Question

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 takes the emphasis off the cause of the runoff and places it on the runoff's effects.
B. She attempts to appeal with pathos rather than establish her credibility.
C. She substitutes the formal tone with more casual language.
D. She replaces the moral outrage with a more formal tone.

Answer 1

D. She replaces the moral outrage with a more formal tone.

This shift in tone is important because if she used her first speech, the government board would be more likely to get defensive and not listen to her actual message. By being more formal she has a better chance of making them understand the consequences.