Unlocking Word Meanings
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. excerpt (n.) [ek-surpt] – a small part of a whole book or written work
Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.
1. excerpt (n.) [ek-surpt] – a small part of a whole book or written work
Example: I wanted to completely
read the novel after reading only an excerpt
from it.
2. autobiography (n.) [aw-tuh-bahy-og-ruh-fee, -bee-,aw-toh-] – a book written or narrated by a person
about his or her own life
Example: She wrote an autobiography in which she talks about her
struggles as a single mother.
3. unscrupulous (adj.) [uhn-skroo-pyuh-luhs] – lacking respect for laws or for what is good and right
Example: The unscrupulous businessman sells violent books
that are banned by the education ministry.
4. holocaust (n.) [hol-uh-kawst, hoh-luh-] – a situation in which a great number of people die and many things are destroyed
Example: Many people are afraid
a holocaust may happen if nuclear
plants are not shut down.
5. annotation (n.) [an-uh-tey-shuhn] – a note that explains a text or parts of a written work
Example: I can understand the meaning
of the poem because there is an annotation
on the same page.
Article
Read the text below.
The German state of
Bavaria, which officially owns the copyright to “Mein Kempf,” may publish excerpts of the book purely for educational
use.
The book, the title
of which translates to “My Struggles”, is an autobiography of Hitler and presents his political views and
plans to conquer Europe.
Publication of the
book has been banned in Germany since 1945, but the ban will end on December
31, 2015. Bavaria is now struggling
with the issue of how to prevent unscrupulous
use of the book when the ban ends.
The government wishes to protect the memory of the victims of the Holocaust.
The Bavarian State
Finance Ministry believes only excerpts of the book should be published. These
excerpts will be published in such a way that they will be suitable for use
in schools and universities.
The ministry is
also considering an edition of the excerpts with annotations from German historians.
Peter McGee, a British
publisher, criticized the Bavarian State for refusing to publish the whole
book. He says the German people should
be given a chance to judge the book themselves. This way, the book will finally lose its
mystery and will be regarded as just another part of German history.
Other critics have
said the Bavarian government does not realize there is no more need to hide
the book. They say the complete book is already published in other countries
and can easily be found on the Internet.
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Viewpoint Discussion
Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.
Discussion A
·
Do you agree with the Bavarian State that
Hitler’s book should not be published?
Why?
·
Is it fair for students to read only excerpts instead
of the book itself? Please explain your
answer.
Discussion B
·
What do you think are lessons we can learn from
reading the autobiography of Hitler?
What
benefits do you think we could get from reading autobiographies of famous people
in history?