The President as CorporateSalesman

Part I Warming-up Question

What do you know about U.S. presidents?

Part II Background knowledge

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration

President Reagan

Polities of the United States

Part III Text analysis

Part 1 (paras.1─ 6 ) :It illustrates that how US presidents play the roles of the top corporate salesmen of the system.

Part 2 (paras.7─ 10 ) :This part is mainly about presidency and its relationship with money.

Part 3 (paras.11─ 12) :This part tells us different approaches for presidents to win the election.

Part 4 (paras.13─ 17 ) : This part tells us real toehold of the presidents and for whom they served.

Part IV Paraphrase of the text

Every modern president has had occasion to praise the “free-marker system” and denounce collectivist alternatives.

---In the modern time, president tried to grasp every chance to promote the ideas of modern capitalism while emphasizing the disadvantages of the socialist system or the like.

They boost the virtues of self-reliant competition and private initiative, virtues that exist more clearly in their minds than in the actual practices of the business community.

---They advertise independent competition between each other and individual creativity, but these good characters are only their experiences or words but not in the real business world.

They would have us believe that our social problems and economic difficulties can be solved with enough “vigor” and “resolve”, or through “self-reliance” or a “spiritual revival,” as various White House occupants form Kennedy to Clinton have put it.

---Presidents, such as Kennedy, Nixon, Ford, Bush and Clinton, tried to persuade us that if we have strong will and determination, we can solve the social and economic problems by ourselves, independently. They express such an idea by putting words in a particular way, for instance, vigor, resolve, self-reliance and revival.

After leaving office they continue to feed from the public trough.

---After they leave the White House they continue to spend lots of public money.

.… they see no reason why they shouldn’t be allowed to exercise their rights like other citizens and ask their friend, the president of the United States, for a little help.

… of course, they would ask the president to support them as the reward to the campaign money they offered.

It is said that the greatness of the presidential office lends greatness to its occupant, so that even persons of mediocre endowment grow from handling presidential responsibilities and powers.

Why is the presidential office great? Because it can make the president seemingly great. As a result of being the president, even a person with limited abilities grows “great”.

---presidents have been just as readily corrupted as ennobled by high office, inclined toward self-righteous assertion, compelled to demonstrate their military “toughness” against weaker nations, and not above operating in unlawful ways.

… presidents can be ennobled, yes; but they can also be corrupted by capturing such a superior power. They tend to speak or behave as if they are always right. They have to threaten weaker countries with force. And they are quite capable of acting in illegal ways.

… a shallowness of spirit and mind that the majestic office could cloak but not transform.

… the important and impressive office of the president could hide the shallowness of the presidents’ spirit and mind but could not change it.

Language Points

Vocabulary

Phrases and Expressions

Vocabulary

addictive (a.)

a. (a drug) making you unable to stop taking it

b. (an activity) making you want to keep doing, esp. because you enjoy it so much

bigoted (a.) having such strong opinions about race, religion, or politics that you are unwilling to listen to anyone else’s opinions

bigot (n.) 盲目信仰者；顽固者 The new sergeant was a bigot, and viewed all black men with suspicion.

compatriot (n.) someone who was born in or is a citizen of the same country as someone else

Examples:

Stich defeated his compatriot Becker in the quarter final.

curb (v.) to control or limit something in order to prevent it from having a harmful effect

(n.) an influence which helps to control or limit something

Examples:

Take measures to curb the spread of the virus.

Put a curb to your anger.

dual (a.) having two

dual nationality 双重国籍dual controls 双重控制dual purpose 双重目的dual carriageway 双线车道dual citizenship 双重国籍

incriminate (v.) to make someone seem guilty of a crime

Examples:

He refused to speak because he was worried that he would incriminate himself.

There was no incriminating evidence.

injurious (a.) causing injury, harm, or damage

Examples:

Smoking is injurious to health.

Such behavior is injurious to collective interests.

cf:

On her face is an injured expression.

manifest (v.) a. to show a feeling, attitude etc.

b. to appear or to become easy to see

Examples:

They have so far manifested a total indifference to our concerns.

Food allergies manifest themselves in a variety of ways.

mediocre (a.) not very good

Examples:

I thought the film was pretty mediocre.

He is a mediocre student.

mediocrity (n.) 平常；平庸之才Her performance was below mediocrity.

mobilize (v.) a. to bring people together so that they can all work to achieve sth. important

b. to bring together the supporters, resources etc. that you need and prepare them for action

Examples:

The rural population was mobilized in a drive for self-sufficiency.

Nancy was trying to mobilize support for a new political party.

populace (n.) (singular) the ordinary people who live in a country

Examples:

benefit the populace

excite the populace to riot and violence

the superstitious populace

breaking the news to a joyful populace

self-righteous (a.) proudly sure that your beliefs, attitudes, and morals are good and right, in a way that annoys other people

Example:

That’s the most unfair, self-righteous statement I’ve ever heard!

13. synonymous (a.)having the same meaning as, identical

Examples:

She seems to think that being poor is synonymous with being lazy.

The name of Keats has come to be synonymous with beauty.

unaccountable (a.) a. not having to explain your actions or decisions to anyone else

b. very surprising and difficult to explain

Examples:

Patrick’s disappearance was quite unaccountable.

It is not acceptable that the governors of this institution should be largely unaccountable.

well-being (n.)a feeling of being comfortable, healthy, and happy

physical well-being 身体健康social well-being 社会安宁economic well-being 经济繁荣a sense of well-being 幸福的感觉

Phrases and Expressions

be above (doing) sth.

to consider yourself so important that you do not have to do all the things that everyone else has to do

Examples:

She seems to think she’s above doing any housework.

Some politicians think they are above the law.

do one’s share

to do one’s part of a job, duty etc. that you share with other people

Examples:

I do my share of the housework.

You did your share better than any woman in

the village could do it this blessed day.

for all

in spite of a particular fact, quality, or situation

Examples:

For all his efforts, he still came last.

For all her rudeness, she’s actually quite a kind-hearted old soul.

have occasion to do sth

to need to do sth.

Examples:

More than once Dr. Staley had occasion to warn his son about his irresponsible behavior.

I have occasion to say something about it.

Cf.

He had met Lucy on an earlier occasion.

His remark was the occasion of a bitter quarrel.

hold down

to prevent something such as prices from rising

Examples:

They are trying to work out the best way to hold down inflation.

We shall hold down prices until the new year.

lend sth. to sth.

to give a situation, event etc. a particular quality

Examples:

His soft accent lends a kind of warmth to his words.

The Duke’s presence lent a certain air of dignity to the occasion.

make a show of / put on a show of

to do something to pretend to other people that what you are doing is true

Examples:

“Oh, no. I don’t mind,” she said, making a show of cheerfulness.

I made a show of interest, but I didn’t really care what happened.

raise hell

a. (infml.) to behave in an angry and threatening way

b. to behave in a wild, noisy way that upsets other people

Examples:

I’ll raise hell with whoever is responsible for this mess.

The kids next door were raising hell last night.

 

Part V More work on the Text

Oral Work

Vocabulary Exercises

Grammar Exercises

Written Work (Topic): Chinese-English Translation

Read text B Our Leaders Don’t Know Best