SECTION C NEWS BROADCAST

News Item 1(For Question 11)

President Clinton has renewed his attacks on the American tobacco industry. Accusing of using delaying tactics to block anti-smoking legislation, the US co ngress is considering a bill which will place tight restrictions on tobacco adve rtising and impose penalties on tobacco companies if they continue to sell cigar ettes to children. Mr. Clinton said, it was a fight with the lives of the Amer i can children, and he urged congress to move ahead with the bill. But a spokesman f or one of the big tobacco companies called the legislation totally unreasonable, and he said the process had become wholly politicized.?

News Item 2(For Questions 12-13)

The French President Jacques Chirac is to discuss the efforts to stimulate Japan’s economy during his visit to Japan which begins today. The French P r esident is no stranger to Japan. He’s visited the country 40 times before and t h is will be his second visit as President. Mr. Chirac will hold summit talks wit h Japanese Prime Minister next Monday. He is expected to discuss efforts to boos t Japanese economy as well as investment by Japanese companies in France. He’ll also meet the Emperor and Empress at a luncheon on Tuesday. But perhaps the event that will draw most attention is the launch of a-year-long festival of French ar t and culture in Japan. A replica of Arch de Triomphe that usually stands in Pad s has been transported to Tokyo Bay for the festival. And Mr. Chirac will unveil it. The festival includes films, theatrical performance, dance and exhibitions, as well as promotions for French food and wine, both of which are very popular in Japan.?

News Item 3(For Questions 14-15)

Officials of the World Food Program (WFP) say they are receiving informati on that famine has great part of central Afghanistan. WFP officials say as the w inter’s snow begins to melt and high mountain paths begin to clear, local leade r s and international aid workers are reporting some people are dying of starvatio n. Officials say a major disaster affecting hundreds of thousands of people may be in the making. The Taliban are blocking food deliveries to central Afghanista n. The UN has warned for several months that more than one million people are su ffering from blockade and 160,000 face starvation. An emergency air-lift of food to central Bombay province was cancelled earlier this year when the Taliban bom bed the local airport. WFP officials say the existing food stocks in that area a re exhausted and an emergency effort will be launched to bring wheat and potatoe s into the area.?

SECTION D NOTE-TAKING AND GAP-FILLING

Good morning. Today I’d like to discuss with you the secrets of good conv ersation, that is, how to talk to anyone, anytime, anywhere.

When someone tells you that you have to give a speech, your response may b e ”I’ve got to do what? But it’s important to remember that speeches are like an ything else in life there’s always a “first time”. People, even those who are wo nderful talkers in a conversational setting, are often terrified over the prospe ct of giving their first speech. Some are scared about it no matter how many spe eches they have given before. I suspect you may have the same experience, or hav e seen others in similar situations. I give speeches many times a year to groups of every possible description. My secret is simply that I think of public speak ing as no different from any other form of talk. It’s a way of sharing my thoug h t with other people. You know, in one sense, it’s actually easier than social c o nversation because you are in complete control of where the talk is going. At th e same time you have to have something to say, of course. This leads us to the f irst key of being a successful public speaker: Talk about something you know abo ut.

The second key to being a good speaker is to follow the motto of the Boy Sc outs-Be well prepared. Never go to a speech without some prior work on it. If yo u are talking about a subject you know well, as I’ve just advised, preparing th e speech itself should not be too difficult. If you let the audience know where y ou’re going at the beginning, they will follow you more easily through the body of your speech. At the end of your speech, try to summarize your most important points in slightly different words from the ones you used in your opening.

Here are some other key tips based on my own speaking experience and what I’ve noticed in other good speakers. Look at your audience. I’ve already said ho w important it is to make eye contact. First, be sure to look up from you text o r notes. Second, don’t talk to the wall in the back, or to the window or to the side. They are not your audience. Each time you look up from your text, look at a different part of the audience, so the whole group feels they’re being addres s ed. Note the pacing and inflection you want to use in speech. Some speakers, if they’re reading from a complete text, underline the words they want to emphasiz e . If you are using an outline or notes, highlight ideas or phrases you should st ress in your speech with different-colored pen or something. This accomplishes t wo things: It guarantees that your emphasis will be where you intended it to be, and it assures your audience that you won’t be speaking in a dull monotone tha t will put them to sleep, especially if you’re talking after a heavy meal. Stand up straight. I don’ t mean that you have to assume a parade ground posture, but stand in a comfortable, natural way rather than hunching over the lectern. Hunch ing constricts your breathing, and it makes you look bad as well. If there’s a m icrophone in front of you, adjust it to the right height rather than forcing you rself to stoop during the speech. If you can, check this out before it’s your t u rn to speak. Talk normally into the microphone. If you speak at a high volume in to it, you will actually be harder to hear. And be careful to keep your mouth in the range of the mike; don’t wave around or turn away to answer a question fro m the side.

Last but not the least, a speaker has to keep in mind the value of brevity. It’s not easy to be brief, especially on a topic you know a lot about. But in a ny kind of communication, it’s always worth taking the time to boil your messag e down to its essentials. That emphasis on brevity applies even more when you are delivering a speech. The show business expression “know when to get off” come s into play again. And the best public speakers always know when. Some of the long est speeches ever inflicted on the American public have been the inaugural addre sses of their presidents. However one of the shortest inaugural addresses is als o one of the best remembered and most often quoted. It was delivered on January 20,1960 by John F. Kennedy. Kennedy spoke for less than 15 minutes. We can learn from these speakers, whose ability to talk effectively was central to their suc cess, as is the case with so many successful people in every profession. Brevity is the first thing we can learn from them. If people like Kennedy are willing t o keep it short to maximize their effectiveness as speakers, we should be smart enough to do the same thing.

To sum up, I’ve mentioned several key points in becoming a successful pub l ic speaker, such as good preparation, audience awareness, brevity, etc. I hope y ou find them very useful in making your speeches effective. Thank you.