We have seen that the mere phonetic framework of speech does not

constitute the inner fact of language and that the single sound of

articulated speech is not, as such, a linguistic element at all. For all

that, speech is so inevitably bound up with sounds and its articulation 【M1】__________

that we can hardly avoid giving the subject of phonetics some general

consideration. Experience has shown that neither the purely formal

aspects of a language or the course of its history can be fully understood 【M2】__________

without reference with the sounds in which this form and this history are 【M3】__________

embodied. The feeling that the average speaker has of his language is

that it is built up, acoustically speaking, of a comparatively small

number of distinctive sounds, each of which is rather accurately provided 【M4】__________

for in the current alphabet by one letter or, in few cases, by two or 【M5】__________

more alternative letters. As for the languages of foreigners, he generally

feels that, aside from a few striking differences that cannot escape

even the critical ear, the sounds they use are the same as those he is 【M6】__________

familiar with but that there is a mysterious “accent” to these foreign

languages, certain unanalyzed phonetic character, apart from the sounds 【M7】__________

as such, that gives them their air of strangeness. This naive feeling is

largely illusory on all scores. Phonetic analysis convinces one that 【M8】__________

a number of clearly distinguishable sounds and nuances of sounds that are 【M9】__________

habitually employed by the speakers of a language is far greater than

they by themselves recognize. 【M10】_________

The last two tornado seasons have been the deadliest in a decade,

with 206 deaths. Everyone from the insurance industry to Al Gore worry 【M1】__________

that global warming may be causing more tornado activity. But there’s

no baseline for comparison. That’s why we have no accurate record of 【M2】__________

tornadoes before the 1950s, back when it was possible for these brief,

freakish funnels of air to blow over the unpopulated areas without a 【M3】__________

notice.

Tornado warnings have improved over the years; forecasters can

now issue warnings about 18 minutes after touchdown for 75 percent of 【M4】__________

twisters. As longer-term forecasts, the science isn’t there yet, 【M5】__________

despite that you hear on the nightly news. “Television forecasters cater 【M6】__________

with the public’s curiosity about extreme weather,” says Michael H. 【M7】__________

Glantz, a professor at the University of Colorado at Boulder. Their

goal, of course, is to be first with a forecast of trouble ahead.

The number of deaths per tornado is greater in the South than in

Tornado Alley (the Great Plains and part of the Midwest)—a disparity

that can’t be explained for storm frequency or severity. Experts say 【M8】__________

things like terrain, population density, and the number of mobile homes

play a role. And the biggest factor might be timing: “In the Plains,” 【M9】__________

explains Schaefer, “we have much more clearly defined period of 【M10】_________

tornado activity, generally from March to late June. In the Southeast,

tornadoes can happen all year long, so there may be less vigilance.”

Research also shows that the South may have a climatological propensity

(倾向) for nighttime storms, which catch people unawares—asleep in

bed. Last year’s two killer tornado outbreaks in North Carolina landed

between 11:30 p.m. and 3:30 a.m.

Why do so many Americans distrust what they read in their

newspapers? The American Society of Newspaper Editors is trying to

answer this painful question. The organization is deep into a long self-

analysis known as the journalism credibility project.

Sadly to say, this project has turned out to be mostly low-level findings 【M1】__________

about factual errors and spelling and grammar mistakes, combining with 【M2】__________

lots of head-scratching puzzlement about what in world those readers 【M3】__________

really want.

But the sources of distrust go way deeper. Most journalists learn to

see the world through a set of standard templates (patterns) which they 【M4】__________

plug each day’s events. In other words, there is a conventional story line

in the newsroom culture that provides a backbone and a ready-made

narrative structure for otherwise confusing news.

There is a social and cultural disconnection between journalists and

their readers, which help explain why the “standard templates” of the 【M5】__________

newsroom seem alienate to many readers. In a recent survey, 【M6】__________

questionnaires were sent to reporters in five middle-size cities around the

country, plus one large metropolitan area. Then residents in these

communities were phoned at randomly and asked the same questions. 【M7】__________

Replies show that compared with other Americans, journalists are

more likely to live in upscale neighborhoods, have maids, own

Mercedes, and trade stocks, and they’re more likely to go to church, do 【M8】__________

volunteer work, or put up roots in a community. 【M9】__________

Reporters tend to be part of a broadly defined social and cultural

elite, so their work tends to reflect the conventional values of this elite.

The astonishing distrust of the news media isn’t rooted in inaccuracy or

poor reportorial skills and in the daily clash of world views between 【M10】_________

reporters and their readers.