Exercise 3. In the sentences change the words in bold to words which mean the opposite.

1. The views she expressed were totally rational.

2. The committee seemed to be biased against applications from younger people.

3. The book is an objective account of life in a small town in the 1920s.

4. The club rules were prejudiced in favour of children.

5. The President's daughter was quite mature for her age.

6. He has rather radical views about marriage.

7. Her views on education are rather radical. (use a different word from 6)

8. Supreme Court judges always act in a biased way.

 

Exercise 4. Read the text and answer the question. In what way does calling something an ideology make it sound slightly more negative than calling it a philosophy?

An ideology is a theory or set of beliefs or principles, particularly one on which a political system or organisation is based. It often has slightly negative associations in English, implying something that is rigid and restricting. A philosophy, on the other hand, suggests a set of beliefs that is much more thoughtful and serious.

 

Exercise 5. Read and notice the word combinations relating to points of view.

word combination	example	meaning
to hold views	My grandfather holds some surprisingly progressive views.	has opinions
to adopt/take a stance	It is important that the university should adopt a principled stance towards research.	take a position
to change/shift your position	Luisa was initially totally opposed to the idea but she has slightly shifted her position.	changed her point of view a little
have ethical objections to	Increasing numbers of people have ethical objections to the war.	dislike for reasons relating to morality
the principles underlying	'Treat others as you would like to be treated' is a principle underlying much religious teaching.	basic idea lying behind
to encounter prejudice	As one of the few female students of the 1920s, my grandmother encountered a certain amount of prejudice.	experienced unreasonable negative behaviour
deep-rooted prejudice	John does not share his father's deep-rooted prejudices against women.	strong, unreasonably negative views

 

Exercise 6. Read the rule and find the answer to the following question. Which is incorrect: (a) in my point of view, (b) in my opinion, (c) from my point of view?

You can say in my opinion but NOT in my point of view. You can say from (someone's) point of view but it means from that person's way of looking at something rather than in that person's opinion. From the language teacher's point of view, it's good that all children have to learn a foreign language at school.

 

Exercise 7. Use the words in the box in an appropriate form to complete the sentences.

root

shift

adopt

encounter

underlie

philosophy

hold

ethical

1. The......................................principles of Asian and European.....................................are very similar.

2. People tend......................................a more conservative stance as they get older.

3. She has always......................................the view that primary education should not start before the age of seven.

4. Many people have......................................objections to investing in companies which support corrupt regimes.

5. Some employers still have a deep-......................................prejudice against employing older people, and many older people......................................such prejudice when they apply for jobs.

6. The government seems to have......................................its position recently.

 

Exercise 8. Vary these sentences by rewriting them using the word in brackets.

1. The people of the area have some unusual views about nature, (hold)

2. Most young people seem not to like the proposals on student fees. (objections)

3. Examiners tend to prefer candidates with clear handwriting, (biased)

4. Girls look at their careers in a different way from their mothers. (standpoint)

5. Let us now discuss the principles behind this approach, (underlying)

 

Exercise 9. Read this short text and underline any words and phrases connected with points of view, opinions and ideas. Look them up in a dictionary if necessary and note them in your vocabulary book.

Academics have traditionally taken the view that their discipline is intellectually independent from all others. However, inter-disciplinary degrees are becoming more and more common, suggesting that preconceptions about what and how one should study may be somewhat misplaced. A more liberal view of education would advocate greater freedom to explore the links between different fields of learning, thus pushing the frontiers of knowledge in new and exciting directions. Many academics now feel that the future lies in this blending of ideas and the cross-fertilisation of thought which emerges from it.

 

UNIT 2