbook.
Writing
Read the following article and try to find out the main idea of the news. And how do
you think of mental health counseling? Do you think it’s necessary for college
students? How much do you know about this topic? Please write a short news of no
more than 100 words on this topic.
City provides students with mental health counselling
Wang Ying
Tang Lili, a Beijing-based college student in her early 20s, lives with a sense of anxiety
while on campus.
But it could be worse. A top high school student from a small city in East China's
Anhui Province, Tang is struggling to face up to the reality of increased competition.
"I find it difficult to live up to my parents' high expectations and I am quite worried
about my future when it comes to finding work," said the third-year student.
Tang has, however, benefited and gained confidence from talking to staff at a
psychological counselling centre on campus.
Tang used the time to discuss the challenges she was facing and how she should
respond to them, in addition to looking at her study methods.
Tang is luckier than others, who have taken their own life because of the pressures of
university life.
To ensure the psychological umbrella covers as many undergraduates as possible, the
city's education authorities have introduced more psychology-based programmes.
The Beijing Education Commission launched a guideline on college students
psychological education earlier this month.
It highlights the prevention of psychological illnesses and the long-term character
building of students.
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The guideline calls for every college and university in the city to establish
psychological counselling centres for students as soon as possible and introduce
psychological education schemes.
"With the rapid changes in Chinese society, young people are under greater pressure
than ever before," said Lin Guirui, director of the psychological counselling centre at
Beijing's Capital Normal University.
Lin, who assisted in drafting the guideline, said many college students had heavy
workloads, faced fierce competition when it came to finding jobs and had complicated
interpersonal relationships.
"Frustration guidance, directed at helping them shape their character and
strengthening their willpower, is badly needed, especially for those who are single
children," Lin said.
"Young people must understand that frustration is inevitable in their lives and that
they can only become more mature by learning to overcome such emotional
difficulties."
Lin's university was among the city's first batch to introduce psychological education
schemes.
The university introduced lectures and discussions on mental health in 1994,
providing general psychological education and free counselling to all.
Mental health awareness has greatly improved as a result, as an increasing number of
students have been able to benefit from the counselling centre's services.
The centre only had one tutor and very few people came for help in the early 1990s.
However, it now has three tutors and students often have to queue up to get
counselling.
(China Daily 02/01/2005 page3)
Homework
Read the following news and do the exercises:
Passage 1
Read the following article and try to answer the following questions:
1. What did Ms. Barchowsky try to teach her students? How?
2. Handwriting had been ignored for a long time, why? And more importance is
attached to it now, why?
3. How about your handwriting? Do you think it’s still important for modern
people?
Back to the Basics of a Legible Hand
FOR 12 years after retiring from the faculty of Harford Day School in this Baltimore
suburb, Nan Jay Barchowsky had happily pursued her unquiet version of dotage. She
wrote a textbook, designed a typeface, spent time on her pottery and watercolors.
Then, in the person of the Harford headmistress, duty called.
So Ms. Barchowsky found herself the other morning standing before a class of eighth
graders, talking about posture and grip, dictating sentences about "greedy green
gremlins" and "reverent corruptible reprobates," and trying within the constraints of
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25 minutes to teach these teenage pupils a skill most barely possessed - the ability to
write clearly and rapidly in script.
Behind their cowlicks and braces, these adolescents already knew Latin and Greek
roots. They understood the modified predicate and compound appositive. They wrote
research papers on topics like the role of friends, counselors and confidantes in
"Romeo and Juliet." Yet even in a private school with a healthy respect for traditional
pedagogy, one of the "3 R's" had gone missing in the high-tech age.
When Ms. Barchowsky asked the dozen students to start writing, all but two
instinctively went to print. Kelsey Niemeyer had a typical story. She had learned
script in second or third grade, but in middle school her teacher stopped requiring her
to use it, and so, like an unused muscle, the ability atrophied. The other week, when
Kelsey's mother asked her to write a thank-you note, and to do it cursively so it
looked grown-up, Kelsey realized she could no longer remember how to form many
letters.
There is nothing so unique, so peculiar about Kelsey's situation or Harford Day
School's. Both bear testimony to the diminishing importance of handwriting
instruction and quality in American schools. Nobody ever issued an edict on the
subject, although state standards for handwriting's role in the curriculum tend to be
vague and easily ignored. This trend took hold more as a result of indirect decisions
and unexamined premises.
At one end of the educational spectrum, the emphasis on standardized testing and
basic skills has led elementary schools to double the class time devoted to math and
language arts, crowding out penmanship along with art, music, science and other
supposedly ancillary subjects. On the other flank, the "whole language" method of
teaching literacy, with its emphasis on creative expression and critical thinking, has
diminished instruction in phonics, spelling and grammar, among other traditional
skills. Straddling the philosophical divide is the assumption that somehow, magically,
every pupil, rich or poor, will have a computer available at all times.
As for the cumulative result, a recent national survey of teachers in grades 1 through 3
by Prof. Steve Graham of Vanderbilt University found that while most said they did
teach handwriting, a vast majority admitted that they had no training in the subject,
had no curricular materials for it and, for good measure, didn't enjoy it. Zaner-Bloser,
an educational publishing company known for its handwriting books, saw its business
drop steadily from the early 1970's until the mid-1990's, said Richard Northup, a vice
president.
Even now, when those sales are gradually improving, teachers insist on lessons that
require no more than 15 or 20 minutes a day, the tiny slice of time they have available
for the subject, Mr. Northup said. Only a few colleges and universities - Brigham
Young, the University of Nebraska at Kearney, St. Ambrose in Davenport, Iowa - put
much emphasis on handwriting in teacher-education courses.
A skeptic might fairly ask why this matters. Professor Graham's study of elementary
school pupils indicated a link between their difficulty in handwriting and weaknesses
in the grammar and content of their compositions. One reason, quite simply, is that a
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brain struggling to make a hand form letters does not devote enough attention to more
advanced tasks.
In high school and college, any student without a 24/7 laptop cannot hope to keep
accurate notes on a lecture course. Kate Gladstone, a handwriting specialist based in
Albany, estimates that while a student needs to jot down 100 legible words a minute
to follow a typical lecture, someone using print can manage only 30. "That's fine for
class," she said, "if the class is first grade."
Beyond the matter of speed, script remains a signifier of maturity, as Kelsey
Niemeyer realized, and legibility matters on doctor's charts, job applications and
absentee ballots, among other documents. As The Journal News in Westchester
County recently reported, a judge disqualified ballots in a tightly contested State
Senate race because he could not read the signatures.
NOTHING, though, supplied such a jolt to the handwriting cause as the advent of the
new Scholastic Aptitude Test. In the version being introduced this March, each
student must write a 25-minute essay. And that essay, unlike the answers to the SAT's
multiple-choice questions, will be read and rated by two genuine human beings, as
Nan Barchowsky was quick to remind a class at Harford Day School.
"Do you know anything about the SAT's?" she asked, and the hands of these
ambitious children predictably rose. "The people who'll grade those essays won't have
any time to decipher illegibility. Scary thought, isn't it?" She paused. "And you're
probably going to be taking notes for the rest of your lives. I don't know anybody who
works on a computer and doesn't also have a pad nearby."
Enlightened and perhaps alarmed, the students dutifully went through several of Ms.
Barchowsky's exercises, some involving words and others slanting lines. They heeded
her instruction about sitting upright, not leaning on an elbow, placing the pen between
index and middle fingers. Then she harvested the papers so she could analyze
strengths and weaknesses before the next week's lesson.
None of these methods differed greatly from what Ms. Barchowsky was doing later in
the morning with a class of first graders. Something had happened to those
13-year-olds on the way to eighth grade; a fundamental skill had been lost to disuse
and disregard. Now it was Ms. Barchowsky's job to roll back the calendar to 1998 or
so and do it over, like an anthropologist teaching a tribe one of its own ancestral
rituals.
"We don't do the glamorous makeover here," said Susan G. Harris, the headmistress.
"We believe that skills and habits of the mind take years to develop. We just know
that there aren't quick fixes. With handwriting or anything else, you need the firm
foundation there. Once you learn to walk, you won't go back to crawling again."
From http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/19/
Notes:
Dotage: A deterioration of mental faculties; senility.
Constraint: The state of being restricted or confined within prescribed bounds.
Cowlick: A projecting tuft of hair on the head that grows in a different direction from
the rest of the hair and will not lie flat.
Brace: A dental appliance, constructed of bands and wires that is fixed to the teeth to
121
correct irregular alignment.
Adolescent: A young person who has undergone puberty but who has not reached full
maturity; a teenager.
Pedagogy: The art or profession of teaching.
Atrophy: To cause to wither or deteriorate; affect with atrophy.
Cursively: 草书地, 手写体地; 草书体地。
Edict: A formal pronouncement or command.
Premise: A proposition upon which an argument is based or from which a conclusion
is drawn.
Ancillary: Subordinate.
Flank: A lateral part or side.
Straddle: To appear to favor both sides of (an issue).
Curricular:课程的
Jot: To write down briefly or hastily.
Decipher: To read or interpret (ambiguous, obscure, or illegible matter).
Illegibility: (=unreadable)难以辨认的, 字迹[印刷] 模糊的
Passage 2
Set Universities Free
The government has got itself into a serious mess in its approach to higher education.
A dozen years ago 16 per cent of young people went to universities, which already
included ex-polytechnics. That percentage has risen sharply to more than a third, and,
as we all know, the Prime Minister wants it to be 50 per cent.
Funding has not kept pace. The amount spent per student has gone down from
￡7,600 per annum ten years ago to ￡4,800 today. Academic salaries are woefully
inadequate; staff-student ratios have deteriorated; and, not surprisingly, standards have
fallen. The courses offered by some universities include modules that amount to
teaching weeding and tidying-up. It is obvious that things have gone wrong and that
much more money is needed.
It is truly paradoxical that a government which claims that education is a top priority
should contemplate higher top-up fees, bigger student loans or extra taxes to be paid
after graduation ---- all ways of making the students or their parents pay. ( The extra
tax proposal is particularly ridiculous when you consider that if graduates earn more
than other people, they will pay more tax anyway. ) Even with means-tested
exemptions, the prospect is already turning many of the poorest families against the
idea of a university education, which is about as serious a failure as you could
imagine.
A radical approach is needed. Universities must be freed from government control
altogether. The fact is that government control ( not just in the UK ) damages
academic standards and stifles freedom. In prewar Germany, where already there was
state control of universities, the majority of holders of university chairs had joined the
Nazi party voluntarily by 1933; and by November 1935, when the First
Supplemental Decree forced the retirement from universities of non-Aryan staff, most
of the harm had been done. Bastions of liberty they were not.
122
It may seem far-fetched to compare prewar Germany to our situation today, but there
is a powerful connection between dependence on public money and the constant thirst
for more of it on the one hand, and the suppression of opposition to accepted
government thinking on the other. The consultation paper put out by the Office of
Science and Technology a couple of years ago illustrated this vividly. Freedom of
thought only really flourishes at institutions that are free and independent.
If all but poor students are going to have to contribute significantly towards the total
cost of universities anyway, the only way forward is to ensure that these institutions
answer to their “market” ---- i.e., their students ---- rather that to the government. For
the government is no longer the important paymaster.
Why on earth should it retain control when control has been so obviously damaging?
And the idea of yet another quango to oversee admissions policy is a reversal of a
centuries-old freedom. It is to skew admissions in an attempt to achieve some social
engineering, but it will assuredly dilute excellence, as universities lean over to achieve
government targets. Watch the drop-out rate increase.
Even with state funding, if a university does not provide the standards of excellence
that its students expect, it will not succeed. If the quality of its research proves
fruitless, it will wither. And, unfortunately, this is a process that is under way already.
The international ranking of our universities tells the pitiful story. Our universities
now have to tell the Treasury where research spending is going. Does anyone think
that government officials would have sanctioned the work of Faraday or Darwin? We
should bear in mind Galileo’s reaction ( capitulation ) when Pope Urban showed him
the instruments of torture.
When Adam Smith was teaching at Glasgow University 250 years ago, students paid
teachers whose lectures they attended directly. When the university offered him a
stipend out of central funds, he declined. Smith had seen how inferior Oxford and
Cambridge had become at that time compared with Scottish universities, and he
judged this to be the result of the laziness and complacency induced by guaranteed
stipends which were not available in Scotland, where universities had to respond more
directly to their “ market ”.
British universities started to become dependent on government money in 1919. The
damage done by inflation and the shortage of students made state funding essential.
The dependence on state finance had become progressively greater. We would do well
to note that the same malaise applies all over Europe. Continental universities are
widely seen to have failed. They are state-run, state-funded, and have become vast,
impersonal degree factories where conditions for students are often deplorable. Indeed,
this is reflected in the creation of private institutions of higher education which is now
beginning to be seen on the Continent.
In the United States, on the other hand, the thriving independent universities are the
acknowledged world leaders. Moreover, they set a benchmark for publicly funded
universities both as regards academic standards and freedom from official
interference.
The solution, though radical, is not impractical. The government should provide every
university with an adequate endowment, and free them completely from government
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control. The amount needed would be much less than the ￡22.5 billion that the
government took out of the economy when it auctioned the 3G telephone licences.
Moreover, it would cost the government nothing. For the endowment could consist of
non-tradeable government bonds created for the purpose. The only cash involved
would be the interest payable on the bonds, but this would be a replacement for the
money now being provided which would no longer be needed.
In addition, the saving of the cost of the gigantic bureaucracy which now controls our
universities would be enormous. After all, a large and expensive part of the DFES, the
whole of the Higher Education Funding Council, and most of the other six ( yes, six )
quangos, could be done away with. The entire saving could go to increase the
endowment income.
The bonds would never have to be repaid, but they would be much more than just an
accounting entry. They would represent a perpetual promise to pay the endowment
income. This would be vulnerable only to the re-emergence of inflation. To guard
against this risk, the interest paid on the bonds could be index-linked.
The endowment income would cover only part of the cost of academic salaries and
other overheads. The rest would come from the fees which the students are going to
have to pay anyway. As a result, universities would thenceforth have to respond to
their “ market ”. If a university did not provide the courses and the teaching standards,
and produce research work that end-users really valued, it would deservedly fail. This
would guarantee improving standards; common sense tells you so.
The endowment funds would be held in trust, and the terms of the trust would include
an obligation to pay the costs of students from poor backgrounds, in just the same way
that scholarship funds have done for centuries. It would be essential, and simple, to
ensure that entry for students was always “ needs-blind ”, so that no one would ever
be excluded for want of means. This is the case at, for example, Harvard and other Ivy
League universities, a principle which is blatantly absent from all of the governments
proposals that we have heard about so far.
Radical? When it is reported ( inaccurately, I hope ) that the Prime Minister considers
that student-loan obligation could be made remittable if the student goes into
“ acceptable ” public-service jobs, you know that a radical solution is called for.
----Martin Jacomb, The Spectator, 25 January, 2003
1. Multiple-choice
1) What do the first three paragraphs mainly discuss?
A. The number of university students has greatly enhanced.
B. The government’s practical approach to higher education has done.
C. The deficiency of fund makes the quality of higher education deteriorate.
D. It is not justified for the government to increase the tuition fees.
2) Which of the following statements best summarizes paragraph 4 and paragraph 5?
A. Some methods must be taken to get higher education out of trouble.
B. Universities must be freed from government control.
C. What happened to the higher education in prewar Germany is similar to the
condition of the higher education in the United Kingdom now.
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D. Only those institutions which are free and independent can bear free thought.
3) Paragraphs 6-9 mainly illustrate that ___________.
A. government control lowers the quality of higher education
B. government has no right to control universities
C. institutions of higher education should answer directly to their students rather
than to government
D. universities which respond directly to market are better than state-funded ones
4) Paragraph 10 and 11 make a contrast between universities in Europe and America
mainly to illustrate that _________.
A. the problem confronted by British higher education had a long history
B. state-funded schools have a lot of problems
C. universities should be independent of state finance
D. European universities are inferior in quality to American universities.
5) The rest of the article mainly deal with ____________.
A. the necessity of a radical solution to the problem of British higher education
B. the necessity of government granting adequate endowment fund to
universities
C. how to make full use of government endowment
D. the specific solution to the problem faced by British higher education resulted
from government control
2. Complete each sentence with a word or a phrase given blow ( in its appropriate
form if necessary ).
Deplorable
endowment
acknowledge
exemption
sanction
Contemplate
perpetual
induce
gigantic
radical
1) The university received a large __________ from the company.
2) ___________ from taxation is given to schools and churches.
3) His ________ opinions on education were fiercely contradicted by his colleagues.
4) The Prime Minister had not yet _________ the proposal to increase educational
fund.
5) Nothing in the world would _________ her to give up the cause of education.
6) She was greatly astonished at the _________ living conditions in her hometown.
7) Albert Einstein is __________ as one of the greatest scientists in human history.
8) Bathing in the Fountain of Youth is supposed to assure _________ beauty.
9) Nuclear weapons impose a _________ threat to the peace and development of the
world.
10) Although her parents wanted her to get married earlier, she thought she was too
young to _________ marriage.
Passage 3
Read the following news and try to find out the main idea of each passage and pay
attention to the blackened words. And discuss how much do you know about remote
education? How can we improve it?
125
Remote education sees initial success
2004-12-23
To emphasize education for long-term dynamic growth and prosperity, Northwest
China's Shaanxi Province, a relatively underdeveloped area, will plunge an
unprecedented 10 billion yuan (US$1.2 billion) into a remote educational network
for children.
The investment, half from the central government and half from local authorities, will
be completed by 2007.
Shaanxi has used some 90 million yuan (US$10.8 million) of central government
funds and 30 million yuan (US$3.6 million) from local government coffers for the
so-called Rural Remote Education Project (RREP). It will be carried out continuously
to cover all rural middle and primary schools in Shaanxi through 2007, said Tian Peng,
an official with the Shaanxi Provincial Education Bureau.
Initial achievements have been good, with 78 per cent of primary schools and 68 per
cent of middle schools in 29 counties covered by the pilot project, Tian said.
In addition, the project has also established rural classes, which offer the same courses
as taught on the remote educational system, in 75 per cent of the primary and middle
schools which have not been provided with full remote educational programmes
facilities in the pilot counties and districts, the official said.
The RREP is a nationwide promotional effort for cultural, economic and social
development in China's vast rural regions.
Tian is in charge of the implementation of the project in Shaanxi, which aims to
provide classrooms with CD players, satellite remote educational systems and
computers at middle and primary schools.
"So far, 20.5 per cent of rural middle and primary schools in Shaanxi are covered by
this kind of remote educational system," Tian said.
An inspection group formed by experts from the State Development and Reform
Commission and ministries of education and finance have praised the trial and
demonstration projects in Shaanxi Province.
They inspected trial projects in Shaanxi's Taibai and Sanyuan counties on Monday,
and said the project meets the State standards, according to Wang Zhuzhu, an expert
of remote education and deputy director of the Central Audio-Visual Education
Programme Centre.
And in September, another RREP demonstration project in Shaanxi also passed
examination by the State expert inspection group
"The demonstration project covers 68 counties with 5,999 education sites," Tian said.
"And the projects not only benefit rural education, but also help promote rural
economic and social development," Tian added.
Zhu Jingzhi, vice-governor of Shaanxi Province in charge of education, said the
RREP's initial success in Shaanxi will help promote development of modernized
education in rural areas, adding that education is one of the most effective ways to
fight against poverty
From http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/
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Passage 4
They’re Online and On the Job
Training and professional development are the corporate equivalent of spinach:
essential for pumping up performance but hard for employees to swallow. Many recall
the coffee and doughnuts served between sessions better than the content of the text or
lectures. Thus, when Circuit City moved most of its training online over the past year,
salesman Andre Harris, a reluctant reader, figured he’s skate through the tutorial on
digital camcorders with a minimal amount of effort ---- until he saw colleagues who’d
mastered the material ringing up all the commissions. Harris returned to the
back-room computer lab and consumed every course offered. Today, he’s the Sterling,
Va., store’s top salesman, able to counsel customers on each nifty feature of some 18
models that gleam atop his display counters, as well as the computers and TVs down
the aisle. Not bad for someone who had been working in the warehouse only six
months earlier.
Success stories like Harris’s are selling employers from automakers and software
firms to hospitals and pharmaceutical companies on the value of electronic training.
From a flicker in 1998, corporate E-learning has flared into a $2.3 billion market,
making it one of the fastest-growing segments of the education industry: That’s still a
mere silver of the nearly $ 57 billion that Training magazine estimates companies now
spend on employee instruction. But the concept is expanding swiftly to encompass
everything from university-based online certificate programs for firefighters and
M.B.A. programs for executives to computer CDs on managing diversity created by
courseware companies like NETg of Naperville, Ill. The technology-research firm
IDC in Framingham, Mass., sees the industry continuing to grow at a 50 percent
annual clip, topping $18 billion in 2005. The U.S. Army alone will spend more than
$450 million over that time to beam classes into bases and foxholes worldwide.
Behind the wild enthusiasm is the imperative to stay competitive in a fast-changing
economy. Gone are the days of long product cycles, 12-week management courses,
and hefty travel budgets to cover in-person training. The winner is often the one who
zaps new information out to the sales force fastest. Rather than flu trainers to 7,000
dealerships, General Motors University now uses interactive satellite broadcasts to
teach salespeople the best way to highlight features on the new Buick. Six months
before rolling out a hot new pickup, GM used the broadcasts to teach mechanics how
to repair it; at one point, 1,400 employees around North America were watching. “ If
we’d had to send everyone to a bricks-and-mortar class, we never would have got all
of it done,” says GM learning chief Donnee Ramelli.
Fast and cheap, E-training can also shave companies’ costs and inconvenience while it
saves them time. Pharmaceutical companies like Merck are conducting live,
interactive classes over the Web, allowing sales reps to bone up on the latest product
information at home rather than fly to a conference center. Intel employees out west
can pursue an M.B.A. program designed exclusively for them from Babson College in
Wellesley, Mass., via laptop, without having to take a sabbatical from work or decline
out-of-town assignments. Recognizing the benefits, Motorola’s admired corporate
university already conducts 30 percent of its training online and aims to deliver half
127
its courses electronically in the next few years. McDonald’s trainees will get a taste of
Web-based learning later this year by logging into Hamburger University and honing
such skills as how to assemble a made-to-order burger or properly place the drink on a
tray. Even before the September 11 terrorist attacks, which left many employees loath
to travel, some experts predicted that 80 percent of corporate training would be
delivered electronically in three years.
For E-training to be effective, it has to both reach a wide audience quickly and deliver
information in a way that allows the audience to actually absorb it. That means
breaking lessons into short “ chunks ” and adding lots of pop quizzes, online
discussion groups, or other interactive features that let students demonstrate what
they’ve learned. It also usually involves some form of live instruction, whether
delivered in person or electronically.
Circuit City’s tutorial on digital camcorders, for example, consists of three 20-minute
segments. Each contains audio demonstrations of how to handle customer queries
( which cables are needed to E-mail video?), tests on terminology, and “ try its ” that
propel trainees back onto the floor to practice what they’ve learned. Students with
questions can E-mail experts and receive a response within 24 hours. Some
companies are experimenting with “ synchronous mentoring,” where employees all
log in at a set time and chat with the instructor. Webcasts, in which the teacher
presents material, are becoming increasingly common, too, as are blended programs
that combine online and classroom training. Last year, some 21 percent of firms with
E-learning programs surveyed by IDC were combining online material with class time;
today, 32 percent do.
Offline, too. Preserving the human element was a key consideration when Intel joined
forces with Babson Interactive, a for-profit spinoff of the college’s Olin School of
Business, to roll out a customized online M.B.A. for its employees. In fact, the
program is evenly split between inclass lectures one weekend per month ---- delivered
by Babson professors who travel to Intel facilities in Arizona, California, and Oregon
---- and online projects and case studies that focus closely on Intel practices and
products. “ When you’re building teams, you really need the intense face to face,”
says Thomas Moore, dean of executive education and CEO of Babson Interactive,
who believes that the online collaboration and real-time cases will make the hybrid
stronger than the classroom or electronic experience alone.
If M.B.A.’s were looking for a case study on the positives of corporate E-learning,
Circuit City would fill the bill. As recently as five years ago, every new full-time
“ sales counselor ” would have traveled to the store’s Richmond, Va., base for five
days of classroom training. Today, with nearly 600 superstores, 50,000 employees,
and a rapidly changing inventory of digital cameras, high-definition TVs, and other
consumer electronics, the training needs are far more complex ---- and they’re
ongoing. So Circuit City executives spent three intensive days talking about how to
create a learning culture and get the best results, and hooked up with Digital-Think to
design and post customized courses. They thus avoided the common trap of simply
uploading the old text-based lessons onto a new delivery system.
Because the company’s core staff is made up of 18-to-30-year-olds with
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“ point-and-click attention spans,” says Jeff Wells, senior vice president for human
resources, courses had to be short, fun, flexible, interactive, and instantly applicable
on the job. “ We were trying to create a direct link between learning and earning,”
explains Wells. In the year since the system debuted, the time needed to educate a new
hire has fallen by half, and Circuit City has pared its training department from 83
people to 13. “ Within a few hours, we reduced the training budget by 50 percent and
improved effectiveness,” says Wells. So far, at least, he has seen no downside. At
outlets like the Sterling, Va., store, E-learning has translated into happier customers
---- and more sales. That’s the kind of green that could get any employee salivating.
Mary Lord, U.S. News & World Report, 2003
1. Multiple-choice
1) The example of salesman Andre Harris shows that _______ .
A. it’s hard for employees to learn knowledge online
B. online training proves successful
C. Andre Harris is a slow learner
D. Andre Harris is especially smart
2) Companies are enthusiastic about electronic training because ___________.
A. it saves time and money
B. it is competitive
C. it is changing quickly
D. instruction is delivered in a classroom
3) Which of the following statement on E-learning is NOT true?
A. In 1998 E-learning enjoyed a big market.
B. E-learning develops quickly.
C. E-learning provides its companies with all kinds of programs.
D. Employers in many fields are interested in E-learning.
4) The word “loath” (in the last sentence in paragraph 4) can be best replaced by
_________.
A. willing
B. happy
C. sad
D. reluctant
5) We can infer from the sentence “E-learning has translated into happier customers
---- and more sales” that _________________.
A. customers are happier because they can get across to E-learning
B. customers are willing to buy more goods because they are E-trained
C. Salesmen can provide better service to customers via online training, thus pleasing
their customers and promoting sales
D. If you have happier customers and more sales, you should start E-learning
6) From the last paragraph, we get to know that __________.
A. more people are working in the training department of Circuit City
B. most of Circuit City’s staff are over 30 years old
C. young employees in Circuit City are famous for their long attention spans
D. Circuit City needs shorter time to educate a new employee
2. Complete each sentence with a word or a phrase given blow ( in its appropriate form if
129
necessary ).
Hire
debut
blend
loath
deliver
imperative
Query
counsel
estimate
predict
1) The little girl was __________ to leave her mother.
2) Before leaving he __________ a lecture to his employees.
3) You must ____________ the flour and eggs and sugar together before you make cakes.
4) The national edition of the newspaper ________ last summer.
5) They have to train the two new ________ in the sales department.
6) She ________ that he would marry a doctor.
7) It is difficult to ________ the possible results in advance.
8) He _______ Mary to go to the hospital at once.
9) He was driven to steal by the _______ of survival.
10) I have several ________ about the work you give me.
What you should learn from this chapter:
8. 10 words and 1 typical sentence relate to education;
9. Reading of news on this topic. Please read no less than 2 items every day.
For your reference:
Education ------Subjects
Archaeology
art
business studies
dance
drama
economics
games (sport) Geography
geology
history
home economics
foreign (modern) languages
math
mathematics
music
physical
education
psychology
religious education
Science
biology
chemistry
botany
physics
sociology
technology
Education ------Exams
Cheat
examine
examiner
examination
fail
take / sit an exam
retake
revise for
study for
Education ------Qualifications
Certificate
degree
BA
MA
B.Sc.
Education ------People
Graduate
head-teacher
infant
Lecturer
schoolgirl
student
teacher
instructor
Education------ General
Educate
education
revision
educator
Chapter 8
qualification
M.sc.
get through
test
Ph.D.
pass
diploma
pupil
schoolboy
undergraduate
qualify
revise
News on Law
130
Sample Reading
Read the following article and try to answer the following questions:
1. What did the Supreme Court rule yesterday? What is special about this decision?
2. Please make clear about the background of producing such a decision.
3. What may be the impact of the change?
4. What’s the decision made in Apprendiv New Jersey? And what’s the impact of it?
5. How was the guidelines made out? What’s the purpose to make it?
Sentencing Standards No Longer Mandatory
Federal Judges May Deviate, Court Rules
By Charles Lane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, January 13, 2005; Page A01
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that federal judges are no longer bound by
mandatory sentencing guidelines but need only consult them when they punish
federal criminals.
Under the ruling, federal judges will be free to decide for themselves whether
defendants deserve sentences longer or shorter than the ranges prescribed by the
guidelines, but their decisions will be subject to reversal if appeals courts find them
unreasonable.
The guidelines were established in the 1980s as part of a bipartisan effort to ensure
that the same crime would receive about the same punishment nationwide. But since
then, they have become the source of intense controversy in the federal courts, subject
to criticism across the ideological spectrum. Conservatives and prosecutors have said
that some judges have tried to coddle criminals by eluding the guidelines. Defense
lawyers and some judges have said they have resulted in excessive sentences for some
defendants.
The divided outcome emerged from unusual twin majority opinions in United States v.
Booker, No. 04-104, and United States v. Fanfan, No. 04-105. One group of five
justices said the current administration of the guidelines violates defendants' right to a
jury trial because judges impose sentences under them based on facts that a jury did
not find beyond a reasonable doubt.
Another group of five justices explained why the guidelines must nevertheless
continue to shape sentencing decisions even if judges are no longer legally bound to
follow them.
131
The modified system, Justice Stephen G. Breyer wrote on behalf of the five justices
who supported it, will help "avoid excessive sentencing disparities while maintaining
flexibility sufficient to individualize sentences where necessary."
While Breyer wrote the crucial opinion, the pivotal player in the case was Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the only one of the nine justices who voted both to hold the
current sentencing system unconstitutional and to preserve the guidelines in
voluntary form.
Joining Breyer and Ginsburg were Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and Justices
Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony M. Kennedy.
The other majority consisted of Ginsburg and Justices John Paul Stevens, Antonin
Scalia, David H. Souter and Clarence Thomas.
Stevens sharply criticized the court's split decision, calling Breyer's solution a "gross
impropriety." Scalia labeled it a recipe for "havoc" in the federal criminal justice
system.
While the decision will preserve at least some role for the sentencing guidelines, the
precise practical impact beyond that remains to be worked out.
Like a twist of a gigantic Rubik's Cube, the court's decision changed the entire
structure of criteria facing thousands of federal criminal defendants, the lawyers who
represent them, the prosecutors who charge them and the judges who sentence them.
As one example of the Breyer opinion's wide impact, the new appellate standard it
introduces for sentences, "reasonableness," effectively strikes down the Feeney
Amendment, a 2003 law that had further restricted federal trial judges' latitude in
sentencing by giving appeals courts more power to overturn their decisions.
The federal courts issue more than 60,000 criminal sentences each year, according to
the Justice Department.
The likeliest short-term outcome, legal analysts said yesterday, is more litigation, as
defendants seek to challenge sentences imposed under the previous system, and as
some judges who have criticized the guidelines as too harsh test their new freedom by
imposing lesser sentences where they think they are justified.
Critics who regard the sentencing guidelines as too harsh said the court had cheated
criminal defendants of an expected victory.
"This is actually a bittersweet day for the criminal defendants. On one hand, the right
to a jury trial is vindicated, but on the other hand, in the remedy, it is undercut," said
132
Jon Sands, a federal public defender in Arizona and chairman of the Federal Defender
Sentencing Guidelines Committee.
For its part, the Bush administration reacted warily to the court's ruling, with Assistant
Attorney General Christopher A. Wray declaring that the Justice Department was
"disappointed that the decision made the guidelines advisory in nature," but noting
that "federal sentencing guidelines remain a critical part of the process to achieve
justice."
The split decision was a surprise ending to a long-running drama within the court that
seemed to reach a turning point last June, when the court ruled, 5 to 4, that a state
sentencing guideline system that permitted a judge to "enhance" a defendant's
sentence based on his own fact-finding violated the constitutional guarantee of a trial
by jury. The decision, Blakely v. Washington, was the latest result of the legal
revolution set in motion in 2000 by the court's 5 to 4 decision in Apprendi v. New
Jersey.
In Apprendi, the court ruled that a judge could not add two years to a 10-year sentence
for a weapons crime because he had found that it was motivated by racial bias. A
sentence could only be enhanced, the court ruled, based on facts found by a jury
beyond a reasonable doubt, lest the Sixth Amendment guarantee of a jury trial be
violated.
The logic of Apprendi and Blakely seemed to apply to -- and therefore threaten -- the
federal sentencing guidelines, which are written by a commission Congress set up in
1984 to help smooth out what once were huge differences in sentences imposed by
judges nationwide for the same criminal conduct.
The guidelines, which took effect in 1987 and are periodically updated, were the fruit
of a sentencing-reform movement led by strange political bedfellows. Liberal
Democrats who objected to wide inequality in sentencing were joined by conservative
Republicans who wanted to force judges to give out stiffer sentences across the board.
As chief counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee, and later as a federal appeals
judge, Breyer played a key role in drafting the sentencing legislation and the
guidelines.
Thick as a phone book, the guidelines supply the criteria judges are supposed to
follow when they choose to increase a sentence above a certain range or drop it below
that.
Freddie Booker's case was a fairly typical one. A jury convicted him of trafficking
92.5 grams of cocaine, a crime punishable by no more than 23 years and 10 months in
prison under the guidelines. But at a post-trial sentencing hearing, the judge found
133
that he had probably had 566 grams of cocaine, and had obstructed justice. That
bumped Booker's sentence up to 30 years.
As the U.S. prison population has swelled, the guidelines have come under fire from
critics who say that they are packing federal penitentiaries with nonviolent drug
offenders.
But both Republican and Democratic presidents have credited the guidelines with
helping to reduce the nation's violent-crime rate, which hit a 30-year low in 2003,
according to the Justice Department.
Breyer himself remains deeply attached to the guidelines and has been fighting to
preserve them at the court ever since Apprendi was decided.
His allies in the battle were Rehnquist and O'Connor and Kennedy.
Until yesterday, however, they were consistently outnumbered by a
liberal-conservative alliance made up of Stevens, Souter and Ginsburg on the left and
Scalia and Thomas on the right.
And during an oral argument on the Booker and Fanfan cases, which the court heard
Oct. 4 on an expedited basis because of the uncertainty its Blakely ruling had created
in the federal courts, there was no indication of any change in the 5 to 4 lineup that
decided Blakely.
But Breyer apparently succeeded in convincing Ginsburg that it was possible to
compromise.
"It is a remarkable act of judicial jujitsu that Breyer's managed to pull off," said Frank
O. Bowman, a professor of law at Indiana University.
From: http://washingtonpost.com
Notes:
Bound: To set a limit to; confine.
Mandatory: Required or commanded by authority; obligatory.
Defendant: The party against which an action is brought.
Reversal: The act or an instance of changing or setting aside a lower court's decision
by a higher court. 撤消，废弃更高级的法庭作出的改变或废弃较低法院裁决的行
为或实例.
Appeal: The transfer of a case from a lower to a higher court for a new hearing.
Bipartisan: Of, consisting of, or supported by members of two parties, especially two
major political parties.
Ideological: Of or relating to ideology. 意识形态的或与意识形态有关的.
Spectrum: A broad sequence or range of related qualities, ideas, or activities.
134
Prosecutor: One that initiates and carries out a legal action, especially criminal
proceedings. 起诉者;发起和执行一项法律行为，尤指刑法起诉程序的人.
Coddle: To treat indulgently.
Elude: To evade or escape from, as by daring, cleverness, or skill.
Disparity: The condition or fact of being unequal, as in age, rank, or degree;
difference.
Pivotal: Being of vital or central importance; crucial.
Unconstitutional: Not in accord with the principles set forth in the constitution of a
nation or state.
Recipe: A formula for or means to a desired end.
Havoc: Widespread destruction; devastation..
Appellate: Having the power to hear appeals and to review court decisions.
Latitude: Extent; breadth.
Litigation: n. 诉讼, 起诉
Impose: To apply or make prevail by or as if by authority.
Vindicate: To provide justification or support for.
Undercut: To diminish or destroy the provision or effectiveness of; undermine.
Convict: To find or prove (someone) guilty of an offense or crime, especially by the
verdict of a court.
Trafficking: n.秘密贩卖,走私贩卖.
Obstruct: To impede, retard, or interfere with; hinder.
Bump: To raise; boost.
Penitentiary: A prison for those convicted of major crimes.
Expedite: To speed up the progress of; facilitate.
Jujitsu: n.柔术(柔道之旧称)
Classroom-reading
Read the following news and answer questions:
1. Why were there so many petitions for reconsideration? Please use your own words
to introduce one or two such cases.
2. What’s the other decision ruled by the justices? How did people response to it?
Justices Order Review Of 400-Plus Sentences
Court Also Backs Searches by Sniffer Dogs
By Charles Lane
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, January 25, 2005; Page A07
The Supreme Court yesterday announced the first consequences of its landmark
decision to give federal judges greater freedom in sentencing, ordering federal appeals
courts to reconsider more than 400 criminal sentences in light of the Jan. 12 ruling.
135
Separately, the justices ruled that police may use a trained sniffer dog to check a car
for illegal drugs during a routine traffic stop, as long as the inspection does not
unreasonably prolong the stop.
Yesterday's 87-page list of orders in the federal sentencing cases was expected. The
justices had been flooded with petitions from defendants who wanted their sentences
reviewed after the court struck down a state sentencing guidelines plan in June,
putting the federal sentencing guidelines in jeopardy.
The court was holding those cases pending the result in the two cases decided Jan. 12,
United States v. Booker and United States v. Fanfan.
Still, the sheer volume of cases demonstrated the wide and still largely unresolved
ramifications of the Booker-Fanfan decision.
"It's the tip of the iceberg," said Douglas A. Berman, an expert on federal sentencing
law at the Moritz College of Law at Ohio State University.
In its Booker-Fanfan decision, the court said that the Constitution forbids the practice,
common under the guidelines, of using facts found by a judge to tack extra years onto
criminal sentences. Every defendant is entitled to a jury trial on the facts that could
affect his punishment, the court ruled.
At the same time, the court ruled that the guidelines, created by a congressionally
authorized judicial commission to ensure that similar criminals receive similar prison
terms, may remain in use as long as they are "advisory," not mandatory.
That means district judges are free to impose the sentences they deem appropriate, as
long as they consult the guidelines and as long as the sentences are found
"reasonable" by the appeals courts.
Among the cases sent back to the lower courts yesterday is that of Mohamad
Hammoud, who was convicted in 2002 of smuggling cigarettes to raise money for the
Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah. He faced a 57-month sentence for that crime, but
because of the terrorism connection and other findings by the judge, he was sentenced
to 155 years.
But since the appeals courts were divided over the constitutionality of federal
sentencing before the Booker-Fanfan ruling, it is unlikely that they will produce a
uniform definition of "reasonableness" now, Berman said.
"No one has completely come to terms with it," he said. "There will be mountains of
work for everyone."
136
Already, Berman noted, the New York-based U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd
Circuit and the San Francisco-based 9th Circuit have asked scores of litigants not to
send in supplemental briefs on the Booker-Fanfan ruling.
In the dog case, the court ruled that an Illinois state trooper's use of a drug-sniffing
dog to investigate Roy I. Caballes's car after he was stopped for speeding did not
violate the Fourth Amendment prohibition on unreasonable searches.
The dog detected a shipment of marijuana in the trunk. Caballes was convicted of
drug trafficking and sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined more than a
quarter-million dollars.
In 2003, the Illinois Supreme Court overturned his conviction, ruling that the
marijuana evidence should have been excluded from his trial because the dog search
was illegal.
But, as Justice John Paul Stevens wrote for a six-member majority of the Supreme
Court yesterday, a "dog sniff conducted during a concededly lawful traffic stop that
reveals no information other than the location of a substance that no individual has
any right to possess does not violate the Fourth Amendment."
Racial profiling was a background issue in the case. Caballes was supported by the
National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, which told the justices in a
friend-of-the-court brief that "controlling the discretion of the police may well be the
most effective way to address this [profiling] problem."
Caballes had been pulled over for driving six miles per hour over the posted 65-mph
speed limit. The officer who stopped him testified that his suspicions increased when
he saw that Caballes seemed nervous and said he was moving to Chicago but had no
luggage other than a pair of sport coats.
But the majority did not directly address the validity of the officer's deductions or
racial profiling generally. Stevens noted that the state courts had already found that
"the duration of the stop in this case was entirely justified by the traffic offense and
the ordinary inquiries incident to such a stop."
Stevens was joined by Justices Sandra Day O'Connor, Antonin Scalia, Anthony M.
Kennedy, Clarence Thomas and Stephen G. Breyer. Justices David H. Souter and
Ruth Bader Ginsburg dissented. Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, ill with cancer,
did not vote.
"A drug-detection dog is an intimidating animal," Ginsburg wrote. "Under today's
decision, every traffic stop could become an occasion to call in the dogs, to the
distress and embarrassment of the law-abiding population."
137
But both Ginsburg and Souter said they might not have objected to a warrantless dog
sniff to discover explosives or other possible terrorist weapons.
The Bush administration had urged the justices to uphold the dog sniff because such
searches are a major part of the federal government's homeland security efforts.
From: http://washingtonpost.com
Notes:
Petition: A formal written application requesting a court for a specific judicial action.
Jeopardy: Risk of loss or injury; peril or danger.
Pending: Not yet decided or settled; awaiting conclusion or confirmation.
Ramification: A development or consequence growing out of and sometimes
complicating a problem, plan, or statement.
Smuggle: To import or export without paying lawful customs charges or duties.
Litigant: A party engaged in a lawsuit.
Marijuana: A preparation made from the dried flower clusters and leaves of the
cannabis plant, usually smoked or eaten to induce euphoria.. 大麻毒品由大麻属植
物晒干的花簇和叶子制成的制剂，一般通过吸食来获取异常的快感
Concededly: 明白地, 不容置疑地.
Validity: 有效, 合法性.
Deduction: The drawing of a conclusion by reasoning; the act of deducing.
Intimidate: To make timid; fill with fear.
Classroom – exercises:
6. Watching the news and do the exercises:
1) What’s the main idea of the news?
2) Fill in the blanks:
Kellogg and Nickelodeon _______ to speak to CNN on camera, but ________ the
following statements. Nickelodeon says it has been an ________ leader and positive
force in educating and encouraging kids to live healthier________. Kellogg says it is
proud of its products and the __________ they make to a healthy diet. We have a
longstanding ________ to marketing in a responsible manner and our messages
accurately portray our products.
2. Read the following news and try to make a summary on the trial process.
The Trial Process
Whether a case is civil or criminal, the basic process of a trial is similar. The decision
maker in a trial can be either a judge or a jury. In civil cases, the parties may have a
right to a jury, depending on the subject matter. Juries in civil cases are usually made
up of six people, plus alternates. All defendants facing serious criminal charges have
an absolute right to a jury. Criminal juries consist of six jurors, except for capital
cases, which require twelve.
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The first step in a jury trial is jury selection, otherwise known as voir dire（[律]一切照
实陈述(见证人或陪审员在接受审核时的誓语).） During voir dire the attorneys,
and occasionally the judge, ask questions of potential jurors in an attempt to gauge
their capacity to be fair and impartial. Persons who may somehow be biased or whom
the attorney believes will not be sympathetic to his or her case can be removed. This
is known as a peremptory challenge（[律]不述理由而要求陪审员回避）. Each
attorney has a limited number of peremptory challenges and cannot remove a
prospective juror for reasons such as sex or race. After a jury is selected, the members
are sworn in.
Next come the opening statements. Each side tells the jurors their version of the case
and what they intend to prove. The plaintiff in a civil case (the prosecution in a
criminal case) gives its opening statement first. Following opening statements, the
plaintiff or prosecution proceeds with the evidence of their case. One form of
evidence is the testimony of witnesses. The plaintiff or prosecution will ask a witness
to the witness stand and, after the witness is sworn in, will ask him or her some
questions. This is known as direct examination. After the plaintiff or prosecution is
finished, the defense is then permitted to ask the witness some questions. This is
called cross-examination（交互讯问）. After cross-examination, the plaintiff or
prosecution may again question the witness. This is known as redirect examination.
Evidence can also take other forms such as documents, charts, pictures, audio or video
recordings.
After the plaintiff or prosecution has finished presenting its case, it is the defendant's
turn. This time, the defense can call witnesses for direct examination and the plaintiff
or prosecution will conduct cross-examination. During both the plaintiff's or
prosecution's case and the defense's case, attorneys will make objections about what
questions can be asked of the witnesses and what evidence can be introduced into the
record. There are very specific rules governing what evidence is admissible.
After both sides have concluded presenting their cases, the attorneys give closing
arguments. In closing, an attorney will attempt to summarize the evidence present and
explain why his or her side should prevail. If a judge is deciding the case, he or she
will thank everyone involved and render a decision within a certain period of time,
usually 90 days. If a jury is deciding the case, the judge will instruct the jury as to
what law must be applied to the evidence of the case.
One area in which the civil and criminal trial processes differ is the standard of proof.
In a civil trial, the plaintiff must generally prove his or her case by a "preponderance
of the evidence." Another way to put this is "more likely than not." In a criminal trial,
the prosecution must prove its case "beyond a reasonable doubt." The criminal
standard is higher because in a criminal case, a person's liberty, perhaps even his or
her life, may be at stake（adv.危如累卵, 危险）. Also, the parties in a civil case can
139
decide beforehand whether the jury must be unanimous in its decision. In a criminal
trial, the jury must be unanimous. If it is not, a hung jury is declared and the case may
be tried again.
Both parties in a civil trial and the defendant in a criminal trial have the right to
appeal a decision if they believe some error was made. Prosecutors, however, cannot
appeal a not guilty verdict.
Homework
Read the following news and do the exercises:
Passage 1
Read the following news and try to find out the attitude of the author: agree or
against the decision? Try to find details in the article to support your answer. And
please pay special attention to the blackened words.
The Court on Sentencing
TWO 5 TO 4 SUPREME Court decisions Wednesday on federal sentencing
guidelines did not produce an entirely coherent result from a legal scholar's point of
view, but as a policy matter the outcome was the best that could have been expected,
given earlier court decisions. The court ruled that the mandatory guidelines that have
governed federal judges' sentencing decisions since 1987 are unconstitutional, but in a
second case -- and with a different five-member majority -- it then instructed judges to
be strongly influenced by the guidelines in their sentencing decisions. At best, this
may mean that judicial discretion has been restored, but with now-voluntary
guidelines deterring a return to the sentencing disparities that prompted Congress to
enact the guidelines more than two decades ago.
The logic that led five justices to strike down the mandatory guidelines emerged first
in a 2000 case, Apprendi v. New Jersey, and was extended in last year's Blakely v.
Washington. Both were the rulings of an eclectic, liberal-and-conservative five-justice
majority that held that state laws instructing judges to increase sentences based on
certain factors violated the constitutional right to trial by jury. The laws told judges to
increase sentences based on their own finding of facts -- findings that a criminal had
been motivated by racial hatred, say, or had possessed more illegal drugs than had
been proven to the jury. The court said such elements essentially changed the nature
of the crime, and should be weighed by a jury. The logic of those cases seemed
applicable to federal sentencing guidelines, too.
This week the same five justices confirmed that mandatory judicial fact-finding under
the federal guidelines is unconstitutional. But a different configuration -- with Justice
Ruth Bader Ginsburg jumping from one majority to the other -- held that federal trial
judges may and should still use the guidelines as advisory. It's not clear to us why it is
140
constitutional to allow a judge to increase a sentence based on facts not proven to a
jury but unconstitutional to require a judge to do so. But that is where the court's
jockeying and compromising have ended.
Some senators and representatives, particularly conservatives worried that unshackled
judges will now be too lenient, said they hope to quickly enact a new sentencing
scheme. But likely legislative responses could make matters worse. The court did not
strike down mandatory minimum sentences, which remain a source of irrationally
harsh sentences; Congress might enact more of those. Or legislators might insist on
two-stage trials, in which prosecutors would -- as they now do in capital cases -- first
prove guilt, and then prove various elements justifying a harsh sentence, with a jury
involved in both phases. But such a system could prove extremely inefficient.
Any sentencing system must balance legitimate competing values: between a desire
for consistency across courtrooms and a respect for judicial discretion; between a
need for rigorous punishment and an escape hatch for mercy in special circumstances.
No system will find the right balance in every case, but the court may have stumbled
into a reasonable compromise. Congress at least should watch and see before rushing
in with a radical new approach.
Passage 2
Read the following news and try to introduce the two cases mentioned in the news in
simple words. What’s the opinion of the family? What’s the difficulty of the Internet
company? What’s your opinion on this issue?
After Death, a Struggle for Their Digital Memories
By Ariana Eunjung Cha
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, February 3, 2005; Page A01
Stationed in a remote corner of Iraq, Marine Corps reservist Karl Linn's only means
of communicating with the outside world was through a computer. Several times a
week, the 20-year-old combat engineer would log on and send out a batch of e-mails
and update a Web site with pictures of his adventures.
For his parents in Midlothian, Va., the electronic updates were so precious that when
he was killed last week in an enemy ambush, one of the first things they did was to
contact the company that hosted their son's account. They wanted to know how to
access the data and preserve it.
But who owns the material is a source of intense debate.
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Linn's father, Richard, said he believes the information belongs to his son's estate, just
like his old high school papers, his sweaters and his soccer ball, and should be
transferred to the next of kin. The e-mail and Web hosting company, Mailbank.com
Inc., said that while it empathizes with the family's situation, its first priority is to
protect the privacy of its customers. It refuses to divulge any information about the
accounts.
As computers continue to permeate our lives, what happens to digital bits of
information when their owners pass away has become one of the vexing questions of
the Internet age. Much of that data are stored in accounts on remote servers and have
no physical manifestation that can be neatly transferred. There are no clear laws of
inheritance, meaning that Internet providers must often decide for themselves what is
right.
Many Internet firms have found themselves facing criticism no matter what they do. If
they decline to release the information, they are labeled villains by people supporting
the families. If they give it up, they are chastised for violating their own privacy
statements.
Complicating such disputes is the very nature of e-mail, which many consider to be
more personal and informal than regular letters; some even use it to correspond
anonymously, to hide aspects of their lives they may not want revealed to others.
"The difficulty is that there's no clear morally right or wrong," said Michael Froomkin,
a professor of Internet law at the University of Miami.
Official policy varies from company to company. Many of the larger e-mail and Web
site providers, such as America Online, MSN Hotmail, Google's Gmail and EarthLink,
allow for the transfer of accounts upon death with proper documentation, but plenty of
others do not. Yahoo, for instance, over the past few weeks has found itself under fire
for refusing to allow a Michigan father, John Ellsworth, whose son died in Iraq in
November, to access his son's e-mail.
Mary Osako, a spokeswoman for Yahoo Inc. in Sunnyvale, Calif., which manages
about 40 million accounts, said that "our hearts go out to the Ellsworths and any
family that suffers from a tremendous loss such as this." But, she added, "the
commitment we've made to every person who signs up for a Yahoo Mail account is to
treat their e-mail as a private communication and to treat the content of their messages
as confidential."
What a company can and cannot do when it comes to the release of digital
information often comes down to the language of the "terms of service" agreement it
has with customers. Some firms explicitly state that they will not share information
while others do not address the issue. The fact that Internet accounts are by their
nature contracts raises questions about whether they can be owned.
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"We might wish that our Web-based e-mail accounts were like our books and diaries,
but they certainly aren't for most legal purposes," said Cindy Cohn, an attorney with
the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a think tank in San Francisco.
E-mail accounts can hold an array of personal material, from banking and
e-commerce records to notes passed among friends and family, providing a unique
window into someone's life. Online journals, known as blogs, and personal Web sites
also often offer intimate portraits of their authors, and not all of the material is
necessarily viewable to the public.
For some family members of military officers killed in Iraq, retrieving these digital
relics has become an important part of mourning their loved ones.
Take Karl Linn's Web page. Linn, who was buried yesterday, was a small guy (when
he first went into basic training his commanders were so worried about his 5-foot,
6-inch, 125-pound frame that they put him on double rations) with big ideas (he had a
full-tuition scholarship to Virginia Commonwealth University, where he was in his
second year as a mechanical engineering major). He was always the thinker, and his
site, www.karl.linn.net, reflected that.
In a text message on the main page, he apologized for the "improvised" look. "Below
you will find what I have to share in the way of news from the front or whatever's on
my mind."
Mostly, he used the page to post pictures. One showed the view down the Euphrates
River from 10 stories up on the Haditha Dam where his unit was stationed. Another
showed him sitting in a Humvee with full battle gear as he prepared to go on patrol.
His father, Richard Linn, 51, who is in software sales, said his son told him he had
been working on another Web site at the time of his death, and Richard Linn hopes
some of the information is still in the account. He believes his son may have stored
some sketches he was making about his designs and inventions related to small arms
and robotics.
"I think computer accounts are part of personal effects and I have power of attorney.
It wasn't like he didn't trust me to take care of his affairs, and I know what I should or
shouldn't be reading," Richard Linn said.
Eric Boustani, legal counsel for Mailbank.com, which is based in Reno, Nev.,
declined to comment on individual customers but said it is the company's policy to
"support absolute privacy of our clients." He said the company is eager to help
families download public information on the Web site but believes that by releasing
non-public account information like a password or things that have not been published
yet, there's "as much potential for harm as there is for good in that situation."
143
The family of Army Spec. Michael J. Smith had no more luck getting access to his
Web page.
The singer from Media, Pa., who dropped out of high school to join a local heavy
metal band, had been recording his thoughts in a blog for three years when he arrived
in Iraq last fall with the 2nd Infantry Division. He died Jan. 11 when his vehicle was
hit by a rocket-propelled grenade, and his father has a pending request to get access to
both the public and private portions of his son's online journal on LiveJournal.com,
where the 24-year-old infantryman wrote poetry about his experiences on Iraq, his
love of music and life in general.
In one of his last entries, dated Dec. 31, Smith noted that he had had close calls with
three roadside bombs, been in eight firefights and had mortars lobbed in his direction
more times than he could count.
As for Iraqis, he said, "the people seem nice, some of the time. i've had lunch with one
family, and i've detained another."
When news of his death spread through the blogging community, more than 700
people posted messages thanking Smith, who went by the online alias "wolfmoon98,"
for sharing his insights and for his service to the country.
Smith's father, James H. Smith, 63, who works for an electronics retailer, hasn't read
the blog because he said it would be too painful at this time, but he's hoping to take
possession of the postings for later.
"Maybe not right away, but someday I'd like a chance to read what he had to say," he
said.
LiveJournal community site supervisor Jesse Proulx said that the company's policy is
"to never transfer an account between individuals, regardless of the situation" but that
it does offer families of deceased customers other options. The next of kin could
request that the account be deleted or preserved to serve as a memorial where people
can post their condolences and tributes.
"It's the most ideal solution for all involved -- our liability, the user's privacy and the
next of kin's wishes," Proulx said.
Meanwhile, the family of Marine Lance Cpl. Justin M. Ellsworth, 20, who died on
Nov. 13 in Iraq in the restive city of Fallujah, is continuing to fight Yahoo over its
refusal to give them access to the Mount Pleasant, Mich., man's account. His father
said he promised his son he'd make a scrapbook of e-mails sent to him for future
generations, a scrapbook that would be incomplete without all the e-mails that Yahoo
is holding.
144
The family hired a lawyer, who is talking to Yahoo about possible alternatives -- but
time is running out. According to Yahoo's terms of service, the company deactivates
accounts after 120 days if they haven't been used. If the issue isn't resolved by
mid-March or sooner, the e-mails could disappear forever.
Staff researchers Julie Tate and Richard S. Drezen contributed to this report.
From http://washingtonpost.com
Notes:
Reservist: A member of a military reserve.预备役军人.
Batch: The quantity produced as the result of one operation.
Empathize: To feel or experience empathy.
Divulge: To make known (something private or secret).
Permeate: To spread or flow throughout; pervade.
Vex: To cause perplexity in; puzzle.
Manifestation: An indication of the existence, reality, or presence of something.
Chastise: To criticize severely; rebuke.
Grenade: A missile containing priming and bursting charges, designed to be thrown
by hand or deployed by a specially equipped launcher. 手榴弹，枪榴弹:一种装有引
爆药和炸药的，用手投掷或用特殊装置发射的投掷武器
Alias: An assumed name.
Condolence: n.哀悼, 吊唁
Tribute: A gift, payment, declaration, or other acknowledgment of gratitude, respect,
or admiration.
Restive: Resisting control; difficult to control.
Scrapbook: A book with blank pages used for the mounting and preserving of pictures,
clippings, or other mementos.
Deactivate: To render inactive or ineffective.
Passage 3
Read the following news and try to find out what is talking about in the news. What
decision was made by the Manhattan judge? What reason was given by her? How did
people response to this decision? And what’s your opinion on this issue?
Manhattan Judge Clears the Way for Same-Sex Marriages
Ruling Will Not Take Effect for 30 Days
By Michelle Garcia and Alan Cooperman
Washington Post Staff Writers
Saturday, February 5, 2005; Page A02
NEW YORK, Feb. 4 -- Comparing prohibitions on same-sex marriage to
once-common laws against interracial marriage, a trial court judge in Manhattan ruled
Friday that same-sex couples have a right to wed under the state constitution.
145
Judge Doris Ling-Cohan found in favor of five couples who had sued the city clerk
for denying them marriage licenses. But she stayed the decision for 30 days to allow
an appeal, which means that same-sex couples will not immediately be able to marry
in New York City, the only jurisdiction directly affected by the ruling.
Noting that state laws against interracial marriage remained common into the 1960s,
Ling-Cohan wrote that "the fundamental right to marry the person of one's choice may
not be denied based on longstanding and deeply held traditional beliefs about
appropriate marital partners."
Lambda Legal, the gay rights group that brought the lawsuit, hailed the decision as
"historic, well-reasoned and fair." Opponents of same-sex marriage called it an
example of judicial overreaching and predicted that it would add momentum to their
efforts, in New York and nationally, to pass constitutional amendments defining
marriage as only the union of a man and a woman.
"This speaks to the need for a marriage protection amendment to put an end to these
judicial fire drills by aberrant judges," said Tony Perkins, president of the
Washington-based Family Research Council, who contended that the analogy to
interracial marriage is flawed. In the case of a mixed-race couple, he said, "you had
two people who met the qualification of marriage, because they were a man and a
woman. You weren't changing the definition of the institution."
The case was brought in the state Supreme Court for New York County, which
despite its name is an entry-level trial court. Trial court judges in Albany and
Rockland County ruled against same-sex couples in similar cases last year.
"There have been three sets of virtually identical facts and arguments, and two
diametrically opposed outcomes" in New York state courts, said Mathew D. Staver,
president and general counsel of Liberty Counsel, a conservative public interest law
group in Orlando that filed an amicus brief against same-sex marriage.
Elsewhere, state supreme courts in Vermont and Massachusetts have ruled that
same-sex couples have a constitutional right to form legally recognized relationships,
though only in Massachusetts are they called marriages.
In Washington state, two trial courts ruled last year in favor of same-sex marriage,
and the state's highest court is scheduled to hear an appeal of those rulings on March 8.
In Oregon, a lower court ruling in favor of same-sex marriage was followed by the
passage of a state constitutional amendment barring it.
Social conservatives see this legal patchwork as evidence that judges are writing their
personal views into law. "It only takes one judge to undo all of the hard work that has
been done to protect marriage on the state level," said Gary Cass, executive director
of the Florida-based Center for Reclaiming America.
146
But Evan Wolfson, president of Freedom to Marry, a New York-based group working
for equality for same-sex couples, said it is a natural phase as the nation deals with old
prejudices. "The key to ending discrimination is giving fair-minded people enough
time and information about the real impact of discrimination for them to open their
hearts and minds," he said.
In the first paragraph of her 62-page ruling, Ling-Cohan noted that one of the
plaintiffs, Curtis Woolbright, is the child of an interracial couple who moved from
Texas to California to marry in 1966, a year before the U.S. Supreme Court struck
down anti-miscegenation laws.
"Similar to opposite-sex couples, same-sex couples are entitled to the same
fundamental right to follow their hearts and publicly commit to a lifetime partnership
with the person of their choosing. The recognition that this fundamental right applies
equally to same-sex couples cannot legitimately be said to harm anyone," she wrote.
"We're getting hitched!" Woolbright, 37, cried after the decision was announced,
turning to his partner, Daniel Reyes. His parents "jumped into the Volkswagen and
went cross country to get married," but he is hoping for an intimate wedding close to
home, he said.
Cooperman reported from Washington.
From: http://washingtonpost.com
What you should learn from this chapter:
10. 10 words and 1 typical sentence relate to law;
11. Reading of news on this topic. Please read no less than 2 items every day.
For your reference:
---- acquittal: a legal conclusion that a person who has been accused of a crime is not
guilty and consequently set free.
The defendant has returned to work since his acquittal.
---- action: a court proceeding in which one party is prosecuted by another party for a
crime.
Jane brought action against her employer for discrimination.
---- admission: an acknowledgement that specific facts are true; a statement by the
accused or by an opposing party that lends support to the charge made against the
defendant, but may not be adequate to confirm guilt.
---- affidavit: a written statement made before a notary public or other authorized
person to verify the statement.
John signed an affidavit to attest to the truthfulness of his statements.
---- aggrieved party: a person who has suffered a loss such as a personal injury from
an accident, property damage, a violation of personal rights, etc.
---- alibi: a defensive argument that proves a person accused of a crime was at another
place instead of the location where the crime was committed.
147
---- alimony: a court-mandated payment to one’s spouse in the case of divorce or
separation.
---- allegation: a statement of what the prosecuting party is attempting to prove.
---- appeal: a request to a higher court to review a decision made by a lower court to
determine whether the lower court was incorrect in its analysis of the case. No new
evidence is introduced in an appeal.
The defense lawyer is making an appeal to the death sentence of his client.
---- appearance: the requirement of a defendant, etc. to be present in court.
The witness was required by the court to make an appearance.
---- arraignment: the process in which a defendant is officially accused with an
offense or crime, which includes receiving information pertaining to the accusation,
being informed of his or her constitutional rights, etc.
David’s arraignment was yesterday. He was arraigned on two counts of child abuse.
---- at law: a term that refers to that which is relevant to, or governed by the rules of
law.
Miss Swenson is a practicing attorney at law.
---- attest: to bear testimony of; to sign one’s name as a witness to the fulfillment of a
document.
---- bail: an amount of money or other security given to secure the release of a
defendant until the time of trial. A bail acts as insurance that a defendant will appear
at every stage of the trial.
---- bailiff: a court attendant or officer who maintains order, and custody of the jury
and prisoners while in court.
The bailiff escorted the defendant back to custody.
---- bar: a term refers to attorneys collectively. It comes from the practice of attorneys
being able to enter beyond the bar that separates the general court-room audience
from the judge’s bench.
---- blue laws: local ordinances created to prohibit the sales of liquor or other items
on Sunday. Any laws that focus on enforcing moral standards.
Blue laws are frequently being abolished in the U.S.
---- burden of proof: the responsibility of a party to prove the validity of an
accusation or issue, in order to convince the court of the validity of that claim and
therefore to triumph in a criminal suit.
The plaintiff usually had the burden of proof.
---- capital offense: a crime that is punishable by death.
---- character witness: a witness who testified at another person’s trial, attesting to
that individual’s good character and standing on the community, without knowing the
legitimacy of the charges against that person.
---- charge: a description of the offense in an accusation or indictment; instructions
given to a jury at the end of a case counseling them upon which law principles that
they are to use in reaching a verdict.
Mr. Tubbs was charged with a first-degree felony of sexual abuse.
The judge gave the jury a charge to remain silent during the case.
---- child support: a court-ordered amount of money that one spouse pays to the other
148
spouse who has custody of the children who were born of the marriage. Child support
may be ordered by the court with or without an award of alimony.
Of the $8.2 billion a year owed in child support across the U.S.A., only 46% was
collected in 1989.
---- circumstantial evidence: evidence that is indirect. Secondary facts that lead to a
reasonable deduction of a principal fact.
---- citation: a document similar to a summons, that orders the appearance of a person
or party at a proceeding and to give notice to defendant that a suit has been filed.
---- claimant: a person who makes a claim.
---- class action: a suit filed by one or more members of a large group on behalf of all
the group’s members.
---- community property: any property that is jointly acquired by a husband and wife
during marriage. Property owned before marriage is considered “ separate property”.
---- condemn: to seize private property for public use, with or without consent, but
for just payment; to declare a building unsafe for habitation; to sentence a criminal to
death.
This property has been condemned for the expansion of a new road.
The old office building on 24th Street has been condemned.
The murderer was condemned to die by lethal injection next month.
---- confession: an admissions of guilt by the accused.
The courtroom was shocked by the confession of the teenager in the murder of his
parents.
---- confiscate: government action that takes private property without just
compensation; to seize goods or property and divest the owner of his rights, usually as
a result of some violation of the law such as drug dealing.
The Government is auctioning off property that has been confiscated in drug busts.
---- conspiracy: two or more individuals who commit an illegal act or who plan to
carry out an illegal act.
---- constitutional rights: the individual liberties granted by the constitution and
protected from interference from the government.
Forcing a witness to testify against himself is against his constitutional rights.
---- contempt of court: an act, either of omission or unacceptable behavior, that
disrupts order or impairs the dignity of the court.
The judge threatened to witness with contempt of court if she didn’t answer the
questions of the prosecuting attorney.
---- controlled substance: a drug with a tendency for potential abuse or addiction,
whose availability is restricted.
---- conviction: the outcome of a court’s decision in which the guilt of a party is
proven, and upon which sentence has been pronounced.
---- counsel: a legal advisor; in criminal law, it may refer to the advising or provoking
of another to commit a crime.
---- count: an allegation of a specific offense. A complaint or indictment may contain
one or more counts.
---- counterclaim: a counterdemand against the plaintiff by the defendant, that
149
constitutes an independent cause of action in favor of the defendant.
The defendant’s counterclaim of sexual harassment against the plaintiff created much
confusion for the jury.
---- court of law: a tribunal with jurisdiction over cases at law. It refers to courts that
administer justice according to federal or state law or common law.
---- crime: an injustice or wrong that has been determined by the government to be
harmful to the public and that may be prosecuted in the court of law.
Many job applications will ask if you have ever been convicted of a crime.
---- criminal: something done with malicious intent; a person convicted of a crime.
Forgery is a criminal offense.
Police are searching for the two escaped criminals.
---- cross-examination: the process of asking questions to a witness, by a lawyer
other than the one who originally called the witness. It is used to either clarify or
discredit testimony already given.
The defense lawyer carefully cross-examined the witness in order to check her
testimony.
---- cruel and unusual punishment: an excessive or unfair penalty in relation to the
offense for which it is ordered.
Cruel and unusual punishment is prohibited by the U.S. constitution.
---- day in court: refers to the opportunity of a person or party of a lawsuit to be
heard in court.
---- defendant; the person or party responding to the complain; the person who is
being sued. In criminal law, a defendant is called “ the accused”.
The jury ruled in favor of the defendant.
---- defense: an answer, denial, or plea that argues the validity of the case of a
plaintiff or that renders the defendant not liable for the wrong.
---- defraud: to cheat a person out of interest, rights, property, money, etc. by the use
of fraud or deceit.
---- deliberation: the process by which the jurors reach a decision or verdict in a case
by allowing various of the jurors to be discussed in private conference.
---- detention: the confinement of an individual accused of a crime after being
arrested.
---- direct examination: the questioning of the witness by a party who called the
witness.
---- disbar: to revocation of a lawyer’s license to practice, due to conduct that was
unethical or illegal.
---- dismissal: the act of canceling a complaint or claim, which terminates further
legal proceedings.
The charges were dismissed because of the lack of evidence.
---- disposition: in criminal law, the sentence of the defendant.
The judge read the disposition before the court.
---- district attorney: D.A. The prosecuting officer who presides over a specific
judicial district within a city or state.
---- district court: a court created by the U.S. constitution, having territorial authority
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over a certain district that may include an entire state or part of it.
Who is presiding over the 3rd district court?
---- disturbing the peace: any public act that disrupts public harmony or causes fear
among normal citizens.
---- domicile: a person’s principal home. Domicile is different than residence since a
person can have many transient residences, but only one legal domicile, which is the
address to which one always intends to return to.
---- driving while intoxicated (D.W. I. Or D.U.I.): the criminal act of driving or
operating a motor vehicle while under the influence of drugs or alcohol. The level of
intoxication needed to be considered D.W.I. is decided by state law.
---- entrapment: in criminal law, a legitimate defense that excuses a defendant from
liability in participating in offenses caused by trickery on the part of police, or other
law enforcement officials.
The court showed that the defendant had been a victim of police entrapment.
---- evidence: any method or means by which a proposed fact or allegation is proved
or disproved in a judicial trial, including records, documents, exhibits, testimonies of
witnesses, etc.
---- expert witness: a witness who has special or technical skill or knowledge
concerning the subject that he or she is called to testify about.
---- extradition: the practice of one state or country surrendering a fugitive to another.
Extradition allows the state in which the offense took place to quickly bring the
offender to trial.
---- eyewitness: a person who has seen or was present at an event, who can testify
about details that he or she witnessed concerning the event.
---- false arrest: the unlawful arrest or restraint of another person, which may be
considered a criminal offense or the basis for a lawsuit for damage.
---- felony: a general term that is used to describe and separate specific high crimes
from minor ones known as misdemeanors.
Felonies are often defined as crimes punishable by more than one year of
imprisonment, or by death generally.
---- fifth amendment: the U.S. Constitutional amendment that protects citizens from
actions from the government, including the principles of trial by jury, and that no
person can be required to testify against himself.
---- freedom of information act: a federal law that requires documents and other
materials generated by government agencies to be made available to the general
public. There are exceptions to this law.
---- fugitive from justice: a person who commits a crime within a state, and then
leaves to another state to escape.
---- gag order: the court order requiring that information and comments about a case
be restricted in order to preserve the right to a fair trial by preventing publicity that
might influence a jury.
---- grand jury: a group of people who determine whether who has been charged
with crime should be given a trial in court of law. The term “grand” refers to the large
number of jurors on the panel, usually 23.
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---- grievance: one’s complaint or allegation that something is causing a legal burden
or denying a right.
Arnold filed a grievance against his ex-wife for denying him the right to see his
children.
---- hearing: a proceeding in which evidence is presented for canalization and to
come to a decision based on that evidence.
A hearing takes place before officials granted by judicial authority and does not have
a jury.
---- immunity: an exemption or freedom from liability or penalty under criminal or
civil law. Defendants and witnesses may refuse to furnish evidence that might tend to
incriminate themselves.
---- indemnity: the right of a person who has suffered loss or damage, to be entitled
to a claim; the obligation to pay such a claim.
The court granted indemnity to Mrs. Carmen for the loss of her house in a fire.
---- indictment: a written statement that charges a person or persons with a crime.
The court issued an indictment to the commune for child neglect.
---- injunction: a judicial restraint of certain activity, to guard against future injuries.
---- injury: any damage that is done to another, whether it be to his or her person,
property, etc.
Any damage that is caused by violation of legal right is considered legal injury.
---- insufficient evidence: a term used to describe a judge’s decision that a prosecutor
has failed to produce enough evidence to even have the matter brought before a jury.
---- interrogation: the method by which persons suspected of crimes are intensely
questioned by police.
---- intestate: a situation in which a person dies without having left a valid will.
---- judge: an appointed official who has the authority to hear and decide cases in the
court of law; a jurist.
The bailiff orders the court to rise as the judge enters the room.
---- jump bail: a term that refers to a situation in which a defendant fails to appear at
required court dates.
---- juror: a person who has been selected for jury duty or sworn in as a jury member.
The court carefully screens potential jurors to ensure a fair trial.
---- jury: a group of individuals from a community that have been summoned and
sworn to debate the facts presented in an issue and reach a verdict. Juries have
historically consisted of 12 members, but now some states permit six-member jurors.
---- juvenile courts: courts created for the purpose of separating youthful offenders
from adults.
---- lawsuit: any proceeding in a court of justice by which an individual seeks
compensation afforded by law.
---- leading question: an improper manner of questioning sometimes used by a
lawyer in which the lawyers suggests the answer to the witness in order to obtain a
specific response from the witness. Conversely, the asking of leading questions is
proper in cross-examination so that the cross-examiner can test the validity of
statements made during the direct examination.
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The judge warned the defense attorney to stop asking leading questions to the witness.
---- lineup: a police technique in which a criminal suspect is placed in a line with
several other persons and a witness to the crime tries to pick out the suspect.
---- litigation: a legal contest for the purpose of deciding and enforcing legal rights.
---- manslaughter: the unpremeditated killing of another person, without malice.
Manslaughter is distinguished from murder. “ Voluntary manslaughter ” is the
deliberate killing of someone under circumstances such as anger, terror, or desperation.
“ Involuntary-manslaughter ” is a homicide caused by criminal negligence or
recklessness, such as death that results from drunk driving.
James was convicted on two counts of involuntary manslaughter from drunk driving.
---- martial law: the law of the military that exercises great control over civilian
affairs.
---- material witness: a person whose testimony might have a direct impact upon the
guilt or innocence of the defendant; a testimony that no one else is able to give.
The material witness requested police protection during the trial.
---- misdemeanor: criminal offenses that are classified as being less weighty than
felonies and sanctioned by less severe penalties.
---- mistrial: a trial that has been canceled and declared void because of some unusual
circumstance, such as the death or sickness of a lawyer or one of the essential juror, a
fundamental error, a hung jury, etc. Mistrial simply means that a trial has failed and
does not result in a judgment for any party.
The case was closed because the judge declared it a mistrial.
---- municipal court: a city court that direct and administers the law within a city, esp.
violations of city ordinances.
---- murder: the unlawful and premeditated killing of another person, which
constitutes “ first degree murder”. The killing of another with malice but without
premeditation is considered “ second degree murder”.
---- not guilty: a plea used by the defendant in a criminal action that denies the
allegations of which he or she has been charged. A jury verdict of “ not guilty ” does
not necessarily mean the jury found the defendant innocent, but the state that they
failed to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
---- oath: to testify the truthfulness of a statement.
Each witness must take an oath that they will tell the truth and nothing but the truth.
---- objection: a courtroom procedure used during a trial in which a party objects to a
particular line of questioning, witness, or other improper matter and asks the court to
rule against it.
---- ordinance: local laws, usually passed by a city council, that apply to people and
things within a local jurisdiction.
There’s a city ordinance that prohibits loitering here.
---- overrule: to deny a motion or objection, or other point raised during a trial.
---- palimony: court-ordered support, similar to alimony, paid to a partner in a
non-marital relationship that has terminated.
---- pardon: an exercise by a person with sovereign authority to alleviate a person
from further legal problems and punishment resulting from a crime which he or she
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has committed.
The President pardoned the officer for any wrong-doings he may have committed in
the controversy.
---- parole: a condition in criminal law, in which an individual is permitted to serve
the remainder of his term outside the prison. The parolee is expected to comply with
all the conditions of his or her release.
---- perjury: the criminal act of willfully lying while under oath.
---- plaintiff: the person who initiates a suit in a court of law to seek justice for an
injury.
The plaintiff is seeking justice and restitution for a malpractice suit.
---- plea bargaining: a legal process in which the prosecutor and the accused
negotiate for an arrangement that is suitable for both parties involved, esp. when a
defendant pleas guilty to a lesser offense.
Plea bargaining is somewhat controversial, but it supposedly saves on court costs and
time spent in court.
---- polygraph: a lie detector.
---- power of attorney: a written document that one used to ascribe authority to
another to act on one’s behalf.
Who holds the power of attorney in the William’s estate?
---- probation: the legal procedure in which an individual who has been found guilty
of a crime is released by the court to the supervision of probation officer.
---- prosecutor: a public official who prosecutes individuals accused of crimes. In
certain cases, the legislature may appoint a special prosecutor such as a district
attorney or a county prosecutor.
A special prosecutor was appointed by the legislature during the trial of the city
officials.
---- public defender: a lawyer whose duty is to defend accused persons who cannot
afford legal assistance.
---- recess: the temporary interlude of a trial or hearing. It can be for several hours or
for a few days. A substantial delay in the proceedings is called a “ continuance”.
---- record: the history of a legal case recorded by the proper legal officer which
includes the legal conclusions of the case.
---- restraining order: an order granted without a hearing, that demands the
preservation of things as they currently exist, until a hearing can be held to determine
the validity of an injunctive relief.
The judge served a restraining order preventing the abusive husband of coming within
50 yards of his ex-wife.
---- self-defense: the protection of one’s self, family members, etc. from harm by an
aggressor in such a way that is justifiable in the law.
The court ruled that the defendant killed his attacker in self-defense.
---- settlement: a compromise made between two parties involved in a civil suit that
eliminates the need of going to court in order to resolve the issue.
---- stay: a halt in a judicial process, that keeps the court from taking any further
action until the occurrence of a particular event.
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---- stay of execution: a process in which a judgement is prevented from being
carried out for a specific period.
The slimy lawyer obtained a stay of execution for his murderous client on a
technicality.
---- subpoena: a legal mandate that orders the appearance of a witness at a court
proceeding. Failure to comply may be considered contempt to court.
----sue: to bring legal action against or prosecute in a court of law.
My neighbor threatened to sue me if I didn’t keep my dog tied up.
---- summons: an order that requires a defendant to appear in court. A summons is
used to notify a person that he or she has been sued.
I received a summons today notifying me that I have been sued by my neighbor.
---- supreme court: the highest court in the federal court system
After 15 years of litigation, the killers were finally allowed to appeal to the supreme
court.
---- taking the fifth: also called “ pleading the fifth”. A term that refers to a person’s
right not to say anything that may incriminate himself.
---- testimony: a statement given under oath by a witness, usually in court.
---- unconstitutional: anything that conflicts with some provision in the Constitution.
No one can be punished for being disobedient to a law once it is found to be
unconstitutional.
---- verdict: the opinion delivered by a jury, or a judge where there is no jury. A
verdict is not a judgement, but a finding of fact that the trial court may accept or reject
and use in the determining of its judgement.
---- waiver: a surrender ( either voluntary or intentional) of some known right.
The defendant waived his rights to an attorney, choosing to represent himself.
Chapter 9
Crime
Sample Reading
Read the following article and try to answer the following questions:
1. Why did the Bush administration pay special attention to economic crime now?
2. What are the themes of the May 6th-8th conference?
3. Can you describe some computer frauds?
Funny money
May 3rd 2002
From The Economist Global Agenda
Following the September 11th terrorist attacks, governments accelerated
measures to deter economic crime, particularly money laundering. However,
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businesses and individuals are also victims of such crime, including fraud and
corruption. The Internet has provided new opportunities for theft and deception.
That is why businesses are uniting in the fight against financial crime
ECONOMIC crime has always existed, but it took September 11th to jolt
governments into realising just what calamitous consequences money laundering and
other non-violent crimes, such as identity theft, can have. It appears that the 19
suicide hijackers received funds for their flight training and living expenses from
someone in Qatar. There has been doubt about the true identity of some of the
hijackers. And many of their alleged associates in the al-Qaeda terrorist network who
are now on trial in Europe have used several aliases. The Bush administration, which
had been hostile to stronger anti-money laundering measures, has performed an abrupt
U-turn, and is now pushing hard for them.
From May 6th-8th, government officials and businessmen will gather in Washington,
DC, to discuss ways of deterring, detecting and solving economic crime and of
helping the victims. The conference is being sponsored by two American
organisations, the National White Collar Crime Centre (NWCCC) and the Coalition
for the Prevention of Economic Crime, which are both backed by the US government.
The NWCCC works with law-enforcement agencies at the state and local level, while
the coalition works primarily with businesses. This is the sixth such annual
conference but, with the Bush administration also now engaged, the most important so
far.
Internationally, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development has
been trying to persuade off-shore tax havens to adopt a code of conduct, including
transparency, for years. They got a majority to sign up to the new code earlier this
year, with only a few places, such as the Pacific island of Vanuatu, rejecting the
request. But in addition to tax evasion, economic crime encompasses a multitude of
sins, from credit-card theft over the Internet to false-accounting by major
corporations.
The conference has five themes: money-laundering; identity fraud; e-commerce crime;
insurance crime and victims services. Money laundering and identity fraud will be the
top priorities, because they were central to the attacks on September 11th. In the past,
money laundering worried governments because it was used to evade tax and hide the
proceeds of other crimes. Those concerns remain, but now terrorism has been added
to the top of the list. Some estimates put the amount of “dirty money” at $3 trillion
worldwide. Identity theft, which claimed some 500,000 known victims in the United
States in 2000, has become America’s fastest-growing crime as technology has made
it both easier and more lucrative. Most such theft now occurs through the solicitation
or theft of someone’s bank or credit-card details. One recent scam involved a thief
sending e-mails purporting to be from the Federal Bureau of Investigation seeking
such personal details.
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The NWCCC was set up a decade ago in response to computer crime. The coalition
was established six years ago, partly in response to the growing incidence of such
crimes. The rise of the Internet and e-commerce has increased both the opportunity
and incidence of computer fraud. Some are old-fashioned scams that have, like
legitimate businesses, moved with the times. Last month, the Internet Fraud
Complaint Centre issued a warning about the so-called “Nigerian letter scams”.
Recalling previous chain-mail frauds, the centre warned that alleged financial officials
from various West African countries had e-mailed Americans claiming to have
discovered the modern-day equivalent of buried treasure: dormant accounts holding
vast amounts of money ready to be claimed. The Americans were asked to “help”
with the transfer of this money to overseas accounts. They were offered a 30% cut,
but asked first to contribute themselves 10% of the amount to be transferred to cover
up-front expenses. Of course, once they had sent the 10%, they heard nothing more.
Like many such scams, this one neatly aimed to exploit the greed of victims. Only
eager recruits to the money-laundering business—because that is what the American
victims were being asked to participate in—fell for the ploy.
There are other frauds that are new with the Internet. Complaints about Internet
auctions account for 43% of the complaints made to the IFCC. This is partly because
the goods purchased are not delivered, or payment not made. The Nigerian letter
scams made up 16% of complaints. The IFCC received just under 50,000 complaints,
with a median dollar loss of $435 per complainant. As the centre is relatively new, it
is likely that the total number of losses is much greater. Some victims may not even
realise that they have been robbed.
Insurance crime—claiming for losses that did not occur, or over-claiming for actual
losses—is a crime with a long history. It is now reckoned to cost the average
American household $200 to $300 in extra premiums. And insurance crime can have
fatal consequences. The number of people being murdered for life-assurance policies
is “staggering”, claims Allan Trosclair, the coalition’s executive director. One of the
purposes of the conference is for businesses to share their experience of how best to
combat such crime. Another is to refer victims to the various government agencies
that can be of help, such as the IFCC, and to show them that they do have a chance of
getting back some of the money stolen from them.
One problem that law-enforcement agencies and businesses have to deal with is that
white-collar crime is often difficult to detect. It is not like the mugger who grabs your
wallet—the white-collar criminal is often one of society’s most respected members.
The collapse of Enron has woken investors up to the idea that even the best-educated
executives and advisers may behave in a way that is damaging to one’s wealth, if not
downright fraudulent. One of the conference’s sessions deals with professional
responsibility, which is likely to be an even bigger theme next year, especially if one
of the many congressional committees looking into the Enron collapse comes up with
new legislation.
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From http://www.economist.com/
Notes:
Laundering: To disguise the source or nature of (illegal funds, for example) by
channeling through an intermediate agent.
Calamitous: Causing or involving calamity; disastrous.
Lucrative: Producing wealth; profitable.
Solicitation: 恳求, 恳请, 诱惑, 引发.
Scam: A fraudulent business scheme; a swindle.
Purport: To have or present the often false appearance of being or intending; profess.
Dormant: Lying asleep or as if asleep; inactive.
Ploy: An action calculated to frustrate an opponent or gain an advantage indirectly
or deviously; a maneuver..
Premium: The amount paid or payable, often in installments, for an insurance policy.
Mugger: 行凶抢劫的路贼.
Downright: Thoroughly; absolutely.
Fraudulent: Engaging in fraud; deceitful.
Classroom-reading
Read the following article and try to answer the following questions:
1. What charges were faced by Ebbers, Lay and Scrushy?
2. Why is the government seeking conviction of those top executives?
3. What is the crucial question of these three cases?
4. What would the prosecutors attorneys try to do? And what are the challenges for
them?
5. What would the defense lawyers try to do? And what are the challenges for them?
Fraud Cases Focus on Top Executives
Trial of WorldCom's Ebbers Starts Tomorrow
By Carrie Johnson and Brooke A. Masters
Tuesday, January 18, 2005; Page A01
The trial of former WorldCom Inc. chairman Bernard J. Ebbers gets underway this
week, beginning a new round of courtroom confrontations over events that helped
write the emphatic end to last decade's investment boom.
WorldCom and Enron Corp. fell apart and HealthSouth Corp.'s stock plunged after
revelations of fraud that had hidden fundamental weaknesses. Pensions, jobs and
billions of dollars in shareholder equity were lost in the wreckage.
Now the executives who led those companies are fighting to stay out of prison.
Opening statements in the trial of former HealthSouth chairman Richard M. Scrushy
begin next week, and Enron's former chairman, Kenneth L. Lay, is expected to face
trial later this year, though no date has been set.
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Both prosecutors and defense attorneys will enter the courtrooms in those and other
corporate trials armed with lessons learned in last year's round of corporate trials,
which led to the convictions of Martha Stewart and Frank P. Quattrone -- but also to a
hung jury in the trial of former Tyco International Ltd. executives and a handful of
acquittals.
The government's lawyers, seeking to hold the men at the top accountable in the
cases of Ebbers, Lay and Scrushy, will be aided by the cooperation of lower-level
employees who have already pleaded guilty.
The government's aim in seeking convictions of top executives is deterrence, outside
analysts said. "The point of these trials is to signal to other CEOs that, while the
corporate governance system is broken and the chances of detection are depressingly
slim, the consequences of discovery are so dire that it's irrational to engage in fraud,"
said Jonathan R. Macey, a Yale University law professor.
The three cases will focus on one crucial question: How much did these high-profile
executives know about the fraud that brought their companies low? When times were
good, these men took credit for their firms' successes, but now Ebbers, Lay and
Scrushy are claiming they were out of touch and misled by corrupt underlings who
used off-the-books partnerships and accounting tricks to inflate profit.
Defense lawyers, therefore, will try to persuade jurors to distinguish these high-profile
businessmen from the bad acts of the companies they led.
"These cases terrify me because of the huge numbers, impossibly complicated
accounting issues and all the negative publicity," said Reid H. Weingarten, Ebbers's
attorney. "I remain hopeful the jury will do what juries are supposed to do: focus only
on the evidence and follow the law. . . . If that happens, Bernie Ebbers will be
acquitted."
One of this year's trials is a rerun. Former Tyco chairman L. Dennis Kozlowski and
his co-defendant, former Tyco chief financial officer Mark H. Swartz, face grand
larceny charges. Prosecutors say they stole $600 million from the company; the
defense argues that the two men had the authority to grant themselves bonuses and
forgive company loans. An earlier trial ended in a mistrial after a juror's name was
publicized.
Jury selection starts in Manhattan state court today for Kozlowski and Swartz, whose
attorneys did not return phone calls seeking comment.
Tomorrow, the scene will shift down the street to Manhattan's federal court, where
another pool of potential jurors will begin filling out questionnaires for Ebbers's trial.
Opening statements are expected Jan. 25 for Scrushy's trial in Birmingham. Lay's trial
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is expected to begin in Houston later this year, though no trial date has been set and
Lay has requested another venue.
The cases open at a time of confusion in the federal courts. A Supreme Court ruling
last week partially invalidated the federal sentencing guidelines and complicated the
government's goal of multiyear prison sentences. Judges will have far more discretion
in sentencing and may be more open to pleas for leniency.
Prosecutors in all three cases declined to comment publicly on their trial plans, but
outside legal analysts said the government's key challenge will be to prove that the
chief executives knew their actions and those of their underlings were illegal. The
government's best evidence will probably come from high-ranking cooperating
witnesses who can shed light on what the chief executives knew and were thinking
when they approved actions that prosecutors now say were illegal.
Ebbers refused to use e-mail professionally, so prosecutors in the WorldCom case will
probably have to rely heavily on the testimony of the company's former chief
financial officer Scott D. Sullivan, who pleaded guilty last March to conspiracy and
securities fraud. He is expected to tie Ebbers to the firm's decisions to improperly
report operating expenses as capital expenses and to make unannounced changes in
the way it reported revenue to make it look as if WorldCom were meeting Wall Street
analysts' expectations when it was not. The telecommunications giant filed for
bankruptcy protection after revealing a record $11 billion accounting fraud and now
does business as Ashburn-based MCI Inc.
"One of the great advantages of having an insider testify is that they become a tutor to
the jury as to what was going on," said Daniel C. Richman, a Fordham University law
professor and former prosecutor.
Ebbers's defense attorneys, meanwhile, will probably argue that their client, a former
milkman and high school coach, left accounting decisions to Sullivan and that the
finance chief has turned on his former boss to save himself from a long prison term.
Some WorldCom officials say there has been bad blood between the two men for
years.
In Scrushy's case, his legal team has a legion of government witnesses to attack.
Birmingham's U.S. Attorney Alice H. Martin has secured guilty pleas from more than
a dozen former HealthSouth employees, including five former finance chiefs. Now
she is seeking to convict Scrushy on 58 criminal counts, including securities fraud,
money laundering and violating provisions of a 2002 corporate accountability law that
requires chief executives to vouch for the accuracy of their companies' financial
statements.
Scrushy vigorously denies the charges and says his onetime lieutenants
masterminded the $2.7 billion fraud and hid the scheme from him. His lawyers are
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raising questions about the witnesses' medical histories, marital fidelity and past
alcohol and drug use. The defense team also has asked the judge for access to
witnesses' employment records.
James D. Wareham, a corporate defense lawyer who has been following the
HealthSouth investigation, said Scrushy's lawyers have a difficult task ahead of them.
"It's easier to discredit one or two felons as demonstrable liars," said Wareham, of the
law firm Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP. "When you have five individuals,
that makes it a lot harder to carry the day, because all the jury has to do is believe one
guy."
Charles Russell, a spokesman for Scrushy, declined to comment on the case.
Outside analysts said both Ebbers and Scrushy will feel pressure to take the witness
stand to make the case personally that they relied on advice from lawyers and
accountants -- or that subordinates kept them in the dark about the accounting
schemes.
"In most of these cases you're talking about a CEO who is not an accountant," said
Michael N. Levy, a defense lawyer at McKee Nelson LLP in Washington.
"Prosecutors have got to prove that the CEO knew the accounting decision was wrong
at the time but went ahead with it anyway."
That issue, apparently, helped deadlock the jury in the Cendant Corp. fraud case
earlier this month. On Jan. 4, after 33 days of deliberation, the jury found former vice
chairman E. Kirk Shelton guilty of conspiracy and securities fraud charges. Jurors
were unable to reach a unanimous verdict on the role played by former chairman
Walter A. Forbes.
Cendant insiders, including former officials in the accounting and finance units,
pleaded guilty and testified against both men during the trial. But documents and
testimony fingered Shelton as more directly involved in more than $500 million worth
of revenue inflation that occurred before their company, CUC International Inc.,
merged with HFS Inc. to form Cendant in 1997.
New Jersey's U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie is considering whether to retry
Forbes on the 16 charges, he said in a prepared statement.
John C. Coffee Jr., a Columbia University law professor, said Forbes's defense, in
which he testified that he only halfheartedly reviewed financial reports and was
deceived by key insiders, could give a measure of hope to high-profile executives
awaiting trial later this year. One such former executive is Lay, who faces fraud
charges related to statements he made before the Houston energy trader collapsed in
2001. A federal judge has yet to set a trial date for Lay and former chief executive
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Jeffrey K. Skilling, who in effect led Enron through the late 1990s, when prosecutors
say the fraud occurred.
"I would have more optimism about Mr. Lay's chances, because he was sort of a
distant, hands-off manager who had resigned and come back," Coffee said.
But he added that some corporate managers may have more trouble convincing juries
that they were out of the loop. "Anyone who watches Bernie Ebbers knows he was a
very strong person, and Scott Sullivan was his lackey," Coffee said.
Convicting a former chief executive becomes even more challenging when the
government is unable to secure cooperation from central players just below the chief
executive's level. At the first Tyco trial, Swartz, the former finance chief, not only did
not testify against Kozlowski but actually took the stand and testified over several
days that the company's board had given Kozlowski and him the authority to pay
themselves bonuses.
The case ended in mistrial after media reports revealed the name of a juror holding
out for acquittal. That result and the mistrial last month in the fraud trial of former
Westar Energy Inc. chief executive David C. Wittig suggest that prosecutors may face
difficulty proving criminal intent -- a crucial requirement in white-collar crime cases
-- unless they can point to specific actions that misled investors.
"It's not enough to prove these guys got billions. Getting billions is not a crime," said
Steven M. Cohen, a former federal prosecutor who is now a defense attorney.
"Prosecutors have to prove to the jury that they did something illegal to get those
billions. The defense attorneys can take some comfort in that."
Still, most legal observers say the defense lawyers face an uphill battle. With the
exceptions of former Tyco general counsel Mark A. Belnick and a lower-level
executive at Adelphia Communications Corp., "it's hard to remember a major fraud
case that went to a jury trial and led to an acquittal," said Robert Weisberg, a Stanford
University law professor. "I'm betting on the government."
From:
www.washingtonpost.com
Notes:
Revelation: Something revealed, especially a dramatic disclosure of something not
previously known or realized.
Equity: The residual value of a business or property beyond any mortgage thereon
and liability therein.
Acquittal: Judgment, as by a jury or judge, that a defendant is not guilty of a crime as
charged.
Accountable: Liable to being called to account; answerable.
Deterrence: 制止; 威慑; 阻止.
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Governance: The act, process, or power of governing; government.
Dire: Warning of or having dreadful or terrible consequences; calamitous.
Underling: One of lesser rank or authority than another; a subordinate.
Larceny: The unlawful taking and removing of another's personal property with the
intent of permanently depriving the owner; theft.
Mistrial: A trial that becomes invalid because of basic prejudicial error in procedure.
无效审判. 由于审判过程中根本性的偏见性错误而变得无效的审判;
an inconclusive trial, as one in which the jurors fail to agree on a verdict. 无说服力
审判. 无说服力的审判，如陪审员对裁决意见不一致
Venue: The locality or political division from which a jury is called and in which a
trial is held.
Invalidate: To make invalid; nullify.
Discretion: Freedom to act or judge on one's own.
Leniency: A lenient act. 宽大，慈悲,慈悲宽厚的行为
Legion: A large number; a multitude.
Vouch: To give personal assurances; give a guarantee.
Lieutenant: One who acts in place of or represents a superior; an assistant or a
deputy.
Mastermind: To direct, plan, or supervise (a project or an activity).
Felon: 重罪人
Deadlock: To bring or come to a standstill.
Loop: The opening formed by a doubled line.
Lackey: (穿制服的) 男仆, 侍从.
Classroom – exercises:
7. Watching the news and find out the main idea of the news.
8. Write a short piece of news on crime of about 100 words.
Homework
Read the following news and do the exercises:
Passage 1
Read the following article and try to find out what the Conservative Party promised to
do to control crime, and pay attention to the blackened words.
Tories look to US to combat crime
David Hencke, Westminster correspondent
Friday February 11, 2005
The Guardian
The Conservative party wants to introduce US-style elected police commissioners as
part of its plans to combat crime.
Michael Howard, the Tory leader, launched the second part of the Conservatives'
"rolling manifesto" in Manchester after a shadow cabinet meeting yesterday.
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Setting out the party's law and order agenda for its election campaign, Mr Howard
said he wanted the public to have more of a say in how the police do their job.
He promised a Conservative government would get tough on "robbery" and crime,
with more police on the beat and less "political correctness".
He cited the zero-tolerance approach to policing by the former New York mayor
Rudolph Giuliani and Teesside "Robocop" Ray Mallon as the way forward. The
police had become remote and out of touch and weighed down by paperwork, he
added.
Mr Howard said declining personal responsibility, the "proliferation of human
rights" and the government's failure to draw a distinction between right and wrong
had left communities unable to get a grip on rising crime.
He said he would scrap unelected police authorities, which would be replaced by
police commissioners accountable to local people.
"Imagine the galvanising effect of a contest between two or three candidates for the
job, each of whom published a manifesto to which local people could then hold them.
"Police commissioners will reflect the concerns of people who elect them. They will
be able to put police musclepower behind the public's priorities, tackling crime and
disorder, vandalism, rowdiness and thuggery."
Police commissioners would have the role and functions currently exercised by police
authorities. They would draw up with their chief constable annual and three-year
strategies to tackle crime. They would also appoint the chief constable and his or her
deputies and monitor the effectiveness of local policing.
The exception would be the new Metropolitan police commissioner for London,
because of security and counter-terrorism concerns. The Tories plan to leave that
appointment to their shadow home secretary, David Davis, in consultation with the
mayor of London. The non-elected Metropolitan police authority would be abolished
and the commissioner made responsible to the elected mayor and London assembly.
The manifesto commits the party to a tougher sentencing policy and to increasing the
prison population from a record 80,000 places to 100,000. Third-time burglars would
face a minimum of three years in prison, and third-time drug dealers seven years.
Sentencing would be more transparent, with judges and magistrates making clear the
minimum time a person would serve, and electronic tagging would be used to
supplement rather than replace part of a jail term.
164
The Conservatives would provide more rehabilitation by increasing the number of
places from 2,500 to 25,000. This should provide 50,000 hard drug users each with a
six-month place.
Other measures include a clampdown on binge drinking by giving councils greater
powers to refuse licences.
From:
http://society.guardian.co.uk/
Here we have a series of short news on different kinds of crimes. Read them, find out
what happened and pay special attention to the blackened words:
Man Charged With Second Murder
EORIA, Ill. - An alleged serial killer who authorities say confessed to the slayings of
eight women has been charged with the murder of a second woman in rural Illinois.
A Peoria County grand jury returned the indictment Thursday, charging Larry
Bright with first-degree murder for the death of Brenda Erving, 41.
Bright also was indicted on first-degree murder for the death of Linda Kay Neal, 40.
The 38-year-old former concrete worker was charged last month with Neal's death but
was not indicted until Thursday.
Bright had tried to plead guilty to Neal's death during his first court appearance last
month, but a judge rejected it and appointed Bright a public defender.
Bright's attorney Thomas Penn did not immediately return a phone message.
Bodies of women began turning up along rural roads around Peoria four years ago.
Prosecutors said Bright confessed to four of the deaths, three of them last year and
one in July 2003, plus the disappearances of four other women.
From http://news.yahoo.com/
FIREFIGHTER LINKED TO ARSON
(AP) Police in Park Ridge say they've linked a 25-year veteran of the Chicago Fire
Department to ten unsolved arson cases there. Lieutenant Jeffrey Boyle was charged
earlier today with four counts of felony arson in connection with fires in Chicago this
past week. No one was injured in the Chicago fires, all set in trash bins. But one got
out of control and destroyed a school's computer room. The state's attorney's office
says Boyle has been charged with four more arson counts related to the Park Ridge
incidents. Those fires occurred between 1998 and 2001. Defense attorney James
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Tunick says Boyle has been an excellent firefighter for many years. In his words,
"we'll deal with the case." Boyle is due in court tomorrow for a bond hearing.
From:
http://www.wandtv.com/
Footballer cleared in rape bid case
A professional footballer has been cleared of attempting to rape a 16-year-old
waitress in a hotel bathroom.
Junior Agogo, 25, was found not guilty of assaulting the girl at a hotel in Doncaster,
South Yorkshire, by a jury at Sheffield Crown Court after two hours of deliberation.
Agogo, of St David's Mews, Bristol, grinned broadly as the foreman brought in the
verdict following a four-day trial.
The jury of six men and six women heard the teenage complainant describe how
Agogo had dragged her into his hotel room and pulled her skirt, tights and pants down
in the bathroom.
She said he then tried to rape her.
But the footballer, who has also played for Sheffield Wednesday and Barnet, denied
the claim telling the court that the girl had come voluntarily to his room and they had
gone into the bathroom where they talked before "kissing and cuddling".
Agogo said the girl left the room, promising to come back later if she could, but she
never did.
He said he was sharing the room at the time with team-mate Lee Thorpe.
The court heard how the Bristol Rovers team Agogo played for was staying at the
hotel ahead of a League match with Hull City which they went on to lose.
As the verdicts were read out Agogo looked relieved and grinned at his legal team.
There was delight in the public gallery from members of the footballer's family who
had watched the case.
From http://news.yahoo.com/
BURGLARY SPREE RATTLES POSH GREENWICH
By RICH CALDER
166
A group of high-tech thieves have made a killing in Greenwich over the past two
months, burglarizing 15 homes in the snooty Connecticut community and walking
away with at least $750,000 in cash and merchandise, cops said.
And the cunning criminals apparently aren't psyched out by the high stone walls and
intricate security systems that are trademarks of the town's exclusive neighborhoods.
Many of the burglaries were committed in Greenwich's so-called back country, home
to corporate executives, A-list Hollywood celebrities and other wealthy residents.
Police say a single group of burglars is responsible for the 15 break-ins, which began
Dec 12. They also say the thieves have an eye for the finer things, leaving behind
inexpensive items for high-priced jewelry, fur coats, cash, credit cards and cameras.
"They like stones, diamonds and rubies, emeralds," said Detective Tim Powell. "They
like fur coats, too. They'll pry a safe off the floor if they can get that."
The burglars' pattern is to strike empty homes, typically during the early-evening
hours, when families go out for dinner or take in a flick. The crooks work quickly,
cutting phone lines, disabling alarm systems and knocking down grand entrances,
cops said.
Police suspect the break-ins have been carried out by a band of burglars operating in
at least four other states: New York, New Jersey, Virginia and Maryland.
With Post Wire Services
From http://www.nypost.com/
Rash Of Funny Money Reported In Lincoln Park
Federal Officials Investigate Counterfeit Bills
CHICAGO -- Federal government officials are investigating reports of numerous
counterfeit bills popping up in a trendy area of Lincoln Park.
Three North Side businesses within a block of each other in the 2600 block of North
Clark Street reported bogus $100 bills made out of $5 bills, NBC5 reported.
The targeted stores were Nosh Cafe, "Untitled" Clothing and Gramaphone Records.
"I've been in retail for a long time and I just had a feeling that something was wrong
because of the color. It just didn't seem right," Nosh Cafe employee Heidi Goersch
said.
Authorities said counterfeit bills are not uncommon, but that merchants need to
know what to look for.
Real $100 bills have ink that changes colors at different angles, and they also have a
water mark with Benjamin Franklin's face on it.
Agents say special pens can spot phony bills, but that they probably won't work with
this current case.
From: NBC5.com.
Pledge on domestic violence
Rosie Cowan
167
Thursday February 3, 2005
The Guardian
Prosecutors pledged to deal more effectively with domestic violence cases with the
publication yesterday of new guidelines, including advice on when to go to court even
if the alleged victim wants the charges dropped.
The Crown Prosecution Service booklet advises on how best to ensure the safety of
victims and children and how to deal sensitively with victims from different cultural
backgrounds and those in same-sex relationships.
Two women a week are murdered by current or former partners, and domestic abuse
accounts for 16% of all violent crime in England and Wales. British Crime Survey
figures show there are almost 13m incidents against women and 3m against men
every year. The CPS pursued 30,000 cases last year.
Harriet Harman, the solicitor general, said the CPS guidance was a recognition that
domestic violence was a key criminal justice issue.
In the past, if a victim wanted a case dropped, it was. But in the last few years, the
CPS has compelled some victims to give evidence. Victims are often the only
witnesses to domestic assault, though forcing them to testify against their will, under
threat of contempt of court, is rare and controversial.
But Ms Harman said prosecutors had to consider the wider public interest - not only
the victim's safety, but the impact on children and any future partners the abuser
might go on to attack.
However, the CPS is also exploring effective ways to present evidence from relatives,
friends, neighbours and children, and allowing victims anonymity in certain
circumstances.
From:
http://society.guardian.co.uk/
Popularity of Greek Orthodox church head plummets as corruption scandal
grows
ATHENS, Feb 11 (AFP) - The popularity of the head of the Greek Orthordox Church
has plummeted after a series of corruption scandals involving church officials and his
own links with a convicted drug dealer wanted by Interpol, according to an opinion
poll published Friday.
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The percentage of people with a favourable opinion of Archbishop Christodoulos has
sunk in the past 10 months from 68 per cent to 43 percent, in a country which is 98
percent Orthodox.
Archbishop Christodoulos is under fire for writing a letter in 1996 appealing to a
judge to support a request for a convicted drug trafficker, Apostolos Vavylis, to be
released from custody.
Vavylis was a member of Christodoulos's congregation at his former diocese of Volos,
and the archbishop has defended himself on the basis of his "pastoral duty" saying he
should not be judged solely on secular criteria.
Vavylis has been wanted by Interpol and Greek police since 1998. He was earlier
arrested in 1988 for drug trafficking and was sentenced two years later to 13 years in
jail. He was later freed after being granted parole on appeal.
The other church scandals concern corruption of judges by priests, which has shocked
the faithful in this deeply religious country.
Police arrested a senior clergyman, Archimandrite Iakovos Giosakis, on February 4.
According to media reports, Giosakis is alleged to have bribed four law officers for
personal benefit and to the advantage of two Orthodox bishops, Metropolitan
Panteleimon and Metropolitan Theoklitos, both close associates of the archbishop.
In an attempt to contain the damage to the church the archbishop has ordered all
church officials to no longer speak to the media.
Greek Prime Minister Costas Caramanlis, whose conservative parliamentary majority
is supported by the senior clergy and who had Christodoulos to dinner at his home,
has distanced himself from the scandal calling on the church to wage a relentless fight
against the corruption in its ranks.
From:
http://www.turkishpress.com/
What you should learn from this chapter:
12. 10 words and 1 typical sentence relate to crime;
13. Reading of news on this topic. Please read no less than 2 items every day.
For your reference:
Try to get the meaning of the following words and get familiar with them.
Crime ------Crimes
Arson
assault
blackmail
burglary
hooliganism
Kidnapping
mugging
fraud
hijacking
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Crime------Criminals
Mugger
murderer
Vandal
robber
shoplifter
smuggler
terrorist
thief
Crime------Justice System
Appeal
barrister
caution
cell
community service
court
court case
death penalty
defense
fine
gaol, jail
guilty
imprisonment
innocent
judge
jury
justice
lawyer
offence
sentence
prison
probation
prosecution
punishment
capital
punishment
corporal punishment
remand home
solicitor
trial
verdict
witness
Crime ------Verbs
Arrest
ban
break in
break out
break the law
burgle
commit a crime
escape
get away
get away with
investigate
rob
steal
Crime------ Other Related Words
Alibi
armed
burglar
car alarm
detective
private detective
weapon
alarm
legal
-illegal
charge
hold up
store
---- Accomplice: any person who takes part in a crime.
---- addict: a victim of drug addiction.
---- adult business district: a neighborhood zoned for pornographic bookstores and
movie theaters, striptease bars, etc.
---- arrest warrant: a document that orders the arrest of an individual who had been
accused with a crime.
---- arson: the crime of intentionally destroying property by the use of fire.
---- assassin: a murderer; a person who sets out to kill someone, esp. a prominent
person.
----- assault: the act of attempting or threatening to harm another person.
---- assault with a deadly weapon: the unlawful act of using a deadly weapon to
inflict harm on someone.
---- back-alley butcher: slang for abortionist.
---- bail: money that is deposited with a court in order to secure the release of a
defendant while awaiting trial.
---- ballistics: the science of firearms and the study of the motion of bullets.
A ballistics expert was taking evidence at the scene of the crime.
---- barbiturates: depressants designed to affect the central nervous system.
Police found barbiturates among other drug paraphernalia in the suspect’s apartment.
---- blackmail: the act of threatening to reveal personal information, esp. sexual
scandals, in order to extract money.
---- black market: a marketplace where illegal or hard-to-get items are sold or where
money is illegally exchanged.
170
Gangs are buying assault weapons on the black market.
---- blood money: money that is paid as retribution for injury, loss of life, vandalism,
etc.
The mafia paid blood money to have that man killed.
---- Bomb squad: a team of police who are specially-trained to remove and deactivate
bombs.
---- bootlegging: the illegal distribution of items such as alcohol, drugs, firearms, etc.
---- break-in: a burglar.
---- bribery: the act of offering, giving, or taking bribes.
The congressman resigned after having been found guilty of bribery.
---- bucket shop: also called “ telephone boiler room”. An office that is used to
promote worthless land or securities by mail through telemarketing.
Crooks across the country are using bucket shops to scam older people.
---- bug: to use electronic listening devices to listen in on the conversations of others.
---- bum rap: an unmerited arrest.
Steve served six months jail time on a bum rap.
---- burglary: the act of breaking into a home, building, etc. with the intent to steal
from it.
---- car bangers: thieves who steal from automobiles.
---- career criminal: a person who makes a living from crime.
---- child abuse: the physical and verbal mistreatment of children.
The most unnerving thing about child abuse is the number of cases that go unreported.
---- chop shop: a shop where criminals take apart stolen cars and sell the parts.
---- cocaine: a powerful stimulant drug.
---- computer cleaner: a person who, for a price, cleans computer filed of
unfavorable financial credit information of others.
---- con artist: a person who is skilled at convincing others of believing in fraudulent
schemes.
---- con game: any fraudulent scheme.
---- convict: a person found guilty of a felony and confined in a prison.
---- counterfeit: to illegally reproduce a copy of money, postage stamps, bonds, etc.
Police busted up a counterfeiting racket in Miami last week.
---- credit-card fraud: the attempted use of a credit card to obtain goods or services
with the intention of avoiding payment.
---- crime of passion: murder that resulted from the infidelity of a lover; murder
committed in the heat of rage.
Crimes of passion seem to be popular material for TV infotainment programs.
---- criminal: a person who has violated a criminal law.
We are placing your son in criminal detention.
---- death penalty: punishment by death, that is imposed in a legal manner.
---- death row: a cell block reserved for convicts awaiting execution.
---- defendant: a person who has been charged with a crime.
The court found the defendant guilty of murder.
---- domestic violence: violence toward a family member, including child abuse or
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wife beating.
Domestic violence is one of the most dangerous calls that a law enforcement officer
has to make.
---- drug abuse: the excessive and compulsive use of drugs to the point of damaging
one’s health.
It was obvious to see by looking at the needle marks on her arms that the young girl
was a victim of drug abuse.
---- drug king: ( czar ) the person who controls the production, transportation and
selling drug in an area.
---- drunk driving: driving while under the influence of alcohol.
---- edp crimes: electronic data-processing crime; criminal offenses committed using
computer technology.
---- embezzlement: the illegal misappropriation of funds entrusted to one’s care.
---- first-degree murder: premeditated murder.
---- forensic medicine: the use of medicine in solving legal problems.
---- forgery: the act of creating a document, either written or printed, with the intent
to defraud. Forgery also covers counterfeiting, or producing fake signatures, works of
art, etc.
---- gang: a group of people organized to achieve some common goal. Gangs are
often involved in drugs, violence, money lending, prostitution, etc.
Gangs often have automatic weapons more powerful than the police in many large
U.S. cities.
---- hit-and-run: an automobile accident in which the driver fails to stop and identity
himself or herself. It may also by applied to such a driver.
---- hold-up: the act of robbing someone at gunpoint.
---- homicide: the act of killing someone.
---- hot wire: to electrically start a vehicle without using an ignition key.
Seasoned crooks can hot wire a car in seconds.
---- impulse crime: crimes such as shoplifting, raping, vandalizing, etc. that are done
on an impulse.
---- juvenile delinquency: criminal behavior by adolescents and children.
---- labor racketeering: corrupt practices and organized crime that involve organized
labor.
---- larceny: the stealing of another person’s property.
---- libel: written defamation.
The famous actress is suing the tabloids for libel.
---- Mafia: a secret society that originated in Italy in the 1860’s. The Mafia now
widespread, and is focused on power and profit.
The “Godfather” is a story about the powerful mafia families in New York.
---- mail fraud: the using of the mail system to defraud the public.
---- manhunt: an organized search to catch a criminal or an escapee.
---- mass murderer: a murderer who kills many people.
---- money laundering: the act of concealing the source of funds for the purpose of
tax evasion and fraud.
172
The restaurant is just a front for money laundering.
---- mule: a person used to transport drugs or contraband from one place to another.
---- organized crime: a term used to describe underworld societies such as the Mafia
who deal in crimes such as gambling, narcotics, and prostitution.
---- parole: a conditional release of an offender from confinement before the
expiration of his or her sentence. The offender is usually placed under the guidance of
a parole officer.
The victim’s family is nervous that the offender is up for parole.
---- penitentiary: a maximum-security facility designed to detain prisoners serving
long sentences.
---- perjury: the crime of willingly giving false information while under oath.
If you lie while you are under oath, you can be found guilty of perjury.
---- pickpocket: a thief who is skilled in stealing items from other people’s pockets.
---- police brutality: the act of using excessive physical force by police or other law
enforcement officers.
---- police corruption: the misuse of police power in return for favors or gain.
---- pornoshop: a shop or bookstore that sells pornographic materials.
---- prison break: an escape from prison involving violence by one or more
prisoners.
---- property crime: auto theft, burglary, larceny, etc.
---- repeat offender: a person who has been involved in the same crime or violation
more than once.
The repeat offender was sentenced to a greater punishment for his second crime.
---- rip-off artist: a con man.
---- Saturday-night special: a cheap handgun.
---- scam: a confidence game.
Retired people are often the victims of marketing scams because of their vulnerability.
---- search warrant: a document issued by a judge that grants a law-enforcement
officer the right to search specified property or persons at a specific location, and to
seize the property if found.
---- Secret Service: a law enforcement division of the U.S. Treasury Department. The
Secret Service investigates counterfeiting, and is in charge of protecting the president
and vice-president as well as their immediate families, as well as former presidents.
---- serial killer: a murderer who commits a series of killings, usually with distinct
similarities in the murders.
Doesn’t it seem a little inappropriate to put serial killers on trading cards.
---- sin tax: tax that is imposed on cigarettes, liquor, gambling, etc.
---- slander: spoken defamation.
---- slush fund: money that is used to bribe public politicians and other influential
officials.
---- statutory rape: sexual intercourse with a female who had consented, but who is
legally incapable of consent because she is underage.
---- suicide pact: an agreement between two or more persons to commit suicide
together.
173
---- suicide season: the Christmas season when many lonely people feel isolated and
take their own lives.
---- suspect: a person who is thought to be guilty of a criminal offense.
We’re still looking for a suspect in the drive-by shooting.
---- tax evasion: the illegal attempt by a taxpayer to avoid paying his or her taxes.
Bill was found guilty of tax evasion and owes the IRS over $60,000 in back taxes.
---- vandalism: the defacement or destruction of public or private property.
---- vice squad: Plain clothes policemen who work undercover to detect crime.
---- vigilante: a person or group who takes the responsibility of a law enforcement
officer into their own hands.
---- war crimes: crimes that violate the customs and laws of war.
---- white-collar crime: crimes committed by persons in businesses including
expense-account padding, stealing office supplies, price-fixing, product fraud, etc.
Sentences:
1. A 59-year-old Beacon Hill area woman was robbed of $500 late Sunday night by a
man who attacked her on a Metro bus.
2. Two masked gunmen held up the Cedar Bluff branch of Jefferson National Bank
shortly after 9 a.m. today and fled with an undetermined amount of money.
3. Thieves who entered a Charlotte auto parts store stole 36 Delco batteries, police
were told yesterday.
4. A 47-year-old café owner was arrested in a fig orchard northwest of Fresno late
yesterday as he was about to close the sale of 30 pounds of marijuana, worth about
$25,000, to an under-cover agent.
5. A hat-designer, Laura Jane Lamont, was disqualified from driving for a year and
fined $50 when she admitted yesterday at Court for driving a vehicle dangerously
in Cornmarket Street on December 4th last year.
6. Week after week in recent months, various cities throughout Europe have been the
scene of violent clashed between youths and police.
Chapter 10
Sports
Sample Reading
Read the following news and list all the facts you got from it, then try to find out the
way the author arranged all the facts and why.
Liu Xiang makes history
By Wang Zijiang
Sportswriter
Athens, Aug.27 (Xinhuanet ) – Liu Xiang won it and history’s been made.
The 21-year-old claimed the gold medel of the glamorous men’s 110m hurdles before
a capacity crowd of 70,000 at the Olympic Stadium in the 28the Olympic Games here
on Friday.
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He clocked a stunning 12.91 seconds to equal the world record set by Britain’s Collin
Jackson in 1993.
Terrence Trammell of the United States, silver medallist at both the Sydney Olympics
and last year’s world championships, won the silver in 13.18.
Defending champion Anier Garcia of Cuba took the bronze in 13.20.
It is the first gold Chinese men’s athlete has ever won from the track and field in the
Olympics history.
China has won over 100 gold medals from the summer Olympic Games since 1984
but their male athletes only got one medal from Olympics’ most popular sport. That
was high jumper Zhu Jianhua’s bronze in the 1984 Los Angeles Games.
The Shanghai native, his father a truck driver and mother an out-of-work housewife,
loved sports when he was very little.
“ He kept running and jumping everyday and never sat there quietly,” his mother J
Fenhua recalled.
Liu was selected to the Junior Sports School of Putuo District of Shanghai to practice
jumping as a fourth grader in the primary school. But after a bone test showing that he
will not be able to become a tall man, Liu was asked to give up sports one year later,
although he had won the national champion at that level.
His parents also wanted him to study computer engineering or some other profession
befitting his middle-class Shanghai upbringing, but Liu decided to go on.
“ I told my mother that I would compete in the Olympics in the future”, Liu said.
The year of 1998 was a turning point for Liu’s career, when he attracted coach Sun
Haiping’s attention as a 15-year-old jumper.
Sun was a well-known hurdle coach who had nurtured Asian champion Chen Yanhao
and he believed a star was born at the first sight of Liu. He visited Liu’s parents
several times and finally persuaded them to let Liu transfer to the 110 hurdles.
After only three years, Liu launched his career in style in the IAAF Grand Prix in
Lausanne in 2001 by breaking the world youth and Asian record with a time of 13.12.
And in the next two years leading to the Olympic Games, he has won titles at the
Asian championships, the World University Games and the Asian Games.
But the first warning he sent to the world was his bronze-winning feat at the world
indoor championships in Birmingham, England, last year.
He went on to capture the bronze in the world outdoor championships in Paris to
record a surprise season in 2003.
In 2004, Liu came back stronger and more confident. He won the silver in the world
indoor championships in Budapest in March.
Two months later, he proved the winner in a race against American great Allen
Johnson in the IAAF grand Prix in Osaka, Japan, where he clocked a new Asian
record and world’s season best time of 13.06 seconds.
He went on to win two Johnson-absent races in Lille, France, on June 26 and in
Zagreb, Croatia, three days later. He put up an exciting show at the Golden Gala meet
in Rome on July 3, when he and Johnson clocked an identical time of 13.11. Race
officials had to examine a photo finish to declare Johnson the winner.
Liu did a better job of clearing the hurdles than Johnson, but Johnson’s stronger start
175
ended up making the difference. The race boosted Liu’s optimism for the Olympics,
although Johnson bettered his season time by 0.01 second in Lausanne, Switzerland,
on July 6.
The world had put the Olympics a Johnson-Liu duel but surprisingly Johnson crashed
out of the Games after falling at the ninth hurdle at round 2.
John’s early exit paved the way for Liu’s win. He finally took the gold and put a
Chinese man’s name on the record book.
Notes:
IAAF Grand Prix: International Amateur Athletic Federation 国际业余田径联合会
大奖赛
Golden Gala: （世界田径大奖赛系列中的）黄金联赛
Classroom-reading
Read the following news and list all the facts you got from it, then try to find out the
way the author arranged all the facts and why.
Argentina wins men’s football gold in “tough game”
Athens, Aug. 28 ( Xinhua ) ---- Argentina and Paraguay fought a “tough game” here
Saturday with the Argentina winning the gold medal of men’s football at the Athens
Olympic, beating the 9-men Paraguay 1-0.
Argentina won its first Olympic gold medal, while Paraguay got its first silver.
“ It’s a tough game and my players tried their best against Argentina who are a very
good team,” said Carlos Jara, the Paraguayan coach after the game.
“ The yellow and red cards did affect my players psychologically, but we are
extremely happy to take a silver medal home, the first for Paraguay,” the Paraguayan
coach said.
“ The gold medal is for the whole Argentina,” Alberto Marcelo, the Argentinean coach
said, adding that “ one should never be too delighted or too sad at anytime.”
“ To win an Olympics gold medal does not mean you can have the same result at
World Cup,” the Argentinean coach said.
When asked which of his players had the best performance in the final match, the
coach said most of them played well, and almost all of them reached their required
level.
The fight for Olympics gold medal gave another chance to shine for the super star
Carlos Tevez, who was already top scorer at the Olympics with seven goals in five
games.
Tevez, one of the Argentinean players tagged as “ The New Maradona”, opened the
scoring 18 minutes into the game when he, ambushed in the goal area, suddenly stole
up and hammered home a cross from the right corner, making his eighth goal in the
Athens Olympics tournament.
The Paraguay side did make a few counter attacks in the first half, but their forward
were tightly marked once they drove the ball to the Argentinean half, making their
few shooting attempts uncomfortable.
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Tevez, the 1.68-meter-high Boca Junior player, who seemed always ready to score,
attracted quite a lot attention from the Paraguayan side.
The game turned tough when the Paraguayan side tried hard for an equalizer.
A total of seven yellow cards were given to the Paraguayan players from the 30th
minute on to the 87th minute, plus one red card in the 66th minute for Emilio Martines.
The Paraguay side were reduced to a 10-men team in the 66th minute when Emilio
Martinez was red-carded for elbowing down an Argentinean player.
Opportunity presented itself around the 70th minute for the Paraguayan side when its
midfielder Diego Figueredo drove in with the ball to face a lone Argentinean goalie,
but the Argentineans were very quick when at least three of its players dashed up to
the goalie’s help to block it away.
Paraguay was further reduced to nine men when Figueredo was sent out of the game
for a second yellow card in the 82nd minute.
Argentina were twice runners-up of the Olympic games, one in 1996 Atlanta Games
and the other in the 1928 Amsterdam Games, while the Paraguayan were making their
second appearance after the 1993 Barcelona games in which they finished in the
quarter final stage.
Classroom – exercises:
9. Watching the news and do the exercises:
1) What’s the main idea of the news?
2) Fill in the blanks:
it's a heavy duty to try to do everything and ________ everybody. You know my job
was go out then play the game of basketball as best I can and ________ entertainment
to everybody who wanted to watch a game of basketball. You know_______, people
may not agree with that and once again I can't live with what everybody's _______of
what I should do and what I shouldn't do.
10. Read the following news and do the exercises:
Item 1
Time now for sports and a check of tennis. Top seed Andre Agassi of the United States
has easily reached the 4th round of the Australian Open tennis tournament in
Melbourne. Agassi beat Argentime Mariano Zabaleta in straight sets Friday, 6:4, 6:4,
7:6, 6:1. He will next face 16th seed Mac Philippoussis who scored a straight sets
victory over fellow Australian Andrew Ilie 6: 4, 7:6, 6:1. American Pete Sampras, the
3rd seed, survived a scare as he dropped his first 2 sets to Wayne Black of Zimbabwe,
6:7, 3:6, but Sampras rallied to win the next 3 sets and match, 6:3, 7:5, 6:3. Britain’s
Tim Hennman, the 11th seed scored a four-set win over Frenchman Sebastien
Grosjean, 6:1, 6:4, 4:6, 7:6. On the women’s side, 2nd seed, American Lindsay
Davenport trounced Alina Jidkova 6:0, 6:1. French players Mary Pierce and Julie
Halard-Decugis and Russian Anna Kournikova also won their 3rd round matches.
Words and Expressions
trounce [trauns] v.痛击
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rally v.重整旗鼓, (使)恢复健康, 力量, 决心, n.集会
Zimbabwe 津巴布韦
Multiple choice:
1. This piece of news is a (an) _________ of the 2000 Australian Open.
A. scoreboard for the third round
B. introduction of the top seeds
C. comment on the exciting matches
D. summary of all the semi-finals
2. Pete Sampras__________
A. scored a straight sets victory over Wayne Black
B. had a hard time winning the match
C. was stopped at the fourth round
D. was troubled by backache in the match
Item 2
The Canadian government has canceled its plans to subsidize professional ice-hockey
teams because of a public outcry. Industry Minister John Manley said Friday that the
government has withdrawn its proposals after severe negative reaction to the plan.
The federal aid package was to provide more than 2 million dollars to 6 NHL clubs.
However, Canadians strongly objected to the idea of subsidizing the salaries of
players who are already paid hundreds of thousands of dollars. The team most likely
to be affected by the decision is the Ottawa Senators. Team owner Rod Bryden has
said his squad needs merely 7 million dollars just to stay in Ottawa. The Senators had
the second best record in the eastern division last season, but team captain and leading
scorer Alexis Yashen of Russia has not played this year because of a salary dispute.
Words and Expressions
Squad 球队
National Hockey League ( NHL ) 北美冰球联合会
Multiple Choice
1.
A.
B.
C.
D.
2.
A.
B.
C.
D.
The proposed federal aid package was canceled because of _________.
government disapproval
public objection
deteriorating economy
disputes between Players’ Union and NHL administration
The proposed aid package was aimed to __________.
offer financial support to 6 NHL clubs
pay for insurance for NHL players
finance international hockey matches
improve training facilities for NHL clubs
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Item 3
Former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson had to take refugee in a
police station after thousands of fans mobbed him in the London neighborhood of
Brixton Friday. Tyson’s visit brought the neighborhood to a standstill as fans stood on
top of walls, climbed trees and hung out of windows to catch a glimpse of the
American boxer. The scene was also chaotic early Friday when Tyson went to a
mosque to attend a memorial service for a Kurdish teenager killed last month. Tyson
was in Brixton despite opposition from the neighborhood council which said that he
was not welcome because he has been convicted of rape. Tyson was given a special
exemption to fight in Britain later this month by Home Secretary Jack Straw. Britain
does not usually allow people in who have been convicted of a crime that result in
more than 1 year in jail.
Words and Expressions:
standstill n.停止, 停顿
Mosque n.清真寺
exemption n.解除, 免除, 免税
heavyweight 最重量级拳击手(或摔交手)
Kurdish adj.库尔德人的 n.库尔德语
Multiple Choice:
1. Mike Tyson stayed in a police station because ___________.
A. he feared possible attacks from his opponents
B. his supporters were over-enthusiastic
C. he was greatly admired by the police
D. of violations of British law
2. According to the news, Tyson _________.
A. was universally welcomed in Britain
B. will have a match later this month
C. will return to the US soon
D. had a commercial match in London last month
Item 4
A Swiss snowboarder was killed Friday after crashing into a post at a world cup
competition in Leysin, Switzerland. The snowboarder, 25-year-old Daniel Loetscher
was taking part in the final of the parallel slalom event when he clashed at the finish
line. He was given 45 minutes of medical attention at the scene and then taken by
helicopter to a hospital in Agnes in Switzerland. Organizers canceled the rest of the
day’s action after the mishap.
Words and Expressions
Snowboarder 滑雪板选手
Mishap 不幸事故
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Parallel slalom 双人障碍滑雪比赛
Finish line 终点线
Multiple Choices:
Daniel Loetscher was killed in _________.
A. an air crash
B. a traffic accident
C. an accident in an competition
D. the warming-up before the competition
Item 5
The Williams Formula One Team has announced that it’s dropping 2-time cart-racing
champion Alex Zanardi from its squad for the 2000 season. Zanardi had one year
remaining on his contract with Williams, however the team said in a statement Friday
the parting is neutrally agreed to following a difficult season last year. Zanardi, a
2-time Indy car champion, failed to score a single point while driving for Williams in
1999. Britain’s Jenson Button or Brazilian driver Bruno John Carol will replace
Zanardi at Williams. The two drivers are currently testing Williams’ cars in Barcelona.
The decision on whom will team with Ralf Schumacher this season is expected next
week.
Words and Expressions
Williams Formula One Team 威廉姆斯一级方程式车队
Cart-racing champion 赛车冠军
Multiple Choice:
Zanardi left Williams team because _______.
A. his contract with the team was due.
B. He had disputes with his teammates
C. He was serious injured in a race
D. He failed in all the races in 1999
Item 6
Disabled golfer Casey Martin has completed the first round of his new career on the
US professional golfers tour. 27-year-old Martin suffers from a birth defect in his
right leg which causes deterioration in the bone and muscles. He’s unable to walk the
entire course and recently successfully fought a court battle to win the right to use a
cart on a PGA tour. Martin says he would gladly give up the cart if he could.
Words and Expressions
Golfer 高尔夫选手
Deterioration 恶化
Professional Golf Association (PGA) 职业高尔夫协会
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Multiple Choice:
Casey Martin _____.
A. has just won his first PGA tour
B. is a disabled golfer
C. has just filed a lawsuit
D. will be qualified as a professional golfer soon
Item 7
The International Football Federation has released the first rankings of the New Year
and Brazil remains the No.1 team in the world. The Czech Republic is now No.2
ahead of France, Spain and Germany. Rounding up the top 10 are Argentina, Norway,
Romania, Croatia and Mexico. The United States dropped 1 place in the ranking to
22nd in the world. Of the top 50 teams only Iran made a big jump moving 5 places to
48th in the world.
Words and Expressions
Ranking 排名
The International Football Federation (FIFA) 国际足联
Czech 捷克
Croatia 克罗地亚
Multiple Choice:
FIFA has just______.
A. selected top teams for each continent
B. issued this year’s first team rankings
C. made new rules for picking out a host country for World Cup matches
D. selected ten great football teams during the past century
Item 8
International Olympic Committee President Juan Antonio Samaranch is said to return
to the United States in 2 weeks to answer questions from federal authorities
investigating the Salt Lake City bid scandal. In an interview with the Associated Press
on Wednesday, Samaranch called it his duty as president of the International Olympic
Committee to clarify all questions. He says the organization has nothing to hide. Last
month the IOC said Samaranch had agreed to submit to a voluntary interview with
Justice Department and FBI agents. They are probing the improper payments, gifts
and other inducements offered to IOC members during Salt Lake City’s winning bid
for the 2002 winter games. Samaranch has not been served with a subpoena, and IOC
says he is not a target of the investigation. He will be the 8th IOC member questioned
by investigators in the case. Samaranch also restated his intention to remain as
president of the IOC until his term expires in July 2001.
Words and Expressions
Expire 到期
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Clarify 澄清
Subpoena 传票
International Olympic Committee ( IOC ) 奥林匹克委员会
Justice Department 司法部
Federal Bureau of Investigation ( FBI ) 美国联邦调查局
Juan Antonio Samaranch 萨马兰奇
Multiple Choice:
Mr. Samaranch will go to the US to _______.
A. review preparations made by Salt Lake City for the 2002 winter games
B. make investigations on the Salt Lake City bid scandal
C. accept investigations from federal authorities
D. clarify IOC’s standpoint on the Salt Lake City bid scandal
Item 9
The US and Iranian national football teams are playing their first match on US soil
since Iran’s 1979 Islamic Revolution. With play now in the second half, the score is
1-1. Thousands of spectators are gathered at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, to
enthusiastically cheer both teams. The Iranian and US teams last faced off at the
World Cup in 1998, with Iran defeating the US by 2-1. The Iranian victory touched
off several days of celebrations at home.
Words and Expressions
To touch off 引发
To face off 对垒
Multiple Choice:
1. The US and Iranian national football teams have played each other for ______
times since 1979.
A. 3
B. 2
C. 4
D. 5
2. Where did they last meet?
A. US
B. France
C. Iran
D. Italy
3. What’s the result of their last match?
A. Iran won 2-1
B. US won 2-1
C. The match came to a draw
D. Iran won 3-1
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Homework
Read the following news and do the exercises:
Passage 1
Read all the following materials about Olympic Games and then write a short article
for a children’s newspaper to introduce it.
Olympic Games
I. Basic knowledge
1. The Olympic Games are an international sports festival held every four years.
2. History: The ancient Olympic Games were held in Olympia, Greece every four
years from 776 BC to 392 AD. The modern Olympic Games were first held in 1896 in
Greece and, with the exception of three games not held because of the two world wars,
have been held in various cities of the world at regular 4-year intervals. Since 1924, a
separate program of winter sports has been added to the Games. Up to now, 28
Summer Olympic Games and 19 Winter Olympic Games have been held.
Olympia is a “Holy Land” of sports, and also a relics of splendid culture of ancient
Greece.
3. The Paralytics was originated by Dr. L. Giterman who worked at the British
Rehabilitation Center for the Disabled.
4. The first Winter Olympics was held in France, 1924.
5. Olympic Summer Games:
Athens 1896
Paris 1900
St. Louis 1904
London 1908
Stockholm
1912
Antwerp 1920
Paris 1924
Amsterdam 1928
Los Angeles 1932
Berlin 1936
London 1948
Helsinki 1952
Melbourne 1956
Rome
1960 Tokyo 1964
Mexico City 1968
Munich 1972
Montreal 1976
Moscow 1980
Los Angeles 1984
Seoul 1988
Barcelona 1992
Atlanta 1996
Sydney 2000
Athens 2004
Olympic Winter Games:
Chamonix 1924
St. Moritz 1928
Lake Placid 1932
Garmisch-Partenkirchen 1936
St. Moritz 1948
Oslo 1952
Cortina
d’Ampezzo 1956
Squaw Valley 1960
Innsbruck 1964
Grenoble 1968
Sapporo 1972
Innsbruck 1976
Lake Placid 1980
Sarajevo 1984
Calgary 1988
Albertville 1992
Lillehammer 1994
Nagano 1998
Salt
Lake City 2002
6. The Organising Committees of the Olympic Games (OCOGs) organise the Olympic
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Games in collaboration with their National Olympic Committee and the host city
7. Creed
The most important thing in the Olympic Games is not win but to take part, just as the
most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle. The essential thing is
not to have conquered but to have fought well.
8. Baron Pierre de Coubertin, the dapper Frenchman whose life’s ambition was to
re-establish the Olympic Games was a visionary and an idealist. He saw in the
modern Olympic Games of 1896 a revival of the Games of ancient Greece. It was
what he called the refurbishing of the youth of the world who by his grand plan would
meet every four years in the spirit of friendly competition, building healthy minds to
go with their healthy bodies.
On an even grander scale, Coubertin saw a four-yearly Olympic Games as a vehicle
for peace and international understanding, borrowing from the ancient Greeks the
ideal that wars would stop so the games would begin. In a speech in 1894, he said: “ It
is necessary that every four years the renewed Olympic Games give to universal
youth the occasion of a happy and fraternal meeting in which gradually will be erased
this ignorance, in which people live as far as concerns one another; ignorance which
maintains hate, accumulates misunderstandings and precipitates events in the barbaric
sense of a struggle without pity.
9. The flame symbolizes the continuity between the ancient and modern Games.
10. Remember the following sentences:
Swifter, Higher, Stronger
The lighting and extinguishing of the Olympic Flame symbolized the opening and
closing of the Olympics.
The committee members thought that the purpose of passing the Olympic torch by
way of relay was to spread the Olympic spirits and make the seeds of peace and
friendship root, grow, blow and bear fruits in more countries.
The five rings represent the close unity and friendly meeting at the Olympics between
athletes from five continents.
11. Mr. Baron de Coubertin drafted the athlete’s vows himself.
An athlete of the host country recites the following at the opening ceremony. “ In the
name of all competitors I promise that we will take part in these Olympic Games,
respecting and abiding by the rules which govern them, in the true spirit of
sportsmanship for the glory of sport and the honor of our team.”
II. Election of the host city
The new two-phase host city election procedure, adopted by the 110th IOC Session in
December 1999, was used for the election of the host city for the Games of the XXIX
Olympiad in 2008.
Following this new procedure, cities must pass an initial selection phase during which
184
basic technical requirements are examined by a team of experts and then put forward
to the IOC Executive Board. The 10 applicant cities for the Games of the XXIX
Olympiad in 2008 put forward to the IOC Executive Board were: Bangkok, Beijing,
Cairo, Havana, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Osaka, Paris, Seville, Toronto.
Once approved by the Executive Board, the cities become official Candidate Cities
and are authorised to go forward into the full bid process. The five Candidate Cities
for 2008 accepted by the IOC Executive Board on 28 August 2000 were (in the order
of drawing of lots): Osaka, Paris, Toronto, Beijing, Istanbul.
The full bid process includes notably the submission of a Candidature File to the IOC,
followed by the visit of the IOC Evaluation Commission to each of the Candidate
Cities. The Evaluation Commission studies the candidatures of each Candidate City,
inspects the sites and submits a written report on all candidatures to the IOC two
months before the Session which will elect the host city.
On 13 July 2001 at the 112th IOC Session in Moscow, Beijing was elected the Host
City for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad in 2008.
Passage 2
Read the following speech, find one part you’re most interested in and try to make a
performance in the next class.
Ms. Yang Lan’s Speech
Mr. President,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Good afternoon!
Before I introduce our cultural programs, I want to tell you one thing first about 2008.
You’re going to have a great time in Beijing.
China has its own sport legends. Back to Song Dynasty, about the 11th century, people
started to play a game called Cuju, which is regarded as the origin of ancient football.
The game was very popular and women were also participating. Now, you will
understand why our women football team is so good today.
There are a lot more wonderful and exciting things waiting for you in New Beijing, a
dynamic modern metropolis with 3,000 years of cultural treasures woven into the
urban tapestry. Along with the iconic imagery of the Forbidden City, the Temple of
Heaven and the Great Wall, the city offers an endless mixture of theatres, museums,
discos, all kinds of restaurants and shopping malls that will amaze and delight you.
But beyond that, it is a place of millions of friendly people who love to meet people
from around the world. People of Beijing believe that the 2008 Olympic Games in
Beijing will help to enhance the harmony between our culture and the diverse cultures
of the world. Their gratitude will pour out in open expressions of affection for you
and the great Movement that you guide.
Within our cultural programs, education and communication will receive the highest
185
priority. We seek to create an intellectual and sporting legacy by broadening the
understanding of the Olympic Ideals throughout the country.
Cultural events will unfold each year, from 2005 to 2008. We will stage
multi-disciplined cultural programs, such as concerts, exhibitions, art competitions
and camps which will involve young people from around the world. During the
Olympics, they will be staged in the Olympic Village and the city for the benefit of
the athletes.
Our Ceremonies will give China’s greatest-and the world’s greatest artists a stage for
celebrating the common aspirations of humanity and the unique heritage of our
culture and the Olympic Movement.
With a concept inspired by the famed Silk Road, our Torch Relay will break new
ground, traveling from Olympia through some of the oldest civilizations known to
man-Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Byzantine, Mesopotamian, Persian, Arabian, Indian
and Chinese. Carrying the message “Share the Peace, Share the Olympics,” the
eternal flame will reach new heights as it crosses the Himalayas over the world’s
highest summit - Mount Qomolangma, which is known to many of you as Mt. Everest.
In China, the flame will pass through Tibet, cross the Yangtze and Yellow Rivers,
travel the Great Wall and visit Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and the 56 ethnic
communities who make up our society. On its journey, the flame will be seen by and
inspire more human beings than any previous relay.
I am afraid I can not present the whole picture of our cultural programs within such a
short period of time. Before I end, let me share with you one story. Seven hundred
years ago, amazed by his incredible descriptions of a far away land of great beauty,
people asked Marco Polo whether his stories about China were true. He answered:
What I have told you was not even half of what I saw. Actually, what we have shown
you here today is only a fraction of Beijing that awaits you.
Ladies and gentlemen, I believe that Beijing will prove to be a land of wonders to
athletes, spectators and the worldwide television audience alike. Come and join us.
Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you all.
Now, I would like to give the floor to Mr. He.
Passage 3
Never Too Old for Exercise
Monkeys and beagles were central to recent studies linking regular physical activity
186
and an enhanced diet to improved brain function. The monkeys participated in an
Oregon Health and Science University study. It showed primates that exercised
regularly ---- using a treadmill five days per week ---- had a higher brain capillary
volume after 20 weeks than a control group that did not exercise. Also, monkeys in
the exercise group more rapidly learned new tasks. The study showed that the most
significant brain benefits were experienced by monkeys deemed “ least fit ” at the
start of the trial. The Oregon researchers said studying monkeys eliminates any
skewing from the decidedly human behaviors of smoking, drinking and overeating.
The findings were discussed at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in
New Orleans.
Another new study employed 39 beagles to test the brain-enhancing effectiveness of
antioxidant-rich foods ( especially those rich in vitamins C and E and beta carotene ).
University of Toronto researchers discovered that old dogs might possibly even learn
some new tricks with the proper fortified food in their dinner bowls. “ We found old
dogs on the antioxidant diet performed better on a variety of cognitive tests than dogs
not on that diet,” said P. Dwight Tapp, a study co-author now based at the University
of California at Irvine. “ In fact, the dogs eating the antioxidant-fortified foods
performed as well as young beagles.” For the uninitiated ---- or those of us who have
never lived with an old beagle or other canines ---- dogs can experience the same
memory loss and slowed cognitive function that occur in humans.
Tapp and colleagues found that the antioxidant-rich diet helped improve cognitive
skills in old dogs but not young dogs. A follow-up study is ongoing to determine if
feeding the younger dogs the special diet helps prevent loss of brain function.
Arthur F. Kramer figures to stick with humans in his brain research. Kramer is a
professor of psychology at the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign. He was
lead author on a pioneering study published earlier this year that showed positive
physiological changes in brain matter due to regular exercise.
The typical man or woman loses brain matter as part of the aging process. In a first,
Kramer and colleagues used magnetic-resonance imaging ( MRI ) scans to show that
individuals 55 and older who exercise regularly ---- walking briskly for 20 minutes
three times per week ---- can preserve gray-and-white-matter regions of the brain.
“ The great thing is it doesn’t take too long to realize these benefits,” Kramer said.
“ We saw significant cognitive improvement in people 55 and older over just six
months.” Gray matter consists of a series of thin tissue layers in brain cells such as
neurons that are critical to learning and memory. White matter is found in the myelin
sheath containing nerve fibers that transmit signals throughout the brain. As people
age, beginning after 30, the two types of matter shrink in a pattern closely matched by
decreased cognitive performance, Kramer said. Kramer and his colleagues have
completed other cutting-edge research about the brain and regular physical activity.
One study slotted for 2004 publication follows up on the gray/white-matter study.
Preliminary results indicate that the same sort of brisk walking will enhance the
performance capabilities of cortical circuits in the brain.
“ We are reporting on function and not just the physiology of the gray and white
matter,” Kramer explained. Another study to be published in 2004 builds on earlier
187
findings that active older women on hormone-replacement therapy exhibit greater
cognitive abilities than older men who are regular exercisers. In new findings, Kramer
and colleagues have found less actual brain tissue deterioration in women 55 and
older who have higher levels of estrogen in their bodies. Despite being a “ former
jock,” Kramer didn’t expect that his research in the area during the last decade and,
along with several colleagues, turned the University of Illinois into a respected center
for research on healthy aging.
“ There is no downside to physical activity for older adults who get clearance from
their physicians to start a program,” he said. “ We know it can help prevent heart
disease and protect against stroke damage. Now we are building evidence that regular
physical activity allows you to think better.”
---- Bob Condor, http://www.chicago.tribune.com, FortWayne.com, Nov.21, 2003
1.
Multiple-choice
1) The study conducted by Oregon Health and Science University showed that
_______________.
A. monkeys can learn new tasks more rapidly if they exercised regularly than
any other animals.
B. regular physical can help promote the brain function
C. monkeys are more cooperative than human being
D. monkeys are good at using treadmill
2) According to the passage, which of the following statement about antioxidant-rich
foods is false?
A. Antioxidant-rich foods are rich in vitamins C and E and beta carotene.
B. Antioxidant-rich foods can help the brain to perform better.
C. Old dogs might possibly even learn some new tricks if they have
Antioxidant-rich foods.
D. Antioxidant-rich foods helped improved cognitive skills not only in old dogs
but also in young dogs.
3) Arthur F. Kramer is a professor in ____________.
A. Oregon Health and Science University
B. the University of Toronto
C. the University of California at Irvine
D. the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
4) According to the passage, people begin to age after ______.
A. 33
B. 55
C. 39
D. 30
5) From professor Kramer’s research, we can infer that __________.
A. gray-and-white-matter in the brain are important in deciding a person’s
cognitive ability
B. white matter are critical to learning and memory
C. people who are 55 and older can only preserve their gray-and-white matter in
the brain by walking
D. 6 weeks of exercising regularly-walking briskly for 20 minutes three times
per week is enough for keeping healthy
188
2. Complete each sentence with a word or a phrase given blow ( in its appropriate
form if necessary ).
Deem
eliminate
fortified
briskly
transmit
shrink
Deteriorate
stroke
cutting-edge
preliminary
1) For people who want to be on the _________, there are several easy ways for
keeping yourself informed of the latest developments.
2) Parents _________ some of their characteristics to their children.
3) My undergraduate thesis research involves making clonal identity and
_________ study of genetic diversity on a population.
4) Every afternoon when the sun is setting we can see the old man and his wife have
a ________ walk in the park.
5) His health __________ after he was thrown into prison for being suspected
murder.
6) It is said the new dress you bought yesterday ________ when you wash it first
time.
7) She ________ from the swimming race because she did not win any of the
practice races.
8) After praying he faced his difficulties with a ________ spirit.
9) I ________ it my duty to help the poor.
10) With one _______ of his ax, he had cut the tree down.
What you should learn from this chapter:
14. 10 words and 1 typical sentence relate to sports;
15. Reading of news on this topic. Please read no less than 2 items every day.
For your reference:
Soccer
场地名称
field / pitch 足球场 midfield 中场 backfield 后场
kickoff circle / center circle 中圈 halfway line 中线 touchline /
sideline 边线
goal line 球门线 end line 底线 penalty mark （点球）罚球点
penalty area 禁区（罚球区） goal area 小禁区（球门区）
球队称谓
189
coach 教练 head coach 主教练 football player 足球运动员 referee 裁判
lineman 巡边员 captain / leader 队长 forward / striker 前锋
midfielder 前卫 left midfielder 左前卫 right midfielder 右前卫
attacking midfielder 攻击型前卫（前腰）
defending midfielder 防守型前卫（后腰）
center forward 中锋 full back 后卫 center back 中后卫 left back 左后卫
right back 右后卫 sweeper 清道夫，拖后中卫 goalkeeper / goalie 守门员
cheer team 拉拉队
足球技术
kick-off 开球 bicycle kick / overhead kick 倒钩球
chest-high ball 半高球 corner ball / corner 角球 goal kick 球门球
handball 手球 header 头球 penalty kick 点球 place kick 定位球
own goal 乌龙球 hat-trick 帽子戏法 free kick 任意球
direct free kick 直接任意球 indirect free kick 间接任意球
stopping 停球 chesting 胸部停球 pass 传球 short pass 短传
long pass 长传 cross pass 横传 spot pass 球传到位
consecutive passes 连续传球 take a pass 接球 triangular pass 三角传球
flank pass 边线传球 lobbing pass 高吊传球 volley pass 凌空传球 slide
tackle 铲球 rolling pass / ground pass 地滚球 flying header 跳起顶球
clearance kick 解围 shoot 射门 close-range shot 近射 long shot 远射
offside 越位 throw-in 掷界外球 block tackle 正面抢截 body check 阻挡
fair charge 合理冲撞 diving header 鱼跃顶球 dribbling 盘球，带球
clean catching （守门员）接高球 finger-tip save （守门员）托救球
offside 越位 deceptive movement 假动作 break through 突破
kick-out 踢出界
足球战术
set the pace 掌握进攻节奏 ward off an assault 击退一次攻势
break up an attack 破坏一次攻势 disorganize the defence 搅乱防守
total football 全攻全守足球战术 open football 拉开的足球战术
off-side trap 越位战术 wing play 边锋战术
time wasting tactics 拖延战术
4-3-3 formation 433 阵型 4-4-2 formation 442 阵型
beat the offside trap 反越位成功 foul 犯规 technical foul 技术犯规
190
break loose 摆脱 control the midfield 控制中场 set a wall 筑人墙
close-marking defence 盯人防守
比赛方式
half-time interval 中场休息 round robin 循环赛
group round robin 小组循环赛 extra time 加时赛
elimination match 淘汰赛 injury time 伤停补时
golden goal / sudden death 金球制，突然死亡法
eighth-final 八分之一决赛 quarterfinal 四分之一决赛
semi-final 半决赛 final match 决赛 preliminary match 预赛
one-sided game 一边倒的比赛 competition regulations 比赛条例
disqualification 取消比赛资格 match ban 禁赛命令 doping test 药检
draw / sortition 抽签 send a player off 判罚出场 red card 红牌
yellow card 黄牌 goal 球门，进球数 draw 平局 goal drought 进球荒
ranking 排名（名次）
Sentences:
1. Football is played on a field of 100 – 110 x 64-75m. The size of the goal is set at
7.34m wide and 2.44m high.
2. a formal football game lasts for 90 minutes. It is decided two 45-minute halves
with an interval of 10 minutes. By the end of the 90-minute game if two teams get
tied, there will be a play off. But it depends on the competition system.
3. Two teams are involved in football games, and each team has eleven players. If
one player shoots the ball into the opposite goal, the team will get a goal.
4. During the game, if one player trips, kicks, strikes, obstructs or holds an opponent,
foul is committed. For a minor offence, the referee may award a free kick. For a
first bookable offence he can show the yellow card. For a second bookable offense
he shows the player red card to sent him off the field.
5. The basic football skills include the skills of pass, defense, attack, shoot, stealing,
dribbling and so on.
8. Take a corner kick!
Pass! Nobody is stopping me.
The pass is plucked.
The score was tied, there will be a replay next week.
Technical infringement!
The referee is whistling for a foul.
David’s goal is ruled offside.
191
It is a tough transition in a short period of time in the training camp, because it is a
new ball club.
David is a very complete player.
The teamwork is good and the player are in excellent trim.
The game is over. The result is 2:1 in favor of guests.
In the second half, the team lost one goal.
Organization & Main competitions
1. FIFA (Federation International de Football Association) is the world
governing body of football.
2. The World Cup is an international competition held every four years with
national teams from 32 countries. The first World Cup was held in
Montevideo, Uruguay, in 1930.
3. Olympic Soccer Tournament is also one of the most important competitions
of the games.
4. The World Youth Championship is cradle for the growth of the football stars.
Stars
Pele (Brazil)
Maradona (Argentina)
Basketball
NBA 各种投篮方式
(slam) dunk：(强力)灌篮
bank shot：擦板球
fade-away shot：后仰式跳投
layup：带球上篮
double pump：拉杆式投篮(verb)
hook shot：钩射投篮
perimeter shot：中距离投篮
jump shot：跳投
set shot：立定投篮
three-point shot：三分球
NBA 各种统计术语
assist：助功
block shot：阻攻，盖火锅儿
defensive rebound：防守篮板球
field goal percentage：投球命中率
field goal：投球命中
free throw percentage：罚球命中率
free throw：罚球
offensive rebound：进攻篮板球
steal：抄截
rebound：篮板球
scoring：得分
three-point shot percentage：三分球命中率
turnover：失误
场地装备
192
backboard：篮板
back court：后场
freethrow lane：罚球圈，禁区
freethrow line：罚球线
front court：前场
game clock：比赛用时钟
halftime：中场休息时间
hoop：篮框，篮圈
mid-court：中场
net：篮网
painted area：罚球圈，禁区
restricted area near the basket：禁区内篮框下的小圆圈区域
rim：篮框，篮圈
scoring table：记录台，记分台
shot clock：时限钟（进攻方在 24 秒内必须投篮，并且球必须触及篮框，否则
即违例)
three-point line：三分（球）线
top of the circle：靠近禁区顶端之三分（球）线附近
wing：（左、右两边）底线区域
规则篇
blocking foul：阻挡犯规
buzzer（比赛用的）蜂鸣器（表示时间终了，换人…等）
charging foul：（带球）撞人（犯规） dead ball：死球（停止比赛进行时段）
defensive basket interference：防守方干扰投篮得分
delay of game：阻碍比赛之正常进行
disqualification：犯满离场，“毕业”
double dribble：两次运球（违例）
ejection：驱逐出场
elbowing：打拐子
expiration (of game， first half…)：(全场比赛，上半场…的比赛)时间终了
first half：上半场
first (second， third， fourth) period：比赛的第一(第二，第三，第四)节
five ticks left on the (game clock， shot clock…)：(全场比赛，时限钟上…
的)时间只剩下 5 秒钟
193
flagrant foul：恶性犯规
foul：犯规
foul out：犯满离场，“毕业”
foul trouble：快要犯满离场，“领到一张准毕业证书”
full timeout：全时(100 秒的)暂停
goaltending：干扰投篮得分
hand-checking：以手掌推挡对方进攻球员之犯规动作
held ball：持球（双方均持球不放）
illegal defense：防守违例
illegal offense：进攻违例（见 isolation）
isolation：四位进攻球员在一边，而由第五位球员单吃对方防守球员
jump ball：争球，跳球
loose ball foul：双方均无持球权时的犯规（通常发生于双方争夺篮板球时）
offensive basket interference：进攻方干扰投篮得分
out of bound：球出界线（千万不要说 outside）
referee：裁判
overtime：加时赛，延长赛
second half：下半场
shot clock violation：违反 24 秒内必须投篮(并且球必须触及篮框)时限之规定
substitute：换人(上场、下场)
suspension：停止出赛（之处罚）
technical foul：技术犯规
ten-second violation：进攻方 10 秒钟内未带球过中场之违例
three-second violation：（篮下）3 秒钟之违例
throw in：发球入场
throw a punch：出拳打架
traveling：（带球）走步
twenty-second timeout：只有 20 秒钟之暂停
walking：（带球）走步
战术
backdoor cut：从两边底线往篮下的战术
block out：把对方球员挡住，使其不易强到篮球赛，卡位
cut：切入
double team：用两位防守球员包夹进攻球员
dribble out the time：进攻方以运球方式消耗掉比赛所剩下时间
194
eat up the clock：进攻方以运球或传球方式消耗掉比赛所剩下时间
fast break：快攻
foul strategy：犯规战术
give and go：（进攻方持球球员的）传切战术
jockey for position：（篮下）卡位
milk the time away：进攻方以运球或传球方式消耗掉比赛所剩下时间
one-one-one defense：人盯人防守
pick and roll：（进攻方做掩护之球员的）挡切战术
post-up play：（进攻方持球球员背对篮框）单吃对方防守球员之战术
triple team：用三位防守球员包夹进攻球员
zone defense：区域防守，区域联防
动作
(throw a) baseball pass：（快攻时)长传
(shoot) an air ball：(投)篮外空心球，“面包“
behind-the-back dribble：背后（换手）运球
cross-leg dribble：胯下运球
carrying the ball：“翻球”
dribble：运球
driving to the hoop：带球上篮
four-point play：投进 3 分球后因被犯规再罚进一分
hacking：打手犯规
holding：拉手犯规
make the hoop：投篮得分
make the basket：投篮得分
monster dunk：狂猛灌篮
nothing but the net：空心球（入篮）palming：“翻球” reverse dunk：倒灌
reverse lay-up：反手走篮
shoot behind the arc：投三分球
score a basket：投篮得分
swish：空心球（入篮）
tap in：托球入篮
three-point play：投进 2 分球后因被犯规再罚进一分
球队球员
195
assistant coach：助理教练
backcourt：后卫组（包括控球后卫及得分后卫）
backup：后备（替换，支持）球员
bench：（指全体）后备（替换，支持）球员
bench player：（指个人）后备（替换，支持）球员
center 中锋（又称 5 号位置球员）
coach：教练
frontline：锋线（包括大前锋，小前锋，中锋）
GM（general manager）：球队经理
MVP：最有价值球员
Mascot：球队吉祥物
one-guard：控球后卫
point guard：控球后卫
power forward：大前锋（又称 4 号位置球员）
rookie：第二年球员，菜鸟（球员）
sixth man：第六人
shooting guard：得分后卫
small forward：小前锋（又称 3 号位置球员）
sophomore：第二年球员
starter：（指个人）先发球员
starting lineup：（指全体）先发球员
swingman:摇摆人（指兼能担任得分后卫及小前锋的球员）
trainer：球队训练员
two-guard：得分后卫
veteran：资深球员，老鸟（球员）
比赛
away game：客场比赛
final：总决赛
first round：首轮比赛
GB (games behind)：落后战绩最领先球队的胜场场数
guest team：客队
home game：主场比赛
home court：主场
home team：主队
losing streak：连败场数，连败纪录
regular season：季赛
semi-final：准决赛
home court advantage：主场优势
post season：季后赛
road game：客场比赛
schedule：赛程
standings：战绩（表）
196
winning streak：连胜场数，连胜纪录
NBA 球队一览表
Western Conference 西区
Pacific Division 大西洋组
Golden State Warriors 金州勇士队
LA Lakers 洛杉矶湖人队
LA Clippers 洛杉矶快艇队
Phoenix Suns 凤凰城太阳队
Portland Trailblazers (简称 Blazers) 波特兰拓荒者队
Sacramento Kings 沙加缅度国王队
Seattle Supersonics (简称 Sonics) 西雅图超音速队
Midwest Division 中西部区
Dallas Mavericks 达拉斯小牛队
Denver Nuggets 丹佛金砖队
Houston Rockets 休斯敦火箭队
San Antonio Spurs 圣安东尼
Minnesota Timberwolves 明尼苏达木狼队
Utah Jazz 犹他爵士队
Vancouver Grizzlies 温哥华灰熊队
Eastern Conference 东区
Atlantic Division 大西洋组
Miami Heat 迈阿密热浪队
New York Knickerbockers (简称 Knicks) 纽约尼克队
Philadelphia 76ers 费城七十六人队
Boston Celtics 波士顿塞尔蒂克队
Orlando Magic 奥兰多魔术队
New Jersey Nets 纽泽西篮网队
Washington Wizards 华盛顿魔法师队
Central Division 中央组
Atlanta Hawks 亚特兰大老鹰队
Chicago Bulls 芝加哥公牛队
Detroit Pistons 底特律活塞队
Milwaukee Bucks 密尔瓦基雄鹿队
Charlotte Hornets 夏洛特黄蜂队
Cleveland Cavaliers 克里夫兰骑士队
Indiana Pacers 印地安纳溜马队
Toronto Raptors 多伦多暴龙队
197
Sentences:
1. A professional game consists of four quarters of twenty minutes each.
2. You are only allowed three seconds in the key.
3. Once a team has the basketball attack, they have thirty seconds to take a shot. If the
team doesn’t take a shot within thirty seconds the other team is given possession.
4. If a player has committed 5 fouls then he must leave the court and can’t take any
further part in the game, then the coach must send a replacement for the fouled-out
player. And once a team has committed seven fouls in a half, every further foul
results either in the other team, shooting a one-and-one foul shot.
5. They are studying how to screen.
6. The length of the standard basketball court is 28 meters.
7. We were 10 points behind/ahead at the beginning of the second half.
8. They routed Cuba by nearly 40 points.
Main competitions
NBA ---- National Basketball Association
ACBC ---- American College Basketball Championship
Star
Jordan
中国体育组织
国家体育总局 State Sport General Administration
中华全国体育总会 All-China Sports Federation
中国奥林匹克委员会 Chinese Olympic Committee
中国田径协会 Chinese Athletics Association
中国足球协会 Chinese Football Association
中国篮球协会 Chinese Basketball Association
中国排球协会 Chinese Volleyball Association
中国游泳协会 Chinese Swimming Association
中国网球协会 Chinese Tennis Association
中国桥牌协会 Chinese Bridge Association
中国武术协会 Chinese Wushu Association
中国乒乓球协会 Chinese Table-tennis Association
中国羽毛球协会 Chinese Badminton Association
中国滑冰协会 Chinese Skating Association
中国自行车协会 Chinese Cycling Association
中国健美操协会 Chinese Aerobic Association
中国柔道协会 Chinese Judo Association
中国拳击协会 Chinese Boxing Association
体育设施标准管理办公室 Sports Facilities Standard Authority
Chapter 11
Advertisement
198
Sample Reading
Read the following article and do the exercises:
Property ads may seem difficult but they may also be important for you
A proper English newspaper offers more than news and opinions. It has
advertisements, weather forecasts, movie schedules, announcements, sports scores,
and business or stock market information. These take up more than half of the paper’s
space. Technically, these are referred to as “nonprose” content. It’s useful for
everyday life, such as in job hunts, rentals, or weather forecasts. However, for English
learners, it poses instant difficulties since the writing doesn’t follow the grammatical
or spelling rules we were taught at school. So, this article is meant to teach you
something more about nonprose reading to add to your real English newspaper article
reading experience.
We begin with classified ads since they carry the largest number of odd language
features. First we’ll look at property classifieds.
Recognizing ads
These usually have a “For sale” or “For rent” label. “For sale” is obviously for
property to be sold and “For rent” is to be rented. Other terms like “Sales” and
“property” mean items “for sale ” and “To let”, “Let”, “Lettings”, or “Rentals” mean
“For rent”. These will take you directly to property ads.
A few with “Wanted” or “Want to rent” at the beginning are for someone looking for a
house or apartment to rent. You may also see the terms “Sublet”, “Sublease” or
“Roommate(s)”. “Sublet”, or “Sublease” refer to property to be rented by someone
who is already renting it from someone else. “Roommate” is used by someone
looking for someone to share the space or rental cost.
Language features
The ads in the following exercises are typical property ads in newspapers.
These give the basic features of the property available.
1. Put the important information at the beginning, in capitals and bold. The first ad is
from a campus paper and all properties are from the same area, so information,
such as “ONE BEDRM’ is be put at the beginning. The second ad is from a
national newspaper and location is more important than other details. So
“BAYSWATER’ is put in the most prominent place.
2. No verbs. Ads are made up of nouns with few adjectives; verbs and prepositions
are often omitted.
3. Use abbreviations. The cost of ads depends on the amount of space they take.
Abbreviations are used to save space.
Commonly used abbreviations in property ads
rm
room
gdn or grdn
garden
pw
per week
bedrm (bdrm)
bedroom
199
hse
mins
b or bth
flr
nr
lux
décor
n/smk
blk
db or dble
c/a
house
f/furn or ff
minutes
avail
bathroom
k or kit
floor
apt
near
mo or mod
luxury
gge
decoration
cls
non smoking
st
block
ht
double bedroom
a/c or air cond
central air conditioning
fully furnished
available
kitchen
apartment
modern
garage
close
street
heating
air condition
招聘广告缩略语中英文对照
admim----administrative 行政的
Jr---- junior 初级
ad/adv advertising 广告
K---- 1000 元
agcy---agency 经销商
knowl-------- knowledge 知识
appt----appointment 约 会 、 预 约
loc----location 位 置 、 场 所
asst----assistant 助理 attn----attention 给, 与…联系
mach----machine 机器
bkgd----background 背景
manuf/mf----manufacturing 制造
bldg---- building 建筑物、大楼
mech---- mechanic 机械的
bus----business 商业、生意
mgr----manager 经理 clk----clerk (办公室)职员
m-f----monday-friday 从 周 一 到 周 五
co----company 公 司 mo----month 月
coll----college 大专(学历)
nec----necessary 必要的 comm----commission 佣金
oppty----opportunity 机 会 corp----cororation ( 有 限 ) 公 司 ot----overtime 超 时
data pro----data processing 数据处理
perm----permanent 永久性的
dept----department 部 pls---- please 请 dir----director 董事 pos----position 职位
div----division 分工、部门
pref ----preference (有经验者)优先
eqpt ----equipment 装备 prev---- previous 有先前(经验)P/T---- part time 非全日制
eves ----evenings 晚上
refs ----references 推荐信
exc ----excellent 很好的
rel ----reliable 可靠的 exp ----experience 经验 reps ----Representative (销售)代表
exp’d ----experienced 有经验的
req ----required 需要
ext---- extension 延伸、扩展 sal ----salary 工资 fr. ben ----fringe benefits 额外福利
secty ----secretary 秘书 F/T ----full time 全日制
sh---- shorthand 人手不足
gd ----good 好 sr ----senior 资深 Grad---- graduate 毕业 stdnt ----student 学生
hosp ----hospital 医院
stmts ----statements 报告
Hqtrs---- headquarters
总部 tech ----technical 技术上
hr ----hour 小时
tel/ph ----telphone 电话
hrly---- hourly 每小时
temp ----temporarily 临时性(工作)
HS ----high school 高中(学历)
trans---- transportation 交通
immed ----immediate 立即
trnee ----trainee 实习生
incl---- including 包括
typ---- typing/typist 打字/打字员
ind---- industrial 工业的
wk ----week/work 周/工作
inexp ----inexperienced 无经验的
Wpm---- words per minute 打字/每分钟
int’l ----international 国际性的
yr(s) ----Year(s) 年
200
Exercises
1. Fill in the blanks ( from the first two ads below )
1) The first house being advertised is located __________. The furniture in it is
________. The price is _______. One can move in _________.
2) The second is not a house but a _______ for _______ person. The decoration is
_______. And it is _______ to the subway. The price is_________.
2. Answer true (T) or false (F). The answers are in the last three ads.
1) If you have a one-bedroom apartment to rent out, you must dial 800-1090
persistently.
2) In the third ad, the person wants an apartment that must be near the campus.
3) The 2 bedroom apartment in the fourth ad is furnished.
4) If you want an apartment immediately, you need to dial 800-7129.
5) It doesn’t have air condition in the apartment in the fifth ad.
ONE BDRM.modern furn.apt.,$460 mo., air cond., balcony, avail. Jan.1 or immediate
occupancy. Close to campus. Call Rick 800-0119 after 10pm.
BAYSWATER super studio flat for 1 person, new Décor, gdn access, n/smk, cls to
tube. ￡300pw
07890634177
WANTED
ONE-BDRM APT for Jan 1 through August. Preferably near campus, but not
necessary. Call 800-7129.
ROOMMATES
FEMALE Grad Student wanted: to share a 2 bdrm,furn apt.,1/2 blk from campus
$265/mo. Starting Jan. 800-1090 after 5:20. Call persistently.
FOR RENT
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Classroom – exercises:
11. Watch the news and find out the main idea of it.
2. Read the following ads and discuss which one do you like or dislike, taking the
following questions into consideration:
1) What product is being advertised?
2) What audience does the product target? How do you know?
3) What emotions, instincts or desires are being appealed to? (fear? sex? wealth?
security? health? popularity? vanity?)
4) Can your identify any specific techniques (eg. camera work, editing and pace,
use of music, background, costume, special effects, voice-over) used in the
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advertisement? Are you able to say why these techniques have been used?
5) If you were a television programme scheduler which TV programme would
you want to run this advertisement with? Why?
6) Is this an example of a fair advertisement? Why or why not? Consider:
A. Who is represented in the advertisement? Who is not represented who
perhaps should be?
B. What are the people doing? Do you think they are stereotyped in any way?
C. Does the advertisement put any groups under pressure to act in a certain
way?
著名商品及广告主题句：
1. Obey your thirst． 服从你的渴望。（雪碧）
2. Take time to indulge． 尽情享受吧！（雀巢冰激凌）
3. Seven-up: fresh-up with Seven-up 七喜：提神醒脑，喝七喜。
4. Coca-cola: things go better with Coca-cola.可口可乐：饮可口可乐，万事如意。
5. Heineken: as natural as rain -- 喜力 广告词
6. To me， the past is black and white， but the future is always color． 对我而言，
过去平淡无奇；而未来，却是绚烂缤纷。（轩尼诗酒）
7. REMY MARTIN XO Exclusively Fine Champagne Cognac.人头马一开，好事自
然来 .
8. Crest toothpaste: behind that healthy smile, there's a Crest kid.健康笑容来自佳洁
士
9. Levi's: quality never goes out of style 列维斯（牛仔服装）：质量与风格共存。
10. Radar: mosquito bye bye bye 雷达牌驱虫剂：蚊子杀杀杀。
11. OMEGA: the sign of excellence. 欧米茄：凝聚典雅。
12. Swatch: time is what you make of it. 斯沃奇手表：天长地久
13. Kodak: a Kodak moment 柯达相纸/胶卷：就在柯达一刻
14. Olympus: focus on life 奥林巴斯： 瞄准生活。
15. The new digital era． 数码新时代。（索尼影碟机）
16. We lead. Others copy． 我们领先，他人仿效。（理光复印机）
17. Impossible made possible． 使不可能变为可能。（佳能打印机）
18. Intelligence everywhere. 智慧演绎，无处不在。（摩托罗拉手机）
19. Ericsson: make yourself heard. 爱立信：理解就是沟通。
20. Feel the new space. 感受新境界。（三星电子）
21. Take TOSHIBA, take the world. 拥有东芝，拥有世界。（东芝电子）
22. Intel Pentium: Intel Inside 英特尔奔腾：给电脑一颗奔腾的“芯”。
23. Apple/Macintosh: kids can't wait 苹果公司：不尝不知道，苹果真奇妙。
24. Sun Micro-system: we're the dot in.com. 太阳微系统公司：我们就是网络。
25. No business too small, no problem too big. 没有不做的小生意，没有解决不了
的大问题。 （IBM 公司）
26. Never Stop Thinking! (探索未来，永无止境!) 英飞凌科技公司
27. Honda: for the road ahead 本田：康庄大道
28. Poetry in motion， dancing close to me． 动态的诗，向我舞近。（丰田汽车）
29. Where there is a way for car there is a Toyota. (Toyota ad.)车到山前必有路，有路
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必有丰田车
30. Lexus: the relentless pursuit of perfection 凌志汽车：追求完美永无止境
31. Audi: we can't forge ahead by sticking to existing roads.奥迪汽车：开拓进取，
来源于勇于创新。
32. Ford: Familiarity breeds contempt."亲不敬，熟生厌。' Ford
33. Rejoice: start ahead 飘柔：成功之路，从头开始。
34. De Bierres: A diamond lasts forever. (第比尔斯)钻石恒久远，一颗永流传。（珠
宝公司）
35. Just do it. 只管去做。（耐克运动鞋）
36. Come to where the flavour is． Marlboro Country．光临风韵之境——万宝路世
界。（万宝路香烟）
37. NISSAN 汽车——Life is a journey. Enjoy the ride.
译：生活就是一次旅行，祝您旅途愉快。
38. Gatorade 饮料——Life is a sport，drink it up.
译：生活就是一场运动，喝下它。
39.Tequila 酒——Life is harsh，your tequila shouldn’t be.生活是苦涩的，而您的
tequila 酒却不是。
40. Wolderness 系统——Life is discovery. And we have directions to get you there.
译：生活就是发现，让我们去发现吧。
41.“锐步”运动鞋——Five feet nine inches in his socks. Ten feet tall in his shoes.
译：光脚身高五英尺九英寸。穿上“锐步”身高 10 英尺。
42. 美 国 明 尼 苏 达 州 科 学 博 物 馆 — —
The world has a big backyard. Our planet is filled with hidden
places.Dramatic examples of earth’s evolution. Witness seven
of the world’s most diverse landscapes. Come out and play in the Greatest Places.
译：世界有个大后院。我们的星球到处都有不为人知的地方。它们是地球演化的
生动例证。目睹世界上七种完全不同的自然景观。来吧，在最壮观的地方畅游吧。
43.
金
科
专
业
办
公
服
务
—
—
Trying to do it all yourself doesn’t always make you look like a hero.
译：所有重担一肩挑并不会总使你像英雄一般。
44. 梅塞德兹—奔驰汽车——Feel like a million for $970,000 less.
It cost less than breakfast at the White House.
译：少付了 97 万美元，却得到百万美元的享受。它比白宫的一顿早餐还便宜。
45. British Airways ——With our new E-ticket, all you have to bring is yourself.
译：选用我们的 E 号机票，阁下不需携带任何东西，只要带着自己。
46. 约翰逊的钓具——
With our line，you detect the fish before the fish detects you.
译：用我们的钓线，你可以在鱼儿发现你之前先找到它。
47. ERICSSON 移动电话——Make yourself heard.译：倾听自我。
48. Good to the last drop．滴滴香浓，意犹未尽。（麦斯威尔咖啡）
49. Ask for more.渴望无限。（百事流行鞋）
50. The taste is great.味道好极了。（雀巢咖啡）
51. The choice of a new generation.新一代的选择。（百事可乐）
52. We integrate; you communicate.我们集大成，您超越自我。（三菱电工）
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53. Let’s make things better. 让我们做得更好。（飞利浦电子）
Homework
Read the following news and do the exercises:
Passage 1
Illegal advertising
In 1974, the US Federal Communications Commission warned that subliminal
advertising (not consciously perceived by the eye but apprehended subliminally in a
way the observer is not fully conscious of) was "contrary to the public interest."
Broadcasters can be fined or sanctioned, but advertisers are not barred from using
them.
But debate has raged in the United States about how effective subliminal advertising
really is. Many experts have concluded that there is no evidence it is any more
compelling than ordinary advertising, although some contest this. DEEP within a
Russian television advertisement for a local beer, Klinskoye, lurked a split-second
message for another popular drink: Pepsi. An image on the NTV television network of
Palmolive soap was there for the blink of an eye and then it was gone. In a similar
manner, young viewers of Russian MTV unconsciously absorbed marketing messages
for Secret deodorant (underarm spray), the New Musical Express newspaper, and the
Red Hot Chili Peppers album, "By the Way."
According to Russian scientists, these types of subliminal television advertising,
although illegal in Russia, are strewn across the airwaves.
Russian television stations insist that they have no way of knowing whether video
material provided by advertising agencies contains subliminal messages. Advertising
firms and the companies whose products appear in subliminal messages deny any
involvement.
A "subliminal message” is usually a photo of some product that is shown for a split
second (very short period of time) so that the viewer will absorb it without even
thinking about it, unconsciously (eg. without thinking about it, or subliminally).
According to Svetlana Nemtsova, deputy director-general of the All Russian TV and
Radio Broadcasting Research Institute, "There are many cases. I'm surprised by the
quantity." There are channels that are impossible to watch," she said, referring to the
amount of subliminal advertising broadcast. She declined to list the offenders.
But time is running out for them. Nemtsova and other Russian scientists at the
broadcast institute have developed equipment to trace subliminal messages that will
constantly monitor Russian TV airwaves by the end of the year.
Nemtsova said the institute hasn't pursued TV stations for breaches. That would be the
Ministry for Press, Broadcasting and Communications’ job after the device goes into
operation.
"We're still testing this device, but we can see what outrages are going on on the air,"
she said.
The broadcasting ministry issued a joint warning in June to television stations to stop
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using subliminal advertising.
Those caught could be taken off the air or fined, it warned. Two years ago, ATV, a
television station in the Siberian city of Yekaterinburg, was banned from the air for
two months after being caught bombarding viewers with the subliminal message to
keep on watching it.
In 1974, the US Federal Communications Commission warned that subliminal
advertising was "contrary to the public interest." But debate has raged in the United
States about how effective subliminal advertising really is.
The US has no routine monitoring of advertisements for subliminal messages because
they are not seen as an issue.
In Russia, the issue is viewed with greater alarm. Subliminal advertising is seen here
as more persuasive and potentially damaging than it is by many in the United States.
Representatives of Procter & Gamble and Pepsi denied knowledge of any cases of
subliminal advertising. A spokeswoman at Colgate Palmolive in Moscow said no one
was available to comment.
Natalya Kolmakova, a spokeswoman for Procter & Gamble, which makes Secret
deodorant, said the material aired for journalists at the broadcast institute was "either
some mistake or else some kind of joke."
Alexander Shalnev, spokesman for PepsiCo Holdings, raised the possibility that
Klinskoye might have inserted a hidden advertisement of Pepsi into its own beer
commercial but acknowledged that such a scenario made no sense.
Sergei Vasilyev, director-general of the Media Services Video International
advertising company, said he knows of no cases of subliminal advertising on Russian
television.
"If it's proven and published, it would be a horrible scandal," he said. "I think the
damage they might incur dwarfs the extra sales they could get."
Sergei Khudyakov, director of the advertising sales department at NTV Media, said
it's impossible for TV stations to tell whether video material contains hidden inserts.
"As of today, we are powerless to do anything," he said. "We are victims of the same
hidden advertisements, just like everybody else around here. They know they will
always get away with it. The use of hidden inserts is known to be effective. Any
normal company would do it."
Nemtsova said that it took her institute four years to build its new detection device,
known as ODSV-1, for the broadcasting ministry. The device actually casts almost too
wide a net. Not only does it capture subliminal images, but also frames with poor
focus or quality.
Fill in the blanks:
In this news, the “ Illegal Advertising” refers to _____________ that means
_________________________________________________________________.
____________ is the country that takes this problem very seriously, they made
____________ to detect it.
Passage 2
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Different Methods of Advertising
In advertising you will find different methods of promoting a product, and each one
has its pros and cons. There are two main categories: the first is electronic media. It
includes the radio, television, cinema and Internet. The radio’s main advantages are
that it is cheap and it is an easy target since most of the stations are aimed at a
particular market segment. On the other hand, one of the disadvantages is that the
publicity reaches fewer people than commercial TV.
Television is one of the most popular methods used today. Some of the points in
favour of TV ads are: the public is targeted very efficiently, that is to say that
advertisements are chosen depending on the program, for example: ads for sweets are
associated with cartoons for children, alcohol is only publicized during adult viewing
hour; the audience is very large; television allows visual drama to boast the product,
which makes it seem more interesting, however exaggerating can make it seem
ridiculous. In contrast, this process is the most expensive of all reaching during peak
times and it provokes channel hopping since viewers don’t always sit to watch ads.
Cinema has the same ups and downs as television except that the audience is limited.
Internet advertising is low-priced and has an international coverage although some
poorly developed countries have low access to it. On the other hand, this technique
presents security problems made by hackers for credit and there is an enormous
amount of competition.
The second category is the print media, which includes newspapers, magazines,
posters and billboards, direct mail and leaflets. The main conveniences in newspaper
ads are that they are economical when you use the local ones; they are target selective
and can be printed in color differing from the text, what attracts the reader’s attention.
On the other hand the cost of these commercials grows if printed in national
newspapers. The visual impact is not the same as on TV and finally readers may
ignore ads.
Ads in magazines are very target selective because they are often destined to a certain
segment of the public. Another point in favor of magazine advertising is that they are
read by more people and for a longer time than newspapers. But on the other hand this
method is expensive but less than national dailies.
Posters and billboards are the most popular ways of advertising. This is due to the fact
that they are of a dominant size, they have a big frequency of exposure as well as a
large audience. But some points against that type of advertising are that it is difficult
to target the audience, the information given about the product is very limited and
they can be damaged very easily.
One of the conveniences in direct mail is that it targets very well particular customers,
gives a personalized approach and is easy to measure effectiveness but it can be
wrongly targeted and can be considered as “junk mail”.
The last method is leaflets, it presents door-to-door coverage and clients are often
tempted by special offers, although they are often thrown away and are only local.
You can always find methods and new ones are invented but these were the general
ones.
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www.florimont.ch / eleves, May 4th, 2003
1. Multiple-choice
1) The passage classifies the methods of advertisement into _________ categories.
A. 3
B. 4
C. 2
D.5
2) According to the passage, we know that security problems to Internet advertising
was caused by __________.
A. the competition
B. the robbers
C. the punks
C. the hackers
3) From the passage, the ads that attract the largest audiences is _________.
A. cinema ads
B. TV ads
C. Internet ads
D. newspapers
4) From the passage, we can infer that “junk mail” means ____________.
A. mails for ads
B. mails from close friends
C. mails for help
D. mails from the hackers
5) Which of the following statement is true?
A. Television is the most popular methods of advertising.
B. Advertising on national newspapers is the most expensive method.
C. Posters and billboards are the most popular ways of advertising.
D. Ads in magazines are the most expensive of all methods.
12. Complete each sentence with a word or a phrase given blow ( in its appropriate form if
necessary ).
Hacker
provoke
dominant
pros and cons
promote
Segment
hop
boast
coverage
destined
1) The Soviet Union is the _________ nation of Eastern Europe.
2) The boy _________ that his bicycle was of the best quality of all the bicycles in the school.
3) He claimed that it was her rudeness that _________ him to strike her.
4) Do you have any idea how to _________ the sales of this product?
5) Television has its widest _________ among the other mass media.
6) A __________ being suspected deceiving the bank via Internet was arrested by the police.
7) She ________ across the room because she had hurt her foot.
8) It was a _________ of a television program that drew his attention.
9) These prices are _________ to the Swiss market.
10) The manager lists _________ for each methodology.
Passage 3
An Open Door to Fame and Fortune
Debate about the journalistic merits of Hello! Is fast becoming irrelevant as the magazine’s
circulation figures begin to speak for themselves. After a shaky start circulation is now forging
ahead, having enjoyed a 46 percent rise over the past year. According to latest ABC figures it is
now selling 263,366 copies a week.
Like it or not the advertising industry, which has been extremely wary of Hello!, is being forced to
207
consider finding a place for it in the schedules.
Some publishers argue that it is about time too and that the ad business has once again displayed
its most conservative face in its attitude towards the launch.
Kevin Kelly, who has launched a number of highly regarded titles including Business Magazine, W,
Interiors and most recently the award-winning grocery trade title Checkout, knows only too well
the problems of exciting the jaded palates of agency media buyers.
“ The problem Hello! Has had is that instead of media departments recognizing innovation they
are bound by tradition,” he says.
“ You did not need to be an Einstein to recognize that Hello! Would be a winner and it should be
on a lot more schedules than it is.”
Kelly does not expect agencies to act as charities for publishers trying to establish new titles, but
he does believe their excessive caution means their clients could be missing valuable new
opportunities.
“ The problem for independent publishers is sustaining a product for long enough so that
conservative media buyers put it on the schedule. But it really is in the interest of agencies that
there are innovative publishers around,” he says.
UK editor Maggie Goodman is hopeful that the latest round of figures will finally persuade
agencies to look more seriously at Hello!
“ Circulation is up and readership seems to be very much ABC1, probably more than we would
have anticipated,” she says.
“ I think agencies had a problem categorizing us at first – most other women’s weeklies are
practical, with a lot of cookery and knitting. But I think the ads will come in now.”
But it may be that she is still being too optimistic. Saatchi & Saatchi media director Alec Kenny
argues that Hello! is still difficult to categorise.
“ I think this thing of looking through the keyholes of the rich and famous to see how they live is
very un-British,” he says. “ Even now people are asking precisely what does the reader get out of
it all. What sort of animal is this magazine? Is it a women’s magazine or an adult magazine? It is
in a sort of no man’s land even though people seem to like it now. I think it probably needs a
sharper, more clearly defined image.”
Paul Walmington, media director at Delaney Fletcher Slaymaker Delaney Bozell, agrees with
Kenny, saying that he would be reluctant to place an ad for upmarket clients within the pages of
Hello! and is surprised that some agencies are beginning to do so. Like Kenny he finds it hard to
find a slot for Hello! on the media schedule.
“ It has massive clout in Spain because of its reputation, but I wouldn’t argue that it should have
that same clout here as it doesn’t have an advertising identity.”
Marketing Week 10 August 1990
Comprehension:
1. For Hello!, identity:
A. readership
B. type of articles published
C. type of articles not published
2. Why does Hello! cause media buyers problems?
13. Publishers view media buyers as:
A. innovations
B. traditionalists
C. winners
D. image makers
14. List the arguments media buyers give for not using Hello!.
15. List the arguments the publishers have against media buyers.
208
16. The Catch 22 situation for ________ independent publishers is that until ________ members
are ___________ enough _________ will not buy into the ___________. But it takes time to
________ ________ and without __________ revenue __________ may not make enough to
stay in ____________.
Passage 4
Will truth ruin the appetite for advertising?
Revenge is at hand for people who ever fed their dog Pal (‘Prolongs Active Life’), yet found the
animal still died eventually, or who smoked Strand cigarettes (‘You’ve never alone with …’) and
discovered their popularity quotient was affected not on the jot.
This Christmas they can enjoy a new television game, played from the armchair. It entails
watching the advertisements and complaining to officialdom of any slogans not scientifically
demonstrable. Lagers that do not refresh your most private of parts, instant coffee that does not
provoke romantic liaisons, or a hover that is actually a bit of a bother, can all be reported.
Two recent judgments have opened the way. Last week, the Independent Television Commission
warned Mars Confectionary, maker of the Milky Way chocolate bar, about its slogan, ‘ The sweet
you can eat between meals without ruining your appetite’. This followed complaints from the
Health Education Authority and Action and Information on Sugar.
Henceforth, Mars advertising must make clear that it does not endorse frequent eating between
meals – an imaginative challenge for a chocolate bar manufacturer.
This followed an Advertising standards Authority ruling that a Spanish Tourist Office advert
claiming that northern Spain baked under ‘ ever-present sun’ was mis-leading. An untanned
tourist pointed out that the region has at least 11 days rain a month.
Can advertising copywriters survive having their slogans subjected to increasingly intense
scrutiny, or will the word ‘probably’, which already precedes one lager’s claim to be the best in
the world, become a prefix to every slogan?
A random test last week left question mark against ‘ A Mars A Day Helps You Work, Rest And
Play’ ( sugar and dental lobbies on guard ); new Ariel that ‘ digests fatty food stains’ rather than
cleans them like ordinary powders ( defies linguistic analysis ), and Pampers nappies ‘ for dryness
that amazes through all your baby’s phases’ ( underestimating the strength of my daughter’s
bladder ).
Any washing powder’s claim to wash whiter than white may stand little chance against the new
generation of advertising watchdogs with degrees in logical positivism.
A spokeswoman for the Advertising Standards Authority, which deals with advertisements in print,
said: ‘We get an average of 10,000 complaints a year, and we are constantly cautioning
copywriters. We asked the Spanish Tourist Board for meteorological evidence for their claim, and
they had to have it immediately, not go off and find it. Copywriters can tend to be
over-enthusiastic.’
The ITC, which monitors television ads, has a charge sheet for this year full of such enthusiasm.
KP Nuts’s claim that ‘every shred of skin’ was removed was challenged by a consumer who found
one in his gullet.
Others that fell foul included Radio Time’s ‘If it’s on, it’s in’ – unless it’s on cable, when it isn’t;
Pepsi, ‘the official soft drink of music’ – no official status endowed by the pop industry actually;
209
and Persil’s ‘one little scoopful’ that cleans a dirty rugby shirt – not according to the packet,
which recommends two.
The Advertising Standards Authority’s case list shows that even the ideologically pure can be at
fault. The Vegetarian Society had to withdraw an ad saying that the only way to avoid food
poisoning was to avoid meat. Honda Accord’s claim that you can fit a phone box in the new
Accord was true, but only with a specifically made-to-measure phone box. And most memorable of
all, Club Riviera’s time-share claim that all their apartments were sea-facing was absolutely
accurate – it was just that you could not actually see the sea from them.
Perhaps the most foolproof slogan in advertising history was for a headache pill. ‘Nothing acts
faster than Anadin’ could be open to dispute. But change the stress on the words, and it emerges
that no medication at all produces a quicker recovery.
But advertising slogans can be interpreted in ways their creators never envisaged. When this
newspaper group was launched, The Independent had badges made with the slogan ‘I am, Are
You?’ They were indeed worn every day, and with pride, by members of a south coast town’s Gay
Liberation movement.
The Independent on Sunday, 22 November, 1991
Comprehension:
1. List the products for which the advertising has contravened the official codes; give the
offending slogan or feature and explain the problem.
2. List the products that might contravene the codes; give the slogans or features and explain the
potential problem.
3. List other advertisements you think would contravene the ‘scientifically provable claims’
requirement.
4. In the Anadin advertisement on which word does the stress go for the alternative meaning?
What you should learn from this chapter:
16. 10 words and 1 typical sentence relate to advertisement;
17. Reading of news on this topic. Please read no less than 2 items every day.
For your reference:
WORDS AND PHRASES IN ADVERTISEMENT
包君健康 keep you fit all the time
包装新颖美观 fashionable and attractive packages
保证质量 quality and quantity assured
产销历史悠久 have a long history in production and marketing
驰名中外 popular both at home and abroad
穿着舒适轻便 comfortable and easy to wear
工艺精良 sophisticated technologies
规格齐全 a complete range of specifications; complete in specifications
赶超世界先进水平 catch up with and surpass advanced world level
花色繁多 a wide selection of colours and designs
花色新颖品种多样 fashionable styles, rich varieties
货源充足 sufficient supplies; ample supply
210
久负盛名 with a long standing reputation
交货及时 timely delivery guaranteed
价格公道 reasonable price
技艺精湛 fine craftsmanship
经济耐用 economy and durability 具有中国风味 possess Chinese flavours
居同类产品之首 rank first among similar products
品质优良 excellent in quality
品种齐全 complete range of articles
For your enjoyment:
A Joke
Some businessmen were talking about advertising on TV excitedly. As none of them
had ever done it before, everyone had his point of view. At this moment, Mr. Grey
arrived. He was a car dealer and once placed an advertisement on TV. “What are you
talking about?” Mr. Grey asked. “Does advertisement work?” one of the businessmen
asked. “Oh yes, it works very fast”, Mr. Grey said. “I once advertised for my lost dog
and offered a reward of $100.” “Did you get the dog back?” “No, but that very night,
three of my cars were stolen.”
An Advertisement
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When you shop Lucky, you’re likely to find prices lower by a few cents here and
there. It may not seem dramatic, item by item, but it is! The fact that Lucky may not
be lower than some stores on some items is due to the fact that we won’t sell below
cost. But we are lower on so many items, it really adds up. Luck’s low everyday
discount prices applies to every item carried by Lucky ( except those restricted by
law ).
Chapter 12
Miscellaneous Items
Here are some miscellaneous items often appear in a newspaper or a magazine, try to read and
understand them.
Item 1
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Letters to the Editor
Most newspapers reserves space on its comment pages for readers’ opinions. Here is
where you will find some of the livliest reading in the whole paper. Readers hold
strong opinions about everything from world politics to the noisy neighbours next
door, and they are not shy about expressing them. In fact, many of the opinions are so
strong and so controversial that they provoke forceful responses from other readers.
Some debates last weeks, even months.
While it is natural to react emotionally to many of the letters, it is more useful and
more interesting to carefully consider what they say. Here are some questions to
consider as you read:
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What point is the writer trying to make?
Is the writer being critical of someone or something? being supportive?
remaining relatively neutral?
Is the writer being satirical or does he/she mean exactly what is said?
What does the writer hope to achieve by writing the letter?
Let’s take a look at two sample letters. As you read, decide how you would answer the
above questions for each letter.
Serious or satirical?
Letter A
Airbags not safe in themselves
SIR: In Post Bag Jan 6 you printed a letter about the usefulness of airbags in cars.
Most of the points mentioned in the article by Dr Ben are true, except for the one
which states that an airbag is insurance against a forgotten seat belt.
It is not.
Dr Ben, please be advised that an airbag can do its protective work only when used
together with a seat belt. The forces which tear on your body during an accident can
only be neutralised by a seat belt. The airbag will prevent your face from slamming
into the steering wheel or dashboard.
Please don’t create false expectations in a country which has just declared that
wearing a seat belt is compulsory for all front seat passengers.
Remember: First click, then start.
Matthias Schorer
Letter B
10 ways to make it to the premiership
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SIR: Recently, students here at Khon Kaen University developed the following list. I
would like to submit it for publication in Post Bag, in the hopes that it might be of
assistance to aspiring politicians.
Top Ten Ways to Become Prime Minister
10. Exaggerate all the time.
9. Speak slowly when answering questions by the press.
8. Give away money.
7. Always say “No problem!”.
6. Have your own submarine.
5. Claim forest lands.
4. Close nightclubs at 1 a.m.
3. Develop only your hometown.
2. Be able to say only “Thank you” and “Sorry” in English.
1. Be short.
Tim McDanie
Khon Kaen University
It should be clear that Letter A (Airbags not safe in themselves) is a serious letter in
which the writer is commenting on the contents of a previous letter. Although the
letter is critical, the writer does not seem angry. He/She merely wishes to correct a
mistake that could prove fatal.
Letter B (10 ways to make it to the premiership) is an entirely different matter. In it,
the writer himself is not critical. But the contents, which were put together by some
Khon Kaen University students, are but in a satirical way. Even though meant to be
amusing, the students are obviously complaining (fairly or unfairly) about a very
recent Thai prime minister.
Often times people write to Post Bag about a “sensitive” topic prompting other
readers to write back in response. Sometimes these responses are rather emotional
with writers expressing great anger and outrage at what has been said. Below we have
included two examples. The first letter was written by an “Edith Clampton (Mrs)”, a
writer known for her sarcasm and desire to “stir things up”. Her letters are usually
meant to be funny but can sometimes cause problems for non-native speakers who
unknowingly misinterpret them. Let’s take a look.
A case of misinterpretation?
No faith in Philippines
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SIR: I was shocked to read in the Bangkok Post that the Philippines will be launching
its own satellite in 1996. With all due respect and with traumatic experiences behind
me, I can honestly say that country is not technically advanced enough to be setting
off its own rockets. I have written to the President of the Philippines, Cardinal Sin,
and asked him to stop this nonsense. They should be seeking the assistance of another
country to help launch their satellite.
If they do insist on firing rockets into space, I hope they give us plenty of warning so
that we can build air-raid shelters. The last thing I want is to be on the receiving end
of a Philipino rocket.
Edith Clampton (Mrs)
A rocket for Edith
SIR: Excuse me, but I cannot help but to react to Mrs Edith Clampton’s letter about
the Philippines.
Edith Clampton, the Philippines may not be as technologically advanced as your
country of origin, but we, the Filipino people (not Philipino), are not idiots either. I
believe that we can do good without seeking the assistance of another country in
launching our own satellite. We can make something as good as you people can by
utilising our own resources and our very own capabilities, however “limited” they
may be compared to your “high” standards.
With all those “traumatic” experiences you have had in our country, I am sure that
you can never be convinced that we can really launch satellites. So why not start
building your own air-raid shelter and stay there so you can stop worrying about
Philippine-made rockets crashing on your head? Or better yet, since I assume you
come from a technologically advanced country, why don’t you just build your own
spacecraft and fly as far as you can from the Philippines and the rest of Southeast
Asia.
Mister Low-Tech
Kantang, Trang
It is easy to see why Post Bag is one of the most popular columns in the Bangkok Post.
Many readers follow it every day without fail.
Item 2
Reading advice columns
Advice columns are a very popular and entertaining part of the newspaper. They are
usually easy to understand and can make for interesting reading indeed. The language
in advice columns is usually rather informal, almost like spoken English. It can be
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quite emotional, even angry at times, especially in the letters sent in by readers.
Columnists, on the other hand, try to remain less emotional and more reasonable in
their replies.
Most people who write to advice columns are seeking opinions on anything from
personal and family problems to proper social behaviour (etiquette). There are also
many who write in to comment on other people’s letters. This can lead to some lively
debate, as you will see in the exchange of letters about making friends on the Internet
below.
Many of the problems discussed are universal (found everywhere) and are easily
understood. But the problems are also complex enough to be interesting and, at times,
controversial.
The columnist's responses are just as interesting. While many of the suggestions are
easily make sense, others may cause you to rethink some of your own ideas and
opinions. Sometimes, too, the advice may seem overly American and inappropriate
for other cultures which have different ways of dealing with problems. So feel free to
disagree with the wtiters. However, you should have a good reason for doing so and
be prepared to discuss that with friends or classmates.
We have included two examples below for you to try out.
Dear Ann Landers: This is in response to “California Heartbreak",
who said his wife of 18 years left him for a man she met on the
Internet. Sister, I can relate to that! My ex-husband did the same
thing to me, literally—he left me for a man.
We had a good, solid marriage, or so I thought—13 years and two
great kids. When "Al" first bought his computer, he spent a lot of
time with it. He wanted to check it out to see how it worked.
As time went by, he spent more and more time on the Internet,
"downloading games and programs for the kids,” he said. I believed
him. There was no reason not to.
When Al began to stay up to 3 and 4 a.m. on the Internet, I began to
wonder what was going on, but I had no clue as to the seriousness of
it. I came home from work one day, and Al was gone. There was a
note on the table saying, "Have left to be with Larry, my on-line
friend. I hope you will understand."
West Coaster
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Dear W.C: I’m sorry about your sad experience, but perhaps you
will feel better when I tell you what happened to a bride in
Alexandria, Virginia.
Margaret Anne Hunter was married four months when she
discovered the man she had married was a woman. She met Thorne
Groves on-line in an Internet chat room and fell for him hook, line
and sinker. Hunter is seeking an annulment and has filed a
US$575,000 lawsuit against her husband for fraud and to recover
the cost of the lavish wedding put on by her parents.
She said the reason they did not have sex was because he told her he
had AIDS. They did some high-school-type necking, she said, and
he fooled her by wearing a prosthetic penis.
Occasionally, people accuse me of making up letters. Who would
make up anything to compare with what goes on in real life?
The next letter gives a bit of balance to the Internet scene:
Dear Ann: I agree that computer chat lines can be addictive. You
wind up on-line for three hours instead of the 20 minutes you had
planned. And, yes, they can be dangerous. If you agree to meet an
on-line pal in person, bring at least two friends along and make sure
the meeting is at a very public place.
Granted there are hazards, but the Internet can also bring love. My
boyfriend and I met on a chat line four months ago. We sent e-mail
several times a day and "chatted" whenever our schedules permitted.
After two weeks, we exchanged phone numbers and discovered we
had a lot in common. We then decided to meet in person. I knew
instantly that I had made the right choice. The chemistry was
perfect. We’ve been dating ever since. I have met his parents, and he
has met mine.
Our relationship is strong because it is based on mutual interests and
long-term goals. Our personalities mesh, and we are wonderfully
compatible.
So, please, Ann, stop bashing the Internet. It’s not for everyone, but
for some of us, it can bring true love. It certainly did for me.
Totally Happy in New York
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Dear Totally: It sounds beautiful. I wish you and your
cyber-soulmate a lifetime of happiness.
Reading tips
1. Look to see if the letter is a request for advice or a comment on a previous
letter.
2. If it is a request for advice, read carefully to understand the letter writer’s
problem and what advice is requested.
3. If it is a comment, try to find out what it is commenting on. Is it giving some
advice of its own on a previous writer’s problem? Is it commenting on the
advice given by the columnist?
4. Read the advice given. Do you agree with it? Is it appropriate for your culture?
Would you give different advice?
5. Since the language in advice columns in informal, you can expect to find
many idioms. Thus, watch for strange, hard-to-understand phrases. Chances
are they will be idioms. To find out what they mean, try looking up their
meanings under one or more of the words that make them up.
Item 3
Briefs
Briefs, as the name indicates, are short items to be found in newspapers. Often they
are used to facilitate makeup by filling in small spaces left after longer stories are
placed on pages.
1. Office Removal
The office of internal Revenue Service has moved to the Federal Building at 101
Northshore Dr.
2. Date for Revival
The South Side Baptist Church will hold a revival at 7:30p.m. June 16-22.
3. Deadline for Car Plates
Midnight tonight is the deadline for 2005 automobile license plates and vehicles in
use after 12:00a.m. tomorrow must carry 2006 plates, the Bureau of Motor vehicles
reminded automobile owners yesterday.
Personals
Personals, a type of news story, are short items on activities of various citizens as well
as groups in a community. Often they are used as separate stories with individual
headlines and scattered through the regular sections of the papers. They may also be
used to fill whole columns, as on the family or women’s pages.
1. Mrs. Elbert Hooker
1) Mrs. Elbert Hooker, 912 Glen Dr., is spending the month of June in Miami, to
study tropical plants at Fairchild Tropical Gardens.
2) Mrs. Elbert Hooker, 912 Glen Dr., whose tropical garden was featured in the
May issue of The South Today, is spending the month of June in Miami, to
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study tropical plants at Fairchild Tropical Gardens.
2. Mr. And Mrs. Fred N. Sigman
Mr. And Mrs. Fred N. Sigman, 1415 N. Cherry street, have returned from a two
week’s visit with their son, Fred Jr., an intern in General Hospital, Boston.
Society
Drastic changes have taken place in the so called society or women’s section or pages.
To be sure, this section still covers social activities of community but not just those of
the elite. There are parties, receptions and personal activities, but these no longer
dominate. Today’s pages frequently are not even called society or women’s pages. In
an effort to have the title reflect the broad scope of news on these pages, such titles as
“ Family, Foods and Fashions”, “ Family Pages”, “ Club Page”, “ People Page” and
just plain “ People” have been introduced.
As the backbone of the society page, engagements and weddings have more content
and substance than most other social events.
Other kinds of news found on the typical society or women’s page include dances,
showers, births, luncheons, dinners and picnics. Personals and briefs are also included
if not carried elsewhere in the newspaper.
1. Party
Willie V. Hooker, author of “ Big River”, a novel about life on the Mississippi River,
will be honored at a party given by her niece, Mrs. Ellie Bradly, at the Hillside Inn
Thursday evening.
2. Trip
A.L. Scobey 1434 Ellis street, returned today from San Francisco with the prize given
to the delegate traveling the farthest distance to attend the annual conventions of the
Fraternal Orders of Leopards there last week. Mr. Scobey represented the local
Leopards lodge of which he is commander. The prize was traveling bag.
3. Engagement
Mr. And Mrs. Alexander Miller of Richton Park announce the engagement of their
daughter, Clarice, to Edward L. Watson, son of Mr. And Mrs. Herbert Watson of
Monroe.
4. Wedding
The wedding of Miss Wilma Laura Ferber of this city and Clarence C. Humell of
Columbus took place June 12 at New Thought Unity Church. The Rev. Victor
Summers officiated and a reception was held at Schueller’s Ballroom.
Wayside Chapel in Cades Code was the setting Friday for the marriage of Carol
Elaine Good to Ralph James Simpson. The 7:30p.m. double-ring ceremony was
performed by the Rev. Thomas Coleman, minister of youth and education, All Souls
Episcopal Church.
The bride is the daughter of Mr. And Mrs. James P. Good, 517 Bryant Ave. She is the
granddaughter of Mrs. Pearl Good, Rt. 7, Martin Mill Pike. The bride-groom’s parents
are Mr. And Mrs. Ray Simpson, Rt. 19, Old Kingston Pike. He is the grandson of Mr.
And Mrs. Carmack Quillen, Goodletsville.
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A progran of nuptial music was presented by Mrs. Patty Ray, soloist, and Richard
Smuthers, classical guitarist.
The bride, given in marriage by her father, wore a gown of silk organza and lace over
taffeta accented with seed pearls, long sheer sleeves with lace cuffs and a chapel train.
Her two-tired bouffant veil was attached to an open camlet headpiece and she carried
a cascade of ice blue poms and baby’s breath centered with a white orchid atop a
white Bible, a gift from an aunt. She also carried an hairloom handmade handkerchief
belonging to her great-grandmother, Mrs. Lena Morcell Dobbins.
Barbara Good, sister of the bride, was maid of honor. She was attired in a princess
style gown of blue flocked bullion over blue taffeta with a large blue picture hat
trimmed in white daisies. Bridesmaids were Susan January and Sharom Hastings.
They wore gowns and hats, identical to those of the maid of honor. Each carried a
colonial nosegay of blue and green daisie and baby’s breath.
Wendy Heller was flower girl, and David Good, brother of the bride, was ring bearer.
The chapel, nestled in a lovely green valley, was decorated with wild flowers picked
by the bridegroom on his uncle’s mountain ranch. Candelabra with burning tapers
provided the only light for the early evening ceremony. The couple repeated vows
which they wrote themselves in addition to the traditional Episcopalian wedding
service.
Immediately following the ceremony an informal reception was held on the lawn of
the chapel.
After a wedding trip to the gulf Coast, the couple will make their home in Westel,
where he will open a law practice.
The bride was graduated from the junior college department of Belmont school and
from Union University, where she was a member of Delta Delta Delta sorority. She
majored in library science.
Mr. Simpson was graduated from Geogis Military College and Southeastern
University School of Law. He was a member of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and
editor of the Law Review.
5. Birth
James Robert Sprainer, born yesterday at University Hospital, is the namesake of both
his grandfathers. The baby is the first child of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Sprainer ( Betty
Brock ) of Corbin, Ky., formerly of Johnson City.
Death
Death is an important item of news. Regardless of news value, it is also reported as a
public record. At some newspapers, the word obituary means a news story written
about the death of a person which is published with an individual headline. At others
the obituary is the black agate type alphabetical listing of everyone who has died and
has not yet been buried. This list is also called the death notices at some newspapers.
An obituary which is written about the death of a person and handled in regular news
style is called a death story.
Death stories vary in length depending upon the person and the amount of information
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available.
1. Lawrence M. Lorenz
Funeral services for Lawrence M. Lorenz, a tax lawyer and former assistant to the
Secretary of the Treasury, will be held at 12:30 p.m., Tuesday in Bellevue Baptist
Church. He died Saturday at Memorial Hospital after a long illness.
Item 4
Weather
Weather is the subject matter of Westerners whenever they meet. Housewives,
businessmen, factory workers as well as farmers all talk about the weather. It is
everyday news, whether or not conditions change. Many newspapers carry an regular
front page news story in addition to the full reports on an inside-page provided by the
weather service. Others carry stories only when there has been a seasonal change – a
blizzard, a heat wave, a flood – but will print the daily weather forecast including
facts on temperature, precipitation, wind velocity, pressure, humidity, river stage and
clearness of atmosphere. Most newspapers carry the local forecast on the front-page,
while more general statistics, and often a weather map, are printed on an inside page.
1. General Situation
England:
Rain heavy in places and sunny spells intervals.
Wind S to SW, strong to gale very rough.
Outlook
Continuing rather cool and unsettled
Humidity Forecast
London 70 ( 98 )
70 ( 70 ) yesterday’s figure in b.
2. Typhoon
According to the weather forecast, at 1:30 on Aug.3, typhoon No.8 was at 24.3
north, 148.2 east, moving northerly at a speed of 13 knots.
3. Southland Forecast
LOS ANGELES: Sunny and warmer today and Monday
High today 66 and Monday 68
BEACHES: Sunny and slightly warmer today with highs of 60 to 64
SAN BERNARDINO-RIVERSIDE: Sunny today and Monday with highs today
from 60 to 65 and Monday from 65 to 70.
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