(to) face pressure: Common English Expressions in the News

Who doesn't know pressure?

We know the expression "to feel pressure" but today we explore another expressions dealing with pressure: (to) face pressure.

The (CDC) has faced pressure over the past week from outside medical experts to include a testing component in its new shortened isolation period.

What is the Center for Disease Control facing pressure about, or to do?

 --

Here's a different news story:

Battered by Trump, the C.D.C.’s Director Faces Pressure to Speak Out

Who is pressuring the CDC director? And what is he facing pressure to do? What is he facing pressure to speak out about? 

Understanding the pressures children and teenagers face

In the article above, we find the expression "to face pressure" not only in the headline but later on.

"Many children feel under pressure to fit in, and sometimes this means they do things they may not feel comfortable with or are unsure of."

Activities for You

Can you list some of the ways that teenagers where you live face pressure? Do boys and girls, males and females, face different types of pressure? We will begin this list and you complete it:

1. Teens face pressure from their parents to do well in school.
   
   
2. Teens face pressure from _______ to ______.
   
   
3. Teens...
   
   
4. Teenagers...
   
   
5. Young adults ...
   
   
6. ... 

 What are some pressures that adults face?

1. Adults face pressure from __________ to__________.
   
   
2. Fathers ...
   
   
3. Mothers ...
   

 What are some techniques that you use when you face pressure?

 

 

Image by Sasha Wolff from Grand Rapids - Can't Concentrate: 14/365, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=11343038 

WORLD NEWS: (to) TAKE OFF

This idiom can be used in many contexts.

First, let's show it in its most common context, dealing with air flight, in an article which might interest many of you.

China’s home-grown C919 passenger jet takes off on maiden flight

Here, this intransitive verb is used with reference to air flight.

What does this event mean to the people of China? What does this mean to the rest of the world?

You also don't have to be an airplane and leave the ground in order to take off!

Runners take off in first-ever space station 5K race

Can you express that sentence in simple past tense?   

This flexible transitive verb can also be used in other contexts, often financial:

US: Existing-home sales took off in March to their highest pace in over 10 years

 In the above article, which verb can be used in place of "took off"?

Finally, Chrysler Pacifica Sales Took Off In September 2016

The people at Chrysler Pacifica are bound to be happy about that news.

Remember - this is a two-word verb and this verb is intransitive. It does NOT take an object. See the headline below:

3 Energy Stocks We Missed That Took Off

This is NOT to be confused with the verb (to) take and the preposition "off" as in "he took off his wrist watch" or "She took off her ring."


And for our final news headline: Here's the best use of this verb:

Romance took off after flight of fancy

Helping seriously-ill children take the trip of a lifetime with the Dreamflight charity became a life- changing experience for Simon and Suzanne when they met and fell in love, reveals Catherine Welford.

And I think that's a pretty good note on which to end this blog post! 

Photo, Permission Granted by U.S. Navy photo by Photographer's Mate 3rd Class Jonathan Chandler [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Photo, AHAVA  by Robert Indiana, American, born 1928 עברית: רוברט אידניאנה, נולד ב-1928 (Talmoryair) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

The VOCABULARY of POSITION: (to) STEP DOWN (from)

Can you keep up with all the changes in the Trump administration?

Many people, myself included, are having difficulty doing this. News analysts are also having trouble keeping up with the resignations and firings.

Let's see why! Let's start with 2019:

Schiff calls on Barr to step down

Here's the first paragraph from that news article. Which word describes what "step down" means?

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) on Wednesday called on Attorney General William Barr to resign after it was revealed that special counsel Robert Mueller believed the chief law enforcement officer publicly misrepresented the findings of the Russia probe.

Of course (to) step down means to resign from a position to which you were appointed or elected, often with outside pressure. 

We can also go back in time:

Chief digital officer for Trump steps down amid uncertain circumstances 

In the sentence above, we can see it as an intransitive verb. There is no object, and the verb + preposition always remain together.

Reading the news article, who was this chief digital officer? What was his role in the White House? Why did he step down?

When the sentence includes the job or responsibility of importance that the person formerly had, we use the preposition from, as in the sentence "A source familiar with Lansing’s departure said the former Hill employee stepped down from the office in mid-February. But Lansing isn't the only person who has stepped down so far.

Let's see what others we can find:

Nunes Steps Down From Russia Election-Meddling Investigation

Why did Nunes, who is now under investigation himself, step down?  Who took his place?

Here's one more headline and this was very big news on TV and in the print media:

 Trump National Security Adviser steps down over Russian reports 

Why did Michael Flynn step down?\ o far we\x27ve seen this used in regard to political office. But the expression can be used for business positions as well. And it doesn't always refer to a scandal. Here are some examples:

Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz Steps Down As CEO

Why did this headline say 'step down as" and not 'step down from..."?

If you can say "He stepped down from his position as Chairman" or "She will step down from her job as Advisor" but "She stepped down as Advisor to the President." Notice that Howard Schultz took a different position in the same company.

What position at Starbucks did he take?

These are but a few of the people who are stepping down. No wonder the news is difficult to keep up with!

If that's not enough for you, here is one more headline:

The day Paul Manafort stepped down, he received $13 million from Donald Trump's associates

Let's see who else steps down from the Trump administration by the time of our next blog post! Any guesses?

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TWO-WORD VERBS FROM THE NEWS: (to be) BETTER OFF

This phrase can make or sink candidates for president.

In the 1980 race between Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter, Reagan famously asked this question:

Are You Better Off Than You Were . . .

In 2004, this was the headline:

Bush: America (is) better off with his leadership

In 2012, this was the headline:

Are you better off?

It's the single most important question in an election.

During the election of 2016, this was the headline:

Are you better off than eight years ago?

The expression to be better off  has been in the English lexicon for ages.  But it took on new life with President Reagan during his campaign for president and has been asked by candidates since then.  They want you to compare NOW with FOUR YEARS AGO, the prior presidential campaign season.

Its use is not limited to politics.

Try this headline:

Filling a prescription? You might be better off paying cash

Why, according to the article, would you be better off paying cash than using a credit or debit card?

During political elections, candidates don't ask about your happiness; they ask about money and finances. Take the CNN poll.

What did you find out?

PRESIDENTIAL POLITICS: FLOP FLOP

 

These are flip flops. They're called that because they're not very firm. Flip flops have been worn since at least 1500 BCE.

The word "flip flop" is used in politics because so many politicians say one thing one time and say another contradictory thing later.  Politicians have probably been flip flopping since 1500 BCE as well.

Let's look at some current headlines:

President Trump, the king of flip-flops

This headlines uses the word as a noun. 

Here we see it as a verb in the same news article:

After Trump won the electoral college vote while losing the popular vote, he flip-flopped on the unique American system of electing presidents. 

Reading the articles, what are three issues that President Trump has flip flopped on? What was the position he took before and what is the position he takes now?

When is the first time that the term "flip flop" was used in English to refer to politics and politicians?  This Wikipedia article has an interesting history of the political nature of this word.

12 Huge Presidential Campaign Flip-Flops

Of the 12 huge presidential compaign flip flops, which surprises you the most?

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AMERICAN GOVERNMENT: (to) SWEAR IN; (to) BE SWORN IN

January 20 is the day that the United States Constitution mandates that the old president complete his term, and the new president should begin his term. Not only that, but this has to occur at 12 noon. It's quite a feat of organization to ensure that this event occur exactly on that day exactly at that time, in order to be Constitutional.

The term of the new president used to begin on March 4, but the Amendment XX, adopted on Jan. 23, 1933, moved that date to January 20. 

He becomes president by taking an Oath (or Affirmation) of Office, which begins, "I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Here we see the verb, (to) swear.  This means he makes a solemn promise. Notice it says "I... swear.... that...." and then we read what the person swears, or pledges,  or affirms.

The two-word verb, (to) swear in, is different. It's always transitive and it's usually used in the PASSIVE VOICE.

Donald Trump Is Sworn In as President

Notice what follows this verb: as and the name of the office that he now legally and constitutionally assumes.

Try this:

Vice President Mike Pence sworn in

As is typical in journalism and advertising captions, the "be" verb is omitted. Immediately following the caption, we see the sentence,Indiana Gov. Mike Pence is sworn in as Vice President of the United States.

Then there's the NOUN FORM, a swearing-in. 

Donald Trump inauguration: protesters march following swearing-in

  ...  and also the ADJECTIVE FORM: swearing-in:

  The President's Swearing-In Ceremony

If we are ever in a court case and have to testify, we are sworn in - that is, we affirm that we will be telling the truth. But to be sworn into office is a very unusual thing.

Here is a photo of William Renquist being sworn in as Justice of the United States Supreme Court:

It's pretty amazing to think that with just 35 words, a person can be sworn in and assume the title of President of the United States. We always hope that the person upholds his oath.

 

 

Making a Choice: Which is worse?

One English structure that really stymies learners of English is the structure that provides for the person to make a choice.

One person asks:

Which is Worse: Making a Mistake or Losing an Opportunity?

You have to make a choice. You choose "making a mistake" or "losing an opportunity".  If you choose "making a mistake", you are saying that making a mistake is worse than losing an opportunity. If you say "losing an opportunity", then you are saying that losing an opportunity is worse than making a mistake. 

What do you think: Which is worse: Making a mistake or losing an opportunity? Why?

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Here's one more:

Regular Soda or Diet Soda: Which is Worse For Your Health? 

 

Again, you have to choose one. Do you think that regular soda is worse for your health than diet soda, or that diet soda is worse for your health than regular soda? You must choose one.


What do you think? Which is worse for your health: regular soda or diet soda?  Why?

 ***

In all cases, when somebody asks you a question of this nature, you need to choose one.

Which is more difficult for you: listening or speaking?