英语单词大师：Why Some Speeches Just Float

 AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on WORDMASTER: from an interview on C-SPAN television, political pollster and strategist Frank Luntz talks about his book "Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear."RS: At one point, Washington Times columnist¹ John McCaslin asked him about some historic sayings, including what President John F. Kennedy said:

JOHN F. KENNEDY: "Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country."FRANK LUNTZ: "If a student in eleventh grade wrote that sentence, they would probably get a D from their English teacher. 'Don't ask what your country can do for you' would have been the more proper way. The greatest speeches have those twists on English and they break the laws of English, and that's why they stick in our minds. 'Don't ask what our country can do for you' doesn't sound nearly as powerful as 'ask not,' and the way that the president delivered it, his emphasis on the word 'ask not,' with a pause, that's why we remember it."JOHN McCASLIN: "Number two, 'The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.'"FRANK LUNTZ: "Again, it breaks the rules of English. You don't use the same word that close in the sentence. We shouldn't fear fear, but the longer that he spread it out, and at the time that F.D.R. [Franklin Delano Roosevelt] communicated that -- "JOHN McCASLIN: "The country was fearful."FRANK LUNTZ: " -- and the way that F.D.R. spoke² was perfect for radio. Less than ten percent of Americans knew he had polio, because this is before television, and even when you saw [him] in the newsreels, you never saw him on crutches³. His voice was booming and deep with a slight New York accent. And he had a great sense of humor, and he was the first president on radio to use the pregnant pause. He'd say something ... And that silence is as powerful as the words itself."JOHN McCASLIN: "Do you think there was somebody behind the scenes teaching him that, did they have a Frank Luntz in those days?"FRANK LUNTZ: "They may have. His adviser⁴ James Farley was very astute⁵ politically and he had a very smart team around him, but F.D.R. was a natural. It's like Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan. [Here are three presidents] who had great gut⁶ instincts when it came to communication."JOHN McCASLIN: "No doubt. 'Some men see things as they are and ask why' ... "FRANK LUNTZ: "'I dream of things that never were and ask why not.' The ending of every Robert F. Kennedy speech. In fact, whenever he would hit that ending, the reporters knew, speech is over, get on the bus so you're not left behind. That was not created by Bobby Kennedy. Those words come from George Bernard Shaw and they are my favorite words in politics. It says something so beautiful: don't give me excuses, just get it done.

"Now Bobby Kennedy said it so much better, but it's how Americans feel right now. We really want politicians to get it done. Those three words -- get it done, or gets things done -- are the most powerful words in the English language right now for an elected representative. If that individual can prove that he or she gets things done, they get re-elected. And, in fact, for political people watching, I'm amazed at how many of them don't ask the question in their surveys for incumbents⁸: Can you name one thing that the incumbent⁷ senator, congressman⁹, city councilman, whatever, can you name one accomplishment¹⁰ that the elected official has done since they were elected to office? Here's a rule of thumb, if less than forty percent of your electorate¹¹ can name something, you get defeated."JOHN McCASLIN: "Last but not least, 'I have a dream.'"FRANK LUNTZ: "The powerful thing about that was not just the setting. It was also the fact that the cadence¹² changed. It began with 'I have a dream that my kids,' 'I have a dream that.' As he went through the cadence, the 'I have a dream' wasn't at the beginning, it became at the end, 'that someday my children will grow up where they are judged not by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream' -- pause.

"That's what made that so memorable¹³, that the cadence began and then it switched and the first words became the last words. Martin Luther King Junior was brilliant, he was a courageous¹⁴ individual, but he was a brilliant communicator, because he could see the reaction of the people not just in the front row but in the very back row.

"And I'm always trying to teach politicians, don't look at the people in the first two or three rows. The people in the very back, who got there late, who really don't care much about you, and are so disengaged, can they hear you, can they see you, can they feel you? One of the things I try to tell the people I work for is get away from the podiums. The best communicators are ones that don't stand there."RS: Courtesy of C-SPAN, that was political adviser Frank Luntz, author of "Words That Work: It's Not What You Say, It's What People Hear." For a link to the full program, go to our Web site, voanews.com/wordmaster.

AA: And that's WORDMASTER for this week. Our e-mail address is [email protected]. With Rosanne Skirble, I'm Avi Arditti.

1 columnist   

n.专栏作家

参考例句：

• The host was interviewing a local columnist.节目主持人正在同一位当地的专栏作家交谈。
• She's a columnist for USA Today.她是《今日美国报》的专栏作家。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 crutches   

n.拐杖, 支柱 v.支撑

参考例句：

• After the accident I spent six months on crutches . 事故后我用了六个月的腋杖。
• When he broke his leg he had to walk on crutches. 他腿摔断了以后，不得不靠拐杖走路。

4 adviser   

n.劝告者，顾问

参考例句：

• They employed me as an adviser.他们聘请我当顾问。
• Our department has engaged a foreign teacher as phonetic adviser.我们系已经聘请了一位外籍老师作为语音顾问。

5 astute   

adj.机敏的，精明的

参考例句：

• A good leader must be an astute judge of ability.一个优秀的领导人必须善于识别人的能力。
• The criminal was very astute and well matched the detective in intelligence.这个罪犯非常狡猾，足以对付侦探的机智。

6 gut   

n.[pl.]胆量；内脏；adj.本能的；vt.取出内脏

参考例句：

• It is not always necessary to gut the fish prior to freezing.冷冻鱼之前并不总是需要先把内脏掏空。
• My immediate gut feeling was to refuse.我本能的直接反应是拒绝。

7 incumbent   

adj.成为责任的，有义务的；现任的，在职的

参考例句：

• He defeated the incumbent governor by a large plurality.他以压倒多数票击败了现任州长。
• It is incumbent upon you to warn them.你有责任警告他们。

8 incumbents   

教区牧师( incumbent的名词复数 )； 教会中的任职者

参考例句：

• In general, incumbents have a 94 percent chance of being reelected. 通常现任官员有94%的几率会再次当选。
• This arangement yields a wonderful gain to incumbents. 这种安排为在职人员提供了意外的得益。

9 Congressman   

n.（美）国会议员

参考例句：

• He related several anecdotes about his first years as a congressman.他讲述自己初任议员那几年的几则轶事。
• The congressman is meditating a reply to his critics.这位国会议员正在考虑给他的批评者一个答复。

10 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

11 electorate   

n.全体选民；选区

参考例句：

• The government was responsible to the electorate.政府对全体选民负责。
• He has the backing of almost a quarter of the electorate.他得到了几乎1/4选民的支持。

12 cadence   

n.（说话声调的）抑扬顿挫

参考例句：

• He delivered his words in slow,measured cadences.他讲话缓慢而抑扬顿挫、把握有度。
• He liked the relaxed cadence of his retired life.他喜欢退休生活的悠闲的节奏。

13 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

14 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。