Disparaging comments by adults about a children’s presenter have led to an angry backlash in support of Cerrie Burnell, the 29-year-old CBeebies host who was born missing the lower section of her right arm. One man said that he would stop his daughter from watching the BBC children’s channel because Burnell would give his child nightmares.

開篇引出本文核心沖突(disparaging comments:詆毀)及文章的中心話題: One man said that he would stop his daughter from watching the BBC children’s channel because Burnell would give his child nightmares. 長的丑不是你的錯,出來嚇人就是你的不對了! 本段中包括第一題who is Cerrie Burnell?的答案定位. (Cerrie Burnell, the 29-year-old CBeebies host who was born missing the lower section of her right arm.)

Parents even called the broadcaster to complain after Burnell, with Alex Winters, took over the channel’s popular Do and Discover slot and The Bedtime Hour programme last month, to complain about her disability.

第二段需要注意開篇的even一詞,可知本段與上段含義近似.注意本段當中disability 一詞,可以改寫為disabled,作為上段答案的替換詞匯.

And some of the vitriolic comments on the “Grown Up” section of the channel’s website were so nasty that they had to be removed.

第三段開頭and繼續描寫觀眾惡評如潮.

“Is it just me, or does anyone else think the new woman presenter on CBeebies may scare the kids because of her disability?” wrote one adult on the CBeebies website. Other adults claimed that their children were asking difficult questions as a result. “I didn’t want to let my children watch the filler bits on The Bedtime Hour last night because I know it would have played on my eldest daughter’s mind and possibly caused sleep problems,” said one message. The BBC received nine other complaints by phone.

第四段請考生注意中間的other一詞,用平行分層的段落結構詳細敘述聽眾的反應.

While charities reacted angrily to the criticism of the children’s presenter, calling the comments disturbing, other parents and carers labelled the remarks as disgraceful, writing in support of Burnell and setting up a “fight disability prejudice” page on the social networking site Facebook.

第五段是具有分水嶺作用的段落.引出另一部分觀眾對Cerrie Burnell的同情和支持態度.

“I think that it is great that Cerrie is on CBeebies. She is an inspiration to children and we should not underestimate their ability to understand and accept that all of us have differences – some visible and some not,” wrote “Surfergirlboosmum”. Other websites were flooded with equally supportive comments. “I feel we should all post counter complaints to the BBC and I’m sure they will receive more complaints about the fact they have even considered accepting these complaints,” wrote Scott Tostevin on Facebook. “It's a disgrace that people still have such negative views against people who are ‘different’,” he added.

本段繼續上段講述聽眾的支持觀點.注意紅色字體部分. 第二題答案到此基本定位結束.第二題最后一問要參見最后兩段.

Burnell, who described her first television presenting role as a “dream job”, has also appeared in EastEnders and Holby City and has been feted for performances in the theatre while also worked as a teaching assistant at a special needs school in London. She also has a four-year-old child. “I think the negative comments from those few parents are indicative of a wider problem of disabled representation in the media as a whole, which is why it’s so important for there to be more disabled role models in every area of the media,” she said in response yesterday.

“The support that I’ve received … has been truly heartening. It’s brilliant that parents are able to use me as a way of talking about disability with their children and for children who are similarly disabled to see what really is possible in life and for their worlds to be represented in such a positive, high profile manner.”

七八兩段出現當事人對此事以及由此引發的爭論的評價.紅色字體為第三題的定位.

Charities said that much still needed to be done to change perceptions in society. “In some way it is a pretty sad commentary on the way society is now and that both parents and children see few examples of disabled people. The sooner children are exposed to disability in mainstream education the better,” said Mark Shrimpton at Radar, the UK’s largest disability campaigning organisation. “She is a role model for other disabled people.”

Rosemary Bolinger, a trustee at Scope, a charity for people with cerebral palsy, said: “It is disturbing that some parents have reacted in this way … Unfortunately disabled people are generally invisible in the media and wider society.”

第二題第二問定位出現,可以與第一問中觀眾對Burnell的正面評價合并回答.

1. Who is Cerrie Burnell? Give a brief introduction of Cerrie Burnell.

2. What are the responses from parents and carers towards Cerrie Burnell? What is the reaction from charities to such criticism?

3. What is Cerrie Burnell's own view about her job as a television presenter?