L45-1: The power of the press

In democratic countries any efforts to restrict the freedom of the press are rightly condemned. However, this freedom can easily be abused. Stories about people often attract far more public attention than political events. Though we may enjoy reading about the lives of others, it is extremely doubtful whether we would equally enjoy reading about ourselves. Acting on the contention that facts are sacred, reporters can cause untold suffering to individuals by publishing details about their private lives. Newspapers exert such tremendous influence that they can not only bring about major changes to the lives of ordinary people but can even overthrow a government.The story of a poor family that acquired fame and fortune overnight, dramatically illustrates the power of the press. The family lived in Aberdeen, a small town of 23,000 inhabitants in South Dakota. As the parents had five children, life was a perpetual struggle against poverty. They were expecting their sixth child and were faced with even more pressing economic problems. If they had only had one more child, the fact would have passed unnoticed. They would have continued to struggle against economic odds and would have lived in obscurity.

任务配置：L0+L4

词音：sacred,odd,obscurity

词义：contention  争论；论点；illustrate  图例；画图说明；perpetual  连续的；不断的；odd  几率；胜算；差别；obscurity 阴暗；身份卑微

练习感悟：

明明每句跟读音调都挺到位的，但自己读全篇就没跟读到位了。还得努力练习。

一句话，就是干。