Read the following excerpts from two speeches on the same subject. The
first is intended for an audience of community
members, and the second
is
an address to a government board.
1. Dear friends, the industrial plant upstream is slowly
poisoning our waters. It is causing illnesses among
our elderly. It is harming our children. What kind of
people are these? Do they not care when they see a
baby ill from the effects of drinking their poisoned
water supply? Who among us would do such a thing?
2. Honored leaders, laws exist to prevent the industrial
runoff that is causing illnesses to rise at a rate of five
percent each year. This plant is clearly making a
conscious decision to break the law, despite having a
clear understanding of the allowable levels of runoff
permitted by law.
What is one way that the speaker adjusts her first speech to make it suitable
for her second audience?
A. She emphasizes a legal argument rather than appealing to
emotions.
B. She replaces formal language with a more matter-of-fact tone.
C. She takes the emphasis off the cause of the runoff and places it
on the runoff's effects.
OD. She appeals to the audience's anger rather than its sense of logic.