词汇大师(Wordmaster)--Political Rhetoric in America, Part

Broadcast on COAST TO COAST: January 29, 2004

AA: I'm Avi Arditti with Rosanne Skirble, and this week on Wordmaster -- political rhetoric¹ in America.

RS: This time, Howard Dean didn't scream. He finished what he called a "solid second" behind John Kerry in the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday.

AA: It was a far cry from last week, when the former Vermont governor was a distant third in the Iowa caucuses² -- the first major test of popularity among the Democratic presidential candidates.

RS: It's not often that a speech becomes the talk of the nation. But the one Howard Dean gave after his surprise loss in Iowa quickly spawned³ creative remixes on the Internet.

AA: And it got a name. Martin Luther King鈥檚 "I Have a Dream" speech of 1963 became Howard Dean's "I Have a Scream" speech in 2004.

DEAN: "... We're going to California and Texas and New York, and we are going to South Dakota and Oregon and Washington and Michigan, and then we are going to Washington, D.C., to take back the White House, yeah!"

AA: "How do you think that went over with Iowans?"

GOLDFORD: "Oh, I don't think it went over well with anybody outside of perhaps the most dedicated⁴ Dean followers⁵."

AA: Dennis Goldford is a political scientist in Iowa.

GOLDFORD: "From all reports, for those inside the venue⁶ where he gave that speech, it was received well, because the purpose was to pump up his supporters. But there's always television on, and the cameras are already there. And I think this particular rhetorical moment, if you will, will rank up there with Richard Nixon's nasty concession⁷ speech when he lost the governor's race in California in 1962 and he told the press 'you won't have Dick Nixon to kick around anymore."

RS: "So he appeared to be a bit over the edge."

GOLDFORD: "Yes, this particular speech, I think, illustrated⁸ why so many people had misgivings⁹ about Dean, that he seemed just a little bit too intense and a little bit too angry rather than gracious and able to roll with the punches."

RS: "Can we move now to just political rhetoric in general?"

GOLDFORD: "Sure."

RS: "And what would you consider some helpful tips for our listeners as they listen to the politicians during this presidential year."

GOLDFORD: "Well, one key point I think is to suggest that if you want to understand whether at least an American politician is really saying anything meaningful, ask yourself if anyone in his right mind would campaign by affirming the opposite. In other words, if a politician says 'I'm against unnecessary regulations,' who's going to campaign and say 'I'm for unnecessary regulations'? So the question is not whether you're against unnecessary regulations. It's what counts as unnecessary regulations.

"Similarly if a president says, or a candidate says, 'I'm in favor of a strong national defense¹⁰.' Rhetorically, it's an attempt to bond with the audience without their thinking too much about what's being said."

RS: "So what you're asking our listeners to do is to listen to this rhetoric and see if perhaps the candidate goes a little further."

GOLDFORD: "Yes, to assess these people critically, you've go to proceed to the next question, 'what do you mean by that?' Or 'what counts for you as energy conservation or terrorism or a strong national defense?'" RS: "And what will you be paying attention to during all this political discourse¹¹, as you sit down and watch television or attend events?" AA: "Does anything still surprise you?"

GOLDFORD: "Well, what surprises me at times if when somebody actually does say something substantive¹² and something more than just speaking in cliches and soundbites. Television has made politics, as so much American life and life around the world, much more immediate¹³, much more accessible to people. But at the same time it has shrunken our attention span, and in many ways it's dumbed down our discourse. Our discourse isn't as sharp and critical and self-aware as it used to be.

"The surprising and welcome event is when somebody actually sketches¹⁴ a philosophy of governance, so people understand really what this is all about. 'OK, you're for all these particular policies, but why? What's the unifying¹⁵ thread that makes them part of a coherent whole?' I've seen much sharper rhetoric of that sort, much clearer, in German political campaigns, for example, and sometimes in British political campaigns. But in America, you tend because there's so much agreement on basic kinds of values, you tend to get so much of this laundry list approach to campaigning."

AA: Dennis Goldford chairs the political science department at Drake University in Des Moines, Iowa. You'll hear more from Professor Goldford next week.

RS: And that's Wordmaster. Our e-mail address is [email protected], and we're on the Web at voanews.com/wordmaster. With Avi Arditti, I'm Rosanne Skirble.

MUSIC: "Faint"/Linkin Park

1 rhetoric   

n.修辞学，浮夸之言语

参考例句：

• Do you know something about rhetoric?你懂点修辞学吗？
• Behind all the rhetoric,his relations with the army are dangerously poised.在冠冕堂皇的言辞背后，他和军队的关系岌岌可危。

2 caucuses   

n.（政党决定政策或推举竞选人的）核心成员( caucus的名词复数 )；决策干部；决策委员会；秘密会议

参考例句：

• Republican caucuses will happen in about 410 towns across Maine. 共和党团会议选举将在缅因州的约410个城镇进行。 来自互联网

3 spawned   

（鱼、蛙等）大量产（卵）( spawn的过去式和过去分词 )； 大量生产

参考例句：

• The band's album spawned a string of hit singles. 这支乐队的专辑繁衍出一连串走红的单曲唱片。
• The computer industry has spawned a lot of new companies. 由于电脑工业的发展，许多新公司纷纷成立。

4 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

5 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

6 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

7 concession   

n.让步，妥协；特许(权)

参考例句：

• We can not make heavy concession to the matter.我们在这个问题上不能过于让步。
• That is a great concession.这是很大的让步。

8 illustrated   

adj. 有插图的，列举的 动词illustrate的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• His lecture was illustrated with slides taken during the expedition. 他在讲演中使用了探险时拍摄到的幻灯片。
• The manufacturing Methods: Will be illustrated in the next chapter. 制作方法将在下一章说明。

9 misgivings   

n.疑虑，担忧，害怕；疑虑，担心，恐惧( misgiving的名词复数 )；疑惧

参考例句：

• I had grave misgivings about making the trip. 对于这次旅行我有过极大的顾虑。
• Don't be overtaken by misgivings and fear. Just go full stream ahead! 不要瞻前顾后， 畏首畏尾。甩开膀子干吧！ 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

10 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

11 discourse   

n.论文，演说；谈话；话语；vi.讲述，著述

参考例句：

• We'll discourse on the subject tonight.我们今晚要谈论这个问题。
• He fell into discourse with the customers who were drinking at the counter.他和站在柜台旁的酒客谈了起来。

12 substantive   

adj.表示实在的；本质的、实质性的；独立的；n.实词，实名词；独立存在的实体

参考例句：

• They plan to meet again in Rome very soon to begin substantive negotiations.他们计划不久在罗马再次会晤以开始实质性的谈判。
• A president needs substantive advice,but he also requires emotional succor. 一个总统需要实质性的建议，但也需要感情上的支持。

13 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。

14 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

15 unifying   

使联合( unify的现在分词 )； 使相同； 使一致； 统一

参考例句：

• In addition, there were certain religious bonds of a unifying kind. 此外，他们还有某种具有一种统一性质的宗教上的结合。
• There is a unifying theme, and that is the theme of information flow within biological systems. 我们可以用一个总的命题，把生物学系统内的信息流来作为这一研究主题。