Before Nicolas Sarkozy became French president, he was a
sked if he thought about presidency
when he looked in the mirror while shaving. "Not just when I' m shaving," he answered.
When Francois Hollande, now president-elect (總統當選人) of France, was asked the same
question, he replied: "Do I see myself as president? No, I am a presidential candidate. A candidate must
not think himself president; he must give hope that he becomes president." zxxk
Hollande has promised to be a "normal president" - something Sarkozy certainly was not. Sarkozy
celebrated his election in 2007 at a world-class Parisian restaurant. He took holidays on the yachts (游
艇) of wealthy businesspeople. Hollande, by contrast, was still going around Paris on his three-wheeled
motorbike at the start of this year. One member of his party said he looked "more like a pizza delivery
man" than the next president.
"That is the key to Hollande's success because the election is turning into a sort of referendum (公民
投票) for or against Nicolas Sarkozy," Eric Dupin, a journalist and political observer told Global Post.
"Francois Hollande is the one who appears not only as his main opponent politically, but also as his
complete opposite psychologically."
When he was the Socialist party leader, Hollande was nicknamed "the marshmallow (軟糖)" because
he hated fights. Sarkozy, by contrast, is known to be loud and aggressive.
When faced with Sarkozy's verbal attacks during the elect
ion, Hollande stayed calm. This sometimes
annoyed even his own supporters. "I wish he would just let go and savage (用暴力對付) Sarko," one
Hollande voter said to the Guardian.
But Hollande still knows how to fight. St?phane Le Foll, a Socialist MEP who has been one of
Hollande's closest advisors for 17 years and is co-directing his campaign, said Hollande had quietly
planned his presidential bid for 10 years. "I think we all underestimated this guy," Alain Minc, one of
Sarkozy's closest friends and advisers, told Reuters.
Hollande was born in 1954 into a middle-class family. He lived through the 1968 protests that nearly
overthrew the French government. "They shocked him, but also politicized him, he said in a recent
interview, making him understand that change was possible," reported the New York Times. When
Hollande was 15, he told friends he expected to become presiden
t.
"I didn't come to the first rank either by chance or by obsession (執迷)," Hollande said in an
interview with Reuters. "I got there because I put myself in this situation, and because I deserved it."
1. By citing Hollande and Sarkozy's replies to the same question, the author intends to show ________.
A. Sarkozy is more confident than Hollande
B. Hollande is more modest than Sarkozy
C. Hollande is less ambitious than Sarkozy
D. Sarkozy is more humorous than Hollande
2. What is the key to Hollande's success in the presidential election according to Eric Dup
in?
A. His dislike of fights.
B. His careful plan for the presidential bid.
C. How different he is from Sarkozy.
D. The gentle way in which he ran his campaign.
3. What did Hollande think he owed his success to, according to the article?
A. His good luck.
B. His devotion and efforts.
C. His obsession with politics.
D. His personality and experience.
4. What is the purpose of the article?
A. To show what kind of a person Hollande is.
B. To compare the differences between Hollande and Sarkozy.
C. To show what French people think of Hollande.
D. To explain why Sarkozy lost the election.
