Mr Clegg wanted the electorate to forgive him for having broken his word and not voting against increases in student tuition fees. But a satirical website added music to the track. It is difficult to be sure if the apology was heartfelt or insincere, but it turned out to be a catchy tune.
Researchers suggest that people have too high an expectation of the power of saying sorry. Dutch psychologist David De Cremer and his colleagues say in a study published in Psychological Science that receiving an apology isn't as healing as people like to think.
Nevertheless, apologies might be an important social tool as they reaffirm the existence of rules that need to be observed.
In Britain, the word sorry is often said and heard. If you step on someone else's toe by chance you have to apologise but the person whose foot was squashed has to do it too. It conveys the idea that none of you is left with hard feelings.
The Education Secretary's apology might have gone down well with his old teacher but it might land him in trouble. According to the Daily Mail newspaper, Mr Gove's mother didn't know he was causing trouble at school and said: "He would have been strung up if I had known he was being so cheeky."
"I can never get in touch with him these days - it just goes through to his answering machine - but when I do eventually speak to him, I'll give him a good telling off."
Grammar How has Mr Gove apologised to his former teacher?
In a letter published in a magazine.
Who has become a hit on the internet?
The British deputy prime minister Nick Clegg.
Look at the article. What is the social purpose of apologies?
To reaffirm the existence of rules that need to be observed.
Is the following statement true, false or not given? Mr Gove's mother was surprised when she learnt about her son's apology.
True. Mrs Gove didn't know her son had misbehaved at school.
Look at the article. What words are used to qualify an apology?
Heartfelt and insincere.
Glossary 词汇表 to apologise認錯道歉 to misbehave行為不當，搗亂 to regret後悔、悔恨 a clever-dick question一個為了賣弄聰明的問題 pathetic令人反感的 to set the record straight糾正錯誤，澄清問題事實 contrite悔過自新的 a hit一個熱點 to forgive原諒 to break (his) word食言、失信 heartfelt衷心的、發自肺腑的 insincere不誠懇的 a catchy tune好記的曲子 expectation期望 healing使情感恢復常態 to reaffirm再肯定 hard feelings怨恨 cheeky調皮搗蛋的 answering machine電話自動留言 to tell off批評、斥責
