Module 1 Understanding a writer's attitude
1. A cashless society
A Cashless Society
The idea of a cashless society, converting all economic transactions to an electronic format, has been around for years. The impressive rise of mobile payment platforms on smartphones and digital currencies has brought about significant changes. The idea of putting an end to cash altogether doesn't seem all that far-fetched.
So why is this idea gaining momentum? The short answer is that consumers are understandably attracted to the convenience of these kinds of payments. They don't have to carry around large amounts of cash, and they have an immediate electronic record of every transaction. Some argue this trend makes life easier – not having to carry around all those bank notes and coins. Just pay with your debit card or smartphone.
Governments around the world can be expected to continue to encourage the trend toward cashless transactions. They are looking for ways to raise more revenue. Cash transactions are difficult for governments to monitor and, hence, tax. A cashless society would make it much easier for governments to monitor all economic activity and tax it. Surprisingly, some countries have already gone so far as to ban cash transactions above a certain amount.
It must be said, however, that not everyone is happy with this trend. The instantaneous electronic record of every financial transaction has caused alarm among privacy advocates. For example, experts from the McDowell-Kinsey Institute for Civil Liberties have cited this trend as having unintended consequences. Indeed, the head of the institute, Dr. Jennifer Angstrom, has written, 'It is symptomatic of an ongoing general degradation of our freedoms and loss of privacy.' We have to ask ourselves what price we are paying for this convenience.
- Some fear a loss of privacy in a digital economy. 有些人担心数字经济中隐私权会丧失。
- A debit purchase is in an electronic format. 借记卡购买是一种电子格式。
- I use a mobile payment platform on my smartphone. 我使用我的智能手机上的移动支付平台。
- Digital currencies do not require bank notes. 数字货币不要求银行票据。
- Most governments raise revenue through taxation. 大多数政府通过税收来增加收入。
- The cashless society is gaining momentum. 无现金社会正在快速增长。
2. Identifying the meaning behind words
正面和负面的关联
有时理解词语潜在的含义是一个挑战。许多看似中立的单词可能会有负面或正面的含义，当它们与其他单词一起使用时。例如，动词cause似乎是中性的，但它几乎总是后跟一个否定名词或短语。
- Instantaneous electronic records have caused alarm among privacy advocates. 瞬时电子记录引起了隐私拥护者的警惕。
这是一些其他看似中性的但带有积极含义的语言。
- There has been an understandable rise of mobile payments. 移动支付已经出现了可理解的上升趋势。
- The idea of cashless societies has been gaining momentum. 无现金社会的想法已经快速增长。
下面的语言倾向与带有负面意义的单词和短语一起出现。
- Some people say the idea of a completely cashless society is still far-fetched. 有些人说一个完全无现金社会的想法仍然是牵强。
- This trend is symptomatic of a loss of our freedoms. 这种趋势是我们自由丧失的征兆。
- A cashless society could have unintended consequences. 无现金社会可能会产生意想不到的后果。
有些语言可以有各种关联。例如，动词bring about和动词cause的含义非常相似，但是，它可以与正面的，负面的或者中性的语言相关联。在下面的句子中，先是中性的，然后是正面的。
- Cashless payments have brought about significant losses in privacy. 非现金支付带来了显著的隐私丢失。
- Mobile payment platforms have brought about added convenience for consumers. 移动支付平台给消费者带来了更多的便利。
3. Identifying attitude
A Cashless Society
...
读取态度
有时，一个作者的态度不是一目了然。但是，如果作者引用或者参照带有偏见或者陈述观点的来源和人，那么很可能作者也是那个观点。
- According to Dr. Jennifer Angstrom, the government has too much power. 跟据詹妮弗·恩斯特龙博士，政府的权力太大。
同样的，如果一个作者批评支持某个立场的来源和人，或者表示惊讶，这也同样提供有用的信息。
- Surprisingly, many consumers are not concerned about a loss of privacy. 令人惊讶的是，很多消费者都不担心失去隐私。
作者可能先表现为客观的，但是平衡地看一下他们通过花更多的时间在问题的一个方面上而说出了他们的实际观点。他们也可能会先提出了一个平衡的观点，但把他们的真实观点保留到结束的段落。当你再次阅读A Cashless Society时，想一想这些。
Module 2 Identifying opinions in a discussion
1. The economy
positive
- injection of capital
- boost
- natural resources
- growth
negative
- recession
- unemployment
- bubble
- debt
- The policy is to exploit more natural resources. 该政策是为了利用更多的自然资源。
- Both unemployment and debt are increasing. 失业和债务都在增加。
- We have to find a way to boost economic growth. 我们必须找到一种方式来刺激经济增长。
- A property bubble bursting started the recession. 房地产泡沫的破裂触发经济衰退。
- An injection of capital will help economic growth. 资本注入将有助于经济增长。
- She is at the forefront of environmental issues. 她是在环境问题的最前沿。
2. Referring to what people said
人们说了什么
这是一些指代某人说或写的事情的方法。
- Did you hear what he said about the economy? 你有没有听到他说的关于经济的事情？
- I read an excellent article in World Economy. The article said … 我在世界经济中读到了一篇很好的文章。文章说…
说话人常常会在所指内容的开始或者结束给出他们对所说内容的自己的观点。
- What he said about the economy made a lot of sense to me. 他所说的关于经济的内容对我来说是很有道理的。
- I don't see how he can claim that a pipeline is the magic solution. 我看不出他如何能说出计划是神奇的解决方案。
- I actually found what he said to be quite persuasive. 我真的发现他说的很有说服力。
- I'm having a hard time believing what he said about the environment. 我很难相信他所说的关于环境的事情。
3. Predicting what the speaker will say next
聪明的倾听
很多时候，一个好的倾听者会基于刚刚所说的知道接下来会有什么信息。例如，如果你第一次听到有人提到某事，你会期望说话人接下来会详尽阐述。
- I read an excellent article in World Economy. It suggested the pipeline wouldn't do environmental damage. 我在世界经济中读到了一篇很棒的文章。它认为这个计划不会损害环境。
如果你听到参考一个不是众所周知的的事情，它后面可能会跟一个解释，阐述或例子。
- He talked a lot about the three Es: education, energy and the environment. 他对三E谈了很多：教育，能源和环境。
话语标记
话语标记会经常会给出接下来会是什么信息的概念。例如，标记词to be honest 和 the truth is表明说话人接下来很可能要给出观点。
- To be honest, what he said made a lot of sense to me. 说实话，他说的话对我来说很有道理。
其他标记词会告诉你，接下来会有澄清，添加，总结或者对比。
- He made promises on the environment. However, he seems to have forgotten all about that. 他对环境作出了承诺。然而，他似乎已经忘记了这一切。
Module 3 Debating free trade
1. Free trade and protectionism
- domestically produced 国内生产的
- imported goods 进口货物
- protectionism 保护主义
- free trade 自由贸易
- tariffs 关税
- export 出口
The argument over protectionism versus free trade continues to rage. Some countries argue that the only way they can safeguard domestic industries and the livelihood of their citizens is to impose tariffs on imported goods and services. Some also argue that they don't want to rely on foreign countries for food. They say their people can't afford imported products, and it’s the job of government to keep staples like rice and wheat affordable for the poorest people. Free-trade countries, on the other hand, want to overturn these tariffs on imports and exports. They say tariffs prevent the free flow of goods and services and hurt world trade.
2. Speaking formally and informally
非正式和正式的标记词
标记词是帮助合理组织你想说的内容的词或短语。在说和写中，它们可以帮助别人更清楚地理解你。根据具体情况，使用非正式的或正式的标记词。
综合或者澄清
使用非正式的表达方式如what I mean is，或者更正式的表达方式如to clarify来综合或澄清你的看法。
- What I mean is, we don't know how it will end. 我的意思是，我们不知道它会如何结束。
- To clarify, we just don't know what the outcome will be. 澄清一下，我们只是不知道结果会是什么。
- Simply put, there's a real risk of a trade war. 简单地说，有一个真正的贸易战的危险。
- Ultimately, we just don't know the outcome. 最终，我们只是不知道结果如何。
对比或者提醒
使用非正式的表达方式如you have to remember，或者更正式的表达方式如it's also worth noting来进行对比或者提醒。
- You have to remember it would be expensive. 你必须记住这将是昂贵的。
- It's also worth noting it would be more costly. 值得一提的是它会更加昂贵。
强调某个要点
使用非正式的表达方式如sure，或者更正式的表达方式如indeed 或者 as a matter of fact来强调某个要点。
- We've sure been at a trade disadvantage for a long time! 我们肯定在长期处于贸易劣势的地位！
- As a matter of fact, we've been at a trade disadvantage for quite some time! 事实上，我们已经处于贸易劣势相当长的一段时间了！
介绍备选方案
使用非正式的表达方式如instead of，或者更正式的表达方式如rather than来介绍备选方案。
- Instead of protecting dying industries, why don't we try to become more competitive? 与其保护濒临死亡的行业，为什么我们不尝试变得更有竞争力？
- Rather than protecting dying industries, why don't we try to become more competitive? 与其保护濒临死亡的行业，为什么我们不尝试变得更有竞争力？
描述因果关系
使用非正式的表达方式如so，或者更正式的表达方式如therefore 和 thus来描述因果关系。
- The two countries have different levels of tariffs, so it's not a level playing field. 两国的关税水平不同，所以它不是一个公平的竞争环境。
- The two countries have different levels of tariffs. Therefore, it's not a level playing field. 两国的关税水平不同，所以它不是一个公平的竞争环境。
3. Adjusting the intensity of your speech
适当的强度
强度是指一个会话中的能量和情感的水平。这是一些表明强度的方法：
副词
像extremely, totally 和 absolutely的副词是用于增加强度。像relatively和probably的副词适用于减少强度。
- I'm absolutely opposed to tariffs. 我绝对反对关税。
- We believe that the tariffs are relatively high. 我们认为关税是比较高的。
情感性的表达
像it's hard to believe …，can you believe that … 和 they have got to …的情感性的表达方式是另一种增加强度的方法。
- It's hard to believe that they would risk a trade war! 很难相信他们会冒着贸易战的风险！
- They have got to protect domestic industries! 他们必须得保护国内产业！
- Can you believe that the tariff is 40%? 你能相信关税是40％吗？
重音，音量和速度
使用明显的句重音，提高你的音量和减慢你的演讲都可以增加强度。
- We believe the trade situation will deteriorate significantly. 我们认为，贸易形势将会显著恶化。
Module 4 Writing to inform
1. The Eurozone
The Eurozone
The Eurozone profoundly changed the face of Europe. To be more specific, if you had visited Europe in the 1990s, you would have encountered a different currency in every country. This all changed in January 2002, when 15 European countries made a regional agreement to form the Eurozone. These 15 member states basically gave up their individual currencies and adopted the euro as their common currency.
But why would countries like Germany and France willingly give up their currencies? What's important to remember is that these same 15 member states had already made an important trade agreement known as the Single Market. The Single Market eliminated customs duties among members and guaranteed the freedom of movement of goods, capital, people and services within the European Union. In other words, Europe became more like one country.
After forming a single market, using a single currency – the euro – seemed the next logical step. What this meant was that business among these countries became much easier. An added plus was that it facilitated trade with the outside world and travel within Europe. Moreover, a unified economic policy became more possible. One central bank could organize currency issues more efficiently than a large number of national banks that sometimes did not cooperate with one another.
Today there are 20 countries in the Eurozone, out of the almost 30 countries in the European Union. Their common currency allows them to compete much more aggressively with large economies in countries like the United States, China, India and Russia. To put it another way, the euro has made Europe a powerful player in the global economy.
贸易协定
让我们学习一些来自有关贸易协定阅读中的词汇。你的写作作业会需要这些词汇。
- The global economy has a number of regional trade agreements. 全球经济有一些区域贸易协定。
- Customs duties were reduced in an effort to facilitate trade. 关税减少试图以促进贸易。
- Increasingly, there is freedom of movement of goods and services around the world. 逐渐地，世界各地出现了商品和服务的流通自由。
- The NAFTA trade agreement has three member states: the US, Canada and Mexico. 北美自由贸易区贸易协定有三个成员国：美国，加拿大和墨西哥。
- The Eurozone shares a common currency, the euro. 欧元区共享一个共同货币，欧元。
2. Writing to inform
信息化写作
良好的信息写作使用中性语调并以简洁，介绍性段落明确地指出主题而开始。文章中应该有关键点的预览使读者知道文章会说些什么。
- NAFTA is a regional trade agreement among the countries of North America. It has had a profound effect on trade relations.
- 北美自由贸易区是北美国家之间的区域贸易协定。它已对贸易关系产生了深远的影响。
从这个介绍性的段落，读者可以期待会听到更多的关于什么是北美自由贸易协定以及它如何影响到三个成员国的。每个后续段应包括更多具体的信息，像解释，范例和比较。
结束段应该是一个合乎逻辑的结论或者重申前面提出的观点的总结。
把你所学的记在心里，然后再次阅读关于欧元区的文本。
3. Giving explanations
说明的表达方式
好的信息化写作通过转述和阐述提供明确的说明。
转述和简化
使用这样的表达方式来转述或简化你的说明：
- In other words, Europe became more like one country. 换言之，欧洲变得更像一个国家。
- The member states basically gave up their individual currencies. 各成员国基本放弃了他们各自的货币。
- To put it another way, Europe became a powerful player in the global economy. 换言之，欧洲成为全球经济中的一个强大的参与者。
阐述
使用像这样的表达方式来阐述一个观点：
- To be more specific, you would have seen a different currency in every country. 更具体的说，你在每个国家都会看到不同的货币。
- What this meant was, doing business became much easier. 这意味着，做生意变得容易多了。
- To elaborate, regional trade agreements have become more the norm than exception. 更为详尽地说，区域贸易协定已更多地成为常态，而不是例外。
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