ANSWERS TO CHAPTER 3 EXERCISES Developing Critical Reading Skills, 7th Edition Chapter 3 DCRS: Four Methods of Paragraph Development Tom Chaffin, “How the West Was Lost” (Page 99) What is the main point Chaffin want to convey in this Paragraph? Fremont’s journals describing his experiences with Indians foreshadow the violence later perpetrated by the U.S. Army in its battles to exterminate the Plains Indians and take away their land. Identify the piece of evidence that best supports this point. The 90 million acres, or 95%, of Indian land confiscated during the 30-year campaign. Marjorie Garber, “Dog Days” (page 100) Write the main idea of the passage. Because humans so often disappoint us in our lives, stories of heroic dogs affect us profoundly. Ruth Brandon, The Life and Many Deaths of Harry Houdini (page 102) What phrase serves as the controlling idea for the paragraph? “a simple but effective illusion” Richard Selzer, “ The Pen and the Scalpel” (page 103) Write the main-idea sentence for this paragraph. Surgery and writing have more in common than one might think. Luis Alberto Urrea, Across theWire: Life and Hard Times on the Mexican Border (page 105) Why does Urrea focus more on the Tijuana side of the border than the American Side? The audience is likely to be Americans who would already be familiar with typical American affluence; readers might not be aware of the severe poverty in Tijuana. Practice Exercise 1 (pages 106-109) A. Jeffrey Masson and Susan McCarthy, When Elephants Weep Method of Development:__illustration______________________________________________ Main Idea: Even if we were aware of animal feelings, we might not be able to understand them. B. Lewis H. Lapham, “ Notebook: Social Hygiene,” Method of Development:_example _____________________________________________ Main Idea: The canon of political correctness has gone beyond contempt for smoking, now having infiltrated the media, college admissions testing, and textbooks. C. Peter Boyer, “The Ames Strain” Method of Development:___informative process______________________________________ Main Idea: To make anthrax breathable, a scientist must follow several steps.
D. Greg Critser, Fat Land: How Americans Became the Fattest People in the World Method of Development: facts and statistics_________________________________________ Main Idea: Supersizing of meals became the dominant trend in the fast-food industry during the 1990s, leading to a huge increase in the number of calories consumed. Combination of Methods Michael Specter, “ No place to Hide,” List the methods of Development. informative process, examples, facts Practice Exercise 2, (pages 109-111) A. Andrew Lawler, “Saving Iraq’s Treasures” Choose the two predominant methods of development. (a) comparison (c) significant details (b) contrast (d) informative process Main Idea: The contrast between ancient Babylon with its wealth and splendor and the crumbling, rubble-filled Babylon of today is remarkable. B. Larry McMurtry, Walter Benjamin at the Dairy Queen Choose the two predominant methods of development. (a) facts and statistics (c) comparison (b) examples (d) contrast Main Idea: The image of the Western male survives in Marlboro ads, with the Western landscape dominated by horses (never cattle) and with women conspicuously absent. Conclusion: Methods of Development and Patterns of Thought (page 111) Which method of development underlies the mental process involved in these real-life situations? 1. You want to build a new Cabinet for your CD player, TV, and DVD player. Directive process 2. Are flat-panel computer screens really better than the conventional kind? Contrast 3. How are the other students in my sections of Physics 1 performing in the class? Statistics; perhaps comparison and contrast 4. A friend from Arkansas decides she wants to move to Chicago, where you live. She writes, asking you about apartment rents in various parts of the city. Examples, statistics 5. Your 10-year-old niece asks you how babies are born. Informative process
CHAPTER EXCERCISES Selection 2 Daniel Duane, Caught Inside: A Surfer’s Year on the California Coast A. Vocabulary For each italicized word from the selection, write the dictionary definition most appropriate for the context. 1. morbid [sentence 1] gruesome, preoccupied with unwholesome thoughts 2. lurk [5] lie in wait 3. serrated [8] sharply notched like the edge of a saw B. Content and Structure Complete the following questions. 1. Locate the topic of the paragraph. sharks Then write controlling idea. “so many disturbing traits” 2. Consider again the phrase you wrote for the preceding question. Which of the following methods of the development in the remainder of the paragraph is most evident as support for that phrase? (a) comparison (b) contrast
(c) example (d) illustration
3. Paraphrase Duane’s parenthetical remark in sentence 3: “ If the womb is a battleground, what is the sea?” If sharks are cannibals, killing and eating each other before they are born, an intended victim doesn’t have much of a chance. 4. Why must sharks constantly swim? They lack a gas-filled bladder. 5. Look again in sentence 5, in which Duane imaginatively compares the shark to “a benthic land mine.”( Benthic is an adjective referring to benthos, or organisms that live on the ocean or lake bottoms) What does Duane intend to suggest in this comparison? The shark can behave explosively; it can strike without warning at any time and cause enormous damage. 6. From the information given in sentence 9 and 10, we can conclude that sharks (a) can and will eat anything, whether it is food or not. (b) prefer humans to any other food. (c) are basically carnivorous. (d) are able to digest inorganic objects.
7. Consider again the list of items found in sharks’ stomach. Now read sentences 10 again and locate the phrase that best describes sharks’ function in the ocean. “indiscriminate recyclers of the organic” Selection 3 (pages 115-117) Suketu Mehta, “ Mumbai: A Lover’s Embrace” A. Vocabulary 1.cataloguing numerous flare-up: recording as a list 2. numerous flare-ups [3]: sudden outbursts of anger 3. retain an empathy for you [5]: emotional identification B. Content and Structure Complete the following questions. 1. Look again at the significant details in paragraph 1 and 2. What overall impression of Bombay’s railway system do they convey? The subway system is crowded and uncomfortable. 2. The behavior of the railway passengers on the trains leading to Bombay has led Asad Bin Saif, the “ scholar of the slums” mentioned in paragraph 3, to be (a) optimistic about the human race. (b) pessimistic about the human race. (c) antisocial and isolated from the human race. (d) indifferent, callous toward the human race. 3. What method of development is represented in paragraph 5? (a) process (b) comparison (c) contrast (d) illustration
(e) facts
4. What emotion or motivation governs those already on the trains to pull late comers on board? Empathy – all the passengers look out for each other’s welfare 5. In paragraph 4, locate the verb phrase” retain empathy for.” then, in the same sentence, locate the subject that goes with this verb phrase and write it in the space. “your fellow passengers” 6. What is the point, the larger, of the story related in paragraph 5? Caste, religious, and racial distinctions are immaterial when people are united in a common goal, in this case, reaching the “city of gold.”
Practice Essay (pages 118-123) “ Book of Dreams: The Sears Roebuck Catalog” by Rose Del Castillo Guilbault A. Comprehension Choose the answer the best completes each statements. 1. For Guilbault, the Sears Roebuck catalog primarily represented (a) an unobtainable vision of America for her and her family. (b) the possibility of obtaining a piece of the American. (c) a simpler, less stressful life. (d) a convenient way to shop for necessities at home 2. For the author and her family, the most important American virtue was (a) a competitive spirit (b) generosity (c) hard work (d) the desire for an education 3. Guilbault’s mother looked at the catalog both to enjoy the pictures of clothing and household items to (a) get ideas for gifts. (b) practice English. (c) covet the possessions of the wealthier families depicted. (d) help choose farm equipment with her husband. 4. The Catalog’s description of the model families- the Browns and the Yeamans-suggested that (a) her family was just like them (b) America was not really the land of opportunity (c) it was important to buy one’s belonging from Sears. (d) Everything in America was reachable. 5. Guilbault remembers one especially memorable acquisition, a clarinet. Aside from marking her family’s economic prosperity, this purchase also (a) meant that she could reach her dream becoming a great musician (b) improved her social status at school (c) allowed her to be integrated into American life (d) Contributed to the Family’s love of music B. Vocabulary 1. An affinity for the 1940s [paragraph 2] (a) natural attraction (c) slight interest in
(b) obsession (d) reaction
2. an emporium inside a book [3] (a) playground (c) imaginary toy land
(b) educational center (d) large retail store
3. a metaphor for America’s bounty [4] (a) high reputation (c) generosity, liberality in giving
(b) amalgamation of goods and services (d) treasure chest
4. nothing frivolous was ever ordered [7] (a) insignificant, trivial. (c) expensive, costly
(b) attractive, esthetically pleasing (d) of good quality
5. they remained mysteriously impassive [15] (a) silent, withdrawn (b) showing no emotion (c) excited, jubilant (d) embarrassed, uncomfortable 6. Times have changed, so have demographics[17]: the study of (a) social values (b) populations and their characteristics (c) ethnic and minority groups (d) social classes C. Structure Complete the following questions. 1. This article has a clear beginning, middle, and end. Locate the major divisions in the essay and appropriate paragraph numbers. Introduction: __paragraphs 1 to 4__________________________________________________ Body: paragraphs 5 to 16_______________________________________________________ Conclusion: _paragraphs 17 & 18_________________________________________________ 2. With respect to her childhood and the role the Sears Roebuck catalog played in her family, what is the author’s point of view? (a) nostalgic (b) objective (c) envious (d) philosophical (e) self-pitying
3. What method of development is used in paragraph 4? (a) example (b) process (c) comparison
(d) contrast
4. What primary method of development is used in paragraph 5 to 9? (a) example (b) comparison (c) contrast
(d) process
5. What is relationship between paragraph 14,15 and 16. (a) they all represent steps in an informative process (b) paragraph 14 includes a term to be defined, and the other two define it (c) paragraphs 15 and 16 offer a contrast to paragraph 14 (d) paragraph 14 makes a general statement, and paragraph 15 and 16 serve as a supportive illustration.
