大学英语阅读教程(二)
Warm-up 1. Have you ever decided anything by polls? 2. What are the advantages of deciding things by polls? Is Democracy Just a Numbers Games ? 1 It was years ago than I will admit. I had been with NBC News for a few months, the late anchorman John Chancellor for decades. He gave me some advice. "Journalism means making decisions," he said. "Make them. Don't be afraid. Trust yourself." He smiled, lit his pipe. "Politicians trust themselves on issues. We trust ourselves on courage.” 2 We know too well a recent example of misplaced trust in high places. On January 21, 1998, reporters were about to broadcast the name Monica Lewinsky for the first time. Wondering whether to admit the relationship, President Clinton summoned adviser Dick Morris and asked, Should I or shouldn't I? He knew how much was at stake. 3 Morris was decisive. Let's take
a poll, he said, and one was commissionedpromptly. Its
results, at least as interpreted by Morris, indicated the President
should not confess. So 4 If it had not been for that poll, would there still have been a scandal? Would it have lasted as long? The questions are tantalizing. But the most troubling aspect of this tale is not the what-might-have-been; it is the what-actually-was: a politician, facing a crisis, taking his cues from the herd, not trusting himself. 5 The President was not alone in
his instinct to choose polling over principle. In fact,
according to opinion sampler David Paleologos, "Every decision
made today is poll-driven." 6 Many are untroubled by this reliance. "Polls
are not anathema to democracy," believes the 8 Polls are sometimes wrong. On the eve
of last November's elections, well-known pollster John Zogby predicted a dead heat between Republican Al
D’Amato and Democrat Charles Schumer in 9 The Mason-Dixon Poll also announced
a virtual dead heat in the US Senate race in 10 Poll questions can be phrased to make the answers pointless, irrelevant or deceptive. A friend of mine was polled just about the time that President Clinton's grand jury testimony hit the airwaves, and was asked this question: "Would you like to see the President finish his term with no further investigations, or be impeached and removed from office?" My friend said neither. He favored some kind of censure. The poll, however, allowed no middle ground. 11 Equally troublesome is the kind
of wording that helps to predetermine the response. When 12 The adverb is a negative one; it means "harshly, pitilessly,." It is no surprise people responded that all the media cared about was "ratings and sales" (64 percent). One wonders what the percentage would have been if; instead of "relentlessly," the adverb had been "thoroughly." 13 Polls do not provide a fair sampling of the American public, only a fair sampling of people willing to answer pollsters' questions. Since the latter often call at dinnertime, or approach a person on the street when he is racing from one errand to another, pollsters are ignored or rejected by so many men and women that those who do talk to them may well be an untypical group. They have more time on their hands than others, or more axes to grind, or are more likely to feel self-important or lonely, craving conversation even with total strangers. 14 Because polls are now taken in the immediate aftermath of events, they record public opinion at the precise moment when it is forming, before people have had time to reflect and gain perspective. The poll is, thus, a dubious basis for action. And, of course, as time passes and people do gain perspective, poll results often shift, underscoring the misleading nature of the initial impressions. 15 There are so many polls today that one cannot help but call the results of another into question. Once, I was preparing a commentary for Fox News Channel on a poll showing that Americans opposed under-cover-reporting practices. The poll was taken after a jury verdict against ABC, stemming from a story on the "Prime Time Live" program. The network had been sued by the Food Lion supermarket chain for charging it with unsanitary food handling, and so vigorous a defense did Food Lion mount that the integrity of all journalists, not just ABC's, had been called into question. 16 As I wrote my script, I was handed a second poll about attitudes toward the media, and then a third as I rewrote my script to accommodate the second. The poll numbers were all different, in some cases significantly. By the time I looked at a fourth poll, I could do nothing but make the most general of observations, the kind I could have made had I seen no polls at all. 17 Polls can also lead to journalistic irresponsibility. When reporters accept them unquestioningly, sensationalize the most extreme findings, -and allow the polls to substitute for their own judgment which John Chancellor warned against----they are at best performing as automatons, at worst deceiving the very people they are supposed to inform. Had I not relied on those general observations (and some firsthand knowledge from years of journalistic experience) in my Food Lion commentary, I would have gone on the air and made a variety of specific errors, to the detriment of everyone foolish enough to believe me. 18 Ultimately, though, it is the effect of polls on the workings of government that is most worrisome. Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion, says that politicians are less likely today than ever before to try to persuade the electorate of the validity of a position, especially on a controversial issue. If the polls favor that position, there is no need to persuade; if they do not, the politician is too often afraid to challenge the statistical evidence. And, says Miringoff, "a politician who is unwilling to reason with his constituency is a politician who has failed the test of leadership." 19 Some opinion samplers have told me
that if there were more politicians –– or any –– like Franklin Roosevelt1
today, polls would not be so necessary. 20 The same is true of Charles de Gaulle2.
Many years ago the French president was told by the governor-general
of 21 "Changez vos amis" de Gaulle answered. "Change your friends." (1,228 words ) ( Eric Burns Readers’ Digest Oct. 1999) Words and Expressions: anchorman [5ANk[mAn] n. 电视台新闻节目主持人 be at stake 在危急关头 commission [k[5miF[n] v. 委托 intern [in5t[:n] n. 实习生 tantalizing [5tAnt[laiziN] a. 挑逗性的 herd [h[:d] n. （贬） 民众 anathema [[5nAW[m[] n. 令人讨厌的事 the Gallup Organization 盖洛普组织 essence [5esEns] n. 要素 antithesis [An5tiWisis] n. 对立面 pollster [5p[Jlst[] n. 民意调查人 testimony [5testimEni ] n. 证词 airwave [5Z[weiv] n. 广播 impeach [im5pi:tF] v. 弹劾 censure [5senF[(r)] n. 指责，谴责 relentlessly [ri5lentlisli] ad. 无情地 errand [5er[nd] n. 差使 crave [kreiv] v. 渴望得到 aftermath [5B:ft[mAW] n. （事情等）结束后的一段时间 dubious [5djU:bj[s] a. 有问题的，不太可靠的 commentary [5kRm[nt[ri] n. 评论 jury verdict 陪审团的裁定 sue [sjU:] v. 起诉 integrity [in5tegr[ti] n. 正直 sensationalize [ sen5seiFEnElaiz] v. 以耸人听闻得手法处理 automaton [ R:5tRm[t[n] n. 自动玩具 detriment [5detrim[NT] n. 损害 electorate [i5lekt[r[t] n. 选民 validity [vE5liditi ] n. 正确性 constituency [k[n5stitjU[nsi] n. 选区居民 Notes: 1. Franklin Roosevelt (1882-1945) American president 2. Charles de Gaulle (1895-1969)French president COMPREHENSION CHECK I. Short answer questions: 1. What is the writer’s attitude towards polls ? 2. What does the title mean? 3. Why don’t polls provide a fair sampling of the American public? 4. Do you think it is still necessary to make polls? II. Translate the underlined sentences in the passage. 1. "Politicians trust themselves on issues. We trust ourselves on courage.” 2. Poll questions can be phrased to make the answers pointless, irrelevant or deceptive. 3. Polls do not provide a fair sampling of the American public, only a fair sampling of people willing to answer pollsters' questions. 4. As I wrote my script, I was handed a second poll about attitudes toward the media, and then a third as I rewrote my script to accommodate the second. 5. If the polls favor that position, there is no need to persuade; if they do not, the politician is too often afraid to challenge the statistical evidence. Reference keys: I. 1. He is not in favor of it. 2. It means “ Should the politicians make their decisions just on the basis of polls?” 3. People’s lives are very fast-paced; the pollsters are often ignored or rejected. 4. Sometimes it is in deciding minor matters. II. 1. 政治家相信他们自己处理问题的能力。我们相信自己的勇气。 2. 民意调查问题的措辞可以使回答毫无意义，风马牛不相及或具欺骗性。 3. 民意测验不能提供对美国全体公众的合理抽样调查结果，而只是对那些愿意回答调查者所提问题的人们所做的合理抽样调查结果。 4. 当我写这篇文章时，有人给我送来第二次对媒体的民意测验结果。而再我重写这篇文章以涵括这次结果时，又收到了第三次的结果。 5. 如果民意调查的情况对那种局面有利，就没有必要再进行游说；如果情况相反，政治家们在大多数情况下不愿置疑这个结果。 |