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Level 5: Advanced Daily Audio Lessons

DailyStep-5_politics-American-002_US-01

Doug: “Shock turns to anger as mourners blame vitriolic right-wing

rhetoric for creating climate of violence in US politics” - that’s the

headline in today’s New York Times and I have to say that I’m inclined to

agree with it. The way some within the Republican Party and others in

the Tea Party movement have been acting is beyond belief. They’ve been

playing with fire by resorting to cheap bigoted rhetoric to gain popularity

and in the end someone was bound to get their fingers burned.

Monica: I presume that you are referring to the events which led up to

the shooting of -Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords? But surely the man

who went on a killing spree in Tucson, Arizona, was just some mentally

disturbed individual and he is the only one responsible for this outrage!

Doug: Well, not everyone in the States sees it like that. The Tea Party

and their allies have really ratcheted up the level of bitterness and hatred

involved in the national political debate ever since Obama got into power.

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Level 5: Advanced Daily Audio Lessons

Situation: Doug and Monica discuss the shooting in Arizona in which a congresswoman
was injured and others were killed. This conversation took place in 2011.
Style: General conversation
.

Functions:
1. Agreeing: ...that’s the headline in today’s New York Times and I must say that
I’m inclined to agree with it. (note: please copy the tone and emphasis carefully
here.)
2. Expressing outrage: The way some within the Republican Party and others in
the Tea Party movement have been acting is beyond belief. (note: please copy
the tone and emphasis carefully here.)
3. Referring to an inevitable consequence: in the end someone was bound to
get their fingers burned. (note: please copy the tone and emphasis carefully
here.)
4. Making an assumption: I presume that you are referring to the events which
led up to the shooting of Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords? (note: please copy
the tone and emphasis carefully here.)
5. Expressing an alternative viewpoint: But surely the man who went on a
killing spree in Tucson, Arizona, was just some mentally disturbed individual
(note: please copy the tone and emphasis carefully here.)
6. Disagreeing on behalf of others: Well, not everyone in the States sees it like
that. (note: please copy the tone and emphasis carefully here.)
.

Notes:
1. mourners = people who are grieving after a death / people who attend a funeral
2. vitriolic = extremely hateful
3. right-wing rhetoric = rhetoric which expresses views from the right wing of the
political spectrum
4. rhetoric = speech or writing used in order to influence people
5. climate of violence (idiom) = atmosphere of violence
6. the headline = the leading part of a newspaper article (written in bold black
lettering)
7. today’s New York Times = the latest edition of the New York Times (a widely read
American newspaper)
8. I’m inclined to agree with it (less direct) = I think that I agree with it / I tend to
agree with it
9. the Republican Party = the American political party that is on the right of the
political spectrum
10. the Tea Party movement = the ultra-Conservative political movement in the USA
which wants to limit the power and influence of the state and is extremely critical
of the Obama administration.
11. have been acting = have been behaving
12. is beyond belief (more emphatic) = is very difficult to believe because it is so bad
/ is outrageous / is terrible behavior
13. They’ve been playing with fire (idiom: people who play with fire end up getting
their fingers burned) = They have been engaging in very risky and potentially
dangerous activities or speech
14. resorting to = choosing as a last desperate option
15. bigoted rhetoric = language that is utterly intolerant of any creed, belief, or
opinion that differs from their own / small-minded, prejudiced language

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16. to gain popularity = to win the approval of as many people as possible

17. someone was bound to get = someone was certain to get / it was inevitable that
someone would get
18. to get their fingers burned (idiom: people who play with fire end up getting their
fingers burned.) = to get themselves into trouble or get hurt
19. referring to = talking about
20. which led up to (phrasal verb) = which preceded
21. Congresswoman = American female politician in the Congress. (note: The
Congress comprises the lower house, the House of Representatives, and the
upper house, the Senate. Members of either House are Members of Congress.)
22. the man who went on a killing spree = the man started killing people randomly
23. mentally disturbed individual = person with severe psychological problems
24. outrage = terrible crime
25. not everyone in the States sees it like that = not everyone in the States shares
that view (more formal)
26. the States = the United States of America
27. allies = friends or associates who are working towards the same goal and helping
each other to achieve it
28. have really ratcheted up (phrasal verb: to ratchet up = to deliberately increase)
the level of bitterness and hatred = have increased the level of bitterness and
hatred by a large amount
.
Audio file name: DailyStep-5_politics-American-002_US-01
.

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