VOA慢速英语2011--Exploring the Art of Rhetoric

THIS IS AMERICA - Exploring the Art of Rhetoric¹

 

STEVE EMBER: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Steve Ember.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And I’m Shirley Griffith. This week on our program, we learn about the art of rhetoric and tell you about a website that brings American rhetoric to life.

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: We use rhetoric every time we use language, whether giving a speech or talking with a friend. So what is rhetoric? Dictionaries list several meanings for this word. One is the study of using language effectively. Another is the art of using language to persuade, influence or please.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle described rhetoric as "the ability, in each particular case, to see the available means of persuasion²." But the word can also have a negative meaning, like when a politician gives a speech and critics dismiss it as "rhetoric." What they mean is, it sounded good, but lacked substance.

Michael Eidenmuller knows all about rhetoric, and he says it sometimes gets a bad name.

Former U.S. President Ronald Reagan in front of the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin, on June 12, 1987

MICHAEL EIDENMULLER: "Rhetoric is not inherently evil or corrupt³, in my view. It's a neutral tool or technology that has and is and will be used for both evil and ill."

Mr. Eidenmuller is a communications professor at the University of Texas at Tyler. About ten years ago, he created a Web page for his students. It included links to famous speeches on other websites. The idea was to create a resource that his students could use in their studies.

The list of speeches grew, and so did the popularity of the page.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: Then, in two thousand four, Mr. Eidenmuller posted a link to the speech that Senator Zell Miller⁴ gave at the Republican National Convention.

ZELL MILLER: “…For my family is more important to me than my Party.”

Michael Eidenmuller

Shortly after that, the Web page received more hits than the server computer at the university could handle. As a result, Mr. Eidenmuller created a separate website and called it American Rhetoric.

AmericanRhetoric.com is an online speech bank of thousands of speeches. It gets as many as six hundred thousand visits each month during the school year in the United States. In the summer months, the number falls to about two hundred thousand visits a month.

Professor Eidenmuller says many students learning English outside the United States also use his website. It includes text, audio and in some cases video of some of the most popular speeches of our time.

STEVE EMBER: People can have different reactions to a speech depending on whether they listen to it, watch it or read it.

MICHAEL EIDENMULLER: "Attending to one or to multiple mediums does tend to produce different perspectives and encourage different judgments⁵ on any given speech or speaker."

Professor Eidenmuller points to the example of the candidate debates in the nineteen sixty presidential election. This was the first series of nationally televised debates between American presidential candidates. The public was able to hear and see John Kennedy, the Democratic candidate, and Richard Nixon, the Republican candidate, as they debated.

Nixon had suffered a knee injury and had spent time in the hospital before the first debate. He had lost weight as a result, and looked skinny and unhealthy. Kennedy had been campaigning in California. He arrived at the debate looking healthy, fit and suntanned, although the broadcast was in black-and-white.

People who listened to that first debate on the radio largely felt Nixon had performed better. But those who watched the debate on television were influenced by what they saw in addition to what they heard. Professor Eidenmuller says those who watched the debate were more likely to feel that Kennedy had won.

MICHAEL EIDENMULLER: "So mediums do matter."

(MUSIC)

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: There are many rhetorical methods and devices that can add to good speech. These often have Latin or Greek names.

For example, anaphora is when a speaker repeats the same words at the start of sentences or phrases that follow each other. Hillary Clinton, then the first lady, used anaphora in her speech at the Democratic National Convention in nineteen ninety-six. Notice her use of the phrase "it takes."

Hillary Clinton addresses the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, in 1996 while she was first lady of the United States

HILLARY CLINTON: “To raise a happy, healthy and hopeful child, it takes a family; it takes teachers; it takes clergy⁷; it takes business people; it takes community leaders; it takes those who protect our health and safety. It takes all of us.”

An analogy is a comparison made to show a similarity between two things. In the movie "Man of the Year," a political comedian⁸ -- played by Robin⁹ Williams -- accidentally wins the presidency¹⁰. He uses an analogy.

ROBIN WILLIAMS: "Remember, ladies and gentlemen, it’s an old phrase, basically anonymous¹¹ -- that politicians are a lot like diapers: They should be changed frequently and for the same reason. Keep that in mind next time you vote. Good night.”

STEVE EMBER: A metaphor¹² is another figure of speech used to suggest a comparison between two things. The civil rights leader Martin Luther King Junior used this metaphor in one of the most famous speeches of all time.

MARTIN LUTHER KING: "With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords¹³ of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood¹⁴."

Martin Luther King Jr. gave his "I Have a Dream" speech to hundreds of thousands of marchers gathered at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963

Professor Eidenmuller says the Reverend King's "I Have a Dream" speech is by far the most popular speech on the American Rhetoric site. It took place at the Lincoln Memorial on August twenty-eighth, nineteen sixty-three, during a huge march on Washington.

MARTIN LUTHER KING: " … I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!"

AmericanRhetoric.com includes a list of the "Top 100 Speeches of the 20th Century." These include the remarks that President Ronald Reagan gave at the Brandenburg Gate in West Berlin in June of nineteen eighty-seven. President Reagan was often called "the Great Communicator." Here is part of what he said.

RONALD REAGAN: "We welcome change and openness; for we believe that freedom and security go together, that the advance of human liberty -- the advance of human liberty can only strengthen the cause of world peace.”

"There is one sign the Soviets¹⁶ can make that would be unmistakable, that would advance dramatically the cause of freedom and peace.

"General Secretary [Mikhail] Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet¹⁵ Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate.”

"Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate.”

"Mr. Gorbachev -- Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!”

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: In nineteen forty-five, World War Two ended and the United Nations began. Three years later, fifty-eight states approved the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt had worked hard for the declaration. She spoke¹⁷ in honor of its adoption¹⁸ at a UN meeting in Paris on December ninth, nineteen forty-eight.

ELEANOR ROOSEVELT: "We stand today at the threshold of a great event both in the life of the United Nations and in the life of mankind. This Universal Declaration of Human Rights may well become the international Magna Carta of all men everywhere. We hope its proclamation by the General Assembly will be an event comparable to the proclamation of the Declaration of the Rights of Man by the French people in seventeen eighty-nine, the adoption of the Bill of Rights by the people of the United States, and the adoption of comparable declarations at different times in other countries."

STEVE EMBER: Another area on AmericanRhetoric.com contains recordings¹⁹ about the terrorist attacks of September eleventh, two thousand one. These include the first statement that President George W. Bush made to reporters during a visit to an elementary school in Sarasota, Florida.

GEORGE W. BUSH: "… Today, we've had a national tragedy. Two airplanes have crashed into the World Trade Center in an apparent terrorist attack on our country.

"I have spoken to the vice⁶ president, to the governor of New York, to the director of the FBI, and have ordered that the full resources of the federal government go to help the victims and their families, and -- and to conduct a full-scale investigation²⁰ to hunt down and to find those folks who committed this act.

'"Terrorism against our nation will not stand. And now if you [would] join me in a moment of silence."

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: The American Rhetoric website also includes quizzes and exercises related to the art of rhetoric. People who want to learn more about rhetoric can take classes in rhetorical theory. There are also books like "Farnsworth's Classical English Rhetoric" published in two thousand ten. Author Ward²¹ Farnsworth offers eighteen chapters' worth of rhetorical devices.

And there is another way to improve your skills. Michael Eidenmuller at AmericanRhetoric.com says you can study the speakers you admire.

MICHAEL EIDENMULLER: "Read and listen and watch the great speeches and great speakers. I would recommend listening to those speeches. If you find a speaker whose delivery you particularly like, try mimicking²² it."

(MUSIC)

STEVE EMBER: Our program was written and produced by Brianna Blake. I’m Steve Ember.

SHIRLEY GRIFFITH: And I’m Shirley Griffith. What are some of your favorite speeches? Tell us at voanews.cn, where people learning English can also find transcripts²³, audio and video to read, listen and learn. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

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 persuasion   

n.劝说；说服；持有某种信仰的宗派

参考例句：

• He decided to leave only after much persuasion.经过多方劝说，他才决定离开。
• After a lot of persuasion,she agreed to go.经过多次劝说后，她同意去了。

3 corrupt   

v.贿赂，收买；adj.腐败的，贪污的

参考例句：

• The newspaper alleged the mayor's corrupt practices.那家报纸断言市长有舞弊行为。
• This judge is corrupt.这个法官贪污。

4 miller   

n.磨坊主

参考例句：

• Every miller draws water to his own mill.磨坊主都往自己磨里注水。
• The skilful miller killed millions of lions with his ski.技术娴熟的磨坊主用雪橇杀死了上百万头狮子。

5 judgments   

判断( judgment的名词复数 )； 鉴定； 评价； 审判

参考例句：

• A peculiar austerity marked his judgments of modern life. 他对现代生活的批评带着一种特殊的苛刻。
• He is swift with his judgments. 他判断迅速。

6 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。

7 clergy   

n.[总称]牧师，神职人员

参考例句：

• I could heartily wish that more of our country clergy would follow this example.我衷心希望，我国有更多的牧师效法这个榜样。
• All the local clergy attended the ceremony.当地所有的牧师出席了仪式。

8 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

9 robin   

n.知更鸟，红襟鸟

参考例句：

• The robin is the messenger of spring.知更鸟是报春的使者。
• We knew spring was coming as we had seen a robin.我们看见了一只知更鸟，知道春天要到了。

10 presidency   

n.总统(校长，总经理)的职位(任期)

参考例句：

• Roosevelt was elected four times to the presidency of the United States.罗斯福连续当选四届美国总统。
• Two candidates are emerging as contestants for the presidency.两位候选人最终成为总统职位竞争者。

11 anonymous   

adj.无名的；匿名的；无特色的

参考例句：

• Sending anonymous letters is a cowardly act.寄匿名信是懦夫的行为。
• The author wishes to remain anonymous.作者希望姓名不公开。

12 metaphor   

n.隐喻，暗喻

参考例句：

• Using metaphor,we say that computers have senses and a memory.打个比方，我们可以说计算机有感觉和记忆力。
• In poetry the rose is often a metaphor for love.玫瑰在诗中通常作为爱的象征。

13 discords   

不和（discord的复数形式）

参考例句：

• There are many discords in this family. 在这个家庭里有许多争吵。
• The speaker's opinion discords with the principles of this society. 演讲者的意见与本会的原则不符。

14 brotherhood   

n.兄弟般的关系，手中情谊

参考例句：

• They broke up the brotherhood.他们断绝了兄弟关系。
• They live and work together in complete equality and brotherhood.他们完全平等和兄弟般地在一起生活和工作。

15 Soviet   

adj.苏联的，苏维埃的；n.苏维埃

参考例句：

• Zhukov was a marshal of the former Soviet Union.朱可夫是前苏联的一位元帅。
• Germany began to attack the Soviet Union in 1941.德国在1941年开始进攻苏联。

16 soviets   

苏维埃（Soviet的复数形式）

参考例句：

• A public challenge could provoke the Soviets to dig in. 公开挑战会促使苏联人一意孤行。
• The Soviets proposed the withdrawal of American ballistic-missile submarines from forward bases. 苏联人建议把美国的弹道导弹潜艇从前沿基地撤走。

17 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

18 adoption   

n.采用，采纳，通过；收养

参考例句：

• An adoption agency had sent the boys to two different families.一个收养机构把他们送给两个不同的家庭。
• The adoption of this policy would relieve them of a tremendous burden.采取这一政策会给他们解除一个巨大的负担。

19 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

20 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

21 ward   

n.守卫，监护，病房，行政区，由监护人或法院保护的人（尤指儿童）；vt.守护，躲开

参考例句：

• The hospital has a medical ward and a surgical ward.这家医院有内科病房和外科病房。
• During the evening picnic,I'll carry a torch to ward off the bugs.傍晚野餐时，我要点根火把，抵挡蚊虫。

22 mimicking   

v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的现在分词 )；酷似

参考例句：

• She's always mimicking the teachers. 她总喜欢模仿老师的言谈举止。
• The boy made us all laugh by mimicking the teacher's voice. 这男孩模仿老师的声音，逗得我们大家都笑了。 来自辞典例句

23 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句