Vocabulary:
- publicize – to make a fact or event widely known to the public
- mandate – to carry out a particular policy or task given by an authorized official
- go an extra mile – to make a special effort to do or achieve something
- database – a collection of data arranged for ease and speed of retrieval
- consequently – as a result or effect
The author appeared on television to publicize her latest book.
All high school students were mandated to wear their school ID in the campus.
The president is determined to go the extra mile for the sake of peace.
The library lists all books available on an electronic database that is easily accessed via Wi-Fi.
We take safety very seriously at the hotel. Consequently, we have security officers on duty twenty-four hours a day.
The Chinese Government has ordered its government officials to publicize the identity of irresponsible debtors on a provincial level. The local news organizations, along with the courts and the governors, were mandated to maintain the list of debtors who cannot pay their debts. They went an extra mile, as they put up the debtors’ names on billboards, prohibit them from traveling, and threaten them with the help of telephone companies to pay up.
China also wishes to create a unified database to conveniently check an individual’s reliable credit ratings. They are hoping to establish a social credit system to track an individual’s personal behavior. This system will be used to help local authorities to reveal the debtors’ names and consequently pressure them to completely pay off their debts.
True or False:
- A list of courts and regulators were administered to pay the debts.
- The government officials went the extra mile as they publicized the debtors’ names.
- China hopes to develop a social credit system to reveal the debtors’ names.
- Debtors were prohibited to travel unless they pay their debts.
- The local news reported a list of irresponsible government officials.
Express your opinion:
- Do you think public humiliation should be allowed? Please explain your answer.
- How can the government punish irresponsible debtors without publicly humiliating them?
- Do you think your country’s government is capable of publicizing the debtors’ identities? Please explain your answer.
- When do you think should the government interfere regarding an individual’s financial situation?
- What are the terms and conditions when loaning in a bank in your country?
Defend your argument:
- Debt is the worst poverty. – Thomas Fuller
- Rather go to bed without dinner than to rise in debt. – Benjamin Franklin
- A man in debt is so far a slave. – Ralph Waldo Emerson