Who Writes the President’s Speeches?
The president of the United States must be an orator. The president gives an annual address on the State of the Union and speaks at the inauguration and other special events.
Beginning with George Washington, American presidents often sought assistance with the content and wording of their speeches, although they may have done the writing themselves.
The process of drafting a presidential speech is long and complicated, and different presidents make different contributions. Some write large parts of the text and invite criticism from assistants and advisers; others ask speech-writers to draft a speech in its entirety, and then they edit it to their own satisfaction.
| A．Presidential speeches are a part of American history. |
| B．Excellent writing skills are as available in business as they are in government. |
| C．As time went on, the particular expertise of professional writers became more and more important. |
| D．When people hear a president speak, they rarely think about others helping to shape the presentation. |
| E．It is the writer, moreover, who often drafts the memorable words by which the public identifies a modern president. |
| F．In any case, speech - writing is a back-and-forth process involving specialists in the subject area addressed, the president’s personal advisers, and (of course) the president. |
| G．Both of these phrases originate with the gifted men and women who worked as the president’s speech-writers. |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】According to a 2009 study published in the European Journal of Social Psychology, it takes 18 to 254 days for a person to form a new habit, The study also concluded that, on average, it takes 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic.
The 2009 study highlighted a range of variables(变量)in habit forming that make it impossible to establish a one-size-fits-all answer.
For example, certain habits take longer to form. In the study, many participants found it easier to adopt the habit of drinking a glass of water at breakfast than do 50 situps after morning coffee.
What's more, some people are better suited to forming habits than others. A consistent routine of any kind isn't for everyone, and that's OK.
If asked how long it takes to form a habit, many people will respond “21 days.” This idea can be traced back to “Psycho Cybernetics,” a book published in 1960 by Dr. Maxwell Maltz. Maltz didn't make this claim but rather referenced this number as an observable metric(度量标准)in both himself and his patients at this time. But as the book became more popular — more than 30 million copies have been sold — this situational observation has become accepted as fact.
Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the NIH's National Institute on Drug Abuse, suggests that the first step is to become more aware of your habits so you can develop strategies to change then.
One strategy, Volkow suggests, is to identify the places, people, or activities that are linked in your mind to certain habits, and then change your behavior toward those.
For example, if you have a substance use disorder, you can be deliberate about avoiding situations where you' d be more likely to be around the substance. This can help you achieve your goal of abstaining from using that substance.
Another strategy is to replace a bad habit with a good one. For example, instead of snacking on potato chips, consider swapping for unsalted, unbuttered popcorn. Instead of reaching for a cigarette, consider trying a new flavor of chewing gum or a flavored hard candy.
1. What can we conclude from the 2009 study?| A．It takes at most 254 days to kick a habit. |
| B．Every behavior takes 66 days to become automatic. |
| C．The time of forming a habit depends on several factors. |
| D．Establishing a habit of doing situps after coffee is impossible. |
| A．Word of mouth. | B．Scientific evidence. |
| C．Misunderstanding. | D．News report. |
| A．Changing people s behavior straight. |
| B．Forming a good habit in place of a bad one. |
| C．Avoiding activities you are fond of. |
| D．Becoming well aware of the habit. |
| A．Staying away from. | B．Adapting to. |
| C．Putting up with. | D．Getting down to. |
【推荐2】Robert is nine years old and Joanna is seven. They live at Mount Ebenezer. Their father has a big property. In Australia they call a farm a property.
Robert and Joanna like school very much. At school they can talk to their friends but Robert and Joanna cannot see their friends. They live 100, perhaps 300, miles away and like Robert and Joanna, they all go to school by radio.
Mount Ebenezer is in the centre of Australia. Not many people live in “The Centre”. There are no schools with desks and blackboards and no teachers in “The Centre”. School is a room at home with a two-way radio. The teacher also has a two-way radio. Every morning she calls each student on the radio. When all students answer, lessons begin… Think of your teacher 300 miles away!
1. The children in “The Centre” do not go to a school because _______.| A．they live too far away from one another |
| B．they do not like school |
| C．they are not old enough to go to school |
| D．their families are too poor |
| A．a property | B．a car |
| C．a school room at home | D．a special radio |
| A．not in a classroom but at the homes of the students |
| B．by speaking only and not showing anything in writing |
| C．without using any textbooks or pictures |
| D．without knowing whether the students are attending |
| A．but their teacher cannot hear them |
| B．and their teacher can hear them too |
| C．but cannot hear their schoolmates |
| D．and see him or her at the same time |
| A．house | B．school |
| C．farm | D．radio |
【推荐3】Laughter is a strong nonverbal vocalization (发声), which is frequently used to signal association, reward, or cooperative intention, and often helps to form and strengthen social bonds. There is an important difference between spontaneous (自发的) and voluntary laughter. Spontaneous laughter is typically an uncontrolled reaction, for example, to jokes. Voluntary laughter reflects a more deliberate communicative act like conveying (传达) polite agreement.
Researchers from the University of Amsterdam with international colleagues examined whether laughter type influences the identification not only of individuals, but also of groups. Specifically, they tested if it holds true that group membership is easier to distinguish(辨别) from voluntary than from spontaneous laughter. They also explored how the perceived positivity of laughter differs between the two types of laughter across cultures, with the expectation that spontaneous laughter might sound more positive.
In their study, the researchers employed laughter clips (片段) that were spontaneously or voluntarily produced by Dutch and Japanese individuals. Dutch and Japanese participants listened to these laughter clips and judged whether the laughing person was from their cultural group or not; judged whether they thought the laughter was produced spontaneously or voluntarily; rated the positivity of each laughter clip.
Analyzing these data, the authors find that listeners were able to recognize group membership from both spontaneous and voluntary laughter, and equally well. Spontaneous laughter was rated as more positive than voluntary laughter across the two cultures. “Our results show that listeners can recognize whether a laughing person is from their own or another cultural group at better- than- chance accuracy levels based on only hearing a brief laughter clip,” conclude the authors. “Contrary to prediction, we found no advantage for the thought that participants would be better at identifying group membership from voluntary laughter.”
These findings add to the growing literature on laughter as a rich vocal signal that can be used by listeners to make a wide range of inferences about others, from their social relationships to their identity.
1. What do we know about spontaneous laughter from the text?| A．It often serves a specific purpose. |
| B．People burst into it unconsciously (未意识到地). |
| C．People prefer it to voluntary laughter. |
| D．It is more impressive than voluntary laughter. |
| A．Distinguish the laughter clips in several ways. |
| B．Classify the laughter clips into four groups. |
| C．Link themselves to laughter producers. |
| D．Compare their laughter with foreigners’. |
| A．It contained very little information. |
| B．It was supposed to sound more positive. |
| C．It told more about group membership. |
| D．It was as meaningful as spontaneous laugher. |
| A．Laughter Differs from Day to Day |
| B．A Study Shows Our Laughter Gives Us Away |
| C．Laughter Is Actually a Mixed Vocal Signal |
| D．Our Educational Background Determines Our Laughter |
