Relax, Refresh your English knowledge 81
394. What is the difference between "impassive" and "impassioned"?
When something bad happens and you remain "impassive" what you are doing is keeping a wooden face. You are not displaying an emotion of any kind. It could be you do not feel any emotion, or you have chosen to hide it. The heroes in many of our movies remain impassive in all situations. They are the strong silent men who remain unmoved. *After killing the man with his knife, the hero looked on impassively at the sea. "Impassioned", on the other hand, means someone who is "full of passion", an individual who displays intense feeling about something or someone. *The impassioned speech by the Vice-Chancellor brought the audience to its feet.
395. What is the origin of "yellow journalism"?
When someone accuses a newspaper of "yellow journalism" what they mean is that it presents the news in a biased manner. It distorts the facts and sensationalises the news in order to get the public to buy the paper. It attempts to increase its circulation, not by providing accurate news, but by appealing to the public's curiosity. The term "yellow journalism" is no longer restricted to newspapers alone, it includes all other forms of media — television and radio. *Some of the local newspapers are classic examples of yellow journalism. The expression was popularised in the late 19th Century in the U.S. Two newspapers, "New York World", owned by Joseph Pulitzer, and "New York Journal", owned by William Randolph Hearst, were trying to become very popular among the public by printing sensational stories. Both newspapers specialised in muckraking. The "World" had a popular comic strip called "Hogan's Alley" in which the character "Yellow Kid" appeared. Hearst played dirty and got "Hogan's" creator, R. F. Outcault, to join his paper. The angry Pulitzer hired another artist and asked him to continue with the "Yellow Kid". The competition between the two yellow kids led to an all out war between the two papers. There was a court battle over the copyright, and very often, street fights broke out between the delivery boys of the rival newspapers. The fight between Hearst and Pulitzer over the "Yellow Kid" began to symbolise everything that was wrong with American journalism.
396. What is the meaning of "watchdog agency"?
Most people keep a watchdog in order to protect their house. When you refer to a group of people as being a "watchdog" committee or agency, what you are implying is that they are ensuring that your rights are being protected. They make sure that the companies, governments, etc, follow the letter of the law, and do not cheat the public. A watchdog agency looks after the interests of the public. *We are hoping to set up an anti-drug watchdog agency soon
397. What is the past tense of "quit"?
Depending on the context, the word has two possible past tense forms — quit and quitted. When used to mean, "to leave" you can use both. For example, "Venu quit/quitted his job and moved to Chennai." The word "quit" can also be used to mean, "to stop". We can, for example say, "Venu has quit gambling". In this context, it is incorrect to use "quitted". The word "quitted" is going out of fashion; it is mostly used in formal contexts. ***** ***** *****
A collection from the Open Page Supplement of The Hindu Newspaper
Courtesy: Sri Upendra, the writer of the above
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