P4：①With the label “preppy” came the tag “wimp”, which infuriated him far more. ②He had had a brave war, enlisting at 18 and completing one mission with his aircraft on fire. ③Later he did not hesitate to send 27,000 troops to dislodge Manuel Noriega from Panama, or to launch a ground war against Saddam Hussein in 1991—declaring victory and pulling out in 100 hours, which pushed his approval ratings to 89%. ④He was not above nasty attack ads in the 1988 campaign, excoriating Michael Dukakis for giving furlough to a black rapist. ⑤But Nixon, who hated Ivy Leaguers, seemed to think him soft; Reagan said he lacked spunk; and his talk of “Big Mo” and “kicking ass” on the campaign trail often ended in retreat. ⑥In 1990 a dust-up with Congress forced him to capitulate on his steely election pledge of “No new taxes”. ⑦This, as well as the brief recession of 1990-91, cost him the 1992 election, though even as voters went to the polls the figures for growth were ticking upwards, ushering in almost a decade of prosperity.
段落解析：
①与“传统保守”相随的是“懦弱无能”，老布什对这标签非常愤怒。②③毕竟他也曾有“英勇无畏”的事迹，也有强硬的一面（如入侵巴拿马，击败伊拉克），④在竞选中利用Willie Horton事件攻击对手。⑤但是还是摆脱不了别人对他软弱的评价，⑥⑦比如对国会的妥协违背了竞选时的“不加税”承诺，这也导致了他连任的失败。
随手一学：
①With the label “preppy” came the tag “wimp”, ...
1. preppy：Preppy are young people, esp. in America, who have often been to an expensive private school and who are conventional and conservative in their attitudes, behavior, and style of dress. 开头没有用任何形容词，只用一个固有的标签词preppy就把老布什的家庭教育背景、性格特点描绘出来了。
2. with...came...： 与……相随而来的是…… 原句是一个倒装句变成 with the label "preppy", the tag "wimp" came, ...就更好理解了，因此也要注意动词came的单复数是由主语“wimp”决定的。
引用一句我最爱的维多利亚时期的段子手Oscar Wilde的话： "With age comes wisdom, but sometimes age comes alone." 哈哈~
补充Eric老师在群里提到的蜘蛛侠里Uncle Ben对Peter说的话：
③Later he did not hesitate to send 27,000 troops to dislodge Manuel Noriega from Panama, or to launch a ground war against Saddam Hussein in 1991—declaring victory and pulling out in 100 hours, which pushed his approval ratings to 89%.
1.毫不犹豫做某事 not hesitate to do sth.
2.此句出现破折号“—”代替逗号的情况，英语中逗号使用上和前文如果功能重复为避免给读着带来歧义或断句麻烦都用破折号代替，如果是有已有逗号并列，避免重复就用分号代替更大范围的并列（To separate groups that contain commas）如：
Every Saturday my brother gathers up his things—goggles, shower cap, and snorkel; bubble bath, soap, and shampoo; tapes, stereo, and rubber duck—and heads for the tub.
第五句中的分号也属这种用法：But Nixon, who hated Ivy Leaguers, seemed to think him soft; Reagan said he lacked spunk; and his talk of “Big Mo” and “kicking ass” on the campaign trail often ended in retreat.
④He was not above nasty attack ads in the 1988 campaign, ...
not be above (doing) something：这个点我们小组经过讨论和论证一致觉得该句是指老布什也利用恶意广告去攻击竞争对手，进一步说明他不是表面上的那么软弱。需要注意的一个用法就是not be above sth. 表示not be too proud/good/honest to do sth. 简单翻译就是不以为耻。如：I am not above asking questions. 我不以提问为耻。
⑤his talk of “Big Mo” and “kicking ass” on the campaign trail often ended in retreat.
1. 提炼句型：sb's talk of... often ended in... 这里end做不及物动词，很好用哟~
His talk of "marring her" and "not beating her any more" often ended in empty/broken promises.
The incident could have ended in tragedy.
2. on campaign/championship/winning/comeback trail 该表达主要用于新闻报道指 在……路线/道路上
⑦This, as well as the brief recession of 1990-91, cost him the 1992 election, though even as voters went to the polls the figures for growth were ticking upwards, ushering in almost a decade of prosperity.
1. cost sb. sth.除了表示花费以外，还可以表示“使丧/损失”。
The increase of taxes will hurt small business and cost many thousands of jobs.
Writing the book cost him his eyesight and his marriage.
2. usher in (formal): usher指引座迎宾员，作动词短语也就有了引领开启之意
a discovery that ushered in a period of change(=that marked the beginning of a period of change)
川普每周电视讲话里也有用到这表达：All of this will usher in a new era of prosperity in America--and bring wealth, hope, and opportunity to those communities that need it the most.
解构段落：
从段落发展来看，本段也是用于论证的好例子：开篇第一句就强调了“wimp”这个标签，统领全段的主旨。后面紧跟着②③④句反驳，这里尤其注意到三句的时态过渡很好的起了衔接作用，由had had到later did再到was not above（语气上很像让步句，对第一句的“wimp”标签反驳得毫无力量）为的是突出第⑤句的But进一步强化老布什的“wimp”标签。
从句型使用上，作者偏爱用松散句（Loose construction）中心意思放在句首，修饰语放在句尾。自然、流畅、易懂，读者能快速抓住主要信息。符合讣告文体的特点。
P5：①What he lacked, as he more or less admitted, was “the vision thing”. ②Ideologically, he was flexible: moderate sometimes (indeed, in one Texas race, left of the Democrat), while at others he would traipse round pandering to conservatives, as George Will cruelly put it, with a thin tinny “arf”, like a lap-dog. ③On domestic policy, as president, he inclined to the hard right (prayer in schools, gun rights, anti-abortion), while also loosening immigration policy and expanding the rights of the disabled. ④Wearing his mild Episcopalian hat, he mentioned a thousand points of light, a kinder, gentler America, and a new breeze blowing away the leaves of an old tree. ⑤It was all as vague as it was all deeply hoped for.
段落解析：
①继续分析老布什的弱点：不善于画饼鼓动人心。②老布什的政治思想倾向。③内政政策。④⑤政治抱负的美好愿景，也只能是愿景。
随手一学：
①“the vision thing” — the expectation that a leader should package his policies in a few stirring phrases.
②as sb. put it, ...
解构段落：
全段第一句就提出老布什缺乏政治上的号召煽动能力—"the vision thing"（我把它理解为政治上的愿景，一种画饼能力）。紧接着用两个长句分别概述了他的政治倾向和内政政策，然后第四句总结了他的政治愿景，最后一句呼应第一句——这样的愿景也是模糊不具备它所期待的能力。首位呼应形成一个完整的闭合。
全段用了很多doing的结构表修饰，读来非常有韵律和画面感。