UNIT ONE POLITICS

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UNIT ONEPOLITICS
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OVERVIEW

• I. Some basic notions
• II. Cultural notes
• III. Listening practice
• IV. Discussion

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I-1 What is News?

• The definition of news may vary from person to
  person. Generally speaking, it is information or
  report that is published in newspapers and
  broadcast on radio and television about recent
  events in the country or world or in a particular
  area of activity.

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I-2 Categories of News

• Region/locality International/world news,
  domestic news and local news
• Theme/the content of coverage politics, economy,
  sports, culture, entertainment, health, science
  and technology, disasters, social issues,
  religion, et.
• Style (in broad sense) features (??), editorials
  (??) / comments, correspondence (??), news
  reports / briefing (????/??), etc.

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I-3 Characteristic of News Facts

• Its the objective reflection of events.
• Recently happened events (??)
• Constantly developing facts (??)
• typical events that can arouse public interest
  and concerns (??)
• Therefore, in order to stick to the
  ever-developing news facts, news is expected to
  be reported in a timely, concrete, comprehensive,
  fair, accurate and objective way.

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I-4 Elements of News

• News is to convey Influential recent events
  concerning social life to the public
• It emphasizes objectivity (???),publicity (???)
  and popularity (???).
• 5 W How
• When and where who did what or what happened?
  Why (causeeffect)? How (detailed information
  about the process of the event)?

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• Sample-Disaster
• Headline Plane Crash Kills 121 In Greece
• Dateline GRAMMATIKO, Greece, Aug. 14, 2005
• Lead paragraph
• (CBS/AP) A Cypriot plane crashed into a hill
  north of Athens on Sunday, killing all 121 people
  aboard a third of them children in Greece's
  deadliest airline disaster. At least one of the
  pilots was unconscious when the plane went down,
  apparently from lack of oxygen. ATIKO, Greece,
  Aug. 14, 2005

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• Main Body More detailed description
• The Helios Airways flight ZU522 was headed from
  Larnaca, Cyprus, to Athens International Airport
  when it crashed at 1205 p.m. near the town of
  Grammatiko, about 25 miles north of the Greek
  capital, leaving flaming debris and luggage
  strewn across a ravine and surrounding hills.
• The Boeing 737, carrying 115 passengers and six
  crew, was to have flown onto Prague, Czech
  Republic, after stopping in Athens.
• There were 48 children on board. CBS News
  Correspondent Larry Miller reports the children
  were Greeks returning from a vacation to Cyprus.

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• The cause of the crash was unclear, but it looked
  like a technical problem possibly decompression
  and not terrorism. The first indications, in
  Cyprus and in Greece, are that it was not caused
  by a terrorist act, said Marios Karoyian, a
  spokesman for Cypriot President Tassos
  Papadopoulos.
• The reaction Family members wept in anguish as
  they waited at the Athens and Larnaca airports.
  When news of the crash emerged at Larnaca,
  relatives swarmed the airline counters, shouting
  murderers and you deserve lynching. One
  woman, Artemis Charalambous, said she was the
  mother of one of the pilots.

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• Attributes
• A man whose cousin was a passenger on the plane
  told Greece's Alpha television he received a
  cell-phone text message minutes before the crash.
  He told me the pilots were unconscious. ... He
  said Farewell, cousin, here we're frozen,
  Sotiris Voutas said.
• The head of the Greek airline safety committee,
  Akrivos Tsolakis, described the crash as the
  worst accident we've ever had. He said the
  plane's black boxes had been discovered at the
  scene, containing flight data and voice
  recordings valuable for determining the cause.
• Possible cause There apparently was a lack of
  oxygen, which is usually the case when the cabin
  is depressurized, Tsolakis said

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I-5 What is News Value?

• Simply put, public interest is the touchstone
  (???) of news value.
• To be more exactly put, news value refers to the
  importance of the facts and details in the news
  that can satisfy the public interest (the degree
  of attention the reader pay to the news reports)
  in news.

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I-6 Controversial Newsworthiness

• In order to satisfy public interest, news
  reporters always try their best to cover the
  happening at home and abroad in great details.
• However, public interest tends to be challenged
  by some critics. The gossip column (????)is just
  a case in point. As we know, gossips and
  scandals always sell well in the public, but some
  doubt their news value.

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I-7 Elements of News Value

• Timeliness (??) Is it a recent development or
  old news? Freshness strengthens a news story.
• Proximity (??) Is the story relevant to local
  readers? Close-to-home events naturally are of
  interest to media outlets.
• Eminence (??) or prominence (??) Are noteworthy
  people involved? Some happenings simply are more
  newsworthy when well-known people/celebrities
  (??) are involved.

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• Consequence (??) or impact (??) What effect will
  the story have on readers? For example, the news
  named Crude Oil Price Hit Record High will have
  a immense impact on our daily life economically
  and emotionally as private cars are so widespread
  at present.
• Human interest (??) Even though it might not be
  an earthshaking event, does it contain unique,
  interesting elements? Human interest stories
  often appeal to the emotions of readers, pulling
  them into the lives of others or into subjects of
  broad concern.

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I-8 Major News Agencies

• In Britain
• Reuters (???), founded in 1851
• In the US
• AP the Associated Press (???), founded in 1848,
  managing 6 papers- Sun (???), Herald (???),
  Journal of Commerce (??????), Tribune (???),
  Express (??), Courier and Enquirer (????)
• UPI United Press (???), founded in 1907, merging
  another agency and named United Press
  International (?????)

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• Around the world
• AFP ???
• Kyodo ?????
• Itar-Tass???
• Xinhua Xinhua News Agency

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Politics

• Politics involves several aspects, such as
  policies, parties, election, government
  management, diplomacy, ect.

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I. Knowledge Contest

• 1. When and how often does U.S. launch the
  presidential campaign?
• 2. What are presidential qualifications in US?
• The Constitution requires presidents to be
  _____________ citizens of the United States who
  are at least ___ years of age and have resided in
  the United States for ___ years.
• 3. Who might be the first woman to make a bid for
  the White House in 2008?

natural-born
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• Election to the Presidency
• The power of the presidency makes it the most
  __________ (???) position in American politics.
  The Constitution originally provided for the
  election of the president and ____________ by the
  electoral college (?????). Voters do not elect
  the president directly, they, however to vote for
  the electors who support a particular
  _________________ (?????). The number of electors
  in each state is equal to the number of each
  state's representatives in both houses of
  Congress.

sought-after
vice president
presidential candidate
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• The District of Columbia, although having no
  representative in Congress, has three electors.
  Altogether there are ____electoral votes. All of
  each state's electoral votes go to the candidate
  winning the most votes in that state no matter
  how slim the margin.
• 50????????????(the District of Columbia,???????,??
  ??????)?3 ?????_______??????(the Electoral
  College)?????????????????????????????????(winner-t
  ake-all)????????????,???538/2,??270???????????270?
  ????,??????????????

538
538
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• Primary Elections (??)
• Political parties choose their presidential
  nominees through primary elections and party
  caucuses (meetings???????). In these state
  contests, the major political partiesthe
  ______________________ select delegates to
  attend their party conventions. Primary voters
  and caucus participants choose delegates who will
  support their favored candidate at the
  convention. The party conventions, held in the
  summer before the November general election,
  formally nominate the winner of the primaries and
  caucuses.

Democrats and Republicans
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• Election Campaign The campaign for the
  presidency traditionally begins in early
  September and ends on Election Daythe first
  Tuesday after the first Monday in November.
  Candidates often complain about the length of the
  campaign period, which can require grueling
  20-hour days of speechmaking and traveling. Even
  as they spread campaign themes through national
  television and radio campaigns, the candidates
  also make hundreds of speeches in cities and
  towns across the country to appeal to specific
  groups of voters.

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• Election Day and Inauguration
• The formal balloting (??) of the electoral
  college, however, does not take place until the
  first Monday after the second Wednesday of
  December, when the electors meet in each state.
  These results are transmitted to the secretary of
  the Senate and are counted publicly before a
  joint session of Congress on January 6. Under the
  original provisions of the Constitution, the
  president and vice president were inaugurated on
  March 4 of the year following their election.

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• In 1933 the 20th Amendment went into effect,
  moving the inauguration date up to ____________.
  At the inaugural ceremony, the new president
  recites an oath I do solemnly swear (or affirm)
  that I will faithfully execute the Office of
  President of the United States, and will to the
  best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend
  the Constitution of the United States.

January 20
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II. Introductory Remark

• In this unit, we just intend to focus on the
  topic about election, the key political issue in
  America in 2004. Actually, to clarify the process
  of presidential election (????) is no easy task,
  youre expected to get familiarized with the
  chief 2 parties in the U.S. first, that is, the
  Republican Party (???), also named GOP (Grand Old
  Party ???) and the Democratic Party (???),

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II-1 The Democratic Party

• Thomas Jefferson, in the late 1700's, started the
  first political party with the conviction that
  the federal government was assuming too much
  power over domestic policy and should be stopped.
  His party became known as the "Democratic" party
  when candidate Andrew Jackson became President in
  1828.
• Andrew Jackson was known as a man of the people.
  He took the Democratic party that Jefferson and
  his elite collegues had formed and turned it over
  to the citizens of the United States.

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II-2 The Democratic Party vs. The Republican Party

• The Democratic Party held its first convention in
  1832 to re-elect Andrew Jackson to a second term.
  Its convention began the Democratic National
  Committee in 1848. It has become the longest
  running political organization in the world.
• The Republican Party held its first convention in
  1854, with supporters then including anti-slavery
  activists and advocates of the idea that the
  government should grant western lands to settlers
  free of charge.

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• Story of Party Animals
• Party animals involved statues of donkeys and
  elephants. _________ is the official animal of
  the Democratic Party. __________ represents the
  Republican Party. The status of an elephant as
  Republican Partys symbol appears to be safe. Win
  or lose, both symbols have endured.
• The elephant - symbol of the Republican Party
  since 1874 - remembers that GOP stands for Grand
  Old Party, but increasingly, the elephant is
  standing alone.

The donkey
The elephant
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• When Andrew Jackson ran for president in 1828,
  his opponents tried to label him a jackass
  (????)for his populist views and his slogan,
  Let the people rule. Jackson, however, picked
  up on their name calling and turned it to his own
  advantage by using the donkey on his campaign
  posters. During his presidency, the donkey was
  used to represent Jacksons stubbornness (??).
• Thomas Nast, a famous political cartoonist, used
  the donkey first in an 1874 editorial cartoon to
  depict the Democrats as a donkey trying to scare
  a Republican elephant.

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(No Transcript)
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II-3 TV commercials for presidential election

• The idea that you can merchandise candidates for
  high office like breakfast cereal is the ultimate
  indignity to the democratic process."
  -Democratic candidate Adlai Stevenson, 1956
• Television is no gimmick(??,??), and nobody will
  ever be elected to major office again without
  presenting themselves well on it."
  -Television producer and Nixon campaign
  consultant Roger Ailes, 1968

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• When television emerged as a mass medium in the
  early 1950s, TV advertising became an essential
  campaign tool.
• Television commercials distill (??)a candidate's
  major campaign themes into a few powerful images.
  These ads elicit emotional reactions, inspiring
  support for a candidate or raising doubts about
  his opponent.

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• The major parties will spend hundreds of millions
  of dollars on TV commercials. Ads on TV and the
  Internet have become the dominant form of
  communication in the modern presidential
  campaign.

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III. Translation

• ????
• direct election
• ???
• general election system
• ????
• single-candidate election
• ????
• competitive election
• ????
• by-election

• ????
• roll-call vote
• ???
• seek a vote
• ?????
• secret ballot
• ????
• electoral vote
• ????
• electoral system

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• ?????
• make the final vote
• ?????
• vote of non-confidence
• ????
• election at expiration of office terms
• ????????
• the right to vote and the right to be elected

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Part A Snap Judgments

• I. Vocabulary Preparation
• snap / ???? / made quickly, without careful
  thought ??????
• make a decision / make a search of
• (Am. slang) Its a job. ( very easy job)
• slick / ???? / done in a skilful and attractive
  way very good or attractive ???????
• a show / a time / a TV presenter

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• ad / ?? / an advertisement a public notice
  offering or asking for goods, services, etc. ??
• an campaign / a classified/want ??/????
• commercial / ???????? / an advertisement on
  television or radio (??????)??
• run s ??????
• candidate / ????????? / someone who is competing
  in an election ???
• endorse a ??(??)????
• a leading for the presidency ????????

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• glimpse / ?????? / a quick look at someone or
  something that does not allow you to see them
  clearly ????
• get/catch a brief of the city
• demonstrate / ???????????? / to show or describe
  how to do something or how something works ????
• sth. to sb. / how to do sth.
• clip / ???? / a short part of a film or
  television program that is shown by itself,
  especially as an advertisement ????
• go through all the s on an event / a televised
  news

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• rate / ???? / to think that someone or something
  has a particular quality, value, or standard
  ????
• sb.s English at a B ???????B?
• We your services highly. ????????????
• weird / ???? / very strange and unusual, and
  difficult to understand or explain ???????????
• a story ????? a idea ?????

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VERB glance at, down, over, round, through

• glance / ?????? / a quick or brief look??????
• take a at the newspaper headlines
• steal es at sb.
• prehistoric / ?????????????? / relating to the
  time in history before anything was written down
  ???
• in times ?????
• man/remains/animals ????/??/??

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II. Notes

• Lets pay tribute to the renowned anchor - late
• Peter Jennings (1938-2005, born in Canada) the
  lead anchor and senior editor of ABCNEWS World
  News Tonight, where he has established a
  reputation for independence and excellence in
  broadcast journalism. He became an American
  citizen in 2004. He died of lung cancer at the
  age of 67 on August 8, 2005 ?????

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• ABC the American Broadcasting Company, a
  television and radio network in the United
  States, today owned by the Walt Disney Company
  ??????
• Robert Krulwich a New York-based ABCNEWS
  correspondent who appears regularly on Nightline.
  He also reports for World News Tonight With Peter
  Jennings, and Good Morning America. ????????

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III. Spot Dictation

• Peter Jennings Thank you for joining us this
  evening Snap Judgments. Candidates in the
  political campaign are going to spend hundreds of
  millions of dollars this year trying to 1
  with slick 30-second commercials. But maybe
  all they need are five-second ads, even two
  seconds! ABCs Robert Krulwich tonight on how
  important 2
  is.
• (People yelling in background)

influence voters
that very first impression
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• Robert Krulwich Now its getting interesting,
  and as these candidates flash by on TV for a
  second or two, even 3 makes
  an impression. A bigger impression than you know.
• Nalini Ambady Yeah, I think you are making an
  impression.

the briefest glimpse
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• Robert Krulwich Psychology professor Nalini
  Ambady knows this, because a few years ago she
  did an experiment. She asked 4 students
  like these to come to a classroom here at Harvard
  and she showed them short videos of teachers 5
  . Let me demonstrate. She showed a guy like
  me, lecturing in a lecture hall, except you
  (talking to professor) turned off the sound. So
  they watched something like this, a teacher
  teaching 6 for how long?
  (asking the professor)
• Nalini Ambady These clips are 10 seconds long.

a bunch of
they never met
with no sounds
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• Robert Krulwich Ten seconds?
• Nalini Ambady Uh huh.
• Robert Krulwich Thats all?
• Nalini Ambady Yeah.
• Robert Krulwich Thenwere re-creating this here
  (showing chart), the students were asked to rate
  the teacher in a number of categories. And
  7 were then compared to a course
  evaluation filled out by students whod have the
  teacher three days a week for a whole semester.
  And what happened?
• Nalini Ambady Uhmthere was 8
  in their evaluations. It was
  amazing!

those ratings
very little difference
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• Robert Krulwich So students who saw the
  professor for ten seconds gave the exact same
  ratings as the students who knew him for months!
• Nalini Ambady Precisely! Thats exactly what we
  found.
• Robert Krulwich Ok, now just for the fun of it,
  you get 9 students and you show
  them clips of professors that last two
  secondstwo seconds and no sound! Which islike,
  nothing!
• Nalini Ambady Yeah. laughing It passes by
  fast.
• Robert Krulwich And after a two-second look,
  student ratings were 10 to
  the full semester evaluation. That is so weird!

a new set of
almost identical
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• Robert Krulwich Ah, well, we had the same
  reaction.
• Robert Krulwich But if a two-second glimpse can
  tell you that much about a teacher, just possibly
  a two-second glance on the TV can tell you
  something important about a candidate for
  president. From prehistoric times we have evolved
  to look at faces and make snap judgments is he
  going to hurt me, is he going to help me? Brains,
  says professor Ambady, can decide a lot in two
  seconds. So quick impressions matter! Robert
  Krulwich, ABC News.

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Questions

• Do you agree with the conclusion?
• How do you understand the proverb You cant
  judge a person by appearance?
• Do you trust TV commercials in the political
  campaigns? How important do you think they are ?

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Part B Hillary Clintons Journey

• I. Vocabulary Preparation
• exclusively / ????????????? / only not shared
  with others ??????
• e.g. The article was written (????) for
  Newsweek.
• memoir / ??????? / a book by someone important
  and famous in which they write about their life
  and experiences ?????
• scandal / ??????? / action, attitude, etc. that
  is disgraceful or shameful ??????
• e.g. spread/uncover/cover up about sb.

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• wring someones neck to kill someone by twisting
  their neck or pressing their throat with your
  hands, a rope, etc. used when you are very angry
  with someone ??????
• aftermath / ????????? / the period of time after
  something such as a war, storm, or accident when
  people are still dealing with the results
  ???????????
• e.g. in the of war (election) / endure an
  (??)
• run for to be a candidate in an election (for a
  political position) ??(??????)

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• senate / ?????? / the smaller and more important
  of the two parts of the government with the power
  to make laws, in countries such as the US,
  Australia, and France ???
• confess / ??????? / to admit, especially to the
  police, that you have done something wrong or
  illegal ????
• e.g. He ed his crime honestly to the police.
• He ed having killed / that he had killed his
  boss.
• due / ???? / scheduled expected ??????
• e.g. His next book is out shortly.
• He is about for a promotion.

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• headline / ???????? / a line of words printed in
  large letters as the title of a story in a
  newspaper, or the main points of the news that
  are broadcast on television or radio ??????
• e.g. a figure ??????
• a -making incident ?????????
• be in the national s ?????????????
• break / ????? / to disclose to make known
  ???? e.g. the bad news gently to somebody
• rumor / ?????? / (instance of) information spread
  by being talked about but not certainly true
  ????
• e.g. spread/confirm a that /about ??/????

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• intern / ??????? / someone, especially a student,
  who works for a short time in a particular job in
  order to gain experience ??????
• e.g. work as s
• log / ??? / a record of events ????
• e.g. write up/keep a ????/????
• cross-examine / ????? ???????? / to question
  someone closely, especially with regard to
  answers or information given previously ????
• testify / ????????? / to give evidence declare
  as a witness, especially in court ??????
• e.g. on behalf of the accused man ?????

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• oath / ??? / (words used in making a) solemn
  promise to do something or solemn declaration
  that something is true ??????
• e.g. swear/take an to do sth. ????
• break/violate an that ????
• level with someone to speak honestly to someone,
  after hiding some unpleasant facts from them
  ????
• e.g. I dont think youre ing with me.
• ??????????
• furious / ????????? / full of violent anger
  ??????
• e.g. be about/at/over sth. at/with sb.
• ??????????

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• dumbfounded / ??????????? / extremely surprised
  or astonished ???????? Im by the news.
• beside oneself to be feeling so angry, excited,
  etc. that one finds it difficult to control
  themselves in a state of extreme excitement or
  anger ??????????
• e.g. beside oneself with joy/rage ??/??
• jury / ??????? / group of people in a law court
  who have been chosen to listen to the facts in a
  case and to decide whether the accused person is
  guilty or not guilty ???????? sit/serve on the
  ????
• air / ?? / to broadcast something on radio or
  television (???????)???? the show/course

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II. Notes

• Elizabeth Vargas (1962-) a correspondent for ABC
  News 20/20 since June 1997 and an anchor for
  World News Tonight Saturday ???????
• Barbara Walters (1929-) an American television
  commentator known for her many years as a network
  anchor on news programs, on the Today show, for
  her years on the newsmagazine 20/20 and on the
  estrogen-chat program The View ??????

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• Eastern Time the standard time in the 5th time
  zone west of Greenwich, used in the eastern
  United States (??)????
• ???????????,???????????????,???????
• ?????????????????,????????????????????????????????
  
• ????(EST)????????????19????????,???????????????(CS
  T)?????????????????(MST)??????????,?????(PST)?????
  ???4??,???????????????,??????(AKST)?????????????(H
  ST)???????

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• Monica Lewinsky (1973-) an American businesswoman
  who was caught up in a sex scandal investigation
  when she was an intern working at the White
  House. While at the White House she had a
  short-term sexual relationship with the
  President. The news of this affair, and the
  resulting investigation, and impeachment, became
  known as the Lewinsky scandal. ???????

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• Bill Clinton (1946-) the 42nd President of the
  US, from 1993 to 2001. Clinton was a popular
  President for most of his period in office,
  because the US economy was strong. He is also
  known for a sex scandal with Monica Lewinsky that
  happened near the end of the time he was
  president. ?????

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IV. Exercises on Ps 6-7

• Exercise Listen to the interview and answer the
  following questions or complete the unfinished
  statement.
• Listening skills
• Step 1 Look through all the multiple choices and
  have the anticipation (??) of the possible key
  based on your cultural knowledge.
• Step 2 Listen to it for the first time and catch
  the main idea by grasping the frequent words.
• Step 3 Focus on W elements How and make
  notes.

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• 1. What did Mrs. Clinton talk about in the
  exclusive interview by ABCs Barbara Walters?
• A. Why she wrote her memoir Living History.
• B. Why and when Mr. Clinton had an affair with
  the White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
• C. The book Living History and how she came to
  learn the details surrounding the Monica Lewinsky
  scandal.
• D. Her memoir the Living History and how she
  cross-examined Mr. Clinton on the Monica Lewinsky
  scandal.

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• 2. According to Hillary Clinton, what were the
  most difficult decisions she had made in her
  life?
• A. To marry Bill Clinton and to help him run for
  the Presidency.
• B. To stay married to Bill Clinton and to run for
  the Senate from New York.
• C. To forget the dark days of 1998 and to stay
  out of the 2004 presidential campaign.
• D. To forgive Bill Clinton and to run for the
  2008 Presidency.

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• 3. When did Bill Clinton confess to Hillary
  Clinton that he did have an affair with the White
  House intern Monica Lewinsky?
• A. Not until just two days before he was to
  testify under oath about the affair.
• B. Not until just two weeks before he was to
  testify under oath about the affair.
• C. Immediately after the media started making
  headlines of the affair.
• D. Long before the media started making headlines
  of the affair.

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• 4. How did Hillary Clinton respond upon hearing
  Bill Clintons confession of the affair?
• A. She sat beside Bill Clinton and became
  furious.
• B. She cried, cursed Monica Lewinsky, and
  slapped Bill Clinton in the face.
• C. She went to sleep again and pretended to be
  calm.
• D. She felt betrayed and became furious.

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• 5. Deeply hurt by her husband disloyalty and
  dishonesty, Mrs Clinton .
• A. continued her duties as the First Lady as
  usual.
• B. decided to leave for New York and to run for
  the Senate there.
• C. scolded her husband for the affair, sought
  divorce, and failed.
• D. devoted all herself to writing the memoir.

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Spot dictation

• That was probably the worst moment uh, that I can
  even imagine anyone _________ because what he
  told me that morning was that _________________
  or anyone else, he had not told me the whole
  truth about what the relationship was and I was,
  I was _______, I was _________, I was, you know,
  just ___________ with anger and disappointment.

going through
he had not leveled with me
furious
dumfounded
beside myself
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Review

• Part A
• snap judgment
• slick commercials
• flash by
• Just for the fun of it.
• That is so weird.
• Quick impressions matter.
• Student ratings were almost identical to the full
  semester evaluation.

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Part B

• give an account of
• exclusive interview
• memoir
• due
• in the aftermath
• air

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Oral PracticePair-work Activity Now you are
Hillary Clinton, you are telling your story to a
friend about the scandal. Use the words below to
help you.

• Monica Lewinsky scandal
• intern
• Logs of gifts
• confess
• testify under oath
• loyal defender
• headline
• reveal
• false rumor
• wring Bills neck
• level with
• furious
• dumfounded
• Beside oneself

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Questions for further discussion

• Do you trust Hillary Clinton? Do you think she is
  telling the truth?
• Whats her purpose of writing the book revealing
  her private life?
• What do you think of her as a woman?

72
Projects Choose a project

• 1. Find more information about Hillary Clinton
  and Laura Bush. Write a comparison of the two
  First Ladies.
• 2. Prepare an in-depth report on the US
  presidential election and make a presentation in
  class.
• 3. How much do you know about Chinas village
  elections? Make a case study and prepare a report
  on your findings and reflections?