ESL Podcast 643 – Liberal and Conservative News

　　Bill: Why are you reading that rag?
Rachel: I enjoy reading it. I like its news coverage¹ and its incisive² commentaries.
Bill: That’s nothing but a liberal propaganda rag. You can’t believe a thing they print in there.
Rachel: That’s not true. The news stories are objective and unbiased. This magazine isn’t like the newspapers and news websites you read. Those are run by ultraconservative reactionaries³, who only know how to write diatribes⁴. If I only read the news sources you read, I would think that this world was being ruled by liberals.
Bill: The world is being ruled by liberals, at least by the liberal press.
Rachel: You’ve got to be kidding! Our politics and our financial system are run by staunch conservatives, who ignore any point of view other than their own. Those of us who are enlightened...
Bill: You call yourselves enlightened? All you and your dyed-in-the-wool liberals want to do is to tear down old traditions.
Rachel: Yes, we do want to tear down old traditions, old traditions that keep us from making progress toward...
Sophia: Mom, Dad, what’s going on in here? Why are you yelling?
Rachel: Oh, it’s nothing, honey. Go back to sleep. Your Dad and I are just having a friendly little talk.
Script by Dr. Lucy Tse

1 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

2 incisive   

adj.敏锐的，机敏的，锋利的，切入的

参考例句：

• His incisive remarks made us see the problems in our plans.他的话切中要害，使我们看到了计划中的一些问题。
• He combined curious qualities of naivety with incisive wit and worldly sophistication.他集天真质朴的好奇、锐利的机智和老练的世故于一体。

3 reactionaries   

n.反动分子，反动派( reactionary的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The reactionaries are fierce in appearance but feeble in reality. 反动派看起来很强大，实际上十分虚弱。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• We definitely do not apply a policy of benevolence to the reactionaries. 我们对反动派决不施仁政。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

4 diatribes   

n.谩骂，讽刺( diatribe的名词复数 )

参考例句：