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TeacherJapan Posted 10 years ago
Grammar

Which suits better?

Journalists make many thousands of choices every day in reporting, writing and presenting the news. What a newspaper decides to report on, what it decides to talk to and how the facts are presented invariably reflect the value judgements of the newspaper and its journalists.

Last week I wrote that news articles in the Star should not inlude reporter's opinions. Several readers responded to that with questions about whether news reporting in this newspaper is "slanted" to reflect this newspaper's long-held liberal values as established by the Star's legendary publisher, Joseph Atkinson.

Clearly, the Star is a newspaper with a purpose. And I think it's fair to say that there is some inherent tension between the perceived ideal of toally impartial, objective journalism and the reality of this newspaper's role as an advocate for a fairer, better society.

When I was a young reporter here, imbued with a sense of journalistic mission aligned with the Star's values of ( A ), I often
wrestled with the challenge of journalists of my generation to be an "objective reader" and write authoritatively about the issues I reported on without expressing my personal views.

Q: Choose the most suitable phrase from those below to fill in the blank (A).

(a) the best society for the best people
(b) the greatest good for the best people

Which do you think suits betterin the blank (A)?
Why is one better than the other?
  

Top answer

teacherJapan the best people The "best people" does not fit at all. It means perhaps the richest or the upper class, or the highest educated. You probably meant "the most people" which means the largest majority.

  • teacherJapan the best people The "best people" does not fit at all.
  • It means perhaps the richest or the upper class, or the highest educated.
  • You probably meant "the most people" which means the largest majority.
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5 Answers
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teacherJapanthe best people
The "best people" does not fit at all. It means perhaps the richest or the upper class, or the highest educated.
You probably meant "the most people" which means the largest majority.
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Yes, sorry. You are right.

(a) the best society for the best people
(b) the greatest good for the greatest number

Which would you choose in that case?
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teacherJapanWhich would you choose in that case?
( b) agrees with the philosophy of the liberals.
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I see. That's kind of hard to tell from the context itself. I think that
my students will definitely have a hard time!!
One of the teachers created his original questions and answers, and
I am so ****** off!! But thank you very much for bearing with these!!
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teacherJapanThat's kind of hard to tell from the context itself.
No really. The text tells us that the newspaper takes a liberal stance. Then you just have to know the meaning of "liberal."
That might be a good vocabulary exercise. Contrast "liberal" with "conservative."

You can set up a debate with liberals versus conservatives on the most import

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