New Horizon College English

New Horizon College English Unit 2 Section B The Political Career of a Female Politician 新视野

Reading Skills Exercises Test Yourself Text B Dictation Multiple Choice Unit 2 Section B Directory Mixture of Fact and Opinion Practice Comprehension Guide Language Points Blank-filling with New Words Sentence-rewriting with Given Expressions

Ⅰ. Reading Skills: Mixture of Fact and Opinion Facts are statements that tell us what really happened or what really is the case whereas opinions are statements of beliefs, judgments, or feelings. It is not always easy to make a clear distinction between facts and opinions as writers often mix facts and opinions even within the same sentence, with some words representing facts and others representing opinions.

Back Ⅰ. Reading Skills: Mixture of Fact and Opinion I’ve some tips for distinguishing facts from opinions: 1. Test the writer’s opinion by asking whether a different opinion is possible. You do not have to agree with the different opinion or with the author’s, for that matter. You just have to be able to see if there is another view.

Back Ⅰ. Reading Skills: Mixture of Fact and Opinion 2. Look for words that interpret one’s opinions such as pretty, ugly, handsome, dangerous, evil, attractive, well-dressed, good, etc. If we say a girl is pretty or ugly, it is clear that it is only our point of view. Words like probably, perhaps, usually, often, sometimes, on occasion are used to limit a statement of fact and to indicate the possibility of other opinions. Other words say clearly that an opinion will follow; these are words like I believe, I think, in my opinion, I feel, I suggest, etc.

Back Ⅰ. Reading Skills: Mixture of Fact and Opinion Example 1 But only Charlie Chaplin could have created the great comic character of “The Tramp”, the little man in rags who gave his creator permanent fame. (Para. 1, Reading Passage A, Unit 2)

Back Ⅰ. Reading Skills: Mixture of Fact and Opinion Even though the words only, great, permanent state opinions, the sentence states many facts—Charlie Chaplin, created, comic character, the Tramp, the little man in rags. Even more important, the main point of the sentence is to state the fact that Charlie Chaplin created “The Tramp”, which brought him fame. Thus the sentence is basically factual.

Back Ⅰ. Reading Skills: Mixture of Fact and Opinion Example 2 Sad to say, many English people in the 1920’s and 1930’s thought Chaplin’s Tramp a bit, well, “crude”. Certainly middle-class audiences did; the working-class audiences were more likely to clap for a character who revolted against authority, using his wicked little cane to trip it up, or aiming the heel of his boot for a well-placed kick at its broad rear. (Para. 3, Reading Passage A, Unit 2)

Back Ⅰ. Reading Skills: Mixture of Fact and Opinion The sentence expresses an opinion that the middle-class audience thought Chaplin’s Tramp a bit, well, “crude” whereas the working class enjoyed his performance. We have also found a lot of facts: using his wicked little cane to trip it up, or aiming the heel of his boot for a well-placed kick at its broad rear, as these were true of Chaplin’s performance. However, we find that the facts were used to support the opinions. Thus the sentence is basically expressing opinions.

Back Ⅰ. Reading Skills: Mixture of Fact and Opinion Example 3 This physical transformation, plus the skill with which he executed it again and again, are surely the secrets of Chaplin’s great comedy. (Para. 6, Reading Passage A, Unit 2) Even though the words surely, secrets, great state opinions, the sentence states many facts—physical transformation, the skill he executed with, again and again. The sentence is basically factual as it deals with Charlie Chaplin’s skills in performance.

Back Ⅰ. Reading Skills: Mixture of Fact and Opinion Example 4 It’s a relief to know that life eventually gave Charlie Chaplin the stable happiness it had earlier denied him. (Para. 8, Reading Passage A, Unit 2) Even though we have in the sentence words expressing opinions such as relief, eventually, stable, etc., it is a fact that Chaplin did get married in his 50’s and his last marriage was happy. Thus the sentence is basically factual.

Back Ⅰ. Reading Skills: Mixture of Fact and Opinion Example 5 A few months later, a couple of almost comic body-thieves stole his body from the family burial chamber and held it for money: the police recovered it with more efficiency than Max Sennet’s clumsy Keystone Cops would have done. (Para. 9, Reading Passage A, Unit 2) Even though we have in the sentence words expressing opinions such as comic, with more efficiency than Max Sennet’s clumsy Keystone Cops, it is factual as to what happened. Thus the sentence is basically factual.

Back Ⅰ. Reading Skills: Mixture of Fact and Opinion Directions:In the following sentences from Passage B, pick out the words that present facts and those that present opinions. Select F for each sentence that basically represents a fact; Select O for each statement of opinion. F • ____ Yet, six months ago, she did a most revolutionary thing: She ran for mayor of Embu, Kenya, and won. • ____ Ms. Mbogo’s victory was even more surprising because she was voted in by her colleagues on the District Council, all men. F

Ⅰ. Reading Skills: Practice O 3. ____ For the thousands of women in this farming area two hours northeast of Nairobi, Ms. Mbogo suddenly became a symbol of the increasingly powerful political force women have become in Kenya and across Africa. 4. ____ One veteran female political activist said that many women had not been taught the basics of political participation. 5. ____ Yet, political activity among Kenyan women is not a new phenomenon. F O

Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Text B Question Previewing New Words Passage Reading True or False

Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points • Proper Names • Agatha • Muthoni • Mbogo • Embu • Kenya • Nairobi • Lydiah • Kimani • Kenyan • revolutionary • mayor • vote • northeast • politics • opponent • misunderstand • misunderstanding • ambassador • handbag • election • activist • refreshing • onion • Phrases and • Expressions • run for • vote in • from door to • door • take care of • spy on/upon • shut out of • have/get the • upper hand • prayer • veteran • sack • flour • gram • loaf • sow • troop • colonial • jealous • assembly • committee • make up • break up • tear down • in/by • contrast • in earnest • be proud of • lay out • feel like • watch over • deliver the • goods • scandal • fierce • rally • riot • banner • witness • earnest • dormitory • umbrella • lemon • emperor • refresh

Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Q: 1.Ms. Mbogo’s victory surprised people greatly because she was the first female mayor in Embu, Kenya. Q: 2.When Ms. Mbogo began running for the Embu Council, she already had the experience of a political career. Q: 3. After Ms. Mbogo became a Kenyan ambassador to a foreign country, women there began to understand her better. Q: 4. Kenyan women tend to vote for those who could provide them with the necessary food to live on.

Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Q: 5.Traditionally, Kenyan women are regarded as housewives, who can decide how to use the money of the family. Q: 6.After winning her council seat, Ms. Mbogo joined the town planning committee, in which she could do more practical work for the town than she could in the education and social services committee. Q: 7. Ms. Mbogo has never encountered any abuse in her political life. Q: 8. Ms. Mbogo is now particularly welcomed by people of low social status.

Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points The Political Career of a Female Politician Para.1Modest and soft-spoken, Agatha Muthoni Mbogo, 24, is hardly the image of a revolutionary. Yet, six months ago, she did a most revolutionary thing: She ran for mayor of Embu, Kenya, and won.

请选择 Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Question 1 Para.2Ms. Mbogo’s victory was even more surprising because she was voted in by her colleagues on the District Council, all men. For the thousands of women in this farming area two hours northeast of Nairobi, Ms. Mbogo suddenly became a symbol of the increasingly powerful political force women have become in Kenya and across Africa.

请选择 Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Question 2 Para.3Ms. Mbogo launched her dream of a career in politics in 1992 by running for the Embu Council, facing the obstacles that often trouble African women running for political office. She had little money. She had no political experience. She faced ridiculous questions about her personal life. “My opponent kept insisting that I was going to get married to somebody in another town and move away,” Ms. Mbogo said.

请选择 Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Question 3 Para.4Ms. Mbogo also faced misunderstanding among the town’s women, many of whom initially were unwilling to vote for her. She became an ambassador for women’s political rights, giving speeches before women’s groups and going from door to door, handbag in hand, spending hours at a time giving a combination of speech and government lesson.

Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Para.5“I was delighted when she won the election, because men elected her,” said Lydiah Kimani, an Embu farmer and political activist. “It was the answer to my prayers because it seemed to be a victory over this idea that ‘women can’t lead’.”

请选择 Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Question 4 Para.6Education of African women has become a top priority for political activists. One organization has held dozens of workshops in rural Kenya to help women understand the nation’s constitution and the procedures and theory behind a democratic political system. One veteran female political activist said that many women had not been taught the basics of political participation. They are taught to vote for the one who “gives you a half-kilo sack of flour, 200 grams of salt, or a loaf of bread” during the campaign, said the activist.

请选择 Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Question 5 Para.7Women politicians and activists say they are fighting deeply held cultural traditions. Those traditions teach that African women cook, clean, take care of children, sow and harvest crops and support their husbands. They typically do not inherit land, divorce their husbands, control their finances or hold political office.

Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Para.8 Yet, political activity among Kenyan women is not a new phenomenon. During the struggle for independence in the 1950s, Kenyan women often secretly provided troops with weapons and spied on the positions of colonial forces. But after independence, leaders jealous to protect their power shut them out of politics, a situation repeated across the continent.

Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Para.9Today, men still have the upper hand. Women in Kenya make up 60 percent of the people who vote, but only 3 percent of the National Assembly. No Kenyan woman has ever held a cabinet post.

请选择 Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Question 6 Para. 10 Against that background, Agatha Mbogo began her political career. After winning her council seat, she declined a spot on the education and social services committee after a colleague called it “a woman’s committee”. She instead joined the town planning committee, a much more visible assignment.

Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Para.11Then last year, she decided to challenge Embu’s mayor, a veteran politician. Ms. Mbogo said she had become frustrated because the donor groups that provide substantial aid to Kenya’s rural areas “did not want to come here”. Para.12 “We weren’t seeing things done for the community,” she said. “It was a scandal— the donors’ money seemed to be going to individuals.”

请选择 Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Question 7 Para.13After a fierce campaign, the council elected her, 7 to 6. She said women in Embu celebrated. Men were puzzled; some were hostile. They asked, “How could all of those men vote for a woman?” she recalled.

Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Para.14 Ms. Mbogo has not met with the kinds of abuse that other female politicians have been subjected to, however. Some have said their supporters are sometimes attacked with clubs after rallies. Last June, Kenyan police attempted to break up a women’s political meeting northwest of Nairobi, insisting it was illegal and might start a riot. When the 100 women, including a member of the National Assembly, refused to go, officers tore down their banners and beat them with clubs and fists, witnesses reported.

Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Para.15In contrast, Ms. Mbogo generally receives warm greetings from the men of Embu, and many say they are now glad the council chose her. Para.16 Donor groups are now funding projects in Embu in earnest. A new market is going up downtown. A 200-bed section for new-mothers is being added to the hospital. A dormitory-style home has been built for the dozens of homeless street children who once wandered the city. Ms. Mbogo is especially proud of the market and the hospital because “they have an impact on women”.

Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Para.17At the current market, where hundreds of people, shaded by umbrellas, lay out fruits and vegetables, one person who sells lemons said she liked the new mayor. Para.18 “I feel like if I have a problem, I can go to her office,” she said. “The other mayor shouted. He acted like an emperor. He did not want to hear my problems.”

请选择 Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Question 8 Para.19Nearby, a man said he found Ms. Mbogo a refreshing change. “I’m tired of men,” he said, watching over his pile of onions. “They give us so many promises, but they don’t deliver the goods. As long as she keeps giving us what we want, she is all right.”

Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Directions:Read the following statements carefully, and decide whether they are true (T) or false (F) according to the passage. Refer to Paras. 1 - 2 返回 T Q: 1. _____ Ms. Mbogo’s victory surprised people greatly because she was the first female mayor in Embu, Kenya.

Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Refer to Para. 3 返回 Q: 2. _____ When Ms. Mbogo began running for the Embu Council, she already had the experience of a political career. F Refer to Para. 4 返回 F Q: 3. _____ After Ms. Mbogo became a Kenyan ambassador to a foreign country, women there began to understand her better.

Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Refer to Para. 6 返回 T Q: 4. _____ Kenyan women tend to vote for those who could provide them with the necessary food to live on. Refer to Para. 7 返回 F Q: 5. _____ Traditionally, Kenyan women are regarded as housewives, who can decide how to use the money of the family.

Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Refer to Para. 10 返回 T Q: 6. _____ After winning her council seat, Ms. Mbogo joined the town planning committee, in which she could do more practical work for the town than she could in the education and social services committee. Refer to Para. 13 返回 F Q: 7. _____ Ms. Mbogo has never encountered any abuse in her political life.

Back Ⅱ. Text B: Comprehension Guide & Language Points Refer to Paras. 17- 19 返回 Q: 8. _____ Ms. Mbogo is now particularly welcomed by people of low social status. T

Exercises 《读写教程IV》 Ex. XVII, p. 53 《读写教程IV》 Ex. XVIII, p. 53

Exercises abuse refresh vote riot misunderstanding fierce jealous politics scandal ambassador veteran sow witness earnest opponent Back 《读写教程IV》Ex. XVII, p. 53 Fill in the blanks with the words given below. Change the form where necessary. 1. Japanese banks, once ____ competitors in the British banking market, have all but disappeared. fierce

Exercises abuse refresh vote riot misunderstanding fierce jealous politics scandal ambassador veteran sow witness earnest opponent Back 2. Unless they are called as ____, victims are often not told when a case is coming to court. witnesses 3. Trade union delegates remained silent during the short debate but ____ solidly behind the leadership. voted

Exercises abuse refresh vote riot misunderstanding fierce jealous politics scandal ambassador veteran sow witness earnest opponent Back 4. The minister was forced to resign after a ____ involving him and another minister’s wife. scandal 5. Ms. Mbogo gave speeches before women’s groups and went from door to door to help women understand how to fight for themselves, in the hope to get more women into ____. politics

Exercises abuse refresh vote riot misunderstanding fierce jealous politics scandal ambassador veteran sow witness earnest opponent Back 6. Ms. Mbogo and her colleagues have for many years been involved in a campaign against the ____ of human rights in their country. abuse 7. These leaders were very ____ of their power, and did whatever they could to shut women out of politics. jealous

Exercises abuse refresh vote riot misunderstanding fierce jealous politics scandal ambassador veteran sow witness earnest opponent Back 8. Simply going for a walk can relax the mind and ____ the spirit—and it will make you fitter, too. refresh

Exercises Back 《读写教程IV》Ex. XVIII, p. 53 Rewrite each of the following sentences using the expressions given in parentheses. 1. Could we take a walk? I want a little exercise. (feel like) Could we take a walk? I feel like a little exercise. 2. Ms. Mbogo had made a bold decision: she tried to be elected as mayor of Embu, Kenya. (run for) Ms. Mbogo had made a bold decision: sheran formayor of Embu, Kenya. (run for)

Exercises Back 3. Some leaders in Kenya were afraid of losing their power, so they tried everything to prevent Kenyan women from being in politics. (shut out of) Some leaders in Kenya were afraid of losing their power, so they tried everything to shutKenyan womenout ofpolitics. 4. She decided long ago that she would study the subject seriously as soon as she left school. (in earnest) She decided long ago that she would study the subjectin earnestas soon as she left school.

Exercises Back 5. He was arrested because he was paid to watch secretly our air bases. (spy on) He was arrested because he was paid tospy onour air bases. 6. After almost four hours of fierce negotiation, the president had more power than others involved. (have the upper hand) After almost four hours of fierce negotiation, the presidenthad the upper hand.

Exercises 7. Road accident victims form almost a quarter of the hospital’s patients. (make up) Road accident victimsmake upalmost a quarter of the hospital’s patients. 8. Ms. Mbogo’s victory was of great significance because all her male colleagues gave her their votes in the election. (vote in) Ms. Mbogo’s victory was of great significance because all her male colleaguesvotedherin.

Test Yourself Dictation Multiple Choice You are going to hear 5 sentences. Each will be read three times. Write down the sentences according to the dictation. For each sentence there are four choices marked A), B), C) and D). Choose the ONE answer that best completes the sentence.

New Horizon College English