IT SAYS something about the power Les Moonves wielded in the entertainment industry that one bombshell report of allegations by multiple women of sexual misconduct and harassment could not dislodge him as chairman and chief executive of CBS. Instead, it took two.
But fall he finally did. On September 9th Mr Moonves, long considered one of the most astute executives in the media business, was forced out hours after the New Yorker reported allegations that he sexually assaulted or harassed six women in incidents dating from the 1980s to the early 2000s.
这段话的背景是媒体巨头CBS的总裁Les Moonves因为多项性骚扰指控而下台。第一段中提到…could not dislodge him as chairman and chief executive of CBS…而第二段开头则是But fall he finally did. 其中fall和dislodge在意思上相对应，But fall he finally did.是倒装结构，还原后是But he did finally fall. 作者通过这一小技巧自然引出了下文。
选段的第一句话也值得注意：It says something about the power Les Moonves wielded in the entertainment industry that one bombshell report of allegations by multiple women of sexual misconduct and harassment could not dislodge him as chairman and chief executive of CBS.（莱斯·穆恩维斯作为CBS主席兼首席执行官，在娱乐圈拥有很大权力。就连一份关于多名女性对他性行为不端和骚扰指控的重磅报道也无法让他下台，这足以说明问题。）
其中有这样一个句式：It says something about…that… 含义是“从……可以看出（某人或某物的个性特质、真正面貌等）”，that后面接的一般是具体的例子，比如：
(1) It says something about China’s progress that children in the country’s mountain villages have access to the internet.
(2) It says something about iPhone’s popularity that many stay up to watch Apple’s launch event.
2.某件事的理由不是……
下面节选的句子来自The Economist的社论文章The Economist at 175
The case for getting rid of British tariffs on imported grain was not a dry argument about economic efficiency. It was a mass movement, one in which well-to-do liberal thinkers and progressive businessmen fought alongside the poor against the landowners who, by supporting tariffs on imports, kept up the price of grain.
这段话的背景是英国在1815-1846年期间实行了“谷物法”，通过对进口谷物征收高额关税以保护英国土地贵族的利益。这一法规损害了资产阶级的利益，也违反了自由贸易的精神，于1846年被废除。
原文第一句话The case for getting rid of British tariffs on imported grain was not a dry argument about economic efficiency. 意思是“废除英国对进口谷物的关税并不是基于提高经济效率这一枯燥的理由”。其中case是一词多义，它的含义是“理由，论据”（a set of reasons why something should happen or be done）。
这里可以提取出一个议论文常见的句型：The case for…is not a dry argument about…It is…（……并不是基于……这一枯燥的理由，而是……）。举个例子：
The case for making higher education universally available is not a dry argument about economic growth. It is a mass movement for educational equity, one in which every student, no matter what their background, can have a chance to attend college and make a difference in their life.
3.验证了之前的发现
在写议论文或者其他科普类文章时我们可能需要表达这样的意思：XX研究验证/重现了……的发现，应该怎么说呢？可以参考下面的表达：
Between 2016 and 2017, Delta Air Lines reported an 84% increase in animal incidents, most of which involved urination, defecation or aggressive or threatening behaviour by a support animal. A survey released on September 12th by the Association of Flight Attendants echoes these findings.
这段话的背景是目前有部分航空公司允许乘客将一些动物（比如导盲犬）带上飞机，但数据表明动物在飞行过程中经常会出现一些小意外。选段第二句有这样的说法：A survey…echoes these findings. 这里echo用得很贴切，单词最常见的含义是“回声，回响”，这里作为动词使用，意思可以理解为“重现，验证”。在调查研究类题材中可以用上该表达，例如：
The finding that women's earnings are still 27% lower than men's echoes recent research.
4.某事物无法归纳
下面的句子节选自The Economist的一篇文章Not losing hope
In doing so, Mr Mehta paints a picture of an India that is so vast, complex and confusing as to defy generalisation, and facing such a terrifying array of problems that it forbids optimism.
defy generalisation这个说法很有意思。Defy原本的意思是“向……挑战，反抗”，defy generalisation表面意思是“向归纳挑战”，引申为“无法归纳”。我们可以用something defies generalisation来说明某事物很复杂，无法三言两语总结归纳。比如：
The factors leading to environmental degradation/the economic crisis/rising house prices are so complex as to defy generalisation.
新概念英语4的课文也有类似的说法：
How it came about that snakes manufactured poison is a mystery. Over the periods their saliva, a mild, digestive juice like our own, was converted into a poison that defies analysis even today.
蛇是怎样产生毒液的，这是一个谜。蛇的唾液本来和我们人的消化液一样柔和，但经过漫长的时间演变成了今天仍无法分析清楚的毒液。
除此之外，defy还有其他搭配。要形容某地风景优美，我们可以说：The beauty of the scene defies description. 要说明某人的行为无法理解，可以说：His behaviour defies explanation. 要表达某问题无法解决，可以说：The problem defies solution.
英语中类似defy这样的单词用法还有不少，举个例子，“她未能获得金牌”怎么说？你可能会想到：
She failed to win the gold medal.
但其实还可以说：
The gold medal eluded her.
又比如“他内心充满了胜利感”，可以说：
He felt a sense of victory.
但也可以用victory作为主语：
Victory filled him.
这样的写法会使得句子更加简洁生动，同学们平时在阅读时可以多留意此类单词。
总结：
本期一共介绍了以下几个表达：
(1) It says something about…that…
(2) The case for…is not a dry argument about…It is…
(3) echo
(4) defy
