Lesson Seven-Is Harvard Worth It?(Fortune, May 1, 2000),Part I. News Writing,Features of HeadlinesI. Omission1. Omission Syntactically, every headline is a complete sentence in which the notion words are kept and form words left out. Commonly omitted words are: Articles, to be, Prepositions, Conjunctions, Auxiliaries, and Pronouns. Sometimes, notion words, even the Subject are omitted on the condition that the comprehension is not affected. E.g.Italian Ex-Mayor Murdered =(An) Italian Ex-Mayor (is) Murdered b. No Survivors in Gulf Air Crash =(There Are) No Survivors in (the) Gulf Air Crash c. Have Dollars, Will Sell =(If You) Have Dollars, (They) Will Selld. Ballots, Not Bullets =(The Algerians Want) Ballots, (Do) Not (want) Bullets,Part I. News Writing,Features of Headlines2. “And” is often substituted by Commae.g.:Bush Takes Office Facing Limits, Expectations = Bush Takes Office Facing Limits (and) Expectationsb. Ship with 20 million Gallons of Oil Breaks, Sinks off Spain = (A)Ship with 20 million Gallons of Oil Breaks (and) Sinks off Spainc. Thailand, Malaysia Ink Sea Treaty = Thailand (and) Malaysia Ink (a) Sea Treaty3. “to be” is often substituted by colone.g.:China: Taking Tough on Piracy = China (Is) Taking Tough on Piracyb. Chinese Cooks: Masters at Turning a Turnip into a Flower = Chinese Cooks (Are) Masters at Turning a Turnip into a Flower,Part I. News Writing,4. Verb “say or said” is often substituted by colon or quotation marke.g.Gore: Bush Making Serious Mistakes = Gore (Says) Bush (Is) Making Serious Mistakesb. Mao: We Should Support Third World Countries = Mao (Says) (That) We Should Support (the)Third World Countries5. Nouns used Nominal Modifiers with omission of verbs and conjunctions.e.g.Channel Tunnel Halt =(The)(English) Channel Tunnel (Has) (Been) Halted (英吉利海峡隧道工程暂停施工)b. Shotgun Death Riddle Drama =(A) Shotgun (Caused) (a) Death (Which) (Remains) (a) Riddle Drama (枪杀事件,扑朔迷离),Part I. News Writing,II. Tense1. Simple Present TenseAnother important feature of news is use of the Simple Present Tense, which describes something happening in the past as well as in the present. The reason for it is to achieve a sense of “up-datedness” rather than out-datedness.A. Something happened in the paste.g. a. Security Agency Wins Final Approval b. Fed Cuts Interest Rate Half a Pointc. Tests Link Gun to Sniper ShootingsB. Something happening at presente.g. a. School Ask Parents for Money Toward Booksb. China Deepens Its Reform,Part I. News Writing,II. Tense2. Infinitive “to do” indicates the Future Tensee.g.a. China Policy on Hong Kong to Stay Unchangedb. Gillette to Cut 2700 Jobs, Close 8 Factories c. China to Better its Foreign Cash Usage3. Usage of Past ParticiplesA. Present statee.g. a. U.S. Car Makers Viewed as Threat by Europeans b. Case ProbedB. Past statee.g. Stocks Mixed After Octobers Big GainsC. Continuous state e.g. Brazil Elite Forced to Make LoansD. Present Perfect state e.g. Ancient Imperial Wall Discovered in Shanxi,Part I. News Writing,4. For emphasis on timeliness, other tenses may be used instead of the Simple Present Tense.e.g. a. “I Was Not His Mistress” b. “We Wont Quit” c. Jones Planned to Kill Carter?III. Abbreviations and AcronymsThe third feature of headlines is use of Abbreviations and Acronyms:1. Institutions: Abbreviations are often used for political, economic, cultural and educational institutions.e.g. a. EUs Future: The Vision and the Slog (EU=European Union) b. The Great Superpower Spy War KGB vs CIA (KGB=克格勃 vs=versus CIA=Central Intelligence Agency),Part I. News Writing,C. MITs Leader Shape Program (MIT=Massachusetts Institute of Technology)2. Other abbreviations: a. No Hope for 118 Crew of Russian Sub (Sub=submarine) b. University Entry Hard for Would-be Vets (Vet=veteran) c. Put the Sci Back in Sci-fi (sci=science fi=fiction)IV. Midget Words In headlines, midget words or single-syllable words are often preferred to long words. They are short and have their own established meanings. It is necessary for you to be familiar with these words.e.g Wages Accord Reached. (accord=agreement) Labor Axe Colleagues in Tory Towns. (axe=cut) Unions Back Peace Move. (back=support),Part II. Text:Is Harvard Worth It?,1. Introductory Remarks: All parents wish their children to enter the best universities. Tuitions for private universities are stunning. The two researches were conducted as to whether selection of universities affects students future income. The two groups of specialists reached an agreement that the higher tuition fees universities charge, the more income their graduates will gain in the future. It seems advisable that parents should get money ready to buy their children an admission notice to a famous university.,