Discussing issues ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

 

ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS IN USE (ADVANCED)

UNIT 58

Discussing issues

A	Political interviews Interviewer: Despite the fact that you gave repeated assurances that you would not raise taxes, you seem to have broken your promise and raised five different taxes. Can you offer an explanation for why this happened? Haven’t you betrayed the trust of the voters? Politician: I reject that charge completely. We have kept our manifesto promise and not raised the basic rate of income tax at all. Interviewer: Yes, but you’ve raised indirect taxes instead, so, in effect, you’ve gone back on1 your promise of no tax increases, have you not? Politician: No. We made a commitment with regard to the basic rate of income tax. And I’m happy to reaffirm2 that commitment now. The basic rate will remain unchanged … These politicians! They can never give a straight3 answer! They’re great at dodging4 the question. 1 not kept, or changed in some way 2 strongly state again 3 direct and honest 4 avoiding
B	Discussing communication Tutor: Right. I want to put the following question to you: do you think the channels of communication between politicians and the people are adequate? (The students are silent.) Tutor: Well, let me frame1 the question differently. Do politicians genuinely communicate directly with the public? Zoë, what do you think? Zoe: Not really. It’s just soundbites on TV, isn’t it? They hardly ever meet ordinary people face to face. They don’t mind fielding2 questions from journalists, they’re used to that, but that’s not the same as confronting the issues directly with real people. Tutor: Well, that’s a fair comment. But what about politicians who have websites and write blogs? Are these better ways of establishing communication with people? Young people don’t watch TV; they’re on the web all the time. Paul: With all due respect3, I think you’re missing the point4, if you don’t mind me saying so. The politicians can still keep their distance. They don’t have to face a grilling5 from journalists or anyone if they just have a web page or a blog. In some ways it’s worse than media interviews. Tutor: Fine. I take your point6. But no politician can meet everyone face to face, so communicating with as many people as possible using technology could be seen as more genuinely democratic, couldn’t it? Imelda Yes, but they become less accountable. If there’s a scandal, they just issue a denial, and when did you last hear a politician give a full apology for getting things wrong? They enter into a contract with the people and if they breach7 that contract they should be directly accountable, and not just at election time. Tutor: Right. Okay then. Get into groups and discuss ways in which politicians can be made more directly accountable. Okay? About ten minutes. 1 formulate 2 dealing with 3 used before the speaker disagrees  with or criticises the person they are addressing 4 misunderstanding the idea someone is expressing 5 face a lot of tough questions 6 accept that you have a serious opinion worth considering 7 break

EXERCISES

58.1	Match words from each box to form collocations and use them in the appropriate form to complete the sentences below.   1 He said he wouldn’t tell anyone of my plans but he ______ his ______ and shared everything with his wife. 2 She was unable to ______ any ______ for what had happened. 3 I want to ______ my ______ to your scheme to help poorer families. 4 The minister ______ the ______ and denied he had misled the public. 5 Why do politicians always ______ the ______ and never give an honest answer? 6 The Prime Minister has ______ the ______ of those who elected her.
58.2	Rewrite the underlined part of each sentence using the words in brackets in the appropriate form in a collocation from the opposite page. 1 The school’s director reassured everyone over and over again that the school was not going to close, despite reports in the press. (GIVE REPEAT) 2 Henry broke his promise to take part in our charity football match. (BACK) 3 Politicians rarely respond directly and honestly to a question. (STRAIGHT) 4 Philip said very firmly that he would support us. (COMMIT) 5 Thank you for doing what you promised to do. (KEEP) 6 The team manager gave quite skilful answers to a number of hostile questions from reporters after the match. (FIELD) 7 We need better ways of communicating with our customers. (CHANNEL) 8 I accept that you have a strong argument but it’s a very complex problem. (TAKE) 9 He said he was 100 percent sorry for his behaviour. (GIVE FULL)
58.3	Read these remarks by different people, and then answer the questions. Simon: I didn’t quite know the best way to ask him what I wanted to know. Arlene: I took more days off than I was officially allowed and was fired from my job. Alex: I had to answer almost an hour of really difficult questions at the interview. Finn: I couldn’t sign an agreement with the builder because I didn’t get the bank loan. Brona: I didn’t see what was important in what the lecturer was saying. Did you?   Name 1 Who faced a grilling? ________________ 2 Who missed the point of something? ________________ 3 Who had problems framing a question? ________________ 4 Who breached a contract? ________________ 5 Who didn’t enter into a contract with someone? ________________
58.4	Make six collocations from these words and write a sentence using each.

ANSWER KEY

 

58.1 1 broke; promise 2 offer; explanation 3 reaffirm; commitment 4 rejected; charge 5 dodge; question 6 betrayed; trust   58.2 1 gave repeated assurances 2 went back on his promise 3 give a straight answer 4 made a (firm) commitment to 5 keeping your promise 6 fielded 7 channels of communication 8 take your point 9 gave a full apology   58.3 1 Alex    2 Brona       3 Simon      4 Arlene       5 Finn   58.4 Collocations in possible sentences: We all have to confront the issue of climate change. With all due respect, I think that your comments are very short-sighted. The police are trying to establish communication with the terrorists in the building. I accept what you say. It’s a fair comment. The politician / film star / footballer issued a denial after reports in the newspapers that he/she was having an affair. The lecturer put an interesting question to the class about the reasons for antisocial behaviour.