Taller de lectocomprensión en idioma 1

Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales

Universidad Nacional de La Plata tercer bimestre-2023

Nombre y apellido

Legajo Núm.

EXAMEN PARCIAL

Criterios de evaluación
- Correcta interpretación de las estructuras semánticas y [lexico-gramaticales de los
textos en inglés (ideas principales y secundarias, reconocimiento de tipos de palabras
estudiadas e identificación de su funcionamiento en contexto).
- Adecuada utilización de los diccionarios y material de referencia en la selección apropiada
de vocablos y categorías de palabras de acuerdo al contexto.
- Pertinencia en las respuestas (si se responde de manera concisa y apropiada de acuerdo a
lo que se solicita en cada una de las consignas).
- Correcta redacción y ortografía (elaboración y exposición de las respuestas respetando las
reglas de la sintaxis de la lengua castellana).

Part 1

Read the abstract below and complete the set of exercises provided.

Deciphering the Commander-in-Chief Clause

Saikrishna B. Prakash

ABSTRACT. 1. [The conventional wisdom is that the Commander-in-Chief Clause arms the President with a
panoply of martial powers. By some lights, the Clause not only equips the President with exclusive control
over military operations, but also conveys the powers to start wars, create military courts, direct and remove
officers, and wield emergency wartime powers. Under such readings, the meaning of “commander in chief”
is as obvious as it is unequivocal—it confers some measure of absolute and unchallengeable authority upon
the President. Yet, seemingly paradoxically, proponents of this stance cannot say where the Commander in
Chief’s power begins and ends. In particular, establishing the Clause’s limits is an acute and persistent
problem.]
2. [Using eighteenth-century understandings as a yardstick, this Article topples the orthodox reading of the
Clause and demarcates the Clause’s elusive frontiers. In contrast to modern assumptions, the Article reveals
that eighteenth-century commanders in chief enjoyed neither sole nor supreme authority over the military.]
3.[Throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, there were, at any one time, a multitude of British
and American commanders in chief, and both assemblies and other military officials consistently directed
these commanders, often in quite intrusive ways. By borrowing a familiar expression, the Constitution
incorporated the modest, contemporary conception. Rather than being a sui generis military potentate, the
President is nothing more than a chief commander, or what Alexander Hamilton called the “first General and
Admiral.” The Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy lacks a vast arsenal of military authority but
instead possesses only the constrained powers of a general and admiral. Crucially, the Clause does not grant
any exclusive authority over peacetime operations or even the conduct of war. Nothing about the term
“commander in chief” would have suggested such autonomy because previous chief commanders had
lacked such independence. Indeed, early Presidents never objected to congressional bills that sought to
regulate military operations pervasively, including wars. Rather, they signed the proposals into law and,
thereafter, sought to faithfully execute them.

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Taller de lectocomprensión en idioma 1
Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales
Universidad Nacional de La Plata tercer bimestre-2023

To be sure, the President is more than a mere general and admiral. Due to the rest of Article II and the
Presentment Clause, the President wields considerable authority and influence over the military, far more
than a generic commander in chief would. These other sources of power convey authority over the
appointment, direction, and removal of military officers and substantial influence on which military bills will
become law. In the grand scheme of things, the Commander-in-Chief Clause is far less significant than these
other clauses.]
4. [How we read the Commander-in-Chief Clause matters. Without a sense of the Clause’s alpha and omega,
Presidents will continue to cite it to evade, minimize, and commandeer congressional powers. If this
Article’s assertions are correct, however, Presidents will no longer be able to insist that the Founders
established a chief commander that can start wars or one that enjoys exclusive authority over operations. By
decrypting the Clause, this Article highlights the extent to which Presidents have amassed power untethered
from constitutional moorings and also may help fend off further executive overreach. Although some puzzles
remain, this Article takes some initial strides in the long march towards deciphering the Commander-in-Chief
Clause.]

READING COMPREHENSION
A. What moves can you identify in the abstract? Consider the questions provided and write
the names of the moves in English.
1 What is the writer trying to do? Is he introducing new
information?

2 Consider the main verbs used in this section: in which moves

are they typically used?

3 How does the information in this part of the text relate to the
investigation carried out by the writer?

4 What sort of information is the writer trying to give the

reader?

B. Read the article carefully and answer the following questions in Spanish, using your own
words. Do NOT translate the text. Explain what you understand. Do not write more than 30
words.
1. What purpose does the Commander-in-Chief Clause serve?

………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………

2. Why does the author say that the President is "more than a mere general and
admiral"?

………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………

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Taller de lectocomprensión en idioma 1
Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales
Universidad Nacional de La Plata tercer bimestre-2023

………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………

3. What is the author's contribution to the interpretation of the Clause?

………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………

C. What is the overall purpose of the text? Choose the correct option below. Highlight the
correct option.

a. To analyse the evolution of the notion of commander-in-chief

b. To decipher the meanings of the Commander-in-Chief Clause

c. To explain and analyze the role the President of the USA has today

D. Provide three key words in English for this article.

1

GRAMMAR
A. Find the following items in the text:

1. three adverbs:

2. two additive connectors:

3. two contrastive connectors:

5. two adjectives:

B. Look at the underlined words in the text. What do they refer to?
1. it confers some measure of absolute and

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Taller de lectocomprensión en idioma 1
Facultad de Ciencias Jurídicas y Sociales
Universidad Nacional de La Plata tercer bimestre-2023

unchallengeable authority upon the President (line

5)

2. and other military officials consistently directed

these commanders (line 14)

3. By decrypting the Clause, this Article highlights

the extent to which (line 36)

C. Circle the head noun in the following phrases extracted from the text. For example: the
Civil Rights Act of 1964.

1 absolute and unchallengeable authority

2 the orthodox reading of the Clause

3 exclusive authority over peacetime operations

D. Look at the fragments below and analyze the verbs in bold. Specify whether the verb is:
- finite / conjugated – Indicate tense and voice
- non-finite – Indicate the type of non-finite verb and voice
- a modal - Indicate meaning and voice
Tense of finite
Form
verb/ Type of
(finite or Voice (active
Verb non-finite verb
non-finite)? or passive)
/ Meaning of
Modal?
modal
1. …proponents of this stance cannot
say where the Commander in Chief’s
power begins and ends
2.…the Article reveals that
eighteenth-century commanders in chief
enjoyed neither sole nor supreme
authority
3. …there were, at any one time, a
multitude of British and American
commanders in chief
4. Rather than being a sui generis
military potentate, the President is
nothing more than a chief commander,
5. Presidents will no longer be able to
insist that the Founders
6. Presidents have amassed power
untethered from constitutional moorings