In Rachel Bachman's piece, "Despite Bright Spots, a Disappointing Medal Haul for Team USA" (published February 25th), she writes that the United States was really hyped up, but were not ready to compete with newly trained athletes from Norway, Canada, or Germany. She claims that the United States training program was not built as well as Norway's. She says: "Norway formed Olympiatoppen, its sports-performance organization... Its success is partly owed to a funding structure that provides more resources for poorer, less accomplished sports" (Bachman). She saws, however, that the United States set a record in winning a medal in the most sports, with placing on the podium in 11 of the 15 groupings of sports.
The speaker of the article is Rachel Bachman and a spokesperson for the United States Olympic training group. The occasion for this article is the lack of gold medals and medals at the Pyeongchang Olympics. The audience of this piece is people who watched the 2018 olympics and saw the lack-luster show from American athletes. The purpose is to inform readers reasons why Norway and others did better and also to show the decline by statistics. The subject of this article is the medal count for the 2018 Pyeongchang Olympics. The tone of this piece was candid and Bachman also wrote like she was disappointed.
0 Comments
In this article, "North Korea’s Olympic Delegation Includes Two Mystery Men", author, Andrew Jeong, writes that South Korean officials discovered two unknown men following the women's joint hockey team of North and South Korea. The men wore North Korean gear and ate and slept at the same base as the North Korean women athletes. Written on February 1, 2018, this article claims that South Korean officials have no idea how these men crossed the border because they were not on the list. North Korea claims that they are "technical support." Due to these two new mystery men, names still unknown, "South Korea is now expecting 48 North Korean athletes and training staff in South Korea during the Winter Olympics—the 46 approved by the IOC, plus the two mystery men" (Jeong). The IOC, International Olympic Committee, says that they were not surprised that the North Koreans named them as technical support. The IOC thinks they are probably body guards under the guise as technical support.
The speaker of this article is Andrew Jeong with quotes from South Korean and Olympic officials. The occasion for this articles is the discovery of two unknown men in South Korea. The audience of this article would be people that would watch the Winter Olympics that start on February 9, 2018. The purpose of this article is to inform readers that North Korea was able to get two unknown men into South Korea without them noticing for a couple days which poses a security threat. The subject is the winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea and two North Koreans that are labeled as "technical support" who no one knows- including the South Koreans and IOC. The tone of this article is matter-of-fact and awestruck in how no one knows who they are. The article is named: "Canadian Leader Justin Trudeau Broke Ethics Laws By Visiting Aga Khan’s Island" and is written by Paul Vieira on the 20th of December, 2017. Vieira writes that Trudeau, the prime minister of Canada broke ethics laws "when he accepted an invitation to a Bahamian island owned by the Aga Khan, the spiritual leader of Shia Ismaili Muslims, a watchdog ruled Wednesday" (Vieira). Khan is famous for lobbying politicians. Trudeau's acceptance of Khan's proposal is shocking because Trudeau "promised upon his election in 2015 that his government would carry out its duties with the highest ethical standards " (Vieira). There will be no major legal repercussions due to the ethics violation.
The speaker of this article is Paul Vieira and quotes from the ethics commissioner of Canada. The occasion for this article is the recent news that Trudeau broke the ethics laws which he said he would perform his duties to a high ethical standard. The audience for this article is for people interested in Canadian politics or Canadians that want to know what is going on. The purpose is to inform Canadians and other people interested in politics of the situation surrounding Trudeau's breaking of ethics laws. The subject is of the broken ethics laws when Trudeau accepted the offer of Aga Khan to vacation at his resort in the Bahamas. The tone of this article is matter of fact and impartial. In this recent Wall Street Journal article, "Is Mass Customization the Future of Footwear?" (written October 24, 2017), Isabel Flower writes that shoes can know be made by individual foot scans so they can make the shoes to the exact measurements. One of the major companies that is pioneering in this new technology is ADIDAS. They have designed technology where the person steps on a device and it scans his or her foot. Next, they have the subject run around their track so they find out how their foot moves for support. ADIDAS then 3-D prints the "mid-sole", the specialized section in the shoe which is where your normal insole that you can remove. ADIDAS is releasing the new shoes to only "family and friends" as of April of 2017, but "on Dec. 15, Adidas will release 5,000 more to the public, priced at $300. An additional 100,000 are projected for 2018. All these releases feature a standard 3-D-printed midsole" (Flower).
The speaker of this article is Isabel Flower and her personal experience with trying ADIDAS's new shoes. Many scientists and an ADIDAS executive were also quoted in this argument. The occasion of this article was to inform readers of how ADIDAS is taking over the United States market which NIKE has always dominated (ADIDAS is still far from achieving the number one spot, but is closing ranks). The purpose of this article is to explain the new shoe technology that ADIDAS is making and creating a monopoly in that specialized market as well for 3-D printing. The subject of this article is the up-coming technology for specialized shoes that ADIDAS is making. The tone of this article was matter of fact and informative keeping a formal style of writing. In Brian Costa's article, "Baseball's Battle for Multi-Sport Athletes" (posted on October 15, 2017), he writes that baseball has an ongoing fight with losing baseball players to other sports such as basketball and football. One of the highlights of this article is the end when Costa describes a player that did not go on to play baseball until many years later. "Tom Kotchman, a longtime MLB scout, recalls seeing one such player while at a college baseball game about 10 years ago... the player had already forsaken baseball for the school football team, but when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch that night, Kotchman noticed something. It wasn’t just the arm strength. It was also how visibly irritated he was when the pitch got away from the catcher... Kotchman, then a scout with the Los Angeles Angels, asked coaches to pass along an information card for him to fill out, eyeing him as a likely late-round draft pick. But he never heard back, and the player continued his foray into football. His name was Tim Tebow. He is now a minor-league outfielder with the New York Mets" (Costa). Even though baseball is losing the war, it has won some battles. Aaron Judge for instance. Judge plays for the New York Yankees and hit a record breaking 52 home runs for a rookie. Judge almost went on to play college football instead with full scholarship offers from Notre Dame, Stanford, and UCLA. In the end, he chose baseball and the rest is history.
The speaker of this article is Costa as well as some quotes from scouts and baseball players. The occasion is that baseball is fighting a losing battle with players choosing football, basketball, etc. over baseball. The audience in this piece is really people that follow baseball. It is not geared towards kids playing baseball for two main reasons: kids do not really read The Wall Street Journal and the diction is too sophisticated. The purpose of this article is to showcase that the MLB has a big problem with losing players to other sports and they are still trying to find ways to increase their chances of recruitment. The subject is the loss of multi-sport athletes in recruitment for baseball. The tone of this article is contemplative and reverent. Costa writes very polite and does not add much emotion except for once or twice in the article. In the article, "Spain and Catalonia Carefully Weigh Their Next Steps" (published on October 2, 2017), the authors, Jeannette Neumann and Marina Force, write about how both Spain and Catalonia will be hesitant to make a final decision in the coming days. Neumann and Force argue that if the Prime Minister of Spain, Mariano Rajoy, argues against Catalonia more citizens would argue for secession. On the other hand, they claim that Catalonia is more open to talks because they do not have the resources to become their own country if not needed. Instead, the would rather have more economical support or independence.
The speaker of this article is Jeannette Neumann and Mariana Force. The occasion is that Catalonians want to become their own country, but Spain doesn't want that to happen so when Catalonia called for a vote to decided if they want to leave, Spain called it an illegal vote. Therefore, Spain sent police and military to deal with the voters which turned violent. The audience of this piece is more geared to people outside of Spain who are wondering about the civil unrest there. The purpose of this article is to bring awareness to the unrest that is happening and Spain and why currently there is a pause in the fights in the government. The subject is the thought process that Catalonia and Spain are going through right now. The tone is matter of fact and inquisitive and maybe even a little bit curious because they do not know what will happen for sure in the future. |