INSTITUTO SUPERIOR "JOSEFINA CONTTE"

PROFESORADO DE INGLS
TECNICATURA EN TRADUCCIN TCNICO CIENTFICA EN INGLS

LENGUA INGLESA

3er ao

Profesoras: Patricia vila

Vanessa LLanderai

Ciclo iectivo 2015

Bibliography- MODULE EDUCATION

- rnttnn j)ayid

A.nci Ft\ft:by; David

(2010) L

pf

,Lder Mvanced

Pearson Longman.
- Foley, M. And Hall, D. Advanced Learner's Grammar. Longman
- Gude, K. And Duckworth, M. ( 1996) Proficiency Masterclass. Coursebook. Oxford
Hewings,

rarnbridge: rambridge Ilniversity

(2000) Adv-,,r-c-1 nrirrnrar

Press.
- Kenny, Nick and Newbrook, Jacky (2008) CAE Practice Tests Plus. Pearson Longman
- Mann, R. (2002) New Proficieney Gold Exam Maximiser. Longman.
- Nevytrckok,

a -id

(2001) Now Prof kiericy Gotz.f. Coui-set-,00k.

Longman.
- Orwell, G. (1977) "1984" Great Britain: Penguin Books.
- Sida, Richard and Guy Wellman. (2007). Grammar and Vocabulary for Cambridge
Advanced and Proficency. Longman
- Smalley, R., Ruetten, M. And J. R. Kozyrev (2001) Refining Composition Skills.
Rhetoric and Grarnmar. Fifth Edition. USA: Heinte&
Sunderland, Peter, New Proficiency Passkey, Mac Mitin.
-vince, ivtichaet (ZOOS) Advanced Language Practice. MacmIttan

employment

Education

EDUCA T . ;:), N

SPEAKING

1 b Which opinions do you agree or disagree with?

Discuss your ideas with a partner.

la Use the words in the box to complete the

opinions beiow.

In pairs talk about:

1 your country's education system
2 your own educational experiences

assessrnent curriurn durrrbing down elitism

interpersOnal skills plagiarism streaming

/1 READING ;
1 'Education is not about de'veloping your
but about learhing facts.'

Which of the foliowing are important to learn at

school do you think?
1 important dates in history e.g. battles

2 'Frequent examinations are a much more reliable

and useful way of measuring performance than
continuOUs
an excellent idea because it
3 '
enables students with a similar ability to work at
the sarne pace! Pe rs

2 the narnes of capital cities

3 times tables e.g. 4x 7=28
4 scientific formulae e.g. E=rric 2

4 'The most important aspect of education is the

"="),.0: \v,- )-3) 1', or subjects which are taught.'

5 spelling
6 mental arithmetic e.g. adding up nurnbers in your

Mc711\

and
5 'Private edjcation deates '
encourages inequality in society, which is
absolutely disgusting.'

head
7 poems and excerpts from literature

What techniques do you have for learning any of

these? Tell a partner.

6 'Copying someone else's ideas,

cheating in exams, and buying qualifications is
sornetimes necessary.'

5 What do you understand by the term trote

learning'? Scan the articie to check your answer.

7 'It's easier to get good grades nowadays because education is Qualifications are
worth less than in the past.'

Ir-VOCABULARY: idioms

1 Teachers are no longer important.

According to the article are the statemerhts below

true, faise or not given?

Match the following idiorns (1-6) that describe

peopie and their abilities/characteristics with the

2 Learning new things is not essential.

definitir.ns

3 The British education system is old-fashioned.

4 Student autonomy is becoming more cornmon in
British schools.

1 VV`hiz-kid

4 Dark horse

2 High-flier

5 Team player

5 Many people agree with Tapscott's views.

3 Know-all

6 Ali-rounder

Someone who:

7 Do you agree with Tapscotrs views? Why / Why

a) has many different skills and abilities.

not?

b) is very successful in a lob or at schoo(.

ofi,

c) works well in a group especially at work/ in

business.

8 El

d) behaves as if they know everything.

'O LISTENING
Listen te three peopie en a radio phone-in
prograrnme talking about the purpose of education.
Answer the following questions.

e) is quiet but who surprises with their hidden talents.

f) is a skilled or successful young person.

1 Where are they from and what do they do?

SPEAKING

2 How do their opinions differ?

3 Which is closest toTapscott's view do you think?

10

4 What is your reaction to the views you heard? How

common do you think they are?

in groups, talk

about the foflowing questions.

1 What is the malo role of education for you?

2 'You get what you pay for.' Do you think this
statement is true for education in your country?
3 What was missing frorn your own education?

7ungle generatlen has no

rieet 'kr rata learralw,
1

emorising facts and figures is a

waste of time for most school
cbildren hecause such information is
readily available a mere mouse click
away, a leading commentator has
said.
The existence of Google, Wikipedia
and online librarles means that there
is no useful place in school for oldfashioned rote 'camba& according
to Don Tapscott, author of the
bestselling book Wikinomics and a

champion of the 'net generation'.

A Lar better approach would be
te teach children to think creatively
so that they could learn lo interpret

anal apply the knowledge available

online. 'Teaclaers are no longer the
fountairt of knowledge; the Internet
is,' Tapscott said. 'Kids should learn
about history to understand the
world and why things are the way
they are,' Bel they don't need lo

know all th.e 'dates. 'They can look

that up and position it in history with
a click on Google,' he said.
Tapscott denles that his approach
is anti-learning. He argues that the
ability lo learn new things is more
important than ever 'in a world where
you have to process new information
at lightning speed.' He said: 'Children
are going to have to reinvent their
knowledge base multiple times. So for
them mernorising facts anal figures is
a waste O time.'
His observations chime with a
trend in British classrooms to cut
back on traditional teaching and lo
personalise learning.
Sch.00ls are increasingly raoving
towards more independent study
and so-called enrichment activities,
with pupils learning at their own
pace and foeusing ort what interests
them most. At Wellington College in

Berkshire, for example, teenagers are

not taught from the front of the class,
but instead sit around a large oval
table for seminar-style discussions.
Tapscott believes that the model
of education that prevails today in
most classroorns was designed for the
industrial age. He suggests that the
brains of young peopk today work
differently from those of their parents.
He argues that digital imMersion, in
which children may be texting while
surfirtg the internet and listening t
their MP3 player, can help thero lo
develop critical thinking sldlls.
His views are unlikely t be
universally welcomed. Richard
Calma, Headmaster of Brighton
College, one of the country's topperforming independent schools,
raid th_at a core level of knowledge
was essentiak 'It's important that
children learn facts. If you have no
store of knowledge in your head to
draw from, you cannot easily engage
in discussions or make informed
decisions.'

1 Education and employment_

8

4.:f49:11.1

7,

1,)

SPEAKING

la Think of three successful people in the

following fields: business, the arts or science. Why
do you think they are successful? Telt your partner
about thern.

In 2006, Indra Nooyi was

appointed Chairperson and
Chief Fxec-utive Officer of

FepsiCo. She has been named

J1 1
as the most powerfui business
s
woman in the world by Fortune
magazine. Born in India, she has a
B-achelor of Science degree, an MBA
from the Indian Institute of Management and a Masters degree
in Public and Private Management frorn Yale University.

1b Which quanties do the people you have

described share?

lat

READING]

2 Read the profiles of three successful people

guiad)/ and say in what way they are successful.

Nooyi has a reputation for being very persuasive and she has
the ability to rause an audience. She also has a very informal
style in meetings and openly solcits the opinions of her staff. At
one investors' conference, Nooyi sat clown with the delegates
and conduc-ted the business equivalent of a fireside chat

3 Look at the characteristics commonly used to

describe successful people. Which of them apply to
the people you read about?
a) hard-working

d) creative

b) in novative

e) business-minded

c) highly educated

f) self-disciplined

Nooyi is consrantly reinventing her business model. 'The minute

you've decided a new business model, it's extinct, because
somebodyis going to copy t.' For years she's been talking
about the importance of healthier products and nutrition
education. She works 18-20 hours a day and is currently serving
on the boards of several organisations.

Read the profiles again and answer the following

questions.
1 How do you think Kim and Simenon's earlier careers
could have helped them achieve their lates success?
2 What do you think of Nooyi's management style?
3 Which of the three people are you most impressed
by? Tell a partner.

9
01

VOCABUCARY: suffixes (adjectives)

GRAMMAR: the continuous

5a Find adjectives in the profiles which are formed

from the nouns below.

7a

Read the profiles of Angela pa KIM and tndra

Nooyi again. Underline exarnples of the:

passion, allergy, power, success, persuasion,

superstition, fiction, psychology

5b What suffixes are used to farm

.

passion

aspTcT1

1 present continuous
2 past continuous

these adjectives?

3 present perfect continuous

passionate

6a Make adjectives from the following nouns using

the suffixes.

7b Which of the tenses you found are used to talk

about:

education, affection, speculation, logic, ambition,

empathy

b) actions that are currently in progress?

a) actions that were in progress at an earlier time?

c) a n action which began in the past and is 5611
continuing, or has just finished?
ES> Language reference-and extra practice, pages 134-135

6b Answer the following questions.

1 Who is the rnost suCcessful person you know? Give

your reasons.
2 Who is your favourite fictional character? Why?
3 What is the most powerful piece of art or film that
you have seen?
4 Are you superstitious about anything? If so, give an
example.

Angela Jia Kim is a successful

entrepreneur- having already
founded two companies.

Georges Sirnenon was one of

the most successful and prolific
authors of the 20th century.
Sirnenon had extraordnary
,-..,10-99~, -.f.
z1:,=.--Lt..g,tenergy as a writer and in orte
year, 1928, he wrote 44 novefs.
He was born in Lige in Belgium
on Friday, 13 February, 1903, but bis
superstitious mother registered his birth as being a day earlier.

Her first piano teacher was her

mother and later she graduated
from the Eastman School of
Ivlusic. Her classical refinement
passionate performances have ddighted
audiences worldwide.

His success was not down te his education. He left school at the
age of 15 and worked in numerous short-term jobs until he took
a job as a journalist a year laten (Eventually, he even interviewed
the Emperor of Japan.)

One day just as she was abotrt to perform on stage she had
an allergic reaction to a bocly fotion. As a result of this she
decided to develop her own line of skincare products. '1 was
paying attention to what I was eating,' she says. "Shouldn't
pay attention to what 1 was putting on my body?' She started
.experimenting to find non-toxic creams and eventually
launched Om Aroma & co, art organic skincare line.

1-lis first novel was published in 1921. He is best known for

bis psychological thrtliers and in particular for the character
of Inspector Jules Maigret, who, after Sherlock Holmes, is
the world's most faMOLIS fictional detective. Maigret used
Hcal intuidon te understand the criminal's motives.
psycholog

Her degree was in music, not business, so she sought advice

from respected businesswomen who were going through
similar experiences. She went on to create Savor the Success,
an online community for female entrepreneurs. She says her
success in business is due to her trainng as a concert pianist
and. of course, hard work.

Smenon wrote 75 Maigret novels'which have inspired 55 films

and 279W adaptations. For the fest 40 years of bis life he was
probabfy the best-seiling novelist in the world.

8a Look at the pairs of sentences below. Explain the

difference in mean ing between thern.

9 corred the errors in the use of tenses in this text.

1 real fy respect my best friend. He is-eeming from
Poland and is speaking four languages. He is living
in London since 1998 and l'ye been knowing him
for ten years. We met on holiday when we hitchhike
through Spa in. One day whi le we walk through the
Cantabrian mountains he told me that even though he
had been leaving school at 15 he was going to be very
successful. He joined bis cornpany when it is having
difficulties. He was working his way up to the top. He
has only been working there for seven years and he is
already being the Managing Director.

1 a) I work in Madrid, but l live in a village 40km

away.
b) I'm working in Madrid at the mon-tent, but I'm
moving to Barcelona next year.
2 a) l'ye worked in London, Paris and Rome, but
I work in Tokyo.

'"32555111,"'

now

b) l'ye been working in Tokyo for a year and expect

to continue to do so for sme time.
3 a) 1 workecf in Oslo in 2406.
b) 1 was working in Oslo when my father fell
4

a) 1/1 work when you get home, if you look after the
chi Idren.

WRITING '

b) VII be working when you get home, so please try

to keep quiet.

10 Write a short paragraph giving your opinion on

one of the following statern ents.

8b Which of the actions in the sentences aboye are:

1 'A good education is the key to a successful I ife.'

a) incomplete?

2 luck and family connections are more important

than a good education.'

b) ternporary?
c) happening around a point of time?
d) already in progress when something efse happened?

1
10

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UNT T
Reading

Learning for le

h. Paper 1, Part 4
1 The following text is taken from a book by Charles
Handy, an educator with many years' experience in
business and public services, who has written extensively
on the role of business in modern society.

Speaking
1 Which-of the following features do
you associate with a) a traditional approach
to education b) a more progressive'
approach?
o choice of sublects
strearning
e questioning ideas
rote learning
e written examinations
continuous assessment
individual assignments
collaborative activities
o mixed-ability classes
fixed curriculum
Which have been features of schools you
have attended?

2 The following extracts from lob

advertisements mention qualities which are
often required in the modem working
environmentWhich qualities do you think
are developed by schools? Which are not
developed? Which of the features usted in
Exercise 1 are most likely to encourage these
qualities?
rnust b -

elf-rnotivatnd
e to work independen y

ahould possess well-developed

and nmunication
ski
TD

understanding of and
athy with other culti
you will be a -e sable team playe
sound commercial Ju. gement

ith

4 excelfentl ime management skill

and .ttention to detai

ood analytical abib is essential for

success m tuts ro e

A PROPER EDUCATION

left sehool and university with my head packed full of

knowledge; enough of it, anyway, ro pass ah l the examinations
that were put in my path. As a well-educated man 1 rather
expected my work ro be a piece of cake, something at which
my intellect would allow me ro excel without undue effort. Ir
carne as something of a shock, therefore, to enc_ounter the
world outside for the first time, and ro realize that I was
woefully ill-equipped, flor only for the necessary busines.s of
earning a living, but, more irnportantly, for coping with all
the new decisions which carne my way, in both life and work.
My first employers put it rather well: 'You have a welh
trained but empty mind,' they told me, 'which we will now
try ro fill with sornething useful, but don't imagine that you
will be of any real value Lo us for the first ten years.' 1 was
fortunate to have lighted upon an employer prepared ro
invest so much time in what was, in effect, my real education
and 1 shall always feel guilty that I left them when the ten
years were up.
..10. A well-tra Med mind is flor to be sneezed at, but I was soon
<to discover that my mind had been trained to deal with dosed
problema, whereas most of what 1 now had ro deal with were
open-ended problema. `What is the cost of sales?' is a closed
problem, one with a right or a wrong answer. 'What should
we do about it?' is an open problern, one with any nurnber of
possible answers, and I had no experience of taking this type
of decision. Knowing the right answer ro a question, I carne
ro realize, was not the same as making a difference to a
situation, which was vvhat I was supposed to be paid for.
Worst Jan, the real open-ended question `What is ah l this
in aid of?' was beginning to rtudge at my mind.
h- I had been educated in a n individualist culture. My scores
were mine. No one else carne into it, except as competitors in
some imagined race. I was on my own in the learning game at
school and unive'rsity. Not so in my work, I soon realized.
Being an individual star woulel not help rae there if it was in
a failing group. Our destinies were I inked, which meant that
my co-wor kers were now colleagues, not competitors. Tearns

24

13

ay THE AUTHJ. 01, .11IE ACS L'r LIKSS.S301

.00 74ie AHE &IV Nsunben:

Charles Hardy
In this extract he evaluates how useful his own educa -don
was as a preparation for the world of work. Read
paragraphs 1,5 and 6 quickly. Does the writer think his
own education was usefui preparation for work? What
does he say about the present situation?

were something I had encountered on the sports field, not iri

the classroom. They were M the box marked fun in my
rnind, not the ones rnarked `work' or even 'life'. My new
::
challenge, 1 discovered, was Eco merge these three boxes. I liad

discovered, rather later than rriost, the necessity of others. 1t

was the start of my real education.
. .
Pp- 'So you're a university graduate are you?' said my new

Sales Manager. 'In classics, is it? I don' t think that is going ro

impress out Chinese salesmen! How do you propase ro Pyill
a
their respect since you will be in cha rge of some of them very
shortly ?' Another open-ended problemi I had never before
heen thrust among people very different from me, with
different values and assumptions about the way the world
worked, or should work. I had not even rnet anyone more
than two years older, except for relatives and teachers.
Cultural exploration was a process unknown ro me, and I
was not accustomed to being regarded as stupid and
ignorant, which I undoubtedly was, in ah the things that
mattered in their world.
1> My education, I decided then, had been positively

disabling. So much of the content of what I had learned was

irrelevant, while the process oflearning it had cultivated a set
of attitudes and behavours which were directly opposed ro
what seerned to be needed in real life. Although I had studied
philosophy
1 hadn't applied it ro rnyself 1 had assumed that

the point of Life was obvious: to get on, get rich;get a wife and
get a family. It was beginning to be clear that life wasn't as
'simple as that. What I believed in, what I thought was worth
workng for, and with whom, these things viere becoming

; important_ So was my worry about what I personally could

contribut that might not only earn me money but also make
a useful contribution somewhere.
Ir would be nce to think that this sort of experience could
not happen now, that our schools, today, prepare people
better for life and for the work which is so crucial to a
.
satisfactory life. But I doubt it. The subjects may appear Lo be
a little more relevant, but we are still left ro learn about work
.aa
at work, and about life by living it. That will always be true,
hut we could, I helieve, do more to make sure that the process
of education had more in comrnon with the processes of

living and working as they are today, so that the shock of

reality is less cruel.
_
,

is important to have an overall idea

of the organisation of the text and its main
message before looking at the details.
it

Match the foliowing main topics to the

numbered paragraphs of the text.Then
underline the phrase or sentence in that
paragraph which answers the question below.
Personal conclusions (para,.
)
What was the writer's main conclusion
about bis education?
Initial expectations of work
(para.
)
What were the writer's initial expectations
of how he would cope at work?

Relevance te today's educational systems ,

(para.
)
To what extent does the writer think that
things are better today?
.

Broadening awareness of other cultures

)
(para.
In what ways were the people the writer
worked with different from the people he
had been educated whh?

14

Dealing with problems asad making

)
decisions (Para.
What were the differences between the
types of problem he had ro deal with in
education and at work?
Attitudes te colleagues (para.
What difference did the writer find
between bis relationships at school and
at work?

3 Now answer the multiple-choice questions

below. Choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which
you think fits best according to the text

( When the writer left university, he expected

to succeed by
A using the qualities bis education had
developed.
B gaining further qualifications.
C developing his. decision-rnaking skills.
acquiring relevant skills in bis place of
work.
2 He feels he treated bis first employers
badly because he did not .
A give them a true idea of bis strengths
and weaknesses.
B contribute to the company financially.
C repay them fully for the heip they gave
hita.
D stay with theta any longer than he was
obliged to.
3 He found that he needed to re-evaluate bis
approach at work because he
A was asking the wrong types of
question.
B had been trained to deal with problems
in the wrong way.
C met new kinds of problema in bis
working
D was dealing prirnarily with moral
problema.

6 What was the writer's mala conclusion about his

education?
A It had taught him to value rnoney too much.
B It had been rnuch too theoretical te be of any use.
C It liad been not just useless, but actually harmful.
D It had taught hita that life was not simple.
7 The writer feels that nowadays
A life is changing so fast that schools can never prepare
for it.
B the way in which students are taught to think should be
re-examned.
C the content of syllabuses should be brought fully
up-to-date.
D educational reforrns have bridged the gap betvveen
school and work.
4 How do you think Charles Handy's education cota have
prepared him more effectively for bis working life? Using
information from the text, discuss whether and to what extent the
following suggestions would have helped hirn.Give reasons for your
decisions.
more vocational or practica] subjects (give examples)
compulsory involvement in competitive team aporta
school trips and exchange visits to other countries
more cross-curricular projects
work experience placements

Can you add any more suggestions te the list?

4 WI3at was one of the first things he learned

at work?
A that he could not always be first
B that other peopie were willing to help
him
C the importance of having Ieisure
interests outside his work
D the link between team sport and work
5 He realised that he lacked understanding of
other cultures when he
A had to work with people vvho had
clifferent values.
E liad to work outside his own country.
C realised that his subordin.ates did not
respect him.
D found that bis quafifications were not
relevant.

....: `, - 1'' .- .
,,..
:
:`.,.:,':- -41:134.,..::.:..*
I' .......,.:....-...;,
.

..:.--...::.;,1,'..;.;..:1............
' -:::::,...5A..---.7---, :7.,-,!...:1''...i..e':...,....1::... , ::,:,......,...,.s.-,J

16

15

16

Listening

al

Paper 4, Part 2

Listen to the recording for the second

time. Check and complete your sentences. Have

you made any spelling errors?

1 Look at the advertisement and discuss the

following questions.

5
1 Using ideas from the talk, decide which type

1 Have you ever done a puzzle like this? Was it easy

or difficult?

of thinking is needed for each of the activities

2 What kind of mind do you think you need to be able to do

this kind of pulzle?

below: wits, intellect or wisdom. Discuss why.

cloing a maths problem
e writing poetry
choosing a holiday
driving a car

It's The Work:1's

Best-Setting PuzzLe

e playing the piano

Rubik's cube is backi

2 Add three more activities to the list and

Re-launched to stretch the brain

discuss which type of thinking they need.

cells of a new generation, this

simple-looking cube puzzle can be

solved in just a few nieves. That is,

Discuss the following questions.

1 Does your own experience support the

as long as you choose the right ones

idea that you learri different things in

from the 43 quiritillion possibilitiesl

different ways? Give examples.

2 Which types of skills do you think are the

You wM hear a talk about the different ways in which we think.

First, read through the gapped sentences below. Can you predict any
of the content of die taik?

1 The fastest mental process involves a reaction which is

and which the speaker calls our
'wits'.
2 The second mode is the function of the brain that things like
test.
3 We know least about the slowest level because it is
, and may be illogical or irrational.
4 The tvvo giris in the science lesson wanted their teachers
help because they
5 The girl was using her
to
manipulate the puzzle.
6 She was still making progress with the cubo, although she
appeared not to be
7 When the speaker questioned her, the girl initially belleved he
was
for playing with the cubo.
,
8 When questioned, the girl was unaware of the
she had been using.
9 Adulta who try te use their
are
unable te do the puzzle.

easiest to kern? Which are most difficult?

Why?

Say it again

At Proficiency levet you are expec-ted to be able

to produce a wide range of structures and
expressions.To help you do this, you will be
given regular opportunities to practise
rephrasing sentences.
The following sentences are from the Listening
text. Re-express them using the framework
given.
1 The theory makes a lot of sense te me.
1 find
convincing.
2 She seemed to be paying very little
attention.
She looked

3 She explained it to the best of her ability

She explained it as
could.
4 Adults have lost the knack of this way of
learning.
Adults

- LE,

way any more.

Now listen and complete the sentences with a word or short

phrase.You should not need more than two or three words for any
answer.
30
O/"- Exam Maximiser

17

very

little attention.

this

UNIT 2

Language Focus: Vocabulary

Read the foliowing sentences and work out the

meaning of the expressions in italics.What helped you to
decide?

Meaning n context

102

Use of English: Paper 3, Part 3

In Paper 3, Part 3 you have to find one word to complete
three different sentences. Read the following sentences.

1 You need to keep your wits abozzt you in Paper 3 of

the Proficiency exam.
2 l'ye tried everything I can think of, but I still can't
get him to agree Pm at my witsi end.
3 I was scared out of rny wits ah l alone in that huge
ernpty house.
4 To Me best of my knowledge, the project's going
ahead as pIannecl.
5 Didn't you realise he was married to that actress? I
thought it was common knowledge.
6 l'ye got that song on the brain it's driving me
mad!
7 Can I come and pick yozzr brains? Pm having
probiems with my new computer software.
8 I've been racking iny brains trying to remember
where 've met hirn before.

Secondly there's a rather slower process, which we can

the intellect. (term/call)
When I
your name, could you please stand up?
(say/call)

I need to

tearning for lif:

at the dry cleaner's to collect my suit.

(stop/call)

Although there are other correct possibilities for each gap,

the word con can be used in al! three sentences.
For questions 1-6, think of one word only which can be
used appropriately in al{ three sentences.
1 Hes a nice boy and he's very
, but he doesn't
do rnuch work.
A
light shone through the open curtains.
She likes wearing
colours, bur her sister
always wears black.

Phrasal verbs with think

Complete the following sentences with a particle or

preposition from the box. Use each word once only.There
are two extra words that you won't need.

2 The colourful pictures should

the children's
nterest.
My son will soon
the majority of the shares
in the company.
Be careful! I don't think that branch will
you.
3 She's always on the
1 don't know how she
has the energy.
He's going ro start his own compan3r, which sounds
like a sman
Be careful. They'll be watching your every ........

across
over

hack
through

of
up

on

1 They're still trying to think

a neme for the
baby.
2 When I think
to childhood holidays, it's the
long, lazy days on the beach that I remember.
3 I wonder how anyone could ever have thought
such a complicated story.
4 Why don't you think it
for a while, and
give me your answer in a few days?
5 Your plan isn't going to work you haven't
thought it
carefully enough.

4 She
the tray down on a table next to bis
bed.
The teacher
the class some work ro do_
The princess was given a necklace
with
diamonds and emeralds.

Take turns to interview a partner, using the

following questions.

1 /lave you ever been scared out of your wits in a

fihn? What was the film/scene about?
2 What's the most important thing you've ever
changed your mind about? What would have
happened if you hadn't changed your mind?
3 Is there an3rthing you've particularly set your mind
on doing in the next few years?
4 If 1 ask you to neme a man or woman who's in the
news at present, who springs to mincl? Why?
5 Think over what you've done in class today. What
do you think you've learneci?

5 The fog and ice meant that ft was a very

journey.
Business is rather
at present but we hope it
will pick up soon.
You'd better check the time the dock might be a
few minutes
6 She had dark
around her eyes from roo
many sleepless nights.
The thief escaped with a diamond brooch, two gold
and some cufflinks.
Only one of the
on the electric cooker is
working.

31

18

Exam Focus

1
I've lost the
phone.

In Paper 3, Part 2 you have t read a text with ten gaps.

The stems of the missing words are given in the margin of

(child)
complete this form.

grammatical use and the exact meaning of the word

required.

To his

he won the competition.

(amase)

We hire out glasses for big parties, but we ask for

a deposit to cover any
(break)

confirmation). This usually depends on

the part of speech required, e.g. noun, adjective. adverb

His

to accompany them upset her more

than she admitted. (refuse)

or verb. But it rnay also be related t meaning (e.g.

useless).
vid an inflection (e.g.

, picase

(member)

You may need to:

(book)

If you would like t apply for

word in this contextYou need t think about both the

add a suffix (e.g.

that carne with my mobile

In his autobiography, he describes his unhappy

the textYou have to decide on the correct forrn of the

(utile)

The car's cheap as it has low

Paper 3, Part 2

The press refiased to divulge the names of their

contirrnotions, confirming).This

(inform)

gves information about singular or plural, tense, etc.

add a prefix (e.g. unconfimied, rearnfinnotions). Here

you need t think about the mear -Mg of the word in

His

this context.The prefix may malee the word negative or

The

of this material makes it suitable for

vid other inforrnation such as repetition or location.

sportswear.

(elastic)

change the stern itself (e.g.

offect

effect).

I think his behaviour's really

enough to know betten

Read through the whole text quicIdy t get a general

Complete any gaps you feel sure of.

For the remaining gaps, the surrounding words will help

She's got quite an

Check vvhether an infiection such as a plural -s cnparticiple ending is needed.

misleading.

style, but it's rather

(authority)

Think about the meaning.Does the word need a

prefix?

It was a very

Finally, read the whole text again and check that it

He's an

makes sense.

incident.
man.

You need t
pool.

the water in the swimming

(chlorine)

1 This exerclse will help you to identify and classify some

You dori't need to

common suffixes. First match the following headings t the

very fluent.

groups of suffixes 1-7.

The colour red in our flag

making adjectives from nouns

making adjectives from verbs

making nouns from verbs

making nouns from adjectives

making nouns from other nouns

verb suffixes

adverb suffixes

(regret)

(attract)

Suffixes

in

his trust and refused t see harm in anyone. (citad)

The
discovery of the diary led to serious
problems. (acciderz

you decide vvhat part of speech is required.

he's old

(clzild)

Although now an old man, he was still

idea of what it is about

(mean)

Here is a procedure to follow for this task.

e

with money was legendary.

your language she's

(simple)

the blood shed

in the flght for independence. (symbon

7
In order to unscrew, turn in a

direction.

(dock)
We reckoned we were travelling more or Iess

(rzorth)

Then complete each sentence using the word given and

2 Can you think of any more exarnples of suffixes which

adding the correct suffix.You may asle need te add an

fit these seven categories?

nflected ending such as plural -s.

32

19

UNI T 2

3 Complete the following sentences.You will

need to use two or three suffixes to make the
correct form of each word.
of the facilities was more
1 The
expensive than they had expected.
(modem)

2 He unlocked the door slowly and

(care)

verb

(amaze)

from the

4 The music blared out

amplifiers. (deaf)
rnake hirn a very
and
5 His
strong candidate for the job. (adaA
resaurce)

2. Prefixes
1 The sentences below do not make sense
because sane prefixes have been omitted.Find
the words which need prefixes and choose a
sultable prefix from the box for each one.
anti
ji
O 1:

sub
in
over

dis
mis
un

fore
muft
semi

1 If you do not pay your telephone bill

within the next ten days the service will
be -connected.
2 She was not aware of any change, but
consciously she must have realised
sornething was wrong.
3 `Didn't you ask me to bring a
parachute?'
'No, you must have heard me, 1 asked
for a pair of shoes!'
4 The essay was totally legible asid
so I couldn't give ft any marks.
5 The river Es flowing its banks and some
streets are already flooded.
6 The leader sat with his back to a high
wall and his followers sat in a circle
around
7 Although rnost of the mejor
transactions were shown, the accounts
were complete.
8 He seems to enjoy himself at public
functions, despite his social tendencies.
2 Now write sentences of your own for the
four remaining preftxes.

.--

adjective

poverty

(I)

poorly

safety

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

peaceably

(8)

(9)

honour

(10)

(11)

blood

located in a
6 The village is
sheltered valley. (pictare)

,.....,

1
,

a d ve rb

(2)

he wasn't hurt in the accident.

,.......

.'

., 3 Stems
As well as adding prefixes and suffixes, you will somedmes need to make
changes to the stems thernselves. Complete the table below with the
appropriate form of the word.
noun

(12)

(13)

(
,
,

1
,

(14) .

4 Read the text below. Use the word given in capitals at the end
of some of the lines to form a word that fits in the space in the same
line.There Es an example at the beginning (0).

11.- Exam Maxrniser -,....0.4

20

EDUCATE

'

,.....

MORTAL
CONSEQUENd.

33

,....,

LITERATE

COME

...._.

PREvENT

NEED

..._.

....

ECON O MY

ECOLOGY

,---

,..-

POOR

EFF1C1ENT

.._

GET TFIE ULS TO SCHOOL

The (0) education of girls is the surest way of
So why a:re ninety million
reducing (1)
primary school age girls not in school? Ir is
ro the family
because they contribute (2)
by looking after youn.ger children, or working
in the fields. But these girls face a life of
backbreaking worlc, with children who die of
diseases, subordination to a husband
(3)
and bis family, and an early death. And the
uneducared woman transmits to her children the
same doomed life. But ir does flor have ro be
like this. Educational campaigns have meant
is almost unknown in Southern
that (4)
tate there is
India, and the infarn (5)
the lowest in the developing world.
(6)
And in Africa and south Asia, where women do
most of the farming, education is allowing theta
ro learn how ro improve (7) farrning
practices and at the same time is raising
.
needs of the latid..
awareness of the (8)
While ro rural famifies ir might seem an
t keep girls working
unavoidable (9)
at borne, it s in both the national and
internarional interest - as well as in the interest
the
of the grls themselves - ro (10)
short-term difficuldes and provide diese girls
with the education rhey need.

,..-

Learning for life,

lt's that season of the year again: Exam Time. Here, four authors rellect on their own experiences ot a
ritual that everyone fears and
no one forgets.
-A

Rose Tremain

Exarns come early. Always earlier than

.,.
you'd expecte:d. Tne knack is to see
.:
thern from a long way off. Ar boarding
.
school , 1 an d a s mall group of friends
I
tred to steal a mareta on thern by
a. -..,
giving up three hours of sieep each
night, settng our alarm clocks and creepiri,g clown to our
revistan books at four in the rnorning, sustained by
oranges saved from breakfast the ay before.
it would be dark at first and awesornely quiet in the
od school room, and we feb.- like burglars. Int our heads,
as dawn carne hato the silent study, was crarnmed the
: information we needed. We learnt it ah l off-pat, by heart,
because this was how we'd lacen taught it. In those days,
, at a girls' boarding school, nobody did much thnking.
;- Information was given out, taken clown , memorised and
c:. recycled.
But we ah l passed. We flew through Biotogy, History,
Eng. Lit., Geography, French, Latn. What no one but us
liad witnessed was those early summer dawns where three
1.5 hours of extra work had lain hidden. And ah that remained
of us, When the rest of the school began its day, was the
astringent smell of oranges.

.,....
.,..._ . ,
, ,,,,,.,,,
T-,..- -,--,_
-:

Patrick Gaie
1 assumed the postcard from Oxford

.1.-1:-.NlY.'"i.->,- .' contained my degree resulte A second

would have been nice but 1 was quite
prepared for a third. 1 didn't greatly
4. .'.V.<1:,''I.,._
care. Novelists liad no need of degrees.
4 : fl.i1:. ;.:
4&:St Only it wasn't the result. It was a
sumrnons to present myself for a 'viva
yace' exarnination the following week.
In cine fell swoop my fragile adult life collapsed. Try
as I rnight to shrug it off as a pointless ritual, 1 found
myself caring deeply. 1 had kept my exam papers as a grita
momento and now felt compelled to begin revising al;
over again. Assurning rnyself a borderline third, 1
concentrated on the questions I had answered poorly.
rae exam was nightmarish, conducted with the
solemnity of a job interview. SOITIC six exaininers faced rae
in a horseshoe formation. 1 was empty-hancled. They had
glasses of water and, 1 saw tu rny horror, photocopies of
my scrawle.d exarn papers. Thinking ro put me at my case,
their leader explained that they liad calIed me because
severa' of my essays had been very good and if I could just
expand on them sufficiently to raise theta to excellence, I
would Will a first. They were g,iving, no thought to the
subjects over which 1 liad just sweated a week's warth of
blood. Oh no. .
It was a disaster, of course. The subjects 1 liad shone
in were now dim in my memory, Where I was fluent on
paper, I was a stammering dullard in the flesh, and the
panel awarded me the second I would have been happy
with all along.

1
-

f3 Tim Willocks

.-_.

lanee
vai
49.:~

In arder to qualify as doctors, we liad

50
take sornething over
to
exarninations in six years, the failure in
:45 any orte of which prevented us from
progressing to the next. Exams walked
at our sde, day and night. Oral exams,

''141-44; multiple choice exams, essay exams,

practicals, research projects and more.
Under these conditions there 'as an unspoken sense
of an elite superiority, comparad ro other univeisity
students attending five lectures and one tutorial a week
(less than we liad each ay). Or perhaps that \vas just me.
1 don't usually take it upan rnyself to speak for others, buc
in this case, the sense of shared struggle and discovery
that 1 remember s so strong that 1 feel justified in taking
the liberty. We ah of us, believe, were repeatedly
humbled by our ignorance and by tic scale o the
endeavour before us.
But of al the exams I took, the type that provoked the
greatest tension was the viva voce the so-called 'orals'.
One entered a larga usually dmly-lit room in which
anything from three to six bored, demi-gods sat in
judgernent behind a broad table and fired questions.
While 1 often hated the exarns, I never resented them.
I always acknowledged the fact that I would never have
made the enormous effort necessary without being
cajoled, threarened and bullied tato the task by the
seerninglrendless series of trials that they set us.

A. S. Bycitt

Every year I dream that 1 am in an exam

hall and cannot start to write until r
nave found me right size of paper from
a heap hice a mounrain. Exams haunt
our nightrnares as sabre-toothed tigers
haunted our ancestors.
But an exam is one of my best
.
memorias_ 1 took the Cambridge Entrance exams in 1953,
the only girl in my school, sitting in rny headmistress's
study. 1 was summoned ro interview at Cambridge, and 1
was walking away when the seeretary called me back 1
was wanted for an oral examination for a scholarship. 1
remember lecturing the assembled dons, standing at a
blackboard, and finding they were interested. Those
exams were the first time I had really felt anyone was
interested in what 1 was interested in, and in what 1
thought about. At school you had to hde what you were
really thinking about, not speak of the music you were
listening to or the poetry you were reading.

21

TASK
MULTIPLE M.ATCHING

Answer questions 1-46 by referring to the magazine article on page 225 in

which various writers are interviewed about their experience of examinations.
For questions 1 16, answer by choosing from the list of writers (AD) on the
right below. Some of the 'choices may be required more than once.
-

Note: When more than one answer is required, these rnay be given in any
order.
Which writer or writers
talks about school exarns?
describes an oral exam?
found they minded more about an exam than they
thought they would?
often realised how little they knew?
talks about how they prepared for an exam?
looks back on an exam with pleasure?
rnentions the value of exams?

revised for the wrong questions?

1
3

'

5
A Rose Tremain I

B Tim Willocks

7
8

10

C A. S. Byatt

D Patrick Gale

11
12

13
suggests that it's important to begin revising early?
mentions a strong feeling of fellowship with other students? 14
15
says that creative thought was discouraged at school?

GUESSING MEANING
FROM CONTEXT

2
4

16

2 Find the followina words and phrases in the first two sections of the text and
think about the lircely meaning. Then choose a suitable expIanation from those
on the right (af).
a persuaded by praise
1 the knack
b so that it can be repeated without thinking
2 steal a march
c
secretly gain an advantage
3 off-pat
persuaded by fear
4 taking the liberty
e trick/secret of success
5 cajo1ed
f doing something without asking permission
6 bullied

22

-A

1-1

rc,

s1 ey

UNIT 3 A Word in your Lar

LIST941,1G 11111.~11,1111~15151MBMILW04112"59~1=1~.~1
Three option multiple choice
-

You will hear four extracts in which different people are talking about
language learraing. There are two questions for each extiact. For questions 1-8,
choose the answer (A, B or C) which fits best according to what you hear.

Extract One
1

What is the speaker complaining about?

2 He rnentions tennis as an example of an

activity which

A people's atttude to ianguage learning

B people's inability to lea.rn languages
C people's laziness as language learners

A can be leamt relatively easily.

B some people have a particular gift for.
C requires more effort th.an language
lemming.
-

Extract Two
3 Wha.t does the speaker think of what she
calls leach-yourself' language manuals?
A They are as good as a teacher.
B They ma.y be better than people think.
C They are no substitute for attending a
cdurse.

4 Why does lie recornmend using more

than one book?
A to prevent boredom
B ro sample different tea ching methods
C to compare the explanations given

Extract n'oree

5 What is the speaker talking about?

A monvating yourself to learn a

language
B developing techniques for learning a
language
C prioritizing the language skills yo.0
focus on

What does he recommend?

A reading texts in translation
reading abou.t a vaety of topics
C choosing your own reading telas

Extract }tour

7 What approach to language leaming is

the speaker suggesting?

8 How did she view the learning of

vocabulary as a teenager at school?
A as largely pointless
B as a necessary exerdse
C as a good grounding

A a systematic approach
B a practica' approach
C a traditional approach

gam 2 Do you agree with what the four speakers say about language leaming?
Which one do you feel is maldng the most valid point?
Ta1k about your ovvn experiences as a language learner. Which language
learning activities do you find particularly useful/difficult/enjoyable?
)-W.741/54/43 44

23

4'

teedmAt

UNiT 3 A Word in your Ear

USF. OF E.Nr-It51-4

Sumnzary skills
'Al1. Read both parts of the article and then answer the questions

1-13 vvith a word or

short phrase.

The theme of this ywr's London Secretaly

Show is `communication across language
and cultural barriers: Our reporter, Ken
Philips, interviews two serninar leaclers
from the show, and gas- a sneak preview
on the need for secretaries to
communicate internationally.
Part One

Business is becoming more International

asid secretaries will increasingly need
lo International comrnunication skills. English
is often the only means of cornmunication,
but as two seminars at the forthcoming
London Secretary Show will attempt to
point out, diere are many advantages for
British secretaries in not simply falling back
on the convenience of saying it in English.
In the IX, ironic-21ty, despite the fact that
the country is becoming more popular as a
location for international business, the
20 reputation of the local workforce for
linguistic expertise is piumrneting. Vicky
Collins of He raid Language Enterprises will
focus on fhls in the first part of her
seminar, and prove that communication
across language and cultural barriers is
easier than most British secretaries imagine.
'I am not aclvocating Instant fluency in five

In your own words, explain what is meant by lalling badt on the convenience.
(liries 15-16)

In your own vvords, explain what is ironic about the situation described in the UK.

Which vvord in paxagraph 2 of Part One is used to indicate a rapid change?

In your own words, explain what is ineant by the term 'body language'. (lines
47-48)

What point does the exarnple al the joke or light-hearted remark in paragraph 3
of Part One serve to illustrate?

46

24

..

.______ _________.. ......_.. ......

._,._, c.: .,..:. _ y, --, c, --: ,:t)
.

- 1-..; , , -.zi ":' ,:.:0 ..": .

,j

A Word in your Ear UNET 3 15111211/0.1

1

60

70

Part Tuvo
Teresa Watts of the language consuhants
Merdian will be conducting a seminar on
coping on the telephone in French, German and Spanish. She says there is no
lers.owing when such skills mighthecome
necessary. 'Even if a secretary currently
never has to deal with clients who do not
speak English, it may be necessary in the
future. And a secretary is often the first
point of contact between the company
and the outside world. It is quite possible
that, as such, secretanes inay well find
themselves Iiasing between the Englishspeaking world and a non-English
speaking company.'
It is vvidely recognized that the telephone
is an intimidating instrument on which ro
concilia a conversation in, a foreign
language. 'Indeed, some people are not
entirely ha.ppy with it in their mother
tongue. But its very immediacy makes it a
useful tool for developing language skills,'
Watts says. Meridian offers courses in
language tuition conducted entirely over
the phone. Watts does not believe that.
sorneone has ro be f1uen in order t
communicate in a foregn language by

teiephone, or even have any serious

grounding in the language at
Meridian specializes in training in

languages for specific purposes. lis clients

include staff at ports and ahports who
have to issue simple instructions or
80
directions in more thart one language.
Staff are trained to cope with the limited
phrases they need by acting out scenarios.
Watts believes the sante methods can be
applied to secretaries. 'It is flor generally
assumed that secretaries will be able to
pass the time of day with clients fu
another language, but the language being
spoken should be identified, and some
sign should be giverx to the caller that
loo they will be passed on to someone who
can deal with the call. A simple "Hang
on" in the given language will convey
that the call is not a dialogue of the deaf,'
she says. Such an approach also
requires no knowledge of irregular verbs
or complicated tenses. Even a handful of
such phrases can increase confidence
and make the experience of handling a
foreign language call 'exhilarating rather
lio than intirnidating'.

6 Which phrase in paragraph 1 of Part Two points to the importance of the secretary's

role in the company?

7 In your own words, explain why a telephone might be 'an intimidating instrument'.
(line 73)
8 In your own words, explain why Meridian considers courses conducted over the
telephone so effective.
,

9 Which word in paragraph 2 of Part Tvvo is used to mean 'a basic knowledge'?
10 Explain what you understand by the term 'acting out scenarios'. (une
11

92)

In your own words, explain the phrase 4to pass the time of day'. (lines 95-96)

12 What is implied by the phrase 'dialogue of the deaf'? (fine 103)

13 Which word in paragraph 4 describes a feeling of positive enjoyment?
1141

2 In a paragraph of not more than 75 words, summaxize in your own words as far as
possibie, the approach that secretaries should adopt tovvards learning languages,
according ro Vicky CoIlins and Teresa Watts.

ASI

3 Do you agree that language courses should have a cultural aspect to them?
What would this involve for ydur language?
47 '11/1"

25

26

1 Read the text and decide which answer (A, 8, C or D) best completes each
collocation or fixed phase.

A report on the notorious Fiveways School, visited recently by government

(1)
, was published yesterday. The report (2)
inadequate strategic
planning, poor (3)
of teaching, and semi-derelict building conditions as
being iargely to blame for the problems at Fiveways, the school branded 'the
worst in Europe'. Our reporters entered the school by (4)
arrangement,
and witnessed at (5)
hand the chaos that has heaped infamy on the
school. On the day of their visit, our reporters leamed that one disruptive pupil
had been given a 3-week (6)
for punching a teacher in the face. Our
reporters saw pupils virtually (7)
riot, throwing stones at passers-by and
verbally (8)
a teacher.
1) A authorities
2) A hghlights
3) A measures
4) A former
5) A original
6) A expulsion
7) A running
8) A harming

B inspectors
13 illuminates
B patterns
13 earlier
B first
B caution
B going
B abusing

C controllers
C features
'C standards
C preceding
C immediate
C suspension
C making
C damaging

D examiners
D activates
D specifications
D prior
D direct
D ban
D taking
D oppressing

Complete the extracts from two school reports. Use the worcls from the box.
,

half-hearted
participated
..
.,

. - respect
, matute
-distracted
in solefi
' contiibuts ' ' apPlies
. -"Concentrate
,,ff-eitt
.

Report 1
Tracey has made a big (1) .ez-,053 rt
this tenn, showing herself to be very
(2)
for her age. She (3)
herself well and
(4)
fully to class discussions. She shows a lot of (5)
towards her teachers.
Report 2
On one occasion Derek was sent home for being (1)
to a teacher.
In terrns of effort, his work can sometimes be rather (2)
He is
easily (3)
.and finds it hard to (4)
in class. Also he
has not (5)
in group work as well as he should.

254

27

VOCABULARY 18 EDUCATION

Both options rnake sense. Underline the one which forms a comrnon coliocation.
a) In my country we have to do nine basic/core subjects and then we can choose
severa]. others.
b) At this school we put a strong emphasis on academicIscholarly achievement.
c) In my country bodily/corporal punishment was abolished 40 years ago.
d) In my class we had a helper/support teacher who assisted pupils with learning

difficulties.
e) On Friday afternoons we had lessons with the trainee/apprentice teacher.
O In my country we have some end of year tests but rnost of our marks come
from progressive/continuous assessment.
g) At 16 we have the choice of doing more vocationlemployment oriented

courses, such as business stuclies and accounting.

h) When I was 15, I had a 2-week work position/placernent with a local factory.
i) There were a number of teenage/child mothers in my class.
j) I was expelled from school for playing/going truant too many times.

.._,

Complete each space in the text with a word formed from the word in capitals.
Last year I resigned my post as a Head of Department at a large

\.._..

comprehensive school. After 23 years of teaching, I had simply

had enough of a job which is becoming increasingly

(1) Problemottic

,_.,

As a Departmental Head, 1 saw at close

hand the effect of the government's increased

in educational matters; the lob is now
(2)

INVOLVE
BUREAU

than it was when I

ten times more (3)

PROBLEM

started out. Not content with loading teachers down with

paperwork, the govemment has also imposed standard national
tests on pupils as young as six, a fact which has left many teachers
with their profession. Eut that side of
(4)
things is by no means ah. There is also the growing

ENCHANT

of the pupils, including the girls.

(5)
There are the frequent little acts of (6)

AGGRFSSIVE

which teachers have become almost (7)

RUDE
to stop,

POWER
'

now that the right to discipline pupils has_been l but taken

from them. There is the restlessness and sheer (8)

BORING

of children brought up on a diet of computer garnes and violent

...-

videos. Some people dsmiss any link between computer games

in attention span, but few of them are REDUCE
and a (9)
teachers. When I started out, I used to enjoy teaching history,
pupils; now I do so RESPECT
my chosen discipline, to (10)
every Tuesday evening, teaching local history to pensioners.

'...,
255

28

ADVANCED LANGUAGE PRACTECE

Five people are speaking about their learning experiences. Complete each space
with a suitable word. The first tener of each space is given.

a) I've just finished university, although I'll have to go back for my

rardnotion
ceremony in October. So now I'm the proud possessor
of a d
in Modem Languages. At last I can get clown to
earning sonae money and payin.g back my 1
from the
governrnent. My friend is lucidez than me in this respect she's off to the
States. She has a s
to study at Yale University.
b) I was known as a rather naughty, mischievous pupil, and I often used to get
out of the lesson or put in d
after
school. Little did the school know, however, that Dad was actually paying
me to have extra Maths lessons at borne with a private t
And it paid off, for in my Maths exarn, I surprised everyone by getting the
top m
in the class.
c) I left school without any q
, and with no real job
But then I started doing e
classes at
the local f
education college. And now 1'm a mechanic,
and delighted with my jobl
d) My problem was exams. I was never any good at them. Classwork fine,
exarns no go. Por my A levels I r
solidly for three months,
but despite all this preparation, I got disappointing g
D
for Physics, E for Chemistry, and E for Biology, The school suggested that I
the exams, but to be honest, I didn't fancy ah l that
studying all over again. But I did win a p
at Sports Day,
for the Senior Boys Long Jump.
e) When I was 28, I decided I wanted to go back into education, as I was
getting more and more interested in English Iiterature. One option was to
become a m
student'at a university, but I couldn't afford
this full-time commitment. So in the end I signed up for a
course, or `distance leaming', as it's caIled. 1 sent my
essays and a
to a tutor by post and also communicated
with her by e-mail. I had to study English literature from 1300 to the present
day, but I chose to s
in the twentieth-century novel.
ff

256

29

vocABui.Avey la

EDUCATION

Complete the spaces by finding one word which fits in all three sentences.
out
a) When we had finished acting, the teacher gave us ah l a lino rk,
of ten.
Elka has only been in the office for three months, but already she has really
made her 1144flrk
on Emma's
The teacher toId Jeremy off for making a ril-of rknotebook.
herself very well
b) We are very pleased with Susan's effort she
to the task in hand.
equally
IncidentaIly, the comment I have just made to Smith
to everybody in this room.
for that new lob; she'd be so good at it
really hope my sister
any ambition I ever had of becoming a teacher.
c) I've virtually
out of college after one term and went travelling around the
world instead.
the charges he brought
On pollee advice, Mr Bortello has
against his neighbours.
his classes with a rod of iron!
d) Mr Ross, our old history teacher
that Newton had acted in self-defence, and
The judge
instructed the jury to find him inot guilty'.
out the possibiIity of murder in this case.
Police have not
e) The entire workforce at Holman Avionics downed tools today, in
of two sacked colleagues.
Hl come along to your speech, if you like, and give you some moral
If you need help, put your hand up and I or Mrs Kent, the
teacher will come to yo -u..

257

30

tt A

(Ec

ce..0

rrmc

kl 0(0 ir-

2. 1?ead the text below and fill each &larde with ene switable word,

Lionel Mendax: Currculum

1. Match the words in column A with

the correct definition in column B.
Then complete the sentences below
with words from colunin A

...-115.74r.ki,1111.., _.,..:;
, 7741".
. ,j7 ,.,.;.::',::.,:,..,
' IiI-1
4,1=:- ,-;.-11Y-1:.
11. ...
.-1l-,k 1. ;4'.
r'7,'f'-''', .7-7.,
: : .;
pl',..
.-,::-...
., ,:i. ..,,,_:., ,
;;.

1 was a child prodigy, and went

te the most expensive and rnost
academicaily demanding schools
in the country. 1 was a model
ir : -14 ..
.--,:....--),
student and was popular both
.:...,.,,z.:
*:'
my teachers and my
,:,. . ,11:"' i'il'`,Y.:., --,,,,,,:'
1: .--;. 11
classmates. I was elected class
president for six years 2)
-- ---- - --1 passed every exam 1 3)
for with flying 4)
asid carne 5)
of my class in every
subject 1 took. 1 also excelled 6)
sports. In my final year at
school, 1 7)
a scholarship te Cambridge University.
Cambridge was chitcl's play and 1 sailed 8)
every exam I
took, finally getting a first clase honours degree 9)
natural
sciences. Qn graduating 10)
Cambridge, 1 went en te Oxford
te 11)
research 12)
atomic particles. 13)
completed my research, 1 took 14)
a teaching post at
Harvard, where 1 lectured 15)
astrophysics. 1 am presently
teaching post 16)
students everything they do not know
about nuclear physics al the Sorbonne University in Paris. Oh well, it
keeps me occupied, and it's a job.

Colurrin A
1 grade
2 te learn sth by
heart
3 diploma
4 edutainment

5
6
7
8

mark
certificate
undergraduate
te revise

Column 3
a sth officially received en completion
of training
b educational and entertaining
c mark of A, 3, C, etc
d grade out of 10 or 20, etc
e te learn sth ter a test or exarn
f sb studying ter first university
degree
g paper awarded by college or by
U.S. high school
h te know sth very well

y;b: .

F
e

.'
,.

. .. .

.
'
'
,

j
f.

3. Read the text beim; and decide which option ( A, B, C or O) best lib. each
Pp.

1
2

3
4

Lionel Mendax: The Truth

7
8

.
-

pass an
-Jrn a good

...,-

of year

5
6 ........

r-

,.

tr.

..
.--..

_ 41) exam

On graduaban day, ah the high school

' graduates received their
2 I can't come out tonight as I'm
_ - studying
ter tomorrow's test.
versity
- 3 Ten out of ten is the best
.of belng
anyone can get.
4 He didn't need notes as he had
1,e oven t
leerned the speech
' aducatlon 1: 5 We will need to see photocopies of
your G.C.S.E .
- win a[
ve n in an it . 6 le this video series rearly
,
_
r 1.
or is it just a gimrnick?
I
7 Althouah Eric pot a D
in
nbridge. 1

f
the exam, it was a narrow tau.
8 In the USA, first-year
are

called freshmen.
,. oficiency

It was my mistortune to be Lionel Mendax's form master in his last year al

school. Lionel was a O) compulsive liar and an irrveterate cheat who, when
not 1) truant, plagued the hell out of both myself and my
taching colleagues. Contrary te his own inflated opinion of his intellectual
abilities, Lionel was not a 2)
student. Fas from it. He was at best
a 3)
candidate for his GCSE exams and as such it was perhaps
a blessing that he was 4)
from the school before he took them.
ft is only fati', however, that I should glve Lionel credit where credit is due. No
ocie had ever been 5)
out of Greyfriars School before.
Notwithstanding that, even our ridiculously 6)
and excessrvely
liberal headmaster could not ignore the fact that Lionel had been caught
cheating 7)
every single ocie of his 8)
GCSE
Exams. Atter his 9)
, he 10)
a course in printing
and design at the local technical college, but soca 11)
out.

O
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11

A hardened
A running
A gifted
A grey
A evacuated
A thrown
A harsh
A on
A false
A eviction
A made
A fell

8 heavy
8 playing
3 upstanding
B borderline
3 expelled
8 pitched
B light
B at
8 pretend
B extraction
B did
3 went

Ocompulsive
C making
C skilied
C futile
C evicteel
C discarded
C stringent
Cm
C rnock
C expulsion
C assisted
C let

O adcfictive
ID doing
D strict
D debatable
O expired
O hurled
O lenient
D by
ID fake
D evacualion
O sat
D dropped

--.
31

.: 7 .:- ...:-

: ...

c.iicifidatez.. a ,perSW.W
,e. ' ..;:
: ... . , .
. as . 05M .'chances efi liSeeting- os',
' en.: exam ''.:.,,',', , . , , , ,

........ ..

rieged : I

l. i'
''.;"..diSrrisSed from schoo petmanenily
11POatfse 9$11ili.'0,Oh: -1,'-./

1" ir. , /KV ,s,'.ncivioallOiv fxrderlfrr, - .

candidataS
Higher exa1M.-:

..,,,r-She ..was ',

.:
:1.1.;1;( '

;''

. ,.
.

'bad

.
.

: to-peas
al ox er
' n 411 flYity color" : te,1,1
-do
d'9et.141?. )Orli
, Wel
. ,iflIi..u.40,4n
, -.
.
good rtiarks -v:.--: ,-':-.', . -..-,-...-

Laura isa very pnght student and lm

gura she ,wRAISall:her exams voth
flying co/cura
- 911Wat: 1 `:.15.011,- .-,dpcrrient -.'s
...... .. _ ,._..._,
. . . .,_
.,..,,
"". ,..celis::cin'
r - ..-, -._ :IZOirilltitt
Colirle'7,'
:Oted
sturiont:

student
with
natural
te 'play ,bora, te.. 1,11;s
witnoutl
. - .,
, , . :son
.
",:.'1','
'i eb ility todo stli'vvell

- ' ;.
i.liiil.ill'loi: Itair1119 .:
- 011,firls119n"
' Hereginrier's Svviniming .. .Certikt
- ' :The headihaster .was . diarnayed that. -. .11
. ~ pioyililrlagoki
1..&, 1 fffitnd
on. (he_
Wallf_ - .- '' ' '' ca di :- a gift
ed :and hardWorking
- tima he liad beenloop
.
.
.
.
.
.
:.,
,
. teiztiutt tin , lont, o use.
*'f stdell
" et ,s, hotrid ,choose lo' . leave
, . ..
- be
.. ..,
ve
Mar: : : pu-optitar.
'- school t the age of sixteen.
., ...
CoPying:''frorn
' the
, .
. , methd'.
.
. . (e. g
.. everybody like;eyPii,
' ettideht naidt yeu): .in rder te pasa
a re& - mark reteived by Students h
. He wel - e pe
. 'ijilier",,, teaoher eh .1s,
ah exam '. ''": - ' '
examinaticn . or for' . written work;

siedents real enjoyadiiie.,les.:: ,-:;.,:,..:J

usuaily in forrn of a lettr..
: He Cheated in every exam he sal for,
: , ., . . . .: . i:.....::::
a rxmiveduate: lb vvh9 ts istadyng -911 ,-211. .
being too lazy te Stdy.
1 gota grade 8 in Ti)' cernposition.
an advanced dgrel (e ' MO1'11
te eernelop ef your dans: te be the
egr.urliklatie: a persori who has received
degree or a doctrate) at univerlity::' '
best in your Class

.. .
a degree from university
Postgraduates rriuht epply forI,
!carne top of my clara in history.
Mike is a graduate t Rent University.
research fundng liebre the entl of...,4
1
(be academic
year
a come: a series of lessons in a
te graduato iffun unhicersity: to leaVe
:
-:
particular subject (you can do a
university, having finished your
te reasard4o do reseereh inbc: te do
course at a training institute, al a
degree course and having got your
advanced skidies in a particular
language instituto, etcj
gualifications
subject (often done by people whe
ave a university doctorate) '
l'm doing a comee in radio
Rebecca graduated from York in
[research is en uncountable nounl
joumalism at (he local bacinica!
1995.
college.
Having gained a PhD in nuclear ...
te learn oth by heart te leam sth so
physics, he went on to do research :.
a cierne: the gualification you receve
well that you do not need toread it
into atomic partidos.
when you have finished studying a
Margaret had leamed the poem by
course at university; [Note: lo do a
te
~ce:
te study for an exam
heart so that she could recite it in
claree: to study for a degreel
[Note: revision (n)]
class.
've gota degree le biochemis..,
trv.
Paul is radsing for lis geography
- te lectura in: to teach a particular
test
subject at university .
1'm doing degree in zoology,
te sal 1hrough en mon te pass an
Steven lecturas in Reman Law al
diploma: gualification awarded to
exam very easity and with good
Exeter University.
student by college, or by high school
Mark
in USA
a lenfent /sachen a teacher who 1 not
!sala/
through my and of year
strict and does not punish students
The two-year course leads to he C/4'
exams.
who
deserve
to
be
punished
& Guilds Diploma in Printing.

b al (tos) en exane to take en van

If you are too lenient with your
te drop out of university: te leave
students, you can be sure that they
1 ara going lo sit bar my profciency
university before finishing your
will take advantage of you.
exam next week.
degtee

She dropped out of Oxford, having

spent leas than two lean there.

a anal: point given ter corred answer

or ter doing vvell in examination

edulahrnent sth designad to be both

educational and entertaining

Percy got top marks in his mathstzst

a mock eurn: a practico exam usually

Some peop/e would say that

computar garnes are edutainment

taken a short time before a real and

important exam
1 pasead my mock ploficien cy exam,
so l'm confident (bat 1 will do well in
the real thing.

fe ourcel at to be very good at

He excelied at maths and physics,
tater winning he Nobel prze.

1. Match fi

15101111.,,::

32

en undergraduate: sb who is studying

ter their first degree at university

the coni '

roen corh
with wrd:

10. friY:sdhool fOr

. Ir:solenl,,e te ier eac 1er. ..
.

.-

,
..Practl- ,

Colmen A
(
1 grade
2 to learrl". ,t
heart (
3 diplom
4 edutairf_ .1
(._

COWIT It
a sth offienIf
of trainif ,o
b educatli a
e mark oA,
d grade L..1
e to leanT n1 sb stubyi
degree(
g paper (-',1
U.S. hign s
II to knovl ti
1
2..

1 On graduatl
graduaf. , n
2 I can'tl ei

' 'f 3 Ten out'. te

Penny bved every moment of beng
anyoner -in
a1, 4 He
a university undergraduate.
didhc 1
learnedi. 1
te livin a sehel ership: lo be given itn.',
5 We will, "ee
rnoney to help pay for the educalion
your G.L.3.I
you receive (you often win a r
1.
o:
scholarship by doing well in en ps 6 is this
o is it jut a
entrence exam)
VI.
7 Atthoig. eri
He wori a scholarship lo Carnbridge.
the exa( It
8 in the USA, i

callad

,
'

'

idioms
An diom is an expression whose sense is not easily deduced from the meanings of
the individual words that form it. Verb tenses and pronouns can be changed but
otherwise an idiom must be treated as a unit of language. For exarnple, kick the
bucket is an idiom which means die. Another word for bucket is pail, but this cannot
be used instead of bucket in the idiorn.
An idiom must be used accurately and in an appropriate situation.

A Complete the sentences

with these idioms, in the
correct form. There are two
more than you need.

watch your step give someone the cold shoulder

take the biscuit have a bone to pick with someone
give sorneone the slip take someonekomething for granted
en the tip of your tongue tongue in cheek
make a mountain out of a molehill pul' someone's leg
out of the question get your own back
down in the mouth play second fiddle
1 Look, the party's going te be quite easy te arrange.
Don't
2 You live next door to Steven Spielberg? Nol You roust be
3 We can't possibly stop for a snack on th.e -way home. Sorry,
4 Send Max into my office when he axrives, will you?
got
with him.
5 Sally, you're looking rather
. Has anything
happened?
6 You kn.ow Stuart borrowed my stapler yesterday and didn't return it?
Well, I've just seen my calculator en his desk! That really
7 Although police were watching ah the ports, the escaped convict
managed te and stow away en a cross-channel
ferry to France.
8 1 don't think Nigel raeant what he said. His remark was rather
9 When smoke from Mr Reeve's bonfire dirtied Mrs Ward's washing,
she by throwing the contents of her dustbin over
the fen.ce into his garden.
10 I'll remember his name in a moment. It's
11 If you're going te see the Headmaster today,
. He's
in a really foul mood, for some reason.
12 I'm afraid Derek doesn't really appreciate ah his sister does for him.
He just

vmmsr....aexer.,

154

33

B Match the idioms on the

left with their meanings.

iI

1 get (hold of) the wrong

end of the stick

2 put your finger on
3 go like a bomb
4 come to terms with
5 put your foot in it
6 keep a straight face
7 go haywire
8 keep your head
9 make your hair stand on end
10 blow your own trumpet

11 have butterflies in your stomach

12 get on hke a house on fire

:.1.
1

:1

C Idioms often include animal

images. Choose the correct
animal idioms to complete
the sentences. Use each
idiom only once.

A specify exactly

B make an embarrassing mistake

C go out of control, work
erratically
D look serious, avoid smiling
E terrify you
F eventually accept
G boast about yourself
H misunderstand
I have a very good relationship
J be nervous
K not panic
L be very successful, sell well

<

,......,

red hening bee in bis bonnet dark horse lame duck

whale of a time
herid/1g up the wrong tree
get the lion's share sort out the sheep frote the goats
flogging a dead horse let the cat out of the bag
dog-eared putting the cart before the horse
1 That's the third time Trevor's put forward that suggestion. He's got a
about it.
2 There are lots of good candidates, but the three-day selection process
is bound to
3 You'll never persuade Simon to change bis views on smoking. You're
,rm afraid.
of EU
4 Areas with high unemployment often
subsidies.
1 Elise mustn't even g-uess
5 Don't, for heaven's sake,
at the truth!
6 Strangely enough, the boss had organized the new training
programme before he even interviewed the first applicant, rather
, if you ask me.
7 Nobody knows anything about Gerry's past. He's a bit of a
for a leader. She's lost three
8 1'm afraid we've got a
elections so far, and looks like losing the next.
9 The class spent twenty minutes discussing school lunches before the
teacher realized it was a , and irtsisted they retum
to the main topic.
10 It certainly wasn't my sister you saw in the caf. You're
there!
!1 didn't
11 `Did yon enjoy ave party?"Oh, 1 had a
want to leave!'
12 Here's my copy of Pride and Prejudice. I've read t so often I'm afraid
it's rather

155
34

JNIT 61
A owing money
B jealousy
C non-manual, clerical
D an important day
E signal to go ahead
F badly bruised
G cowardly characteristic
H become very angry
1 unwanted, useless possession
J unexpectedly

D Match the idioms en the

left, alt connected with
colour, with their
meanings.

1 a red-letter day
2 Hack and blue ah l over
3 out of the blue
4 white-collar (worker)
5 in the red
6 green-eyed monster
7 white elephant
8 the green light
9 see red
10 yellow streak

E Choose the correct word

froto the pair in brackets te
complete each sentence.

stnoker.
1 She smokes continuously. She's a real
(chain/ring)
, shall we, and each pay for our own drinks?
2 We'Il go
(French/Dutch)
dark up there.
3 You can't see a thing in the attic. It's
(pitch/coaI)
4 The window cleaner lost bis balance and nearly fell off bis ladder. It
shave. (narrow/close)
was a
5 You'll never persuade Sam to help yen decorate the house he's
idle. (bone/wood)
6 You like that china cabinet? I was so lucky, I bought it for a
at a jumble sale. (tuneisong)
7 Fru sorry, I can't understand this leafiet at al!. I ca.n't make head or
of it. (tail/foot)
? I know your work's fascinating,
8 Are yeti two still talking
but can't you fiad sornething more reIaxing te talk about?! (job/shop)
9 I just want to say a big thank you te ah my wonderful custoraers.
for everyone! (table/house)
Drinks en the
. 1'm sure
10 Vincent Ryan? Do you know, that name rings a
l'ye heard of him before. (bell/buzzer)
, and go and get a bite te eat? We
11 It's 6.30. Shall we cala it a
can finish off the report tomorrow. (stop/day)
ever since they started
12 Kathy and Dee have been at
sharing an office. They don't even speak te each other now!
(deadlock/loggerheads)
when Mary hands in her
13 I'd love te be a t'y en the
resignation. (ceiling/wall)
14 We thought we might have trouble finding the house in the dark but
, thanks to Paul's directions. (cake/cheese)
it was a piece of
about going
15 Since our arg-ument, J'ye been having second
on holiday with Isabel. (thoughts/worries)

J.56

35

Proverbs and Similes

A Match these beginnings

and endings of proverbs,
and then say what each
proverb means.

B Decide which of these

proverbs is suitable for
each situation. There is one
more than you need.

1 Too many cooks

2 One man's meat
3 The early bird
4 Don't cotmt your chickens
5 An apple a day
6 Marry in haste,
7 He who pays the piper
8 A bird in the hand
9 Make hay
10 A stitch in time

A is another man's poison..

B keeps the doctor away.
C calle the tune.
D while the sun shines.
E is worth two in the bush.
F before they're hatched.
G catches the worm.
II saves fine.
I repent at leisure.
J spoil the broth.

A You can't judge a book by its cover. E The more the merrier.
C It never rains but it pours. D Every cloud has a silver lining.
E Waste not, want not. F There are plenty more fish in the sea.

t
(

1 You are trying to persuade your parents to invite a large number of

friends to your 21st birthday party.
2 You broke your leg skiing, bit in your three months' .sick leave from
work you haci time to teach yourself conversational Italian.
3 You are encouraging a friend to save water and not leave taps
running.
4 You are surprised to hear that Samantha at work, who looks so quiet
and shy, drives a red Porsche and is often seen at night-clubs.
5 You are discussing a neighbour's problems. Not orily has the poor
woman Iost her job, but now her eldest son has been sent to prison.
C Choose the correct word to
complete each proverb.

1 Don't look a gift horse in the

(rnouth/eye,/stable)
2 A rolling
gathers no moss. (snowball/pin/stone)
3 Let sieeping
He. (cats/dogs/babies)
4 A little learning is a
thing. (dangerous/wonderful/useful)
5
news is good news. (Some/Recent/No)
6
was not built in a day. (Paris/Rome/London)
7 One swalIow does not make a

. (summer/drink/nest)

157
36

UNIT 62
(skinspots/hide)
8 The leopard cannot change his
new tricks. (dog/peasantimonkey)
9 You can't teach an old
. (blood/wine/milk)
10 It's no use crying over spilt
D Match these beginnings
and endings of proverbs,
and then say what each
proverb means.

A shouldn't throw stones.

B 'twixt cup and
C that blows nobocly any good.

1 While the cat's away,

2 People who live in glasshouses
3 There's many a slip
4 It's an iii wind
5 Nothing venture,
6 More haste,
7 There's no smoke
8 It's the last straw
9 Birds of a feather
10 Many hands

D lesa speed.
E flock together.
F without flre,
G make light work.
II nothing gain.
the mice wil play.
J that breaks the camel's
back.

A simile is a comparison of tvvo things, usually introduced by Re or as, and is used

to emphasize or illustrate an idea.

E Match each of these

adjectives or adjective
phrases with one of the
twelve similes.

healthy short of money very pale tough well-behaved

hard of hearing extremely short-sighted crazy
obvious unflappable ancient defunct
1 as cool as a cucumber
2 as good as gold
3 as poor as a church mouse
4 as white as a sheet
5 as hard as nls
6 as dead as a doornail
7 as blind as a bat
8 as flt as a fiddle
9 as deaf as a post
10 as mad as a hatter
11 as plain as the nose en your face
12 as ad as the hills

_
158

;7:

37

UNIT 62

F Form corred similes to

complete the sentences,
using as or like, the word
in brackets, and a word or
phrase from the box.
There is one more than
you need.

G Match the two haives of

the sentences correctly.
They al contain simios
with like, some involving
idiomatic usage.

two short planks

bell

out of water
red
judge

rock

1 You won't need another check-up for a while, Mr Ferguson. Your

chest is
_ (sound)
2 She was so embarrassed! She went
. (beetroot)
3 Do you know, Andy barged right in without a by-your-leave! He's
just
. (china shop)
4 Mandy hasn't got used to being a student again. She MiSSOS her job,
and hasn't made any new friends yet. At the rnoment she feels
(fish)
5 That lad doesn't understand a thing you say to him. He must be
(thick)
6 At least you don't need to think about losing weight! You're
! (rake)
7 1 didn't rnind the pollee breathalysirxg me at ah, because luckily I
was
(sober)
8 You simply cannot make her chango her mind. Once she's decided
something, that's it. She's
. (stubborn)
1 The photographers clustered round
the actress
2 They treated me very kindly,
3 He avoids family holidays
4 In a very short time the nimour spread
5 Jeffs new board gamo is selling
6 I've got absolutely soaked. 1 look
7 He can't put a foot wrong, or
Janet comes clown on him

H Match each of these smiles

with the appropriate
situation.

buil
thin
mule

A just like one of the

family.
B like wildfire.
C like a ton of bricks.
D like hot cakes.
E like a drowned rat!
F like the plague.
G like bees round a
honeypot.

A as brown as a berry B as pleased as Punch C as safe as bouses

D as largo as life E as thick as thieves F as strong as an ox
G as quick as a flash 11 as like as two peas in a pod
I as light as a feather J as right as rain
1 being completely out of danger
2 being hig and strong
3 feefing delighted
4 doing something extremely fast
5 being completely recovered after an iiiness
6 seeing two very similar-looking people
7 having a good suntan
seeing someone you thought was dead or missing
9 picking up something weighing very little
10 seeing two people co-operating closely

159
38

Put each verb in brackets into an appropriate verb forrn.

Reporter Philip Taggart visits a fann where the sheep are super fid

Farmers, as you may (1) 1<-1141V

(know), (2)
(have) a hard time of it in Britain lately, and (3)
(tum) to
new ways of earning income from their land. This (4)
(involve) not only planting new kinds of crops, but also some strange ways of
making money, the most unusual of which has got to be sheep racing. Yes, you
(hear) me correctly! A farmer in the west of England now
(5)
(hold) sheep races on a regular basis, and during the past
(6)
year over 100,000 people (7)
(turn up) to watch the
proceedings. 'I (8)
(pass) the farm on my way to the sea for
a holiday,' one punter told me, 'and 1 (9)
(think) 1'd have a
look. 1 (10)
(not/believe) it was serious, to tell you the
truth.' Accordin.g to a regular visitor, betting on sheep is more interesting than
betting on horses. 'At proper horse races everyone (11)
(already/study) the forrn of the horses in advance, and there are clear favourites.
But nobody (12)
(hear) anything about these sheep! Most
people (13)
(find) it difficult to tell one from another in any
case.' 1 (14)
(stay) to watch the races, and 1 must admit that
1 (15)
(find) it quite exciting. In a typical race, half a dozen
sheep (16)
(race) downhill over a course of about half a
mile. Food (17)
(wait) for them at the other end of the track,
I ought to addl The sheep (18)
(run) surprisingly fast,
although presumably they (19)
(not/eat) for a while just to
give them some motivation. At any tate, the crowd around me
(20)
(obviously/enjoy) their day out at the races, judging by
their happy faces and the sense of excitement.

39

40

GRAMMAR 5 CONSOLIDATION 1

Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar rneaning to the first
sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given.
a) This matter is none of your business.
concern
of fru, "exn, tO/ h es nt cdnw- vt,
This matter
you.
b) This bridge will take us three years to complete.
completed
In three years' time
this bridge.
c) When is the train due t arrive?
supposed
What
get here?
d) Today is Liz and John's thirtieth wedding anniversary.
ago
On this
married.
e) lb get t work on time, I have t get up at 6.00.
means
Getting to work on time
at 6.00.
O Whose watch is this?
belong
Who
tu?
g) Cathy hasn't been un holiday with her sister before.
first
This
un holiday with her sister.
h) My dental appointment is for next Wednesday.
see
I have an
Wednesday.
i) This will be the team's first match in the Premier League.
time
This will be the first
in the Premier League.
j) The number of people who attended the fair exceecied our expectations.
had
More people
expected.
k) I didn't receive the results of my test for a month.
before
It was
the results of my test.
1) Quite a few books are missing from the class library.
returned
Several members of the class
library books.
41

42

ADVANCED LANGUAGE PRACTCE

In . most Unes of this text there is one extra word. Write the extra word, or put a
tick if the Une is correct.
Our reporter, Sarah Hardie, goes to Otley Hall to experience a spooky weekend.

There have been sig,ns of paranormal activity at Otley Hall at various times

over the last 200 years time. If tales of heaciless huntsmen and wailing nuns

don't spook you out, do get this for a ghostly tale: a young Victorian man in

a silver gown emerges himself from the garden, waiks through the front door,

whether ni not will it happens to be open, and walks upstairs with a lantern,

before vanishing in the library. If local folklore it is to be believed, he does

this without fail at midnight on 6 September every year, this is being the date

of the untimely death of one George Carpenter, the gardener of the hall,

who met bis doom in the library, had burned by his own lantern, Otley Hall

stands 3 miles north of the town of Rugby, England, and that is reputedly the 10
most haunted house in England, a claim which few who have never visited it 11

would dispute. Even the approach to the Hall is not muda a joumey to be

12

undertaken by the faint-hearted; at one point an executioner emerges

13

from the trees, was brandishing an axe, although it must be said that this

14

practice ceases atter Septernber, when the Hall is closed to visitors.

15

My own visit revealed nothing more mysterious than sucia girnmicks,

16

laid on for an ever-gullible flow of tourists, cameras been at their sides,

17

eager to snap their buttons at the first sign of anything even remotely

18

unexplainable. But it was all having great fun, and the ghostly maze on

19

the final day was terrific, even if I did never get to see George Carpenter.

20

Complete each sentence with one appropriate word.

It's 49e-S
since I last had a good Chinese meal,
Funnily enough I saw Bob quite
at the sports club.
I've loved you ever
the first day I set eyes on youi
How long
was it that you lived iii Inverness?
I've
to see anyone who can dance as well as Diana.
Could you phone me the
you arrive at the hotel so I don't
worry?
g) I promise to get everything ready
eight o'clock at the latest.
h) I told Sue I
already finished my essay.
i) I'm sorry you've been waiting so long, but it will be some time
Brian gets back.
j) Just sit here, would you? The doctor will be with you
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)

43

44

GRAMMAR. 5

CONSOLIDATION

Put ach verb in brackets int an appropriate verb forrn.

a) This is my new caL What do YOn tilink,
(you/think) of it?
b) A: Who are you?
B: What do you mean?!
(live) here.
.
c) I can't find the car keys. What
(you/do) with
them?
.
d) Sorry 1 haven't fixed the plug. I
(mean) to get
round to it, but 1 just haven't found the time.
e) What
(you/do) on Saturdays?
f) I don't know what time we'll eat. It
(depends)
when Helen gets here.
g) I supported you at the time because 1
(feel) that
you were right.
h) Peter couldn't understand what had been decided because too many people
(talk) at once.
i) Jean, I'm so glad you've got here at last. 1
(expect) you al! day.

,-

--,.

---,.
,--,
---,

-6

,-,

,
--.
.

Pot each verb in brackets into an appropriate verb farm.

Ask hundreds of people what they (1) Pim/arre .00411).-9 (plan) to do on a
certain day in August next year, or the year after, and there
(2)
(be) only one reply. Provided of course that the people
you (3)
(ask) (4)
(belong) to the Elvis
Presley Fan Club. Although the King of Rock and Roll (5)
(die) nearly two decades ago, his fans (6)
(meet) every year
since then outside his home in Memphis, Tennessee, to show respect for the
singer they (7)
(love) so much. Fans like Jean Thomas, from
Catford in South East London. Jean (8)
(visit) Gracelands,
the house where Elvis (9)
(suffer) his fatal heart attack, twice
in the past five years. 'The first time I (10)
(borrow) the
money from my Mum, as 1 (11)
(nottwork) then. But two
years ago 1 (12)
(get) married and since then I
(13)
(work) in my husband Chris's garage. Chris and I
(14)
(go) together last year, and we (15)
(think) of spending two or three months in the USA next year. I
(16)
(always/want) to visit some of the places where Elvis
(17)
(perform). Like Las Vegas for example.' Jean says that
Elvis (18)
-(be) her obsession ever since she
(19)
(be) ten years old, and she (20)
(own) every single one of his records, good and bad.

45

4(`

46

ADVANCED LANGUAGE PRACTICE

Put each verb in brackets into an appropriate verb forrn

a) Sam

hotddt re-ce-ive-d

(not/receive) the parcel the last time 1

(speak) to him.
(consider) buying a house but now 1
(change) my mirad.
(feel) hungry, room service
(bring) you whatever you Want.
(find) it difficult to convince the ticket
(lose) my ticket, but he beleved

b) 1
c) When you
d) 1
inspector that 1
me in the end.
e) Ever snce 1

--,

0 As soon as I
g) Whatever

--,

h) By the time you

1) Sally! I

(be) a young child, 1

(die) to meet you.
(have) a look at the designs, I
(send) them to you. You'll get them by Friday.
(happen), I
(meet) you here in a week's . time.
(finish) getting ready, we
(miss) the train!
(not/expect) to see you herel What
(you/do) in New York?

Decide whether each underlined phrase is correct or not. 1f it's incorrect rewrite
the phrase.

--,

a) Will you be seeing Rob iones tomorrow? 1 wonder if you could give him a
message from Sally Gordon? atrrect
b) I had a great time in the Greek Islands. We would rent a small boat and go
fishing every day.
c) Julie, hl! I've been hoping I'd see you. I've got some good news!
d) We had a terrible time looking alter your dog. It was constantly chasing the
cats next door.
e) We had a lovely time in Madrid. Every day we were exploring the city, and in
the evening we were going to exciting bars.
O The steam engine is usually thought of as a relatively modern invention, but
the Greeks had built a kind of steam engne in ancient times.
g) I fea rather worriecl. It was growing darker and colder, and there was still no
sign of the rescue helicopter.
h) Don't worry! All we. have to do is wait here until someone will find us.
i) This meat

---,

15

really tasting awful! Are you quite sure it was fresh?

47

48

Explanations
Basic uses of the
passlve

Agent and instrument

The person who performs an action in a passive sentence is called the agent,
introduced by by. The agent rnay or may not be mentioned.
My purse was found by one of the cleaners.
A new road has been built.
An object which causes something to happen is caLled an instniment,
introduced by with.
He was hit on the head with a hammer.

a Verbs with two objects

Verbs which have two objects can be made passive in two ways.
I was handed a note. A note was handed to me.

Other common verbs of this type are:

bring, give, le-nd, pass, pay, promise, se!!, send, show, tell

Verbs with object and complement

Some verbs have a noun or acljective which describes their object.
We elected firn class representative.
Everyorze considered hirn a failure.

When these are made passive, the complement goes directly after the verb,
fim was elected class representative.
He was considered a fallare.
E

_ Using and not

mentioning the
agent

Verbs which can't be passive

Most verbs with an object (transitive verbs) can be made passive:
e.g. drive is transitive because one can drive something (a car).
However, a few transitive verbs may not be used in the passive. These
include: becorne, fit (be the right size), get, have, Jack, let, like, resemble, suit.
Verbs with no objec-t (intransitive) can not be passive:
e.g. fall is intransitive, you cannot 'fan something'.
Therefore it is not possible to say 'The tree was fallen'. Instead the sentence
must be active: The tree fell.
Change of focus
The passive can change the emphasis of a sentence.
Jack won the prize. (focus on Jack)
The prize was won by Jack. (focus on the prize)

49

ADVANCED 1.ANGUAGE PRACT10E

Unknown agent
The agent is not rnentioned if unknown.
My wallet has been taken.

In this case, there is no point in adding an agent: 'by sornebody'.

oil Generalised agent
If the subject is 'people in general' or 'you' the agent is not mentioned.

'

Bicycles are widely used in the city instead of public transport.

Obvious agent
If the agent is obvious or has already been referred to, it is not mentioned.
Linda has been arrestedi (we assume by the police)
The company agreed to our request and a new car park was opened.

Unimportant agent
If the agent is not important to the meaning of the sentence it is not
mentioned.
I was advi sed to obtain a visa in advance.

Impersonality
Using the passive is a way of avoiding the natning of a specific person who
responsible for an action.

--

It has been decided to reduce ahl salaries by 10%.

In descriptions of processes, there is emphasis on the actions performed

rather than on the people who perform them.
-

Then the packets are packed into boxes of twenty-four.

34
50

GRAMMAR 6 PASSIVE

1 Corred any verb forms which are impossible or inappropriate.

of homes in the area h,ave been being broken into by burglars.

PtVe, bezn brkem, fint
b) As I drove south, 1 could see that the old road was rebuilding.
a) A lot

c) 1 suppose the letter will have been delivered by now.

d) There is nothing more annoying than been interrupted when you are
speaking.
e) Jim was been given the sack from his new job
f) Somehow without my noticing my wallet had been disappeared.
g) The new shopping centre was opened by the local MP.
h) A lot of meetings have been held, but nothing has being decided yet.

Both sentences in each pair have the same meaning. Complete the second
sentence.

a) The crowd was slowly filling the huge stadium.

The huge stadium WarS SI 1Y..
1. J1k4.by the crowd.
b) The inventor of the computer simplified the work of the accountants.
Since the computer .
the work of accountants
simplified.
c) Someone has suggested that the shop should clase.
It
that the shop should close.
d) 'Vd take out some travel insurance if 1 were you, Mr Smith.'
Mr Smith
take out some travel insurance.
e) The waltress will bring your drinks in a rnoment.
Your drinks
in a mornent.
Someone
used
a
knife
to
open
the
window.
O
This window
a knife.
g) You will hear from us when we- b.ave finished dealing with your complaint.
After your complaint
, you will hear from us.
h) An announcement of their engagement appeared in the local paper.
Their engagement
in the local paper.
i) Nobody ever heard anything of David again.
Nothing
David again.
j) They paid Sheila 1,000 as a special bonus.
1,000
Sheila as a special bonus.
35
51

ADVANCED LANGUAGE PRAC110E

Rewrite each sentence in the passive, omitting the words underlined.

a) Someone left the phone off the hook ah l night.

Thf., phcLi PMs ley-Ft 6.ff tilt 1446k_ oil kil-S

b) The government has announced that petrol prices will rise tornorrow.
c) A burglar broke into our house last week.
d) People asked me the way three times.
e) The fruit-pickers pick the apples early in the morning.

f) It's time the authorities did something about this problem.

g) Lots of people had parked their cars on the pavement.
h) The government agreed with the report and so thev changed the law.
i) You have to fin in an application form.
j) They don't know what happened to the ship.

Put each verb in brackets into an appropriate passive verb form.

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)
j)

The boxes Wfve nat bwvt-POCked (not/pack) yet.

(still/prepare).
Your food
(launch) next week.
The new ship
Luckily by the time we got there the painting
(not/sell).
We had to go on holiday because our house
(decorate).
(cancel).
I'm afraid that next week's meeting
(seil) by the
If we don't hurry, ah l the tickets
time we get there.
(serve) with vegetables or
Ah l main courses
salad. At least that is what is written on the menu.
(score) by Hughes in the 41st
The second goa- I
minute.
(build) in the fourteenth century
The cathedral

36
52

GRAMMAR 6 PASSIVE

Underline

any uses of the agent which are unnecessary.

a) My jewellery has been stolen by a thief!

b) 1# has been decided by the authorities that Wednesday will be a school
holiday.
c) Harry was pushed over by someone standing next to hm in the queue.
d) The goods are transported by rail to our warehouse in the Midlands.
e) 1 was told by someone that you have a vacancy for a computer operaton
f) Sue has been picked by the selectors for the national event.
g) The letter was sent by post on the 21st of last month.
h) The larger portrait was painted by a little-known Flemish artist.
i) It has been agreed by everyone that no smoking should be allowed.
j) As I arrived at the conference a note was handed to me by one of the
deIegates.

Put each verb in brackets hito an appropriate passive verb forrn.

a) Nothing hos be-e31

(see) of Pauline since her car

(find) abandoned near Newbury last week.
b) As our new furniture
(deliver) on Monday
moming I'll have to stay at home t check that it
(not/damage) during transit.
e) The new Alhambra hatchback, which in this country
(sell) under the name `Challenger',
(fit) with electric windows as standard.
d) Por the past few days 1
(work) in Jack's office, as
my own office
(redecorate).
e) It
(announce) that the proposed new office
block
(now/not/build) because of the current
economic situation.
O A major new deposit of oil
(discover) in the
North Sea. It
(thin.k) to be nearly twice the size
of the largest existing field.
g) Pictures of the surface of the planet Venus
(receive) yesterday from the space probe 'Explorer' which
(launch) last year.
h) A large sum
(raise) for the Fund by a recent
charity concert but the target of 250,000
(still/
not/reach).
i) No decision
(make) about any future
appointment until ah l suitable candidates
(interview).
-

37
53

AVAN(ED LANGUAGE PRACTICE

Rewrite each sentence in a more formal style so that it contains a passive forrn of
the word given in capitais.

a) Sony, blit we've lost your Ietter.

Unfortpulattely yptr lei--te-r has buyi, mislad.

MISLAY

b) The police are grilling Harry down at the station.

QUESTION

c) They've found the rernains of an old Roman villa nearby. DISCO VER
d) You'll get a rise in salary atter six months.

RAISE

e) They stopped playing the match after half an hour.

ABANDON

f) They stopped traffic from using the centre_

BAN

g) They took Chris to court for dangerous driving.

PROSECUTE

h) You usually eat this kind of fish with a white sauce.

SERVE

i) I don't know your name.

INTRODUCE

Put each verb in brackets into a suitable active or passive verb form.

Dear Mrs Patel,

We are delighted to inform you that you (1) ktifVe- be-e-n- sclutJ
(select) for a free holiday. According to our information, you
(an.swer) a telephone survey last month, as a
(2)
(enter) in the
result of which your name (3)
(choose) your
holiday draw. Now our computer (4)
(invite) to spend
name, so you and your family (5)
a week in a European destination of your choice. This offer
(make) on the condition that you attend a
(6)
special promotions day with other lucky families in your region who
(offer) a similar deal. You
(7)
(ask) to attend on any Saturday next month at
(8)
(interest) in'
the Royal Hotel, Manchester. If you (9)
attending and taking up this offer, please (10)
(detach) the slip below and return it to us as soon as possible.

38
54

GRAMMAR 6

PASS1VE

Using the notes as a guide, complete the e-mail to ah l cornpany staff. Put the
verbs in brackets into a suitable passive verb forrn.
NOTES FROM MANAGEMENT MEETING
Tell staff:

We'll try flexi-time for 3 months.

After 3 months
get the opinions of all staff.
Wein look at feedback comments and make a decision.
We may try it for another month.
Ah l workers will have to arTive 8-9.30.
We hope you like the idea!
FROM: The Managing Director
TO: Ah I staff
it (1) Wrs bezvt, ded ded

(decide) to adopt a flexi-time system for a

trial period of three rnonths. After this period (2)
(elapse) ah l members of staff (3)
(consult) through
their une manager, and feedback (4)
(seek).
Comments (5)
(collect) and analysed before a
decision (6)
(Make) as to whether the system
(adopt) permanently or not. Alternatively, the
( 7)
trial period (8)
(extend) for a further month. Ahl
employees (9)
(require) to arrive between the hours
of 8.00 and 9.30, and to leave after they have fulfilIed their contractual
obligations of eight hours. It (10)
(hope) that this
arrangement meets with your enthusiastic approval!

39
55

Exolanations
Have and get
s O ething done,
need doing

Have/get something done

This typically describes a service performed for us by someone eIse.
I've just had/got my car serviced. I have/get it done every winter.
It can also describe something un.fortunate that happens to someone.
We luid/got our car broken into Last month.
Get is more likely to be used than have when:
0 there is a feeling that something must be done.
I really must get (have) my hair cut.
ii) there is a feeling of eventually managing to do something.
eventually got (hacl) the car fixed at the Fast Service garage.
iii) in orders and imperatives.
Get your hair cutl
Note that get should not be used in the present perfect passive, where it
would be confused with have got.
u The need to have a service done can be descrhed with need doing.
Your hair needs cutting.

Passive

get

Reportirsy verbs

Get can be used instead of be to form the passive in spoken language.

Martin got arrested at a football match.
me Present reference
With verbs such as believe, know, say, think, which report peoples opinions, a
passive construction is often used to avoid a weak subject, and to give a
generalised opinion.
With present reference, the passive is followed by the present infinitive.
The criminal is thought to be in hiding in the London area.
Vitamin C is known to be good for treating colds.

Past reference
With past reference, the passive is followed by the past infinitive.
Smith is believed to have left England last weelc.
Past reporting verb
If the reporting verb is in the past, the past infinitive tends to follow, though (
not always if the verb be is used.
People thought Sue had paid too much.
Sue was thought to have paid too much.

The police thought that the thief was still in the house.
The thief was thought to sal, be in the house.

40
56

GRAIVIMAR 7 PASS/VE 2

Past reference with two objects

In this case there are two ways of making a passive sentence.
Everyone knows the portrait was painted by an tallan.
The portrait is known to have been painted by an Italian.

Continuous infinitive
Past and present continuous infinitives are also used.
Mary is thought to be living in Scotland.
The driver is thought to have been doing a U-turn.

Verbs with
prepositions

Ending a sentence with a preposition

It is possible to. end a sentence with a preposition in a sentence where a
prepositional verb s made passive.
Somebody broke into our house.
Our house was broken into,
so By and with
With is used after participles such as filled, packed, crowded, crammed.
The train was packed with commuters.
The difference between by and with may involve the presence of a person:
Dave was hit by a branch. (an accident)
Dave was hit with a branch. (a person hit him with one)
Make is followed by to when used in the passive.
My boss made me work hard.
was nzade to work hard by my boss.

Common contexts
for the passive

Cover and verbs which involve similar ideas, such as surround, decorate, can
use with or by. Cover can also be followed by in.
The furniture was covered in dust.
The living room had been decorated with flowery wallpaper.

Formality
The passive is probably more common in written. English, where there tends
to be less use of personal reference in some contexts, since the audience rnay
be unknown.
ei Points mentioned in Grammar 6
The passive is used to change the focus of the sentence, to avoid generalised
subjects, and to make an action . impersonal. It is common in descriptions of
processes, and in scientific and technical language in general.

41
57

ADVANCED- LANGUAGE PRACTIGE

Decide whether the sentences in each pa- ir have the same meaning.

-e;

"
(

.-

"

.1;1

.-

-,;;

igt .111L.o.

f).

a) I've just been to the hairdresser's. What do you think?

live just cut my hair at the hairdresser's. What do you think?
b) Someone is painting our bouse at the moment.
We are painting our house at the moment.
c) The dentist is going to take out two of my teeth tomorrow.
I'm having two teeth taken out tomorrow.
d) The teacher made us all tidy up.
We were made to tidy up by the teacher.
e) The car is thought to have. been stolen by joy-riders.
Joy-riders are thought to have stolen the car.
ask someone to wrap this for yola..
f) just a minute.
just a minute. I'll have to wrap this up for you.
g) The car hasn't been serviced for a long time.
We haven't had the car serviced for a long time.
They're
coming to put in a new water-heater next week.
h)
Mie're putting in a new water-heater next week.
i) Would you consider having plastic surgery to alter your nose?
Would you consider having your n.ose altered by plastic surgery?
j) A quallfied electrician checked the wiring.
We had checked the wiring with a qualified electrician.

Underline

aliffirext

the correct word in each sentence.

a) The busy shopping street was thronged by/with people.

b) The emergency exit was concealed by/from a red curtain.
c) The price of excursions is included in/with the cost of the holiday.
d) All through January, the fields were covered by/fi -om snow.
e) The room was crammed by/with furniture of all descriptions.
f) Two of the climbers were injured by/with falling rocks.
g) The island is inhabited by/from people of mainly Chinese origin.
h.5 The bank was quickly surrounded ftom/with arrned police.
i) The window had been sraashed from/with a harnmer taken from the shed.
I) The stadium was packed from/with cheering fans.

42
58

GRAMMAR 7 PASSIVE 2

Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first
sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given.
a) The treasure is thought to date from the thirteenth century.
date

tklitt

to dote.

from the thirteenth century.

b) Your hair needs cutting.

get
You

cut.

e) jill's parents are making her study hard.

made
Jill

her parents.

d) Apparently the ship did not sustain any damage.

appears
The ship

any damage.
e) It is thought that the two injured men were repairing overhead cables.
have
The two injured men

overhead cables.

0 There is a rumour that the escaped Prisoner is living in Spain.

be
The escaped prisoner

living in Spain.

g) We have agreed to meet again in a fortnight.

will
It has

meet again in a fortnight.

h) We decided to try again laten

would
It was

try again later.

i) There is confirmation of Mr Jackson's intended resignation.

that
It is

to resign.

j) Most of the committee thought it was not a viable solution.

not
It was thought

by most of the comrnittee.

43

59

ADVANCED LANGUAGE PRACT/CE

Rewrite each sentence so that it ends with the word underlined.

a) Another company has taken over our company.
Ou.r cowpany has been, &ken, Ven
b) We are dealing with your compIaint.
c) We have not accounted for all the missing passengers.
d) Someone had tampered with the lock of the front door.
e) We don't know how they disposed of the body.
f) I must insist that you keep to the mies.
g) We are looking into this allegation.
h) We will frown upon any attempts to cheat in the exam.
i) The youngest student complained that people were picking on him.
j) Ann was well provided for in her husband's will.

Complete each sentence with a suitable preposition.

coloured halls.

a) The tree had been decorated

the book.

b) The answers ha.ve been included

_
mud.

c) After the rugby match, Jim's shorts were covered

a heavy object.

d) The victim was struck from behind

money that David borrowed from the

e) The house was built

bank.

1) The cat narrowIy escaped being run over

a car.

flying glass.
g) When the accident happened, Sue was struck
chestnuts, and was very tasty.
h) The turkey was stuffed
i) No one knew that Peter had been involved
j) When 1 left the casino, my pockets were crammed

44
60

the investigation.
money.

GRAFAMAR 7

PASS/VE 2

Complete the text using the phrases from the box.

was obliged to are belleved to have been is known to have cxperienced
is not knownare thought to be , was packed is thought to have been
was seen were made to was brought
A plane carrying 15 members of the government to a conference in Brussels
(1) 1S kilglAin- td koVe &Verte mei a small-scale fire earlier this morning. The
plane (2)
about 20 minutes into its journey
when the fire occurred in the luggage area. It
how the pIane caught fire, but initial eye(3)
witness accounts confirm that a trail of smoke
(4)
coming from the under-carriage. The fire
(5)
rapidly under control, but the pilot
(6)
make an emergency landing. Five people
treated for shock_ The plane
(7)
with business people flying to Belgium.
(8)
Ah l 209 passengers (9)
stay behind for
questioning after landing at a military airport in northern France. Police
(10)
treating the incident as suspicious.
-

-,

Rewrite the text using the passive where possible. Make sure the words
underlined do not appear.

Nobody knows exactly when someone invented gunpowder. People know for a
fact that the Chinese made rockets and fireworks long before people used

gunpowder in Europe, which occurred at about the beginning of the thirteenth

century. We generally believe that gunpowder brought to an end the 'Age of
Chivalry', since anyone with a firearm could bring clown a mounted knight. In
fact, people did not develop efficient firearrns until the sixteenth century. They
used gunpowder mainly in siege cannon when people first introduced it. Later
they used it in engineering work and in mining, but they found that it was
extremely dangerous. Modern explosives have now replaced gunpowder, but we
still use it for making fireworks, just as the Chinese did_
buivon, exotctly

45

61

62

Explanatons
Problerns

This unit assumes that the basic tules for forming reported speech are already
known.
yz The most important rule is to use verb forms that are natural in the
situation.
happy to help you' she said.
She told me she is happy to help us.

In the aboye example, the verb has not been put one stage back in the past.
In the following example, the same is true.
'1 wanted W go to the cinema, but John wasn't so keen,' said Sue.
Sue sad that she wanted to go to the cinema, but John wasn't so keen.

Reported speech with modal auxiliarles

II the reporting verb is in a past verb form, modals change where there s a
ipasti equivalent.
may - might
can - could
W/// would
Gould, would, and might do not change.
I might be late. She said (that) she might be late.
Should changes to would if it is used as a first person form of would.
1 should (ove to come. She said (that) she would love to come.
Otherwise shoutd remains unchanged.
You should rest. They. said (that) 1 should rest.
Must can be reported as either had to or remain as must.

a Reported speech with conditional sentences

After a past tense reporting verb, real situations include verb form changes.
If we leave now, we'll catch the train.
1 told hrn that if we Ieft tiren we'd catch tire train.

In reported hypothetical situations, verb form changes are not made if the
event has reference to a possible future.
If you carne back tornorrow, 1'd be able to help you.
She said that if I carne back the next day, she'd be able to help me.

If the event is clearly hypothetical and impossible, time changes are made.
If I had a spanner, 1 could fix it.
He said that if he had had a spanner he could have fixed it.

Hypothetical past conditional sentences do n.ot change.

Don't think

Staterrxents reported with verbs of thinking such as think, expect, suppose can
transfer the negative from the statement to the verb.
1 suppose she won't come. (This means 1 don't suppose she'll come.)

63

ADVANCED LANGUAGE PRACTICE

Reporting verbs

There are nurnerous reporting verbs, which report the words of others, or our
own words and thoughts. Only a seIection is given here. Other examples are
included in the activities. Only the most useful categories are given here. It is
advsable to use a dictionary to check on how reporting verbs are used. See
Grammar 19, 21 and 22 for prepositions or -ing forms following verbs.
Verbs followed by that + clause (with * can be followed by a person)

add
admit
agree
announce
argue
believe
clam
complain

predict
prornise*
reassure*
reckon
remark
repeat
reply
report*

feel
hope
imply
insist
mean
mentan
object
persuade

confirrn
consicler
decide
deny
doubt
estmate
expect*
explain

say
state
suggest
suppose
tell*
think
threaten*
wam*

Verbs followed by person + to

advise
forbid
rernind warn

invite persuade

tell

ask

instruct

arder

Verbs followed by subjunctive or should

Most of these verbs can also be used in the other ways given.
As these verbs contain the sense that someone ishould do' something, should
can follow them.

They suggested that she shauld apply again.

More formally, the subjunctive can be used instead of shou/d. This is formed
from the base of the verb (without third person `s').

They suggested that she apply again.

Some other verbs of this type are:
advise (also: someone to doiagainst something)
agree (also: to do something, that + clause)
demand (also: to do something)
insist (also: on someone doing something)
prefer (aIso: someone to do something)
propase (also: doing something)
recommend (also: doing something)
request (also: someone to do something)
suggest (also: that + clause)
urge (also: sorneone to do sornething)

64

GRAMMAR 16 REPORTED SPEEC11

Verbs which can be followed by that + clause containing would

Ah l these verbs report statements containing wi//. These verbs can also be
followed by 'to do something'.
I'll leave at 8.00.
She decidecl to leave at 8.00.
She decided (that) she would leave at 8.00.
Others are: expect, hope, promise, threaten.

Functions

Many verbs describe a function, rather than_ report words.

Look, if I were you I'd leave early.
She advised me to leave early.

Examples are:
adrnit complain
request suggest
advise
invite
remind
wal77
agree persuade threaten
.

gl Some verbs describe actions.

Hi, Dave, how are you?
He greeted me.

Examples are:
accept, congratulate, decide, greet, interrupt, introduce
,Ihanges

of

ewpoint

Changes of time, place and person reference are assumed known at this level. In
reported speech, there is no longer a clear reference which can be understood by
two peopie in the same place.
1 left the parcel on this chair.

In reported speech one would have to specify which chair:

He said he had left the parcel on the chair by the window.

Or the reference may be replaced by a more general one:

I lave this town.
She said that she lovecl the town.

65

ADVANCED LANGUAGE PRACTICE

Underline the correct word or phrase in each sentence.

a) The governrnent spokesperson denied/refused that there was a crisis.

b) Jane said me/told me there was nothing the matter.
c) Peter persuaded me/insisted me to stay to dinner.
d) The director of studies advised me/suggested me to spend more time in the Library;
e) Sheila explained me/warned me not to leave the heater on all night.
f) The chairperson mentioned us/reminded us that time was extremely short.
g) Bill answered them/replied them with a detailed description of his plans.
h) Michael and Sarah announced/reported that they were going to get
i) Paul accepted/expected that he had made a mistake, and apologised.
1) The manager confirmed/reassured that our room had been reserved.

Rewrite each sentence in reported speech, using the verbs given in the
appropriate verb farm. Some may be negative.
a) '1 think 111 take the brown pair,' said the customer.
The,

cnStor~ dezide,d ti tclke the- broYM, pQr. (decide)

(decide) + (will)
(say) + (will)

b) `Me? No, 1 didn't take Sue's calculator.' said Bob.

(deny)
(denv)

c) 'Don't forget to buy some milk, Andy,' said Ciare.

(remind)
(say) + (should)
(remind) + (need)
d) `I'm sorry 1 couldn't come on Saturday,' said David.
(say) + (could)
(say) + (be able to)
(apologise for)
e) 'Why don't you go back to Singapore, Brian?' 1 said.
(ask) + (do)
(suggest) + (should)
(suggest)
f) `Make sute you don't take the A20, Tim,' said JacIZ.
(say) + (should)
(warn)
(warn)

66

GRAMMAR 16 REPORTED SPEECH

Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar rneaning to the first
sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given.
a) 'Helen, would you Iike to come to lunch on Sunday?' asked Mary.
if
mary oska Helem f ske, wciald LL k e.
to come to lunch on Sunday.
b) 'You are not allowed to smoke in your room, Dick,' said his mother.
forbade
Dick's mother
in his room.
c) Sue thought it would be a good idea for me to see a doctor.
advised
Sue
see a doctor.
d) The minister proposed regular meetings for th_e committee.
suggested
The minister
should meet reg-ularly.
e) Jack demanded urgent action from the police.
do
Jack demanded
something urgently.
f) My bank manager invited me to visit him at home.
could
My bank manager
visit him at home.
g) 'No, I really don't want to stay the night, Sophia,' Ann said.
staying
Ann insisted
the night at Sophia's house.
h) `I'll call off the football match if you don't .behave,' the teacher said.
threatened
The teacher
the children's behaviour
improved.
i) lOk mum, I'll do my homework, I promise,' said Laura.
that
Laura
do her homework.
j) 'Congratulations on getting engaged, Sue,' said Harry.
congratulated
Harry
engagement.

67

ADVANCED LANGUAGE PRACTICE

Underline the most suitable word to complete each sentence.

a) 1 thought Dm would say something about his new job. But he didn't

mention/state/deciare it.
b) Sorry, 1 wasn't being insulting. 1 sim.ply offered/reassured/remarked that you
seem to have put on rather a lot of weight recently.
c) The pollee requested/estirnated/advised that the crowd was under 50,000,
although the organisers of the march put it at nearer 100,000.
d) The children complained/threatened/persuaded that their parents were always
checking up on them.
e) It has been objectalhoped/predicted that by the year 2050 some capital cities
vvill be almost uninhabitable because of the effects of air pollution.
O During the months before Smith's transfer from City, it had been
rumoured/doubted/threatened that he and the manager had come to blows in
the dressing-room, though this was denied by the club.
g) Brown forbade/recommended/clahned that the arresting officers had treated
him roughly, and that one of them had punched him in the eye.
h) An army spokesrnan stressed that ah l troops patrolling the streets had been
dented/ordered/announced to issue olear warnings before firing any shots.
i) Althciugh he didn't say so directly, the Prime Minister toidlordered/suggested
that an agreement between the two sides was within reach.
j) The witness suggested/insisted/gave her name and address to the court bef ore
the cross-examination began.

Complete the text with one word in each space.

The case of the break-in at a Cambridge home entered its third day today. The
accused's defence was based on the fact that he (1)

C1914,1d

not have

have been playing

entered the house at 6.30. He claimed (2)

football at the time, and stated that several witnesses could confirm this. At this
him of changing his story, as he had

point, the prosecution (3)

of the

previously stated that he had been at home at the (4)

not in the

break-in. The defendant agreed that his memory (5)

best of shape, as he had been (6)

from bouts of depression. The

taken an

judge stepped in, reminding the defendant that he (7)

oath to tell the truth, and warning (8)

of the severe consequences

of lying in court. The defendant said that he had simply forgotten

the football match, and insisted (10)
(9)
not changing his story.

68

he was

",

GRAMNIAR 16 REPORTED SPEECH

Using the information in the e-mail as a guide, complete each space in the letter
with a verb. The first letters of the verbs have been given.
TO: Roberts.hifi.co.uk
FROM: Dave@electricalsupplies.com

We are sorry that our computer ordering system went on the blink last week.
Don't worry, the system is now up and running again, but we think goods will
arrive 2 or 3 days late. I'd guess the goods you've just ordered should arrive
round about Thursday. Thanks a lot for telling us about the problem with the
ZP200. You'll be pleased to know the probIem's been put right now. Re the
exhibition you're organising, it seems you want to return any goods you don't
sell. We're certnly interested, yes, but could I ask for more details before I let
you know. Finally, just to tell you, as of lst May our warehouse is now open 24
hours a day!
Dear Mrs Henderson,
for the failure of our computer
We would like to (1) a.Paq9 1--re,
reassured that the
ordering system last week. Please (2) b
that the
system is-now fully functional again. It is (3) a
goods ordered will be delayed by two or three working clays. The
arrival time for your latest order is Thursday.
(4) e
the defect in the ZP200
We are grateful to you for (5) r
that the defect has now been
model. We are happy to (6) a
remedied.
the possibility of taking goods from us 'on sale or
You (7) m
return' at an exhibition you are organising. We can certainly
tu: interest, but we would like to
(8) c
further information before we commit ourselves to a
(9) r
decision.
that as of 1 May our warehouse is now open

Please be (10) a
24 hours a day.
Yours sincerely,
David Smith

69

70

' 1;

5;

'

'

Ex planatio si s
De fining and non-

defining

o Defining
A defining cIause specifies which person or thing we mean. It cannot be
separated from the person or thing it describes.
By 4.30, there was only one painting which hadn't been sold.
a Non-defining

A non-defining clause contains extra information. In writing it is separated

by cornmas, and in speech, if used at ah, is usually indicated by intonation.

By 4.30, which was almost closing time, nearly all tire painting,s liad
been sold.

o Some of the points given below depend on the type of clause.

Which and that

o These are alternatives in a defining clause, although which is felt to be

more formal.
By 4.30, there was only one painting that hadn't been sold.

115

lo That cannot follow a preposition.

' It was a service for which I wat be eternally grateful.

'That is not normally used to introduce a non-defining clause.

Tire train, which was already atz hour late, broke down again.

s That is often used instead of who in everyday speech in defining clauses.

Do you know tire girl that lives next door?
Who and whom

Whom is the object form of who and is used formally in object clauses.
He was a person whom everyone regarded as trustworthy,

o However, this is now felt to be excessively formal by most speakers and who
is comrnonly used instead.
5s1 Whorn has to be used if it follows a preposition.

To whom it may concern.

To whorn am I speaking?

However, in everyday use, itis usual to avoid this kind of construction.

Who am I speakng to?
See when and where on the next page.

.---,
14/hose

This rneans of whom. It is used in both defining and non-defining clauses.

Several guests, whose cars were parked outside, were waiting at tire door.
Se-veral guests whose rooms had been broken into complainecl to tire manager.

111

71

AVANCED LANGUAGE PRACTICE

When and where

g Non-defining
Here they follow a named time or place :
Come back at 3.30, when 1 won't be so busy.
I stopped in Maidstone, where my sister owns a shop.
o Defining
When follows words such as time, day, moment
There is hardly a moment when 1 don't think of you, Sophia.
Where follows words su.ch as place, house, street.
This is the street where 1 live.

Ornitting the
reiative pronoun

This is common in defining object clauses especially in everyday conversation.

Sentences ending
In a preposition or
phrasal verb

Another common feature of conversational English, as outlined in

whom aboye, is to end a defining clause with a preposition.

Omitting

It may be possible to reduce a verb phrase after who/which t an adjectival

phrase in a defining clause, especially to define phrases such as the only one, the ,

which/who + be

I've found the keys (which/that) I've been looking for.

That's the rrzan (who/that) I was telling you about.
He was a person (who/that) everyone regarded as trustworthy.
WhO

and

That's the house I used to live in.

I couldn't remember which station to get off at.
He's not someone who 1 really g,et 077 With.

last/first one.
Jim was the only one of his platoorz who had not been taken prisoner.
firn was tire orzly one of his platoon not taken prisoner.
By 4.30, there was only one painting which had not been sold.
By 4.30, there was orzly one painting not sold.

Wh ich

A non-defining clause can comment on the whole situation described in the

main clause.
There was rzobody left on tire train, which rnade me suspicious.
Phrases with which, such as at which tirne/point, in which case, by which time, in
which event can be used in the same way.
I watched tire play until the end of the first act, at vvhich point I felt I had
seen enough.
A warning sign 'Overheat' may come on, in which case turn off tire appliance
at once.

Causes beginning
with what and
whatever

El What meaning tire thing or thing-s which can be used to start clauses.
can't believe what you told me yesterclay.
W7-Lat you should do is write a letter to tire manager.

See Grammar 14 Emphasis.

Whatever, whoever, whichever can be used in a similar way.
You can rely on He/en to do whatever she can.
Whoever arrives first can turn on tire heating.

112
72

GRAMMAR 18

Non finite clauses

c ontaining an
-

409 forrn

RELATWE CLAUSES AND NON-libi2TE CLAUSES

These are clauses without a main verb. The examples given

defining. Note that the two clauses have the same subject.

here are non.

Actions happening at the same time.

Wavtng their scarves and shouting,

tire fans ran onto tire pitch.

One action happening before another

Opening the letter, she found that it contained a cheque for 1,000.

This type of clause often explains the reason for something happening.
Realising there was no one at home, 1 left tire parcel in tire shed.
Both these types of sentence might begin with on or upon:
On Opening tire letter
Upon realising

o An event which is the result of another event

1 didn't get wet, hav-ing rernembered to take my umbrella.

Where a passive construct-ion might be expected, this is often shortened to a

past participle.
Having been abandoned by iris colleagues, tire Minister was forced to resign.
Abandoned by iris colleagues, tire Minister was forced to res ign.

113
73

ADVAVICID LANGUAGE PRACT2CE

gss-~~2 ,-

1.fIZ503~1-17`2511171~9~7~~1~FffineMr
tars1~315:19~~~... 7

The follo-vving text contains many 'whkh's and

' thars. Underline the ten extra

ones, which are grammatically wrong.

Having just spent three weeks of my life sitting on an uncomfortable saddle,

pounding the roads of France, I am in no fit state that to do anything except sit (
an.d write, which suits me fine. Por I have cycled some 1,500 kilometres, a figure r:
which includes some extrernely hilly routes, and frankly the thought of
mounting a biCycle again which is not one that I can face for a good few days
1
yet. The journey, which I undertook alone for most of the way, was ah in the (
narne of charity Help the Aged, a cause which I support whenever that 1 can. (.
Having organised my sponsorship, which I arrived in France armed only with a
tiny map of the Tour de France route, which hastily removed from last month's
'Cycling World' magazine. My intention which was to try and follow the route
that the professionals take, but after three days in which I pushed my body to
extremes that it had never experienced before, that I rapidly abandoned this
(

plan and return.ed to flatter ground. On the flat which I was able to keep to
(
about 120 kilometres a day, which is respectable. I did have to rest my weary
Iimbs at the weekends, though, which enabled me t recharge my batteries, by
which I mean my bodily ones, not the ones that inside my bike lights. I am
pleased to say, that after three tortuous weeks, which I ended up in Marseilles,
but what pleased me ah l the more is that I managed to raise over 2,000 for

Help the Aged.

Complete each sentence with one suitable word.

a) Midway through the second half City scored their fourth goal, at
Kiltd.414.
point United gav up cornpletly.
I owe more than 1 can say.

b) There is one person t

c) It was the kind of accident for
d)

n_obody was really to blame.

leaves last should turn off the lights.

was unusual for her.

e) Mary was late yesterday,

f) At 6.00,

was an hour before the pIane was due, thick fog

descended.
g) 1 don't know

told you that, but they were wrong.

h) The first time 1 saw you was

i) Mrs Brown was the first owner

you answered the door.

dog won three prizes in the

same show.
j) I've just spoken t Sally,

sends you her leve.

114
74

GRAMMAR 18 RELATIVE CLAUSES ANO hic-1 14-FUNITE CLAUSES

Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first
sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given.
a) 1 waited for him until 6.30 and then gave up.
which
1 waited for him until 6.30, Ot which ri.nt 1
gave up.
b) We suggestecl a lot of things, which were aH rejected.
was
Everything
rejected.
c) 1f someone understands this book, they are cleverer than 1 am.
is
Anyone
cleverer than I am.
d) I won't tell you this again, you naughty boy.
time
This
tell you, you naughty boy.
e) The whole surruner was stmny and warm, for a change.
made
The whole surnmer was sunny and warm,
nice change.

f)1 don't really approve of his proposal.

what
don't really approve of
proposing.
g) The police never caught the c-uIprt.
committed
Th.e police never caught
the crime.
h) I have read ah of hez books but one.
that
There is only
1 have not read.
i) 1 can't remember the last heavy rain.
when
1 can't remem.ber
heavily.
j) Do you get on with your next-door n.eighbour?
who
Do you get on with
lives next door?

115
75

ADVANCED LANGUAGE PRACTICE

_
4

Make one sentence from the sentences given, begirmjng as shown. Make any
other necessary changes. Omit any unnecessaty relative pronouns.

,,
.

a) We e-ventu...Ily caught a train. It was one that stops at every station.

The train 1/5/e, e-ve-rtb.,toily ccu..9kt Kias otz. tkat stops

o(t e-ve-ry stotiovt

b) Carol siammed the door behind her. Her father had given her a car as a
present. She drove off in it.
Slarnming

_
_

c) At the end of the street was a building. The street was crowded with
shoppers. Tom had not noticed the building before.
At the end of the street

_
_

d) Some people have just moved in next door. They have the same surname as '
sorne other people. Those other people have just moved out.
,

The people who have just moved in next door

-_

e) 1 noticed that the door was open. 1 decided to go in. This turned out to be a
mistake.
Noticing
f) Everyone expects the Popular Party candidate, Flora Benstead, to win the
election. She has announced that she will cut incorne tax by 10% if elected.
Flora Benstead,

----

I
'
,,
;

g) 1 listened to George patiently until he started insulting me. At that point, 1

told him a few borne truths. He didn't like it.
I listened to George patiently until he started insulting me,

h) Pauline asked me a question. I had no reply to it.

Pauline asked me

1) He rushed out of the room. He was shouting at the top of his voice. This was
,
typical.
(
Shouting

116

,
76

_
_
-

GRAMPttlAR 18

fIELAT:V CLAUSESA

,01,1-HNITE CLAUSES

Correct the rnistake in each sentence. Ornit any unnecessary reiative pronouns in
your corrections.

111110

2a1 f

a) To take my life in my hands, I walked to the very end of the high diving
board. --roklifrid YVIY lifeb) I wasn't sure what to address the letter to, so I put 'The Manager'.

c) Most of the g,uests tumed up two hours early, that took us by surprise.
d) Whoever that he spoke to last was probably the person who murdered him.
e) The book 1 bought for his birthday is one where 1 enjoyed very much rnyself.

O There's a chance that 1 may be late, in that case

phone you.

g) Everyone admires her. She's the kind of person whose everyone looks up to.
h) No one knows who she is. She is the only member of the gang who the
identity remained a secret.

Most of the following sentences are punctuated incorrectly. Correct any that are
wrong.

a) Many people think that Saturn is the biggest planet which is wrong.
. .

LS"
' tke,

'
b qgest plqvtd vvine

b) That's the man, 1 used to live next door to.

c) I couldn't remember, which ho -use 1 had to deliver the card to.
d) The coat she wore to the party, was similar to one 1 have at home.
e) Lynn is the only person in my circle of friends, who is rnarried.
1) Whoever catches the ball, must come into the middle of the circle.
117
77

Expiarla-El- 0ns
This unit focuses on problem areas.
Verbs foilowed by
either -ng or
infinitive with to

Can't bear, hate, like, lave, prefer

Like to usually refers to habitual preferences.
We like to go out to lunch on Sunday.
Not like to means think it wrong to.
1 clon't Hice to disturb colleagues at borne.
Attempt, begn, continue, intend, plan, propose, start
There is no difference in meaning whether we use -ing or infinitive with Lo.
Intend, plan, and propose can be followed by that + clause. This may include
should. See Grammar 16 Reporting verbs.

Forget, remember
With to both verbs refer to an obligation..
1 had to phone the office but 1 forgot to do it.
With -ing both verbs refer .to past events.
1 don't remember learning - to walk.
Both can be followed by that + clause.
1 rernembered that 1 had to pay the phone bill.

Try
With to this refers to something attempted, which might fail or succeed.
1 tried to warn him, but it was too late.
With -ing this refers to making an experiment, or to a new experience.
Try taking cm aspirin. Youql feel baten
Have you tried windsurfing? It's gread

a Go on
With -ing this refers to tb.e continuing of an action.
She went on working even thouglz it was late.
With to this refers to the continuation of a speech.
Prime Minister went on to praise tire Chancellor.
(This means the Prime Minister continued his speech by praising the
Chancelior.)

Mean
With the rneaning intend, this is followed by to.
Sorry, I meant to tell you about tire party.
With -ing, and ari impersonal subject, this refers to what is involved.
If we catch tire early train, it will mean getting - up at 6.00.
That + clause is possible when meaning is being explained.
This means that you have to report to tire police station.

118
78

GRAMMAR 19 VE11`5.5

111FIN5TIVE O-NG

---..
9

o Stop
With to this refers to an intention.
jane stopped to check the oil level in the engine.
With -ing this refers to the ending of an activity.
The baby has stopped waking up during the night now.

---.

s Hear, see, watch

When followed by infinitive without to, the action is complete.
We watched ah l the cars cross the finishing, une.
With -ing, the action is still in progress.
I heard sonzeone coming up the stairs.

---.
--,
---,

.---,

---.

Regret
With to this refers to the speaker's regrets about what is going to be said. It
orlen occurs in formal staternents of this kind.
We regret to inform you that your application has been unsuccessful.
With -ing this refers to a regret about the past.
I regret saying that to him.
That + clause is also possible.
We reg,ret that we didn't tell ter earlier.

Verbs with -an

object, foliowed
by either -ing or
infinitive with to

.
1 Adrnit
This can be used with or without to followed by -ing.
They admitted (to) being members of tire garzg.
That + clause is also possible.
He admitted that he was wrong.
a Allow, forbid, permit
With an object and to:
Tire school forbids students to smoke in the classrooms.
With an object -ing forrn:
Tire school does not allow smoking.

----

----

to Consider
With an object and to this refers to an opinion.
She is considered to be tire finest pianist of her generation.
With -ing this means think about
At one point I considered emigrating to Canada.
With that + clause it refers to an opinion.
We consider that size has behaved badly.
Imagine
With an object and to:
I imagined the castle to be haunted.
With -Mg, .an object is alsb possible.
I couldn't imagine (her) living in a place like that
With that + clause it means suppose.
I imagine that you'd like a cup of tea after your long journeyl
119

79

ADVANCED

LANGUAGE PRACTICE

o Require

With an object and to:

They reglar& him to fill out a form.
With -ng:
These letters require typing.
See Grammar 7 for needs doing.

Verbs norma- 11y

followed by
infinitiye with to

Verbs marked * can also be followed by that + clause.

*pledge
hurry
*demand
*agree
*preterid
*learn
deserve
*appear
*promise
long
*expect
*arrange
refuse
manage
fail
attempt
*resolve
neglect
grow
ask
seek
offer
hasten
choose
*seem
pay
*happen
dare
struggle
*plan
*hope
*decide

*swear
*threaten
*vow
want
*wish

o Appear, (so) happen and seern are only used impersonally with that + clause.
It appears that I've made a mistake.
It so happens that he s my brother!
It seems that Mary 15 gong to wiii.
o Want can be used colloquially with -ing, and has a similar meaning to need.
The car wants cleaning.

Verbs norman)/
followed by -ing

o Verbs marked * can also be followed by that + clause.

*appredate
avoid
contemplate
delay
*deny
detest
dislike
endure
enjoy
escape
excuse

face
*fancy
finish
involve
*mention
mind
miss
postpone
practise
*resent
risk

*suggest
it's no good/use
feel like
give up
keep on
leave off
look forward to
put off
can't stand
spend/waste time

Appreciate is often followed by possessive + -ing.

1 appreciate your tryhig to help.

See Grammar 16 for suggest.

Involve has an impersonal subject.
Beim - an athlete hl-vol-ves regular training-.

120
80

GRAMMAR 19 VERBS

Verbs followed by
infinifive without

Help can be used with or without ro.

1 helped George (to) carry the bags.

to

Make, and expressions with make

They mide me leave.
We shall have to make do.
In the passive, to is used.
1 was made to leave.

ENFENITIVE

Let and expressions with let

They didn't Jet me leave.
Let me go!
Verbs follovved by
an object and to

Verbs marked * can also be followed by that + clause.

*advise, assist, beg, bribe, cornmand, dare, ernploy, enable, encourage, instruct,
invite, lead, *order, *persuade, select, send, *teach, *tell, train, urge, *warn

See Grammar 16 for advise, persuade, tell, marn.

Date can be used without to when there is no object. Compare:
They dared him to jump.
1 didn't dare (to) say anything.
How dare you speak like that to me!

121

81

ADVANCED LANGUAGE PRACTPCF.

Underline the ~d or phrase that is correa.

4
< "la .

19
/ ft

;
" :.?"

j,

41E
. /12

0.U 1. `/D ;t7 P

"`"

a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
f)
g)
h)
i)

What do you mean to do/doing about the leaky pipes?

I never imagined the mountains to be/being so high!
Don't forget to wake me/waking me before you leave.
I regret to tell you/telling you that we cannot accept your offer.
Did you manage to find/finding the book you were looking for?
I tried taking/to take that medicine you gave me but I couldn't swallow it.
We have postponed to tell/telling anyone the news until after Christmas.
Have you considered to buy/buying a miaowave oven?
Sorry 1'm late, I had te stop to pick up/picking up the children from school.
Margaret was slow a't school, but she went en to be/being Prime Minister.

Complete the sentences by choosing the correct verb from the box, and putting,
it in the appropriate form.
look forward to

.arrange

apPear - intend

face

ccinsiCler

grW
,

.,

dare

with what

It's too late to buy any food. We'll have to m.ake

we've got.
ask how much it costl

b) I hardly
c) Have you ever

taking a year off work?

d) I didn't like tire town at first, but I

e) What do you

to love it eventually.

doing after this course has finished?

our holiday in Australia tus year. It's going te be 1

f) We are ah i
such an adventure.
g) Jim and I
h) It

to meet at 6.00 but he didn't tum up.

that we won't need to pay so much alter ah.

i) I can't wait for Saturday! Pm really

j) I can't

te see youl

getting up at 6.30 tomorrow morning!

train.

122
82

catch a latei

-inc

GRAMMAR 19 VERBS + INFEN91iVE

Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar rneaning to the first
sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given.

a) It's very kind of you to give me a lift.

appreciate
opprezlote, ypt,jz V1.3V
-

me a lift.

b) If I take the oh I'll have t . move to Paris.

mean
movn.g to Paris.
Taking
c) Parking is not permitted Itere.
park
here.
You are
d) `Shall 1 carry th.at bag for you, Pauline?' said John.
offered
bao' for her.
joh.n
e) Winning the football pools ineant we couId buy a new car.
enabled
buy a new car.
Wirming the football pools
f) There is a risk that he will miss the plane if he waits.
risks
if he walts.
He
g) I believed you were the murderer because of this cine.
led

th.at you were the murderer.

This clue
h) Does using the hotel swimming pool cost extra?
pay
the hotel swimming pool?
Do you have to
i) I think that this is the right street.
appears
the right street.

This
j) Jean succeeded in finishing ah l her work on time.
managed
ah l her work on time.
Jean
123

83

ADVANCED LANGUAGe Km:Tic:E

Complete the second sentence so that it has a similar rneaning to the first
sentence, using the word given. Do not change the word given.
a) They said they would Ince me to stay with them in Florida.
invited
I
They uunte,ct wte,
.

stay with th.em in Florida.,

b) Calling Jim is pointless, because hs phone is out of order.

use
because his phone is out of order. ,

It's no

e) It is compulsory for ah l students to leave a cash deposit.

required
leave a cash depositi
Ah l students
d) You waste time if you copy your work out again, so don't do it.
copying
your work out again(
Don't
e) I bet you wouldn't ask David to come with you to the partyl
if
to the party with you'.
I dare
O 'Please don't leave me on my own,' Martin begged us.
hirn
Martn begged us
g) If you work for this company, you h.ave to travel a lot.

owd.

invoIves
Workng for this company

of travel.

h) Joe doesn't like it when people treat him like a child.

resents
Iike a chl.
Joe
i) It was resolved that the matter would be brought up at the next meeting.
bring
up at the next rneetinl.
They resolved
,
j) The police were told that the use of unnecessary force was forbidden.
not
Th.e police were instructed

unneeessary force

124
84

GRAMMAR 19 VERBS

--,

--,
,

--,

.._

complete each sentence using the verb in brackets in an appropriate form.

a) Sorry, I meant to tell Y"(ten) I wouhl be out, but I forgot.

b) That's all for now. I
(hope) hear from you soon!
c) If I take the new job, it
(mean) working a lot harder!
d) Are you still tired? Or do
(feel) going out for a meaI?
e) Jane is
(say) the most outstanding player in the team.
f) I wish you
(keep) complaining all the time!
g) How
(suggest) that I would take a bribel l'ye never been
so insulted!
h) We offered to help Helen carry her bags, but she said she
(manage) on her own.

--,

INF1,4NTI'VE OP -1NG

Complete the text by putting the verbs in brackets into the correct form, gerund
or infinitive.
Yukie Hanue is considered by many (1) t be(be) the finest violinist of
her generation and she's still in her early twenties. When we visited her, in
the music department of the University of New York, she was too busy
practising (2)
(talk), but she invited us (3)
(have) a
coffee with her in her mid-inorning break. Astonishingly, she manages
(4)
(combine) her PhD at the university with International
concerts and recitals, n.umerous public appearances and 'interviews. She
evidently thrives on the workload, buzzing around the place with an industrious
enthuslasm that leaves us al! breathless. Her fame as a performer means
(5)
(rnake) regular appearances at high profile events. Last
month, for example, she agreed (6)
(appear) in a series of recitals
organised by Coca-Cola. This involved (7)
(travel) to far-flung
places like Seoul, Oslo and Montevideo on successive days, a schedule which
would have caused any normal person to wilt. 'I can't stand (8)
(do) n.othing,' she says. 'I happen (9)
(have) a particular taIent,
and it would be wasteful not (10)
(exploit) it to . the full.' I
encouraged her (11)
(tell) me about her upbringing, but she was
rather reticent to sing her own praises. 1 did, however, succeed in persuading
her (12)
(confess) to a secret desire. 'ff I hadn't been a musidan, I
would have loved to train (13)
(become) a martial arts expert,'
she says. Certainly, she would have had the discipline, but I couldn't imagine
someone so physically frail actu ally (14)
(stand) there hitting
..
someone. But it was an interesting revelation, and one that I was
(15)
(learn) more about during my day with her.

---, :

125

85

86

Theme
Introduction to the Essay

Goas
Writing

To understand the purpose for and diaracterstics of the three parts of an

essar introduction, developmentai para graphs, and condusion
To Identity and mpro ve thess staternents

,1

To Identity and evaluate introductory paragraphs

To identify topics for developmental para graphs and write the appropriate
topic sentences
To understand the purpose for and characteristcs of conclusions
To write an oudine to plan essays andlor determine if an essay is well
organzed

87

104

ti nit Tvvo The

Essay

Gettin-o Started
Journal Writing: Choose one of the following two questions, and write about it
in your joumal.
I. What are the differences between writing assignments in coliege and writing
assignments in high school? What are the differences between college teachers
and high school teachers?
2. How do you_ feel before you take a test? What Icinds of tests do you prefer?
Multiple choice? True/False? Short answer? Essay? Why do you prefer this
type of test?

Vdeo Activity: "A Case of Plagiarism of Romance Novels"

Plagiarism, which is usng someone else's writing as if it were
your own, is considered a serious offense in academie classes. If
a professional writer plagiarizes the work of another writer, the
pIagiarizer may have to pay a lot of money in damages, and bis or her reputation
and career will probably be ruined. This video tells one story of plagiarism. Janet
Dailey, who writes romance novels, admitted to plagiarizing work frorn Nora
Roberts, also a romance novelist. Watch the video once to find out what happened
when Dailey's plagiarism was discovered. How do you think Dailey felt? How
about Roberts? What were the consequences of plagiarism?
Watch the video again, and pause the video when the words used by the two
authors are shown on the screen. Notice that Dailey didn't copy the words exactly,
but just used some of the words and ideas written by Roberts. Compare the original
words with the plagiarized words. What percentage of the work is plagiarized? Are
you surprised that this is considered plagiarism?

'

::111
1.::.:

.11T
l>".

Video Follow-up: Gathering Information about the Consequences of

Plagiarism
After you watch this video, find out wb.at the consequences of plagiarism are
for students. Most schools have an academie honesty policy that describes the
consequences of plagiarism and other forms of cheating. Look at the academic
honesty policy for your school. Answer these questions:

,
1.9Y.

1. What are the consequences of plagiarism?

2. Why do teachers want students to avoid plagiarism?
3. How can students avoid plagiarism if they want to incIude others' ideas in
papers they write?
Por more information on ways to avoid plagiarism, see Appendix "Using other
peopie's words and ideas."

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Chapter

Introduction to the Essay

105

Internet Activity: Composition Skills and the Internet

Colleges and universities look on plagiarism as a very serious fense.
P., Use a search tool on the Internet to search for the terms "plagiarism"
or "acadernic honesty." How rnany paga dd you find? Choose two
or three of these pages and compare them. Are the policies similar? Are the
consequences of pIagiarism the same? How do they differ? Write a paragraph
describing the results of your search.

WI

Introduction to the Essay

Ernphasis thus far has been on writing paragraphs with good, detailed support.
Since a paragraph develops only one idea, the topics being developed are necessarily
quite limited. Often, however, topics are too complex or too broad to be developed
in a single paragraph. In this case, it s necessary to write an essay. An essay is a
group of paragraphs that develops one central idea. How are the paragraphs
organized in an essay? How many paragraphs are there in an essay? How does
an essay begin an.d end? 'Mese are questions tbis unit will answer. Unlike the
paragraph, the essay is a more formal compostion. Each paragraph in an essay
has a desgnated function:
1. Introduction. The introduction is usually one paragraph (sornetimes two or
more) that introduces the topic to be discussed and the central idea (the
thesis staternent) of the essay.
2. Deveiopmental paragraphs. These paragraphs develop various aspects of the
topic and the central idea. They may discuss causes, effects, reasons, examples,
processes, classifications, or points of comparison and contrast. They may
also describe or narrate.
3. Conclusion. This paragraph concludes the thought developed in the essay. It
is the closng word.
How many paragraphs an essay contains depends entirely on the complexity of
the topic; some essays have only two or three paragraphs, whereas others may
have 20 or 30. However, for most purposes, the essays written for first-year
college English courses contain from four to six paragraphs, with an introductory
paragraph, severa' developmental paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph.

The Thesis Statement

r-1

The essay, like the paragraph, is controlled by one central idea. In the essay, the
sentence containing the central idea is called the thesis staternent. The thesis
staternent is similar to the topic sentence in -that it contains an expression of an

89

106

Unit Two

The Essay

attitude, opinion, or idea about a topic; unlike the topic sentence, however, the
thesis statement is broader and expresses the controlling idea for the entire essay.
In fact, each of the developmental paragraphs should have a controlling idea that
echoes or relates to the controlling ideathe central ideain th.e thesis statement.
Here are a few points te remember about the thesis staternent:
1. The thesis statement should be expressed in a complete sentence. Since the
thesis statement is the main statement for the entire essay, it should express
a complete thought; therefore, it should be expressed in a complete sentence.
And since it makes a statement, it should not be written as a question.
Not a thesis statement:
My fear of the dark.
Thesis statement:
My far of the dark has made rny life miserable.
2. A thesis statement expresses an opinion, attitude, or idea; it does not simply
announce the topic the essay will develop.
Not a thesis staternent:

am going to discuss the effects of radiation.

Thesis statement:
The effects of radiation are oficia unpredictable.
3. A thesis statement should express an opinion; it should not express a fact.
Since the thesis statement expresses an attitude, opinion, or idea about a
topic, the thesis staternent is really a statement that someone could disagree
with. The thesis statement, therefore, is a staternent that needs to be explained
or proved.
Not a thess statement:

Cows produce mil_

Thesis stateraent:
The milk cows produce is not always fit for human consumption.
Not a thesis statement:
There are many advantages and disadvantages to going to college. (Not an
arguable point.)
Thesis statement:
The advantages to going te college far outweigh the disadvantages.
4. A thesis statement should express only one idea toward one topic; if a thesis
statement contains -two or more ideas, the essay runs the risk of lacking rmity
and coherence.

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107

Not a thesis statement

Goin.g t college in the Midwest can be fun, and I have found that living
in a suburb of a large city is the best way to live while at college.
Thesis statement:
Going to college in th.e Midwest can be fue.
EXERCISE 6.1 Study the following statements carefully. If the statement is a thesis
statement, write yes in the blank; if it is 110t a thesis statement, write no.
1.

The advantages of majoring in engineering.

2.

I would like to discuss my views on the Olympic Games.

3.

Students should be allowed t manage the bookstore.

4.

hen 1 first carne t the United States, I wasn't used to ening in fastfood places, and I was arnazed at the shopping centers.

5.

Why do I want to be a lawyer?

6.

The dfferences between Mandarin and Hunan dialects.

7.

Knowing a foreign language can be beneficial t anyone.

8.

This advertisement attempts to appeal t the readers' sense of

patriotism_

9.

I am going to describe my home.

10. There are many similarities and differences between New York and
Hong Kong.

EXERCISE 6.2 Study the following statements, which are not thesis statements.
Rewrite each of the sentences to make it a thesis statement. The first one is done
for you.
1. I am going t explain why I decided t go to college.
Choosing to go to college was a difficuit dajsion.

2. The hazards of storing chemical wastes.

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3_ There are many similarities and differences between life in the country and
life in the city.

4. New York City is the la.rgest city in the United States.

5. Universities in the United States should require, more humanities courses;

they should also have more social activities.

The Introduction
The thesis statement is the main statement for the entire essay_ But where should
the thesis .statement be placed? Although there is no law that requires the thesis
to be placed in any particular place in the essay, the thesis statement is usuaLly
in the introductory paragraph. After ah, the thesis is the statement that the
developme3atal paragraphs are going to explore. But where in the introduction
should the thesis statement be placed? Before we answer this question, let us look
at the characteristics of an introductory paragraph.
1. An introductory paragraph should introduce the topic. Do not forget that
the introductory paragraph is the first thing that a reader sees. Obviously,
this paragraph should inforrn th.e reader of the topic being cliscussed.
2. An introductory paragraph should indicate generally how the topic ir going
to be developed. A good introductory paragraph should indicate whether the
essay is going to discuss causes, effects, reasons, or examples; whether the
essay ir going to classify, describe, narrate, or explain a process.
3. Generally speaking, an introductory paragraph should contain the thesis statement. This is a general rule, of cdurse. In more sophisticated writing, the
thesis statement sometimes appears later in the essay, sometirnes even at the
end. In some cases, too, the thesis is just implied. Por college essays, however,
it is a good idea to state the thesis clearly in the introduction.
4. Ideally, an introductory paragraph should be inviting; that is, it should be
interesting enough to make the reader want to continue reading. Since the
introductory paragraph functions to introduce the topic and since the introductory paragraph should be inviting, it rnakes good sense not to put the
thesis statement right at the beginning of the introduc -tory paragraph. Not

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_

Introduction t the Essay

109

thde ysorust inset:tednuccee. t:eattionpgicabnefooprienyio: sathatoentans no:ienthioinngabi on utthke B.(trhset

yshoul
orenalding
thesis staternent), but you. should try to entice the reader to confirme after

.:

sentence is not usually very inviting; in fact, if readers disagree with the
opinion, it may very well discourage them from reading your essay. Therefore,
it is generally a good idea to place the thesis statement at or neax the end of
the introductory paragraph.

Prewritina
Planning
r.5 *
Since the introduction is the first paragraph the reader reads, it s often the first
paragraph the student plans and can be, therefore, the most difficult. There are
rnany wais to begin an essay. In this text, we discuss four basic types of introductions: (1) the "Turnabout," in which the author opens with a statement contrary
to- his or her actual tb_esis (Chapter 9); (2) the "Dramatic Entrance," in which
the author opens with a narrative, description, or dramatic example pertinent to
the topic (Chapters 10 and 11); (3) Ihe "Relevant Quotation," in which the writer
opens with a quotation pertinent to the topic (Cbapter 11); and (4) the "Funnel."
The Funnel approach is perhaps the most common type of introductory
paragraph. It is so called because the ideas progress from the general to -the specific
just as a funnel is wide at the top and narrow at the bottom. The approach is to
open with a general statement about the topic and then to work toward the more
specific thesis statement at or near the end of the introduction. Not only should
the opening staternent be general, it should be congenial as well; do not alienate
the reader. See how this technique is applied in this introductory paragraph.
Traveling to a foregn country is always interesting, especially if it is
a country that is completely different from your own. You can delight
in tasting new foods, seeing nevv sights, and learning about different
customs, some of which may seem very curious. If you were to visit
my country, for instance, you would probably think that my people
have some very strange customs, as these three examples will illustrate.
In this intcoductory paragraph, the writer introduces the general topic. of "travelin.g
to a foreign country" in the first sentence and narrows down that topic to a more
specific aspectthe customs in the writer's country. The thesis staternent comes
at the end with the central idea being strange. Illustrations should appeax in the
1 ,
developrnental paragraphs.
Just how general should the introductory paragraph be? One way to avoid
beginning too general:1y or too far back is to have orle key word in the first
sentence reappear in the thesis statement, or if not tb.e word itself, a synonym
of the word or an idea. In the preceding paragraph, vsit echoes traveling and the
word country appears in the first and last sentences.

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Here is another example of this type of introduction, talcen from a popular

science magazine:
America is a throwaway society. From both industrial and municipal
sources, the United States generates about 10 billion metric tons of
salid waste per year. Every five years the average American discards,
directly and indirectly, an amount of waste equal in weight to the
Statue of Liberty. Municipal solid waste afane accounts for 140 million
metric tons per.
year. The municipal solid wasteproduced in this country
in just one day fills roughly 63,000 garbage trucks, which lined up end
to end would stretch 600 kilometers, the distance from San Francisco
to Los Angeles. The repercussions of our waste habits, however, stretch
to every city. Let us demonstrate by example.
Oleary, P. Walsh, and R. Ham, "Managing Solid Waste,"
Scientific American 6 (Dec. 1988): p. 36. Copyright 01988
by Scientific American, Inc. Ah l rights reserved.
EXERCISE 6,3 Study the following introductory paragraphs. Underline the word
or words that appear in the fu-st sentence and are restated in the thesis staternent
I. Computers are advanced machines that can store and recall information at
very high speed. Computers are easy and interesting to use; however, some
people are afraid of computers. 1 used to be afrid of computers, too, because
of the fear of fallare and because I knew nothing about programming. But
actually I have learned that the procedures of working on cornputers are very
easy.
ITader Alyousha
2. When we were very young, we believed that parents could do no wrong.
Indeed, they seemed to us to be perfect hurnan beings who knew all the
answers to our probIems and who couId solve any problems that we
However, as we grow older, we find that parents can make mistakes, too.
3. We live in an era where television s the national pastime. Since the invention
of the television set; people 'ha ve 'be en tperiding More of their 'free tinie
watching tele-vision than doing anything else. Many of the telestision addicts
feel that this particular pastime is not a bad one; indeed, they argue that
people can learn a great deal watching televisin. 1 am sure that if you
look long and hard enough, you can probably find some programs that are
educadonally rnotivating. But, for the most part, 1 say that watching television
is a waste of time.
Pamela Moran
4. Today's children are our future men and women. They will become the
dominara force one day. If they receive proper guidance and have a nice

94

Chapter o

_
_...

,..
,. .,
.-

5
..
-.
----,

Introduction to the Essay

111

childhood, they will contribute irnrneasurably to our society after they have
grown up. In other words, today's children are gong to have a significant
rnpact on our society in the future; therefore, parents should not neglect the
proper conditions that children need during their childhood.
Chun Lee
5. When we see a blind person nearing a street comer or a door, many times
we uy to help by opening the door or taking the person's arm and guiding
him. or her across the street, and while we do that, son-le of us talk to -the
blind person in a loud voice, as if the blind person is not only helpless but
also deaf. Rushing to help a blind person without asking if that person needs
help and speaking loudly are just two of the inappropriate ways peopie react
to blind people. If you want to help a blind person whorn you perceive as
in need of help, you should bear in rnind the following tips.
EXERC1SE 6.4 On pages 108-109 are the characteristics of a good introductory
paragraph. Usng those characteristics, evaluate the following introductory paragraphs. Does the paragraph introduce the topic? Does it indicate how the topic
is going to be developed? Does it contain a thesis staternent? Is t inviting? If one
or more of these are missing, write the missing element on seParate paper. Some
of the paragraphs n'ay be good introductor)' paragraphs.
1. We are all familiar with the image of the fat, jolly person, right? Unfortunately,
this is an inaccurate stereotype. Fat people are not always so happy.
2. "We are moving to the cityl" These are the words of many villagers today.
When they are asked to gve reasons for ther movement, they simply reply
that life in the city is more developed than that in the village. In the ay,
there are communication, transportation, education, and medical services.
Also there are more chances for jobs. 1 positively agree with these people,
but have these people thought about their lives and heahh? Have they thought
about the danger that rnight happen to their children? It mght not be during
the first six rnonths of living, but in the future when the city becomes more
inhabited by different people of different nationalities and when the streets
get aowded with_ cars. Although the village is lacicing some of the services
rnentioned aboye, it s still the best type of environment for me to live in.
Habeeb Al-Saeed
I would like to tell you about iny hometovm, Hlatikulu, Swaziland. It is a
3.
salan town of only 8,000 people. The main industries there are farming and
working for the government, since it is the capital of the southern reglan.
4. Last year, my cousin, Julio, went to a bank to apply for a job. As you know,
when you apply for a job, you must be ready to answer a Iot of ambilious
questions. Some of the questions that an interviewer n -lay ask you include:
educational background, previous jobs, and salaries you earned. The problem

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Unit Two

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with Julio was that he wasn't prepared for the questions. The interviewer
asked Julio a lot of tbings that he couldn't answer. Because Julio wasn't
prepared for the interview, he didn't get the job. If you do not want to be
in that situation, you rnay want tu follow these steps.
Mauricio Rodriguez
EXERCISE 6.5 Writing Assignment Following are six possible thesis statements. Por
each one, use one of the prewriting techniques given in Chapter 1 and generate
some information on the topic. Then choose the three topies you like best and
write introductory paragraphs.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.

My country has some of the most beautiful sights you will ever see.
Speaking more than one language is a great advantage.
The ABYS virus is a worldwide problem.
Watching television is not a waste of time.
I can suggest severa! improvernents needed at this school.
The New Year is one of the happiest occasions. (You may choose a favorite
holiday in your country.)

..

The Developmental Paragraphs

Developrnental paragraphs, which range in number in the typical student essay
from about tvvo to fa, are the heart of the essay, for their function is to explain,
illustrate, discuss, or prove the thesis statement. Keep in mind these points about
the developmental paragraphs:
1. Each developmental paragraph discusses one aspect of the main topic. If, for
example, you were asked to write a paper about the effects of smoking cigarettes
on a person's health, then each paragraph would have as its topic an effect.
The
controlling idea in the deveIopmentaI paragraph should echo the central
2.
idea in the thesis statement. If your thesis statement about the effects of
smoking cigarettes is Cigarette smoking is a destru.ctive babit," then the
controlling idea in each paragraph should have something to do with the
destructiveness of the effects.
3. The deveiopmental paragraphs should have coherence and unity. The order
of yo-ur paragraphs shouid not be random_ As you have seen in the last three
chapters, there are various ways to order the sentences in a paragraph; similarly,
there are various ways to order your paragraphs. The same principies apply
as you learned in Chapter 5, and additional strategies will be presented in
this chapter. Just as your sentences need to flow srnoothly, the train of thought
at the end of one paragraph should be picked -tip at the beginning of the next

96

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Chapter

introduction to the Essay

113

paragraph; this can be achieved through the use of transitions. Again, rnuch
attention will be devoted to transition use in this text.

Prewriting: Planning
la Chapter 2, you learned how to write a restricted topic sentence from your
prewriting notes. The same technique can be used to arrive at a thesis staternent;
you need simply to remember that the thesis statement is more general than a
topic sentence. After al)., each developmental paragraph does discuss an aspect of
the main topic expressed in the thesis statement. Once you have decided on your
thesis, yon need to break the thesis down logicaLly into topic& for your paragraphs.
These topics are, in essence, supporting points for your thesis. Let us say, for
example, that you wanted to write about the beautiful sights in your countryperhaps to persuade people to visit them or simply to inform your reader about
your country. Alter you have taken considerable notes on the topic, you might
come up with this thesis statement: "My country has some beautiful sghts." The
main topic of the essay is "sights rny cou.ntry" and the central idea is "be,autiful."
The main topic then needs to be broken clown hato topics for paragraphs, perhaps
two te four. Logically, the topics would be sights, with one sight perhaps discussed
per paragraph, and the controlling idea for each of these topics should be something akin te "beautful," such as "charming," "lovely," "enchanting," "glorious,"
and so on. We could illustrate this breakdown as follows for an essay about
beautiful sights in Mexico:

MEXICO HAS SOME BEAUTIFUL SIGHTS

beach at Progreso

Aztec Ruin

Monument

Just how yen break down your thesis hito tapies depends en your thesis statement.
There are several principies for logically breaking clown your thesis. You can.
bre,akit hato topics according to causes, effects (benefits, advantages, disadvantages,
results), steps in a process, types (kinds, categories, classes), exarnples, points of
comparison and contrast, and reasons; these are the basic principies, and those
that we will cover in depth in this text. 017e" way to break your thesis clown
logically [rito topics is to turn your thesis statement hito a question, keeping in
mind what your topic and central idea are. Th.e answers to ths question might
help you come up with possible topics for your developmental paragraphs; they
can also help you determine a strateg -y for organizing your essay. (These strategies,
or patterns of organization, are discussed in great detall in subsequent chapters.)
-

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Unit Two The Essay

Mere are some thesis statements and possible breakdowns into topics for the
developmental paragraphs:
1. Thesis Statement:
The village is -the best environment for me to live in.

Question:
What makes it a good environment?
Answers:
The cooperation a-mong people.
Its lack of pollution.
lis security.
The central idea in the thesis statement is best environmen4 so this is a logical
basis Tc:Fr the breakdown. Each paragraph would discuss a different elernent
of the environment that is attractive to the writer.
2. Thesis Statement:
In order to make a good impression at a job interview, you should prepare
well for the interview.
Question:
What should you do to prepare for the interview?

Answers:
Plan your answers to the possible questions.
Plan and prepare what you are going to Wear.
Make sure you arrive on time.

The central idea in the thesis is prepare well. Here the writer chose to break
clown the thesis into the steps of a process.
3. Thesis Statement:
Watching television is not a waste of time.
Question:
Why isn't it a waste of time?
Answers:
Because it is a valuable educational tool.
Because it helps us to relax.
Because it provides sOmething for our family to discuss.
With the central idea of not a waste of time, the writer's approach here is to
discuss the reasons tekvision s not a waste of timein other words, to
discuss the advantages of having televisiort. "

98

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In troduction to the Essay

115

4. Thesis Statement:
New York and Hong Kong are more alike than people think.
Question:
In what ways are they alike?
Answers:
They are both enormous.
They both have lots of different ethnic groups.
They are both port cities.
In this breakdo-wn, the writer selected points of sirnilarity to develop the
thesis.
5. Thesis Staternent:
Students should be allowed to manage the bookstore.
Question:
Why should they be allowed to manage it?
Answers:
Because it would benefit the students.
Because the bookstore would benefit_
Because the school would benefit.
In this essay, the student discusses the reasons for allowing students to manage
the bookstore, and in this case the reason,s are the benefits.
EXERC1SE 6.6 Following are thesis statements, each with two supporting topic
sentences. Study the thesis statements and their supporting topic sentences to
determine the Logic or -the principie behind the breakdown. Then fil in a topic
sentence for each.
1. Thesis Statement:
The city is the place for me to live.
Topic Sentences:
1. 1 hice its exciterrient.
2. I like the availability of resources.
3.
2. Thesis Statement:
Smoking cigarettes is harmful to your health.
Topic Sentences:
1. Heavy cigarette smoking can cause throat diseases.

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Unit Tm)

The Essay

2. Smoking can damage the lungs.

3.

3. Thesis Statement
Jogging isn't the only way to improve your circulation.
Topic Sentences:
1. Many have found cycling an excellent aerobic exercise.
2. Another way to irnprove your circulation is to swim.

3.
4. Thesis Statement:
A foreign student enrolled at an American university often finds that his
or her lite isn't such a happy one.
Topic Sentences:
1. The complex registration procedure is frustrating.
2. It iS difficiilt to make friends.
3.
5.

Thesis Statement
Talcing a foreign language should be required in high school.
Topic Sentences:
1. Students can learn about other cultures.
2. 1t can help in business in the ftiture.
3.

EXERCISE 67 Study the following thesis statements. On a separate sheet of paper,

brainstorm on two of them. Then write out at least three possible topic sentences
for the two thesis statements.
1. Lemming English isn't so easy.
2. My country has some of the rnost beautiful sights you will ever see.
3. Being unemployed can cause people to lose their self-respect.
4. You can see some unusual people on the bus.
5. Logging on to the computer is not a difficult taslc.
6. Students whose native language is not English may face many problems that
English speakers do not encounter.
7. People go to shopping centers for rnany reasons.
8. Athletic teams bring universales a number of advantages.

;.;

a.'

saegzaasa

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chapter

Introduction to the Essay

117

Read the following student essay about sights to see in Quebec, Canada. Try to
find th_e central idea for the essay; then try to and the controlling idea for eac.h
of the developmental paragraphs.

My Favorite Sights
world, there are always some beautiful sights
In each country in the
to see. They might be a rnonument, a garden, or a cathedral Every
country is proud of them, and everyone s interested in talking about
them. In my country, three important points of interest attract a great
number of tourists all year. No portrait of these sights is complete
without mentioning their historical and seasonal aspects. Because of
these aspects, Quebec is a place where you can find some of the most
interesting sights you will ever see.
Old Quebec City is the living witness of our history. The first example is the church Notre-Dame des Victoires. Located at the bottom of
Cap Damant, this church was the first one built in North America. It
commemorates the establishment of Quebec in 1608. It is a modest
and charming church, constructed of stones and dominated by a single
belfry from where you can still hear authentic chirnes ringng. Another
example is the Ramparts. Originaliy, they were long fortfications ahl
around the city with three main doors to enter in. Now, the three

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Unit Two

The Essay

doors are renovated and part of the fortifications is preserved, offering

a harmonious blend of history and innovation. Finally, the focal point
of Old Quebec City is the Plaines d'Abraham. It is a very large hin from
which we can have a scenic view of the Saint Lawrence River and
the &y. ft vvas on this site that our founders vvon many battles but,
unfortunately, lost the most important one. Nevertheless, the spot is
now a vvonclerful park where is still present with its many cannons,
a past which is not so far away. Regardless of the season, those three
points are colorful: red in auturnn, white in winter, light green in
spring, and dark green in summer.
From the Plaines d'Abraham, it is easy to discover the majestic
Saint Lawrence River. This beautiful broad river vvas the open door for
our founciers. Traveling in canoes, they established the first three cities
in the ramds draned by the Saint Lawrence: Quebec, Montreal, and
Tros-Rivires. They must have been irnpressed with the clear, sweet
water, the tree-studded islands, and the banks lined with pine and
hemlock. Today, the rver is an exceptional vvaterway extending 1,500
miles frito the interior. Like the Mississippi River, it is, in every season,
the location for great activities. Although the most important one is
commercial, pleasure and sport are considerable: for example, boating,
water-skiing, and fishing. These are particularly popular in summer.
Funthermore, even though there are 3 to 5 feet of ice on the river in
the winter, the Saint Lawrence is still navigable.
On the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River, five miles from
Quebec, the famous Montmorency Falfs are located. These beautiful
faffs were discovered by a French explorer in the sixteenth century.
About 350 feet high, and with frothing, foaming sheets of water, they
are the highest falls in North America. During the summer, it is popular
to go to one of the huge park areas neer the falls to admire their
cascades. At night it is possibie to hear and see a lovely sound and
light show. During the winter, the main activity is at the bottorn. The
small drops of vapor in the air farm a huye, round block of ice at the
bottom of the falls which becomes bigger and biggen This strange
sight draws a lot of children and adults who spend time climbing up
and down.
1s it possibfe to fiad a country where the beauty, the history, and
the variety in the scenery are combined in such perfect harmony? Of
course, our four seasons mean four different aspects of the same sight.
1 don't know if it is becauselam far from my country, but I am convinced
that Quebec has some of the most beaUtiful sights that 1 have ever
seen.
Louisette Caron

102

chaoter

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1. What is the main topic of the essay? what is the central idea?
2. What are the subtopics? What are the controlling ideas for the subtopics?
3. Are the paragraphs descriptive, narrative, or expository, or are they a
combination?
In general, interestingis considered rather vague and general for a controlling idea;
however, in "My Favorite Sights," Caron darifies what she means by interesting:
interesting for history and beauty during the sesons. In choosing interesting as
a controlling idea, restrict its meaning by clarifying what you mean by this word.
Sometimes the writer chooses to present part of the thesis statement in the
introduction and the rest of it later in the essay, often in the conclusion. This
apprach is useful when the wter wants to build up to a point rather than
stating it prematurely. The following essay is an example of this approach. The
writer gives a generalized thesis statement at the end of the introductory paragraph
and specifies what the generanzed thesis statement means in the conclusion. As
you read the essay, underline the two parts of the thesis statement.

,.

119

EXERCISE 6.8 On a separate sheet of paper, answer the following questions about
the preceding essay.

-:.

introduction to the Essay

Why Peopie Save Books

Many people who like to read also save the books they have read. if
you walk int() any horne, you are likely to see anywhere from a single
bookshelf to a whole library full of ah l kinds of books. [ know a family
whose library has shelves reachng up to their celling; they keep a
ladder for climbing up to the high books. Obviously, they have col-, lected books for many years and though they rarely actually open the
books again, they keep them on the shelves, dusted and lined up
neatly. Why do people save their books? There may be severa! reasons,
but three stand out.
One reason people save their books is to use thern as reference
materials. People whose job training included studying a lot of text
.

book material may save some of those books for future reference. A
doctor, for instance, may keep hs Gray's Anatomy and his pharmacology books; an English teacher will hold on to The Norton Anthology

of British Literature and other anthologies and novels for reference;

a lawyer usually keeps her case books. Binit isn't only the professionals
who save their books. People who like to cook keep recipe books.
Those interestecl in electronic equipment hold on to ther books about
.

stereos, computers, videotape m'achines, and the like. Many familes

keep encyclopedias and almanacs handy for their children to use for

school. Having your own reference book available s so much more

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Unit Two The Essay

convenient than running to the library every time you want to check
a fact.
Another reason some people save books Sto make a good impres-

sion. Some think that a library full of the literary classics, dictionaries,
and books about ad, science, and history mak them look well read and
therefore sophisticated. Of course, this irnpression may be inaccurate.
Some have never bothered to read the majority of those books at all!
In fact, a few people even have libraries with fake books. Also, some
people like to reveal to visitors their wide range of tastes and interests.
They can subtly reveal their interests in Peruvian ad, indian music,
philosophy, or animals without saying a word.
While some people may keep books for practica' reference and
for conveying an irnpression, I suspect that there is a deeper reason.
People-who enjoy reading have discovered the rnagic of books. Each
book, whether it's The Treastify of Houseplants or Murder on the

Orient Express,. has transported the reader to another place. Therefore,

each book really represents an experience from which the reader may
have grown or learned something. When 1 sit in my study, 1 am surrounded by my whole adult life. The Standard First Aid and Personal

Safety manual, in addition to provding information, reminds me of

the first-aid course 1 took and how more assured 1 felt as a resuit.
Bulfinch's Mythology brings the oral history of Western civilization to

,..

my fingertips, reminding me of my link with other times and people.

Of course, all of the novels have become part of the mosaic of my life.
.

In short, saving books makes me feel secure as 1 hold on to what they

have given me.
In fact, if you think about it, security is at the bottom of all these
reasons. It's a securefeeling to know you have inforrnation at hand when
you neecl it. There is a kind of security, even though it may be faise, in
knowing you make a good impression. Finally, books that you've read
and kept envelop you with a warm and cozy cloak of your life.

EXERC1SE 6.9 On a separate sheet of papel, answer' the following questions about
the preceding essay.
1. What is the main topic of the essay?
2. The generalized thesis can be stated as, "People save books for three

.
,

reasons."

What is the central idea about those reasons?

3. What are the subtopics (reasons)? What are the controlling ideas for the
subtopics?
4. What Idnd of paragraph is each developmental paragraph?
5. Identify specific details in each of the developmental paragraphs.

,
,

104

Chapter

Introcluction to the Essay

121

The Concrusion
Just as the introductory paragraph functions t open the essay discussion by
introducing the topic and the central idea (thesis), so the concluding paragraph
wraps up the discussion, bringing the development to a logical end. If the developmental paragraphs have done their jobthat is, developed the thesisthen the
conclusion should follow
But what does ene say in the conclusion? What is said depends entirely on
what was developed in the essay. However, there is a standard approach to writing
concluding paragra.phs. Here are some points about conclusions:
I. A conclusion can restate the main points (subtopics) discussed. This restaternent should be brief; after all, you have already discussed them at length.
2. A conclusion can restate the thess. Generally, t avoid sounding repetitious,
it is a good idea to restate the thesis in different words. The restatement of
the thesis is really a reassertion of its importance or validity.
3. A conclusion should not, however, bring up a new topic.
For example, an essay about the most interesting places to visit in Mexico could
condude as follows:
There are, of course, many more thingsto visit whi le you are in Mexico,
but the beach at Progreso, the Aztec ruin, and the famous rnonurnent
represent some of the more significant and beautiful sights to see.
When you go to Mexico, visit these sights and you will be guaranteed
a fond memory after you go home.
A concluding paragraph about allowing students t manage the bookstore might
look like this:
Providing jobs for students, jobs that would help cut the cost of managing the bookstore and providing on-the-job experience--which can
only enhance the university's reputation for gracluating knowledgeable students---are excellent reasons for allowing students to manage
the bookstore. In fact, it is amazing that such a system is not in practice
now.

EXERCISE 610 Reread the essay "My Favorite lights" by Louisette Caron on pages
117-118. Then answer the following questions en a separate sheet of paper.
I. Are the main points in Caron's essay mentioned in the conclusion?
2. If not, does the conclusion seem appropriate, an -yway? Why?
3. 1f yes, what are the main points she restates?

105

122

Unit Tuvo

The Essay

EXERCISE 6.11 Following are thesis statements, their supporting topic sentences,
and conclusions. Study each conclusion t determine if it logically concludes. If
the conclusion is not appropriate, write not good in the blank, and write the
reason it is not good in the space provided. If the condusion is appropriate,
simply write logicai in the blank.
1. Thesis Statement:
Watching television is not a waste of time.
a. It is a valuable educational tool.
b. It provides entertainment to help us relax.
c. It provides something our family can have in conamon to discuss.
Critics of television will continue t put down the "boob tu be." But,
beca us-e'bf its educational value, lis entertainment va be, and lis provision of things we can discuss together, our family is going t continue
watching television for a long time, and so should others. indeed,
watching television is a good way t spend one's time.

2. Thesis Statement:

Communicating in a foreign language can create some embarrassing misunderstandings.

a. Mispronouncing words can lead to real embarrassment.
b. Misunderstanding what sorneone saya t you can create amusing problems.
c. Misusing vocabulary words can really make you blush.
Everyone who speks a foreign language is bound to have misunderstandings from time to time. What you need to do is go to the laboratory as often as you can t improve your language skilis. The people
there are very nice, and they Will help you with your grarnmar and
pronunciation.

3. Thesis Statement:

Television commercials are entertaining.

a. The Coca-Cola commercial is a gOod example of an entertaining
comrnercial.

106

Chapter J Introduction to the Essay

123

b. The Chevrolet cornmercial is as good as any situation comedy.

c. The Fritos commercial is particularly a.musing.
1f you do not have a television, you are certainly missing out on the
fun of commercials. There are also a lot of entertainng programs to
see. In addition, the news programs can keep you informed about the
world. lndeed, everyone shoud have a television set.

4.

Thesis Statement:
My reasons for coming to State University center around the senrices it
provides.
a. State University offers a superior program in my major.
b. In addition, the university has high-quality academic resources.
c. State also offers quality student services.
d. The recreational activities make State even better.
The challenge of a dversified and excellent program, the academc
resources, the student services, the recreational activities, and the low
tuition are the reasons 1 decided to come to State University. 1 really
think 1 macre a wise decision. if you are looking for a quality education
at a reasonable price, then consider State as the place to enroll.

5. Thesis Statement:
In order to make a good impression at a job interview, you should prepare
well for the interview.
a. The first thing you should do is plan your answers to the possible questions
the interviewer might ask.
b. Then you should carefully plan and Nepare what you are going to wear.
c. Fnally you should make sure that you arrive on time.
As you can see, it is necessary to be well prepared for the job interview.
Having the answers ready, being properly clressed, and being on time
can ah l helio to make a good impression on the interviewer. 1f you

107

124

Unit Tvvo

The Essay

follow these steps, you vviii find yourself sitting behind the desk at
that coveted job in no time at all.

The Outline
Prewriting: Planning
Que way to determine if an essay is well orgnized and if the paragraphs discuss
the thesis staternent is to outline the essay. In Unit One, the paragraph outlines
were essentially topic sentences with the . supporting sentences written out on
separate linet In outlining an essay, however, you do not need to write out all
the sentences in the paragraphs. An outline is the skeleton of the essay; it is the
structure around which the details and expIanations are organized.
There are many ways to write outlines for essays. It is not necessary to follow
any strict outline form. For example, technically, in an outline if there is a "1"
there must be a "2," and if there is an "A" there rnust be a "B." When you are
asked to write formal outlines for formal papers, you should follow this rule; but
for most other purposes, an outline can be informal Here is a suggestion for an
outline form for plarming your essay:
Thesis Staternent:
Write out the thesis statement in a complete sentence.
L Write out the first developmental paragraph topic sentence.
A. Identify the support. This can be a detall or an idea that the paragraph
will discuss.
1. Mention any additional detall about "A."
2. 1f appropriate, mention another detall about "A."
B. If you have another detall or example you are going to discuss in this
paragraph, mention it here.
Wfite out die neX-t topic seten
Ce.
A. Support.
B. Support.
III. Write out the next topic sentence.
A. Support.
1. Detall if necessary.
B. Support.
A quick glance at such an outline should revea! if the paragraphs are unified and
coherent. Study the following outlin.e of Caron's essay:

108

Chapter introduction to the Essay

125

Thesis Statement:
Because of these aspects, Quebec s a place where you can find sorne of
the most interesting sights you will ever see.
L Old Quebec City s the living witness of our history.
A. Historical aspects.
1. Notre-Dame des - 7-ictoires.
2. Ramparts.
3. Plaines d'Abraham.
B. Seasonal aspectsbeautiful in all seasons.
II. From the Plaines d'Abraharn, it is easy to discover the majestic Saint Lawrence
River.
A. Historical aspe cts.
1. Open door for our founders who established cites.
2. Today, the river s an exceptional waterway.
B. Seasonal aspects.
1. The location for great activities in every season, particularly boatng,
water-skng, and fishing in surnmer.
2. The river is navigable in winter.
On the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River, five miles from Quebec, the
famous Montmorency Falls are located.
- A. Historien] aspects.
1. Discovered by a French explorer i_n the sixteenth ccntury.
2. Hghest falls in North America.
B. Seasonal aspects.
1. During the surnmer
a. Go to park to admire falls.
b. Sound and light show.
2. During the winter-play on the block of ice.
Supporting details can. be expressed in words or phrases in an outline,
EXEROSE 6.12 Reread "Why People Save Boolcs" on pages 119-120 and write an
outline usin

the fom.) giyen on page

EXERCISE 6.13 Following are some topics for your final essay. Using one of the
prewriting techniques you learned in Chapter 1, generate a great deal of material
en your chosen topic. Then find a central idea en whch to base your thesis
staternent and decide en supporting points. Write an informal outline and then
the first draft of your essay. Use the Revision Checldist at the end of the chap ter
te evaIuate your essay.
1. What are some noteworthy or interesting (unusual, beautiful, historically
significant) sights in your country or hometown?

109

126

Unit Twa

The Essay

2. What are some of the arcas where cornputers are being used? Write about
some of the uses of computers. Or, discuss another important invention, such
as satellites.
3. Write an essay explaining why you think people save books or some other
objects. Por example, many people save stamps, coins, dolls, even toys!
EXERCISE 6.14 Assigntnents from the Disciplines Following are sorne topics that are
typical of writing assignments in college-preparation or college success classes.
Choose one of the topics, then follow the directions for Exercise 643 to write
your answer.

.,

1. Colleges and universities require students to take liberal arts courses so that
graduates will have a basic understanding of disciplines other than the one
in which they major. Liberal arts courses also help students to develop a
better iaderstanding of how people think and cormnunicate. 1f you could
design the liberal arts requirements at your college, what would you indude?
Write an essay explaining your choices.
2. Time management s an important skill for college students to master. Write
an essay which outlines three or more techniques students can use lo effectively
manacroe their time.
3. .Almost everyone encounters obstacles which must be overcome to achieve a
goaL What is the biggest obstade which stands between you and your college
goals? Write an essay describing this obstacle and wha.t steps -you have taken
to overcome it.

'

Composition Skills

Revision
Peer Review
When you have finished writing the first draft of your essay, give a to a classmate
to read and review. Use the peer review cheddist in Appendix 1 to respond to
each other's drafts.

Revision Cheddist for the Parag,raph

Use these questions to help you to give suggestions to yOur peers and to revise
your essay.
1. Is your introduction inviting? Does it introduce the topic?
2. Does your essay have a olear thesis?
3. Do your topic sentences support the thesis?
4. Does the support in your paragraphs support the topic sentences?
5. Does your conclusion end the discussion logically?
6. Is your essay coherent? Unified?

110

..
.

f.

Theme

Goas

The Povver of Culture and

Language

Writing
To setect examples to support a thesis and use these examples to write an
essay
To understand how extended examples and numerous examples can
effectively support a thesis statement
To learn how to ayo& hasty generalizations
To use transitions between paragraphs
To use repetition of key words and phrases to increase coherence

Reading
To learn about and discuss examples of the power of cubre and language
in our lives
To identify examples in en essay and determine how they support a thesis

Gramanar
To review gerunds and infiniti ves and noun clauses

127

111

128

Una Two

The Essay

Getting Started
unid Writing: Choose one of the following two questions, and write about it
in your journal.
1. What are some exarnples of unacceptable behavior in your culture? In American culture? Have you ever experienced an uncomfortable situation because
sorneone from your culture r from mainstream American culture behaved
in an unacceptable way?
2. What aspects of your culture have been misunderstood by another culture?
What do people from this other culture need to know so that they can
unclerstand your culture better?
-

critr Video Activar, "The Lost Language of the juaneno Tribe"

.--,..a--

How cIosely are language and culture related? Is it possible to be

a part of a culture without knowing the language? In this video,
ot-Ialyou will see how the members of a tribe of Native Americans are
trying to learn a language that no one speaks. This is the language of their
ancestors, and many of them feel that it is important to try and bring this language
back tu life. As you watch the video, listen for answers to these questions:

..

1. How are these people trying tu learn the language? What materials are they
using? Who is their teacher?
2. Why did this language die out? Why didn't the people who knew the language
teach it to their children?
3. Why do these people feeI that it is important to learn this language, even
though none of their ancestors who once spoke it are alive any more?

..
..

Video F,ollow-up: Sharing Your own Experiences

Many languages and cultures have changed throughout the years, but these days,
because of TV and international travel, cultures seem to be changing faster. Think
about some element of your native culture or language that has been changing
or disappearing. Telt your class about it Are there any movements in your country
to revive this element of the culture or language? Do you think these movernents
will be successful?

Readino-b s:

The Power of Culture and Language

'

Both the culture we live in and the first language we learn to speak are powerful
forces in shaping our behavior and worldview. From thern we determine how to

..._

--,....._.......

___ .......

. ,

........

112

Chapter

The Example Essay

129

act in the world and how to make sense of it. Usually, we are unaware of the
power of language and culture until we experience firsthand a different culture
or learn to speak a different language. These activities heIp us t gain a perspective
on our own culture and to see some of its unspoken but powerful tules. They
also make us aware that, when two cultures meet, one culture can misunderstand
or misinterpret the other.
The two selections that follow use examples to show the power of culture
and language in our lives. As you read the essays, try tu answer these questions:

1. What ldnds of rules do we follow every day without thinking about them?
Do these rules help us to live in society or do they cause problems?
2. What problems can happen when two cultures have different ideas about
what kind of behaVior is acceptable? What can happen when mistranslations
of words and concepts occur?
1 How has y-our cuiture shaped your behavior?

Reading O
"How Unwritten Rifles Circumscribe Our Lives"
by Bob Greene

Bob Greene's newspaper columns and articles are collected in Johnny Deadline Reporten The Best of Bob Greene (1976) and American Beat (1983). in
the article reprinted here, Greene writes about the power of unwritten
cultural rifles in our lives. As you read the essay, consider these questions:
1. Are Greene's examples confirmed by your own experiences in American
culture?
Would
these same examples be true in your culture?
2.
3. Can you think of additional examples of unwritten cultural mies?
1 The restaurant was almost full. A steady hum of conversation hung over
the room; people spoke with each other and workecl on their meals.
2 Suddenly, from a fiable neer the center of the room, carne a screaming
voice:
3

very louffly

sucidenly

"Damn it, Sylvia . . . ."

The man was shouting at the top of his voice. His face was reddened,
and he yelled at the woman sitting opposite him for about 15 seconds. In the
crowded restaurant, it seemed like an hour. Ah l other conversation in the room
stopped, and everyOne looked at the man. He must have realized this, because
as abruptiy as he had started, he stopped; he lowered his voice and finished
whatever it was he had to say in a tone the rest of us could not hear.
4

113

130

Unit Two

The Essay

s It was standing precisely because it almost never happens; there are

no laws against such an outburst, and with the pressures of our modern world

surprising

you would alrnost expect to run into such a thing on a regular basis. But you
don't; as a matter of fact, when 1 thought about a 1 realized that it was the
seen

first time in my life 1 hacl witnessecl such a demcmsiretirm. in mil the mea! , 1

very loudiy

the top of his lungs.

have had in a the restaurants, 1 had never seen a person start screaming at
speak loudly

When you are eating among other people, you do not raise your voice

it is just an example of the unwritten rules we live by. When you consider it,
you recognize that those rules probably govem our lives en a more absoiute
basis than the ones you could find if you looked in the iawbooks. The customs
no organization
failing apart

that govern us are what make a civilization; there would be chaos without
ihern,

and yet for some reasoneven in the disintegrating society of

. 1982we bhey them.

How many times have you been stopped at a red light late at night?
7
.

You can see in all directions; there is no one else around no headlights, no
police car

police cruiser idling behind you. You are tired and you are in a hurry. But
you wait for the light to change. There is no one to catch you if you don't,
but you do it anyway. Is it for safety's sake?,No; you can see that there would
be no accident if you drove on. Is it to avoid getting arrested? No; you are
alone. But you sit and wait.
8 At mejor athletic events, it is not uncommon te find 80,000 or 90,000

grandstands, seating
area in sports arena

or 100,000 people stting in the stands. On the playing field are two dozen

ah togeti;er

the field en masse. But it never happens. Regardless of the emotion of the

athletes; maybe fewer. There are nowhere near enough security guards on
hand to keep the people from getting out of their seats and walking onto
contest, the spectators stay in their places, and the athletes are safe in their
pant of the arena. The invisible barrier always holds.
9 In restaurants and coffee shops, people pay their checks. A simple
enough concept. Yet it would be remarkably easy te wnder away frorn a
meal without paying at the end. Especially in these difficult economic times,
you might expect that to become a common form of cheating. It doesn't
happen very often. For whatever the unwritten rules of hurnan conduct are,

pay, do the right

thing

people automatically make good for their meals. They would no sooner walk
out on a check than start screaming.
lo Rest rooms are marked "Men" and "Women." Often there are long fines
at one or another of them, but males wait te enter their own washrooms,

egu aity
go against

and women te enter theirs. In an era of sexual egalitarianism, you would

expect irnpatient equality people to violate this rule on occasion; atter all,
there are private stens inside, and it would be less inconvenient to use them
than to wait. . . . It just isn't done. People obey the signs.
Even criminals obey the signs. I once covered a murder which centered
11

I,1,1,1.3

...

114

Chapter O The Example Essay

131

around that rule being broken. A man wanted to harm a wornanwhich

woman apparently didn't matter. So he did the simplest thing possible. He
went to a public park and walked rito a rest room marked "Women"the

surest place to find what he wanted. He found it. He attacked with a knife

the first woman to come in there. Her husband and young child waited outside,
usual, normal

and the man killed hen Such a crime is not comrnonplacef even in a world

badness, evil

grown accustomed to nastinessf Even the most evil elements of our sodety
generally obey the unspoken rule: 1f you are not a Woman, you do not go
past a cloor marked "Women."
12 1 know a man who, when he pulls his car up to a parking meter, will
put change in the meter even if there is time ieft on it. He regards it as
the right thing to do; he says he is not doing it just to extend the time
remainingeven if there is sufficient time on the meter to cover whatever
task he has to perforrn at the location, he will pay his own way. He believes
that you are supposed to purchase your own time; the feilow before you
purchased only his.

money left for waiter -7

or bartender,
gratuity

13
1 knew another man who stole tips at bars. lt was easy enough; when
the person sitting next to this man would depart for the evening and leave

some silver or a couple clollars for the bartender, this guy would wait until
he thought no one was looking and then sweep the money over in front of
Mm. The thing that made it unusual Es that 1 never knew anyone else who
good manners

even tried this; the rules of civility stated that you left someone else's tip on

conform, go along

the bar until it got to the bartender, and this man stood out because he
refused te cornply.
14

There are so many rules like these--rules we all obeythat we think

about them only when that rare person violates them. In the restaurant, after
outburst, angry
speech
feeling of uncertainty
..

the man had yelled "Damn it, Sylvia" and had then completed his short tirade,'

there was a tentative aura" arnong the other diners for half an hour after it
happened. They weren't sure what disturhed them about what they liad
witnessed; they knew, though, that it violated something very basic about
the way we were supposed to behave. And it bothered themwhich in itself
Es a hopeful sign that things, more often than not, are well.

EXERCISE 71 Comprehension/Discussion Questions

1. What is Greene's thesis in How Unwritten Rules Circumscribe Our Lives?
2. What are some of the examples he gives t& support it?
3. Are ali of his examples equally strong? Do any of them strike you as

unconvincing?
4. Why is it important that the laws discussed by the writer are unwritten? Do
you agree that these laws govern our lives more strongly than written ones?

115

132

Unit Tvvo

The Essay

5. Which of the Iaws given by the writer are true in your culture? Gve exarnples
to support your answer.
6. Can you give additional examples of unwritten laws in any culture?
7. In your view, which unwritten laws mentioned in the essay seem basic to life
in any civilized society and which seem relatively minar matters of form or
taste? Explain your answers.
8. Where does Greene first state Els thesis? Does"he state it again? If so, wh.ere?
Do you think his organization is effective?
Are
the author's examples selected from a broad enough range of experience
9.
to support his thesis effectvely?
10. Why are so many of Greene's exarnples exceptions, that is . examples of people
who do not follow the turwritten Iaws?
Internet AckVity: Composition Skills and the Internet

As the Internet has grown, an Internet culture has developed. When

you are sending e-mail or joining a newsgroup, you need to know
the "rules of the Internet" and the culture of the group you are
joining. The term "netiquette" has come to mean the "etiquette" or rules of the
Internet. To learn more about ths, do a keyword for "netiquette." Then, test
your knowledge of Internet culture by taking this "Netiquette quz" http://www.
albion.cominetiquette/netiquiz.html . Then, discuss ths question with your classmates: Why are the rules for appropriate behavior on the Internet often written
down so clearly? Why don't people usually write down the tules for cultural
behavior?
EXERCISE 7.2 Vocabufary Development The following idiomatic expressions are
used in Greene's essay. Study the sections of the reading in which the expressions
occur. From the context cines or surrounding information, determine the meaning
of each idiomatic expression. Then use each one in an original sentence.

1. at the top of his voice (par. 4)

2. at the top of his lungs (par. 5)
3. ral into (par. 5)
4. raise your voice (par. 6)

116

Chapter 47.

The Example Es.say

133

5. nowhere near enough (par. 8)

6. make good (par. 9)

Reedial
"Americanization Is Tough on Macho"
by Rase Del Castillo Guilbault
Rose Del Castillo Guilbault, born in Sonora, Mexico, is a syndicated writer
for Pacific News Service. in this essay, which first appeared in her column
for This World (1989), a weekly magazine of the San Francisco Chronide,
Guilbault gives an example of the power of language. She shows how a
particular Spansh word has come to have different meanings in di -Fferent
cultures. As you read this essay, consider these questions:
1. What are the various meanings for the word macho?
2. What examples does Guilbault use to make her point?
3. What is the problem with the American use of the word macho?

--,

the U.S./Mexican
border

What is macho? That depends which side of the border you come from.
2 AlthOugh its not unusual for words and expressions to lose their subtlety
in translation, the negative connotations* of macho in this country are trouble-

Americans of Spansh

some to Hispanics.

descent

Take the newspaper descriptions of alleged mass murderer Rarnon Saf-

cido. That an insensitive, insanely jealous, hard-drinking, violent Latin alele is

referrecl to as macho makes Hispanics cringe.
4

a man they respect. But in the United States, when women say, "He's so

,---..

macho," it's with disdain.

s

"Es muy macho," the women in my family nod approvngly, describing

The Hispanic macho ismanly, responsible, ha rdworking, a man in charge,

sooken by European
Jews

a patriarch. A man who expresses strength through silence. What the Yiddish
language would cali a mensch.

bel leves he is superior

to wornen

6 The American macho is a chauvinist,' a brute, uncouth, selfish, loud,

abrasiver capable of inflicting pain, and sexually promiscuous.

unfaithful, has rnany

wornen
the most perfect

Quintessential macho models in this country are Sylvester Stallone,

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Charles Bronson. In their movies, they exude

*See elcplamaion of connotationIdenotation in Exercise 7-4.

117

134

Unit Two

The Essay

uncertainties
chopped

unimportant

carne back to hurt

him

made fun of

was promiscuous

are promiscuous

toughness, independence, rnasculinity. But a closer look revealstheir machismo

is really violente masquerading as courage, sullenness disguised as silente and
irresponsibility camoufiaged as independence.
a If the Hispanic ideal of macho were translated to American screen roles,
they rnight be Jimmy Stewart, Sean Connery and Laurence Olivier.
9
In Spanish, macho ennobles Latn males. in Engfish it devalues them. This
pattern seems consistent with the conflicts ethnic minority males experience in
this country. Typically the cultural tralts other societies value clon't translate
as desirable characteristics in America.
10
I watched my own father struggle with these cultural ambiguities. He
worked on a farm for twenty years. He raid down miles of irrigation pipe,
carefully plowed long, neat rows in fields, hacked away at recalcitrant weeds
and drove tractors through whirlpools of dust. He storcally worked twentyhour days- during harvest season, accepting the long hours as part of agriculturat work. When the boss complained or upbraicled hirn for minor mistakes,
he kept quiet even when it was obvious the boss had erred.
1
li
He handled the most menial tasks with pride. At home he was a good
provider, helped out my mothers family in Mexico without complaint, and
was indulgent with me. Arguments between my mother and him generally .
had to do with money, or with his stubborn reluctante to share his troubles.

He tried to work them out in his own silente. He didn't want to troubfe my
mothera course that backfired, because the imagined is always worse than
,
the reality.
iz Americans regarded my father as decidedly un-macho. His character
was interpreted as nonassertive, his royalty non-ambition, and his quetness,
ignorante. i once overheard the boss's son brame him for plowing crooked
rows in a field. My father merely smiled at the he, knowing the boy had done
it, but didn't refute it, confident his good work was well known. But the boss
ins-tead ridiculed him.for being "stupid" and letting a kid get away with a
He. Seeing my embarrassment my father dismissed the incident, saying,
"They're the dumb ones. Imagine, me fighting with a kid."
13
I tried not to look at him with American eyes because sometimes the
- reflection hurt.
.-.
14
Listening to my aunts" cfucks of approval, my vison focused on the
qualities America overrooked. "He's such a hard worker. So serious, so responsble." My aunts would secretry compliment my mother. The unspoken comparison was that he was not like some of their husbands, who clrank and
,
womanized. My uncles represented the darker side of macho.
is In a patriarchal society, few challenge their roles. If men drink, its
because its the manly thing to do. lf they gamble, its because it's how men
relax. And if they fool around, well, it's because a man simply can't hold back
so much man! My aunts didn't exactly meekly sit back, but they put up with
these transgressions because Mexican society dictated this was their lot in rife.

..

,---

L-

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....,

.,..,

118

chapter 61 The Example Essay

135

16 In the United States, I believe it was the feminist rnovement of the early
'70s that changed macho's meaning. Perhaps my generation of Latin women
was in part responsible. 1 recall Chicanas complaining about the chauvinistic
nature of Latin men and the notion they wanted their women barefoot,
pregnant and in the kitchen.* The generalization that Latin men embodied
chauvinistic traits led to this interesting twist in semantics. Suddenly a word
that represented something postive in one culture became a negative prototype in another.
17 The problem with the use of macho toclay is that it's become a n accepted
stereotype of the Latin mere. And like all stereotypes, it distorts truth.
18 The impact of language in our society is uncleniable. And the misuse
of macho hints at a cleeper cultural misunderstanding that extends beyond
mere word definitions.

latin \Nomen

word meaffings

-.

EXERGSE 7.3 Comprehension/Discussion Questions

1. Vqhat is the thesis of Guilbault's essay?

2. What is the meaning of the word macho te Hispanics? To Americans?
3. What people are given as examples of the American meaning? How do these
examples support Guilbault's defmition of the Arnerican meaning of macho?
4. What people are given as examples of the Hispanic meaning? How do these
exarnples support Guilbaules defmition of the Hispanic meaning of the word?
5. Guilbault includes a discussion and examples of "the darker side of macho."
What does this phrase mean? Who are the examples of it?
6. Does including the section on the darker side of macho strengthen or weaken
her main point? How?
7. Guilbault says that the rnisuse of -the word macho stereotypes Latin males.
What does she mean?
8. In paragraph 9, Guilbault says, "Typically the cultural traits other societies
value don't translate as desirable characteristics in America." Do you agree?
Be prepared to support your answer with examples.
9. Can you think of a word, phrase, or concept from your language/culture
that changed in meaning when incorporated into another language/culture?

Explain the various meanings of the word.

EXERCISE 7,4 Vocabulary Development

Words have both connotations and denota-tions. Connotations are the implications, suggestions, or emotional associations
of words from the point of view of the speaker. These associations can be favorable

barefoot, pregnant and in the kitchena phrase used to suggest that women should be dependen t on men
and fulfdi only their traditional role of mother and housewife.

119

136

unit Two

The Essay

or unfavorable. For example, the word horne tends to have favorable cormotations,
suggesting warmth, love, and family. The word shack, while still a place to live,
has negative connotations, suggesting dirt and poverty.
Denotations are the established, or dictionary, meanings of words. They do
not imply or suggest favorable or unfavorable meanings. In contrast to home and
shack, the word ha use is denotative. It means a dwelling place and does not suggest
arrything more.
In Guilhauit's essay, she investigates the positive and negative connotations
of the word macho. To describe men, she uses a number of other words that
have connotations. Phrases and sentences from her essay are listed below. For
each italicized word, determine if, in this context, the word is used with positive
connotations, negative connotations, or simple denotation. Mark your choice in
the space provided.
CONNOTATION
DENOTATION POSITIVE NEGATIVE
1. hard-drinking, -violent Latin
male (par. 3)

2. manly, responsible, hardworking (par. 5)

3. uncouth, selfish, load (par. 6)
4_ selfish, loud, abrasive (par. 6)
5. sullenness disguised as
silence (par. 7)
6. translated to American
screen roles (par. 8)

7. he stoically worked twentyhour days (par. 10)

8. accepting the long hours
(par. 10)

9. he kept quiet (par. 10)

10. his character was interpreted
as nonassertive (par. 12)
11. my vision focused (par. 14)

12. who drank and wornanized

(par. 14)

120

Chapter

The Example Essay

137

Writing
The way you develop your topic depends on what the topic is and ol what you
want to say. Let us suppose, for example, that you are asked to write about the
difficulties of being a foreign student. How could you develop this topic? You
wo-uld probably want tu develop it with examples that illustrate the difficulties.
Could you adequately cover this topic in a single paragraph? Probably not. The
topic is simply too broad. You will need tu write a longer essay to cover this
topic adequately. How tu organize and develop the examples for such a topic in
the multiparagraph essay is the focus of this chapter.

Number of Examples

-,
,
^

Just how many examples you use in an example essay depends on the topic. Some
topics require numerous examples, whereas others can be effectvely developed
with three or four extended examples (illustrations). Por instance, the thesis
staternent "San Francisco has some of the most unusual sights in California"
does not coEamit the writer tu giving nurnerous examples; after all, the daim is
only that this city has "some" unusual sights, Therefore, three or four extended
examples should suffice. As you read the following essay about a student's first
year in the United States, determine if the -writer provides enough examples.

Arnericans Are Filendly to Strangers

,-,

carne to the United States Orle year ago and I had no idea about life

in the United States and American traditions, except that life was
complicated and people are strange. At the time 1 arrived at J.F. Ken-

--.

nedy airport, I felt very happy because I am fond of traveling around

the word. Coming tu America had been une of my dreams, so I could
go to Jamaica or any island in the Caribbean. A few minutes later,

however, 1 felt afraid. I asked myself why 1 had come to this strange
world and what I was doing here. The reason for that was what I

..---.

rernernbered my friends in Saud Arabia saying about Americans and

how they treat strangers. After 1 attencled college, however, 1 discov-

---,

ered the opposite of what I had expected.

Even though American social relations are complex, hard to form,
.b
and hard to maintain, 1 managed to bridge the gap, and 1 was able

tu have close friendships with some Americans. For example, the first
semester I atended coliege, I became friends with one of the American
students who used to attend math class with me. We used tu study
together, go to parties together, and he used tu help me a lot with

121

: 1.
138

Unit Two

The Essay
4,

my English. Even though he transferred to another university, we always keep in touch with each other. From my experience, 1 have come
to understand that Americans are generally verbal and long, silent

,-....,

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a;

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...,

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periods are uncomfortable to them. So, when 1 sit with Americans,

start a conversation vvith thern by talking about the weather, sports,

..,

or about teachers' skills in the classroom. 1 think conversations make

a friendly atmosphere among peoPle.
The second example that proved to me that 1 hacl the wrong idea
about Americans was when my wife and 1 drove across the country
from New Orleans to San Diego. When 1 told my friends that my wife
and 1 were going to drive across the United States and if they wanted
to they could jo in us, they said, "It is dangerousto drive across America.
You might get killed by one of the truck drivers or get robbed." How-

'...,

`.......

'<...

ever, Welkclidn't pay attention to them because we wanted to find out

what America is really like and how people treat strangers.
On the way from San Antonio to El Paso, our car stopped because

..* '

,'

,...

it ran out of fuel. We got out of the car and waited for anyone to

..

give us a ride. Ten mlnutes later, a truck driver pulfed off the road. 1
approached him carefully and 1 asked him, "Could you please give us

,_,

k
. ,..

a ride to the nearest gas station?" He asked me why. 1 said, "Our car

`....,'

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f
-

ran out of gas and we have to get some." He said, "The nearest station

...k.

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is thirty-five miles away and you might not find anyone who can drive

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you backto your car."Then he carne up with a solutionto our problem.

.-

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:.,..'-,

He towed our car to the nearest station. When we reached it, 1 took
a fifty donar bill frorn my pocket and handed it to him, but he wouldn't
accept it. He told me that he hefped me because we needed help.
In general, Arnericans are friendly to strangers. From my experi-

- '.:,: :.' (-

ente, a person who treats people well will put them in a postion

kc.*

.....

where they have to respect him in return, but if he treats them badly

. 1,-.:,.

they will treat him in the same way. Human beings are born with a
good nature and they will not behave badil/ unless they are forced

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1.

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to. 1 think a person should judge people by dealing with them, not

by listening to his frends.

der Alyousha

EXERCISE 7.5 On a separate sheet of paper, answer the following questions about
the preceding essay.

.;
:

1. What is the thesis statement? What is the central idea?

2. How rnany examples does the writer give? Are the examples explained
adequately?
3. Are there enough exarnples?

. . .__.

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122

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Chapter

The Exaraple Essay

139

4. Are the examples relevant?

5. Are the paragraphs coherent and unified?
6. How are the paragraphs organized?
An outline of Nader Alyousha's essay might look like this:
Thesis Statement: Arnericans are friendly to strangers.
I. I was able to have close friendships with some Americans.
A. One example is a student in my madi class during my first semester.
1. We studied together.
2. We went to parties together.
3. He helped me with my English.
4. We still keep in touch.
B. 1 begin fi-iendships by starting a conversation about
1. The weather.
2. Sports.
3. Teachers' skills in the classroom.
II. I had the wrong idea about Arnericans.
A. An example is our trip across the country.
1. My friends said it was dangerous.
2_ When we.ran out of gas, a stranger helped us.
a. He towed our car.
b. He wouldn't accept any money.
Condusion: People will treat you well if you treat them well.
Some topics require numerous examples for adequate development. Por instance,
suppose the thesis statement is "Our city streets are in terrible condition." Would
three extended examples of streets iii bad condition be suffic -ient to develop this
thesis statement? Probably not. Asserting that allor even most--of the city
streets are in terrible condition based on only three or four exarnples would be
rather unwise; after all, a city has many streets and, in this case, most of them
may in fact be .in .good condition. A.generalization such as "Our city streets are
in terrible condition" based on an insufficient number of examples is called a
hasty generalization; in other words, it is a generalization made too hasfily before
examining enough evidence. Making such a generalization without giving sufficient examples for support sacrifices credibilify with the reader_ In short, thesis
statements that state or imply "most" or "ah" may need numerous examples for
adequate support; thesis statements that are more moderate, stating or implying
`some" or "a few," can often be supported with fewer, but more developed,
examples.

123

140

Unit Two

The Essay

Choice of Examples
Since an example is a "representative member" of a class or category, the examples
you use to develop the thesis statement should be representative examples, exampies that fairly support the thesis. Let's say, for instance, that you were writing
an essay about the items found in mail-order catalogs, and in platming the essay
you noticed that there were many iteras that were ridiculous. So, you might have
arrived at the thesis statement, "Many items offered in maii-order catalogs are
just superfluous, absurd lf you used for your examples only items of
one type, such as toys, clearly the examples would be unfairly chosennot
representative of most of the items offered in these catalogs. To be fair and
effective, the examples should be from a range of arcas. Study the following essay
to determine if the examples are sufficient in nurnber and if they are fairly criasen.

Useless Trifi es
For many years, people living in remote arcas relied on the Sears or
Montgomery Ward's catalogs to purchase the necessities of lfe. These
"wish books," as they were often called, heiped peopie to mprove
the quality of their lives. Nowadays, nearly every household in the
country receives a barrage of various catalogs selling everything from
electric golf carts to padded coat hangers. The descriptions of these
items suggest that they, too, will help improve the quality of our lives
by providing convenience, comfort, and/or shortcuts to improve our
appearance. But so often, these items are just superfluous, absurd
trifles.
Whoever does the cooking has a great deal of work to do, and
anything to ease that workload is certainly appreciated by any bornemaker. Unfortunately, some of these clever items that claim to save
time might actually end up making us waste time. Take, for example,
devices to save time cutting. A specially designed cutter vvill sice six
pieces of pie at the same time, each plece the same size. Another
_ device cuts an apple in thin slices and removes the core all in one
shot. Still another removes the corn from the cob, easily and quickly.
Although thesedevices may save time in the actual cutting, just think
of how much time the person lost trying to fiad the device in the first
place and then cleaning it up afterward! The same problem applies
to a hand-sized electric drink mixer. lt might save the host or hostess
some muscle, but not aggravation when he or she finds the batteries
are dead and there are none in the house.
Certainly anyone would also appreciate items that make our lives

124

The Example Essay

Chapter 4

141

more comfortable, but some of the items for the bathroom border on
the absurd. For about $8 you can buy an inflatable pillow to rest
against in the bathtub. (Its held secure by suction cups.) An inch-thick

:
.

foam rubber pad will cushion you from the hard bottom of the tub
as you bathe. Of course, if it gets mildew on it, it might be better
located in the trash can. Finally, you can sit in comfort on the toilet

on a plush toilet seat cover and listen to music from a radio built int()
a toilet paper container.
Comfort and convenience are carried to extremes in the arca of
personal care. Without any real effort at all, or so the ads in these

catalogs clairn, you can go to bed and wake up feel-ing and looking
better. Atter taking special pills to melt away excess pounds, you can
crawl lato your bed and let t message you alt night long. (A curous
electric device makes the bed vibrate.) In addition, you can rest your
head on a wedge-shaped pillow that is supposed to help you sleep
better. To protect your hairstyle while you sleep, you can don a special
cap. To keep your chin from sagging, you can wrap a band around
your face, under your chin, and up over the front part of your heari
to prevent your eyes from getting puffy, all you need to do is

slip on a water-filled face mask_ Of course, if you wake up to find your

mate gone, do not be surprised!
All of these iterns, whether they are designed to help us in the
kitchen, comfort us in the bathroom, or improve the way we look and
feel, are for the most part unnecessary. Rather than improve the quality
of our lives, such items detract from t by wasting our time and money
and cluttering up our cupboards and closets. And cluttering up our
coffee tables and end tables are those stacks of catalogs offering more
such useless trif les.
.
----,

EXERCISE 7.6 On a separate sheet of paper, answer the following questions about
.

the preceding essay:

,.

1. What is the thesis statement? The central idea?

2. What are the topic sentences? The controlling ideas?
3. Does each of the paragraphs develop an aspect of the thesis statement?

--.
.
_
--.

,
.1
'
.1
:

,
---...

4. Are there enough examples in tht -essay? Are the examples representatve?

5. What is the principie of organization of the paragraphs? Why, for example,

does the writer discuss iteras for personal care last?

,,

6. Is the condusion logical?

7. Make an outline of this essay.

125

r.il
:4.. r. . .

--

' ,

142

un it Tvlio The

Essay

'. ;,.;:,

EXERCISE 7.7 Following is information on the dumping of hazardous chernical

wastes in the United States.*
Read the thesis sentence and the examples in the list. On the une next to
each example, identify whether the example is complete, incornplete, or not- an
example.

17- -'.

: :. . .

Thesis:
Dangerous chemical substances arepolluting our water supplies.
1. Pine Barrens, New Jersey-135-acre Jackson Township Dump. One
hundred wells poisoned by chemicals from dump, causing kidney probIerns: One man had one kidney removed. His daughter died of kidney
cancer when nine months old.

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. . _.

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II. (..

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_ 2.

nizabeth, New Jersey-50,000 barreis of hazardous chemicals exploded

in abandoned dump and spread toxic fumes.

_ 3.

Love Canal, New Yorklandfill area. Chemicals were dumped in landfill. Contamination seeped into water supply. Twelve hundred houses
and a school nearby. High incidence of cancer, birth defects, and respiratory and neuroIogical problema.
4.

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The United States generates about 77 billn pounds of hazardous waste

per yearmuch of it is durnped indiscriminately.

. ._.--

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5. Massachusetts-22 towns have contaminated water supplies.

41.-...

6. Michigan-300 places where wastes have polluted ground water.

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7. Carlstadt, New JerseyPire in paint factory spread smoke and fumes

over city. Citzens ternporarily evacuated.

,;. -,,,..i..,

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_ 8. PennsylvaniaWastes poured in abandoned mine shafts and tunnels

in hills aboye Susquehanna River. Seeped into river, which is the water
supply for a number of towns.

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9. KentCkY2LOutSide . Daniel Brie Natinl Forest, 200 Containers

Ioaded with dangerous solvents were dumped without permission.

. '

10. Now substances that are very dangerous are beginning to show up in
our water supply.

1 11J:7.7
'----'

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11. Charles City, IowaDeep wells 30-40 miles downstream from chemical
dump are contaminated.

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*Information from Ed Magnuson, "The Poisoning of America," Time, 22 Sept. 1980, pp. 58-69.

126

_
,

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5,--7
>

Chapter ei

The Example Essay

EXERCISE 78 Writing Assignment

143

Choose one of the following writing topics. Before you begin planning and drafting your essay, use one of the prewriting
techniques you learned in Chapter 1 to generate ideas about your topic. Alter
gathering ideas, focus on a controlling idea and thesis staternent. Next, choose
:
: , examples to support your thesis. Make a brief plan for the essay. Write the essay.
1. Review the essay "Americans Are Friendly to Strangers" on pages 137-138.
Write an essay about the Arnericans you encountered when you first carne
..,,
to this country. Were they friendly or not? Give examples to support your
thesis.
2. On page 139 s a suggested thesis, "Our city streets are in terrible condition."
Using this as your thesis, write an essay about the streets in the city where
you live. If you think something eise needs improvement, write an essay
. giving examples to illustrate your thesis. You could choose the food in the
cafetera, the buildings on campus, or even some aspect or item in your
neighborhood or your country.
3. Do you or your family get m1-order catalogs? Write an essay about the
items in diese catalogs that you find particularly interesting. Review the essay
,
on pages 140-141.
.

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-.
-

,-.

,.--,

Composition Skills

--,

Coherence
Organizafion of Examples
The examples and details in an expository paragraph can be organized according
to time, familiarity, and importance. In an example essay, the principle of organizadon is essentially the same. Por example, the author of the essay about friendly
Ainericans chose to organize his exampIes according to both time and importance,
whereas the writer of "Useless Trifles" chose to begin with the least interesting
examples and end with the most interesting onesthose that are personal.
-,
_

....
_
......,

----\
-.

'
1.
:

Transifions Between Paragraphs

Devdopmental paragraphs in .the .example essa.y must be connected so that they
flow smoothly. just because a pragraph introduces an additional aspect of the
topic does not mean that the shift from one topic to -the next should be abrupt;
indeed, the shift should be smooth so that /he reader understands clearly the
..
progresson of tbought. Remernber, just as a paragraph is incoherent if the sentences can be switched around without significant change in meaning, an essay
is incoherent if the paragraphs can he switched around without significant change.
There are two ways to connect the paragraphs in an essay: (1) with transitional
expressions and (2) with the repettion of key words and phrases. .

127

,.
144

Unit Two

The asay

Transitions to Introduce Examples

In the first developmental paragraph of an example essay, there are severa! phrases
that can be used to introduce the first example or group of examples:

.
.-

Take, for example, this topic.

One example of a person who is kind is my neighbor.
One arca of town where there are exarnples of improvernent is uptown.
,

First, consider the case of Mr. Martinez.

To begin (To begin with), consider my roommate.
In the seolid developmental paragraph, the examples can be introduced in a
variety of ways:
Another example of a good teacher is Mrs. Hahn.
An additional example is Mn Ming.
Second, consider Mr. Jones.
-,,

Next, consider Ms. Evans.

In the last developmental paragraph, you can use the same tpe of transitions as
aboye, but in an example paragraph that introduces the most important or most
significant example, you should indicate its irnportance in the beginning of the
paragraph:
Still another example of a good teacher is Ms. Lin.

:Third, consider Main Street.

Finally, there is the problem of ah poilution.
.

The most important example of a helpful person is my advisor.

The most significant (interesting) example of air pollution is provided by Los

Angeles.
To see how these types of transitions can be used to connect paragraphs, study
the following essay.

128

,.

Ch pte r O . The Example Essay

Words That Carnouflage

Peopie use words, of course, to express their thoughts and feelings.
And as everyone knows who has tried to write, choosing just the right
word to express an idea can be difficult. Neverthefess, it is important
to choose words carefully, for words can suggest meanings not intended at ah; words can .. also be used to deceive. In order to express
ourselves accurately and to understand what other peopie express,
we must be aware that words can camoufrage real attitudes; English
is full of examples.
Take, f_ r instance, the language of advertising. Advertisers obviously want to emphasize the virtues of their products and detract
from the products' faults. To do this, they use carefully chosen words
designed to mislead the unwary customer. Carl P. Wrighter in his book

1 Can Se!! You Anything has dubbed these expressions "weasel words,"
which the dictionary defines as words "used in arder to evade or
retreat from a director forthright statement or position."*
et's say, for example, that the advertiser wants you to think that
using his product will require no work or trouble. He cannot state
that the procluct will be trouble free bewuse there is usually no such
guarantee; instead, he suggests it by using the expression "virtually,"
as in this product is "virtuaiiy trouble free." The careless listener will
ignore the qualifier "virtually" and imagine that the product is no
Webstor's infew Collegiate Dictionary (Springfield. GacC Merriam Company, 1973), p. 1327.

129

145

146

Una Two

Tire Essay

troubfe at all. A.nother misleading expression is "up to." During a

sale a car dealer may advertise reductions of "up to 25 percent." Our
inclination again is to ignore "up to" and think that rnost of the
reductions are 25 percent, but too often we find that only a few
products are reduced this mtich. The other day 1 saw a sign on a shoe
store advertising "up to 40 percent off" for athietic shoes. Needing
some walking shoes and wanting a good bargain, 1 went in, only to
find that there were only a few shoes marked down by 40 percent;
most of the shoes weren't even on sale.
A second example of words that camouflage meaning is euphemisms. A euphemism is defned as "the substituton of an agreeable or
inoffensive expression for one that may offend or suggest somethng
u npleasant."*
We,often use euphernisms when our intentions are good. For instance, it is difficult to accept that someone we love has ded, so people
use ah l kinds of euphemisms for death such as "She passed away," "He's
gone to meet his maker," or "She is no longer with us." To defend
against the pain of such a reality some use the humorous euphemism,
"Ele's kicked the bucket." To make certa in jobs sound less unappealing,
people use euphemisms. A janitor is now a "custodial worker" or "maintenance person." A trash rnan may be called a "santation engineer."
Such euphemisms are not harmful, but sometimes euphemisms can be
used to camouflage potentially controversialor objectionable actions.
For example, instead of saying we need to raise taxes, a politician
might say we need "revenue enhancement measures." When psychologists kifi an animal they have experimented with, they prefer to use
the term "sacrifice" the animal. Doctors prefer "termnate a pregnancy"
to "abort the fetus."
A final example of language that conveys unintended impressions
is sexist language.
Sexist language refers to expressions that demean
_
females in sorne way. For instance, when someone refers to a grown
wornan as a "girl," the implication is that she s still a child. Therefore,
instead of an employer saying, "l'II have rny girl type that,' what
should be said is, "I'll have my assistant (or secretary) type that." Other
offensive expressions include "young thing," as in, "She's a cute young
thing." The proper tem, "girl," should be used in this case, since the
"thing" is a young female. Further, the names of many jobs suggest
women should not fill these p -Ositions. Thus, we use "chair" or "chairperson" instead of the sexist "chairman." Likewise, a "foreman" should
be canee{ a "supervisor."
* Webster's hrew Collegiate Dictionary (Springfield: G&C Merriam Company, 1973), p. 394.

130

Chapter O

The Example Essay

147

We must always be careful to choose the words that convey what

we really mean. If we do not want to give offense, then we should
always be on guard against sexist (as well as racist) language. If we
do not want to be misled by advertisements, we must keep our ears
open for weasel words. Finally, when we use a euphemism, we should
be aware that we are trying to make an idea more acceptable. At
times this may be preferable, but let's not forget that euphemisms
camouffage reality. Afiter ah, "coforing the truth" is still lying.
EXERCISE 79 On a separate sheet of paper, answer the following questions about
the preceding essay.
1. What is the thesis of this essay?
2. What is the principie of organization of the paragraphs?
3. How many examples does the writer discuss? Are there enough exarnples?
4. Outline this essay.
Repetidor! of Key Words and Phrases
The standard transitional expressions are useful for malcing paragraphs connect
logically; however, these phrases used ah of the time can become mechanical and
repetitious. Por variety and for even more smoothness, pick up a key idea, word,
or phrase from one paragraph and use it in the sentence introducing the next
paragraph.
EXERCISE 7.10 Refer back to the reading "Words That Camouflage" on pages
145-147, and underline the original transitional phrases which start paragraphs
2, 3, and 4 in this essay. Then replace the original phrases that you underlined
with the revised transitional phrases provided.

Pa.ragraph 2:
Original transitional phrase:
Take, for instance, the language of advertising.
Revised transition.al phrase:
Experts at camouflage are those in advertising.
Paragraph 3:

Original transitional phrase:

A second example of words that camouflage meaning is euphernisrns.
Revised transitional phrase:
just as "weasel words" are used to engender favorable impressions, so are
euphernisms.

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148

Una Two

The Essay
Paragraph 4:
Original transitional phrase:
A final example of language that conveys unintended impressions is serist
language.
.
Revised transitional phrase:
What many find objectionable today is se3dst language.
Although "Words That Camoufiage" is coherent without revising the transitional
phrases, the revised version flows more smoothly because the transitions are more

,.

subtle. A variety of transitions reduces monotony.

Observe how the writers of the essays in Chapters 6 and 7 use transitions

,.

between paragraphs:

From, "Why People Save Books"

Another reason some people save books is to rnake a good impression.
Some think that a library full of the literary classics, dictionaries,.and
books about art, science, and history make them look well read and
therefore sophisticated. Of course, this impression may be inaccurate.

Some have never bothered to read the majority of those books at alli
in fact, a few people even have lbraries vvith fake books. Also, some
people Ilke to reveal to visitors their wide range of testes and interests.

They can subtly revea] their interests in Peruvian art, Indian music,
philosophy, or animals, vvithout saying a word.
While some people may keep books for practica! reference and
for conveying an impression, I suspect that there is a deeper reason.

FF0111

"My Favorite SIghts'

From the Plaines d'Abraham, it is easy to discover the majestic Saint

Lawrence River. This beautiful broad river was the open door for our
founders. Traveling in canoes, they established the first three cities in
the lands drainecl by the Saint Lavvrence: Quebec, Montreal, and Trois-

Rivires. They must have been impressed with the clear, sweet water,
l'

the tree-studded islands, and the banks I ined with pine and hemlockToday, the river is an exceptional waterway extending 1,500 miles into
the interior. Li ke the Mississippi River, it is, in every season, the location
for great activities. Although the most important one is commercial,

pleasure and sport are considerable: for example, boating, waterskiing, and fishing. These are particularly popular in summer. Furthermore, even though there are 3 to 5 feet of ice on the river in winter,
the Saint Lawrence is still navigable.

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0 The Example Essay

149

On the north shore of the Saint Lawrence River, five miles from
Quebec, the famous Montmorency Falls are iocated.
:

From "Useless Trifles"

Certainly anyone would also appreciate items that make our l'yes more
comfortable, but some of the iterns for the bathroom border on the
absurd. For about $8 you can buy an infiatable pillow to rest against
in the bathtub. (It's held secure by suction cups.) An inch-thick foam
rubber pad will cushion you from the hard bottom of the tub as you
bathe. Of course if it gets mildew on t, it might be better located in
the trash can. Finas!, you can sit in comfort on the toilet en a plush
toilet seat cover and listen to rnusic from a radio built into a toilet
paper container.
Comfort and convenience are carried to extremes in the area of
personal care.

EXERCISE 7.11 Examine the relationship conveyed by the transitions berween each
pair of paragraphs aboye. Which transitional phrase demonstrates contradiction?
Which conveys similarity? Which transition focuses CM the geographical relationship betw-een ideas? How do you know?

---,
--...

EXERCISE 7.12 Study the following sets of paragraph.s. Assume that the two paragraphs occur after an introduction. Change the beginning of the second paragraph
in each set so that it contains a key word linking it to the previous paragraph.

.
:

I. One of the things I do to improve my English is to watch television. This is

no doubt one of the most popular techniques that all foreign students use.
I find that the situation comedies and detective shows help me improve my
listening skills the most because the actors speak very rapidly. Docurnentaries
and news programs heIp me build my vocabulary because they contain material
that intere_sts me. All of the shows heIp me improve my speaking skills because
I consciouslytry to imitate the way the actors speak, especially the newscasters
because they enunciate each word so swell.
work the crossword pu771es in the daily newspaper. Sometimes I can
figure out a word if severa]. of the letters are in it, and sometimes I have to
ask somehody, 1f I cannot finish the puzzle., I keep it until the solution appears
in the next edition of the newspaper. Then I look up the words I did not
know and write them down. I have learned dozens of new vocabulary words
this way, and by doing the puzzles every day, 1 have found that many of the
words reappear, thus reinforcing rny lcnowledge of the new words.
2. One popular m_ythical character that youngsters in America love is the tooth

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Una Two The Essay

fairy. When a child loses a tooth, she puts it under her pillow and during
the night the tooth fairy wll come and take the tooth, leaving in its place
some money. Some children leave their extracted teeth. in special boxes to
make them easer for the tooth fairy to find. There is no typical description
of what the tooth fairy looks hice; most kids are content to imagine it as a
mysterious benevolent spirit.
The Easter Bu_nny is a favorite mythical character. During Easter week,
children go on Easter egg hunts to fmd colored and candy eggs hidden in
yards and parks. A white bunny, sometimes called Peter Cottontail, has
supposedly hidden th.ese treats. In addition, on Easter morning children wake
up to find that the Easter bunny has left thern a basket full of chocolate eggs,
jelly beans, candy eggsall in a bed of green stuff that looks like grass.
3. One of my favorite neighborhoods in Chicago is Wrigleyville, which is located
in the nerlh part of the city. In the heart of Wrigleyville, on the comer of
Addison and Clark, sits the wonderful old outdoor Wrigley Stadium, which
is the home of the Chicago Cubs. If you are anywhere near the stadium
during a game, you might hear the crowd cheer or if you're really lucky, you
can hear diem singing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame." People who live in
apartment buildings next to the stadium can watch ball games from their
baiconies and rooftops. Stepping out from the stadium, fans can walk to
numerous restaurants and enjoy almost any kind of food, fi-om Thai to
Mexicali to American hot dogs.
Andersonville is located north of Wrigleyville. It is a small neighborhood
that was originally a Swedish settlement. On Clark Street, you can eat Swedish
food at Ann Sather's restaurant or take a look at Swedish culture ha the
Swedish-American Museurn Center. Over the years, other ethnic groups have
settled in Andersonville, making it a diverse and pleasant communitY. If you
want Greek food, try Andie's restaurant or if you prefer Persian food, try
Reza's. Down the street is a charming coffee shop where you can enjoy "caffe
latte" and a pastry. In addition, Andersonville has severa' interesting shops
that sell everything from recycled clothing to handmade jewelry and pottery.

Grammar Review
If you want further review of grarnmatical structures that will help you achieve

coherence and grammatical accuracy in your writing, see the Grammar Review
Unit. The following sections are designed to coordinate with the example essay:
Gerund and Infinitives, pages 352-358
Noun Clauses, pages 339-344

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The' Example Essay

151

EXERCISE 7.13 Writing Assignment Select one of the following topics for your
writing assignment. Before you begin planning and drafting your essay, use one
of the prewriting techniques you learned iii Chapter 1 to generate ideas about
your topic. Then develop a controlling idea, a thesis statement, and appropriate
examples to support your point. Write a plan for the essay and then write the
essay.

1. What are some of the unwritten rules that you think cultures use to regulate
behavior? Can you think of relevant exampies of these rules either in American
culture or in some Other culture? Write an .essay using these examples to
support a thesis. You may want to refer to Greene's essay, "How Unwritten
Rules Circumscribe Our Lives (pages 129-131).
2. Has a word or concept from your language been misinterpreted by another
language/culture? Vslrite an essay in which you explain the two meanings of
the word, supporting your thesis with relevant examples. You may want to
refer to Guilbault's essay, "Americanization is Tough on Macho."
When
You first carne to the United States, you were undoubtedly surprised
3.
by something. Can you think of ~pies? Did you find an.ything particularly
difficult to adjust to? Can you think of examples? Choose one of these topics,
develop your thesis, and support it with examples.
4. Many groups of people have been victims of prejudice. Write an essay about
people you are familiar with who ha.ve been victims of prejudice.
5. Clothes can tell a lot about a person. What are some things that you can tell
about someone judgin.g from the clothes he or she wears?
EXERC1SE 714 Assignments from the Disciplines Following are some topics for your
final writing assignment which are typical of college writing assigmnents. For
yciur final writing assignment, you may choose one that you have studied, or
con.sult a textbook or the Internet to find the answer. Then, follow the directions
for Exercise 7 - 13 to write your answer.

From Art history Paintings by Impressionists such as Claude Monet and

Mary. Cassat have become very popular. because ,of the beautiful colors and :
images they painted. Choose a paiming which is a good example of Impressionism and use this painting to examine how members of the Impressionistic
movement depicted color and Light:
2: From International Business Sel.ect major regional trading group, such
as APEC, ASEAN, EU, NAFTA, or MERCOSUR. In an essay, use this group
as an example to explain the advantages and disadvantages of such regional
trading groups.
1.

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Unit Two The Essay

Revision

Peer Review
When you have finished writing the first draft of your essay, give it to a classmate
to read and review. Use the peer review checldist in Appendix 1 to respond to
each other's drafts.
Revision Checidist for the Pargraph
Use these questions to help you to give suggestionS to your peers and to revise
your essay.

'

1. An example essay supports its thesis with an appropriate number of examples.

Does your essay have sufficient examples to support its point?
2. The examples you use to support your thesis should be representative or fa-ir
exampls. Are your examples fairly chosen?
3. The orgtniz.ation of details and exampies in an example essay depends on
the subject and the writer's iogic. Typical organizing principies are time,
familiarity, and importance. Are the thesis and supporting examples Iogically
organized in your essay?
4. Transitions between paragraphs and repetition of key words and phrases help
to make an essay coherent. Have you used a variety of techniques to make
your essay fiow smoothly?

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136