Headline Vocabulary

Another way to conserve space in headlines is to use short words instead of long ones. In the example below notice the various ways the headline writer can shorten the headline «MP criticizes dishonest election plan».

An average newspaper uses about one hundred easily-learned short words in its news headlines. Here are a few of the most common.

Probe – investigate, investigation

graft – corruption

bid – attempt, offer

row – quarrel or disagreement

There are, of course, many more words of the same kind that you will get acquainted with in the exercises that follow. It will be useful if you make your own list of these words.

Postreading exercises:

as you have just learnt, certain words are very often used in newspaper headlines because they are short or sound dramatic. Some of these words are not common in ordinary language or are used in a different sense. Headlines also omit certain words and use colloquial expressions, abbreviations and different verb tenses,

e.g. STAR TO WED (A film star is going to get married)

Exercise 1 For each of the following headlines find the sentence below which expresses it as it would appear in an ordinary news announcement.

«POLLS RIGGED» CHARGES

TWO SOUGHT AFTER BREAK-OUT DRAMA

CABINET RESHUFFLE URGED

SERVICE CHIEFS GAGGED: TWO QUIT

GEMS HAUL SEIZED IN SWOOP

1 Allegations have been made that election results were falsified.

2 Police raided a house and took possession of jewellery stolen in a recent robbery.

3 Police are hunting two men who made a daring escape from prison by helicopter.

4 Senior officers of the armed forces have been instructed not to talk to the media and, as a result, two of them have resigned.

5 Strong appeals have been made to the Prime Minister to take changes in his ministers.

Exercise 2 Match each of the following words from the headlines above with its meaning below.

CHIEF DRAMA RESHUFFLE GAG GEMS SEEK/SOUGHT SWOOP POLL(S) QUIT RIG HAUL

(a) jewels

(b) goods stolen in robbery or taken by police or customs

(c) to falsify

(d) director, high-ranking officer or official

(e) raid, to raid

(f) to look for, ask for, want

(g) to silence, censor, censorship

(h) exciting, dramatic event

(i) election, voting, public opinion survey

(j) to rearrange, rearrangement (of senior jobs)

(k) to resign, to leave

Exercise 3 Questions for general discussion:

• When you pick up a newspaper, do you scan the headlines before choosing an article to read?

• What kinds of articles do you look at first?

• Who are some of the world’s leaders in the headlines today?

TEXT G Can you write?

^{Task: read the text, headline it, propose key words, underline sentences useful for writing.}

Language is a fabric that changes from one week to another, adding new strands and drop­ping old ones. Even word freaks fight over what is allowable. It's time that the spoken language is looser than the written language. Often we allow an oral idiom to forbid in print as too informal. But we fully realize that «the pen must at length comply with the tongue» as Samuel Johnson said. Today's spoken garbage may be tomorrow's written gold.

Today there is no area of life that isn't being made accessible to the public by writers. Every writer must follow the path that feels most comfortable. For most people who are learning to write that path is nonfiction. It enables them to write about what they know or can observe or can find out. This is especially true of young people. They will write about situations that have reality. Motivation is at the heart of writing. The only important distinction is between good writing and bad writing. Good writing is good writing, wha­tever form it takes and whatever we call it.

Every story must have a beginning, a middle and an end. Every piece of writing should have a logical design which introduces and develops a theme. It's very important to know how to start writing. Ask yourself some basic questions before you start. For example: «In what capacity am I going to address the reader?» (Reporter? Provider of information? Average man or woman?) «What style?» (Impersonal? Reportorial? Personal but formal? Personal and casual?) «What attitude am I going to take toward the material?» (Involved? Detached? Judgemental? Ironical? Amused?) How much do I want to cover? What one point do I want to make?" If you first sentence doesn't induce the reader to proceed to the se­cond sentence all your efforts to produce a good piece of writing may fall flat. Every sentence must induce a reader to continue reading. But it is equally important to know how to stop. In fact you should give as much thought to choosing your last sentence as you did to your first. If your readers have stuck with you from the beginning, surely they won't leave when the end is in sight. But they will do it because the end that's in sight often turns out to be a mirage.

What counts maybe most of all in writing is taste. It's hardly possible to define what it is. One person's beautiful painting is another person's kitsch. It's also true that taste changes with the decades. Yesterday's charm is rejected today as junk, but tomorrow it will be back in vague, certified again as charming. Taste is an invisible current that runs through all writing and you should be aware of it. Writing is the expression of every person's indi­viduality. In general we can say that we know what we like when it comes along. As in the other arts, taste is partly a question of knowing what to omit. Freshness is a critical factor. Taste chooses words that have originality, strength and precision.

Finally taste is the intuition that knows when casual phrase dropped into a formal sentence will not only feel right but will seem to be the inevitable choice. It doesn't mean, however, that taste can't be learned. Though perfect taste is a gift from God (that's one of the main reasons why not everyone won't make an outstanding writer), a certain amount can be acquired. And one of the best ways for it is an imi­tation. Don't ever hesitate to imitate another wri­ter – every artist learning a craft needs models. You will find your own voice and will shed the skin of the writer you imitated. But pick only the best models, the writers you admire for their ability to use the issues and concerns of the day.

Exercise 1 Complete the sentences:

1. ^{Today's spoken garbage may be tomorrow's …}

2. ^{Motivation is …}

3. ^{Every piece of writing should have …}

4. ^{Every sentence must induce a reader to …}

5. ^{What counts maybe most of all in writing is …}

6. ^{One person's beautiful painting is …}

7. ^{… is an invisible current that runs through all writing and you should be aware of it.}

8. ^{Writing is …}

^{Exercise 2 Give the main idea of the text, propose arguments supporting your point of view, summarise the text.}

^{Section 3 Listening comprehension}

Exercise 1 Organise a small group talk and find the answers to the following questions (you may add your own questions if you like):

1. How do you usually learn English? Who helps you? What aids do you use?

2. Do you know any other effective ways of English words learning?

Exercise 2 Listen to the audio script 2 (Olivier, a French university student, talks about learning English and the difficulties he has) and try the comprehension activity below.

COMPREHENSION ACTIVITY

Which of the following difficulties does the language student mention? Circle the ones he mentions.

1 «It’s difficult remembering long words».

2 «I often repeat words».

3 «I don’t know enough words».

4 «I find it difficult to write letters».

5 «I quickly forget new words».

6 «It’s harder to learn general English words than business vocabulary».

7 «It's difficult talking about a subject that I don’t know».

8 «I can only talk about music in English».

9 «I don’t learn business vocabulary with the young people I meet».

10 «I concentrate so hard on understanding the gist of the conversation that I don’t hear individual words».

Reflexive exercise. Analyse (critically) your work during this unit. Find positive and negative points. What did you like most of all? Why? What would you like to change? What about your attitude to these tasks? This material? English in general? Will you change your way of English learning in the next unit?

We hope you’ve enjoyed this unit of our English study complex and we are looking forward to pursuing efficient English study with it in the next unit!