Developing Critical Reading Skills, 6th edition

Chapter 2 Exercises

  1. 125

“Manwatching: A Field Guide to Human Behavior”

Cause:______

Effect:______

“The Company of Wolves”

Cause: ______

______

Effect: ______

  1. 126

Why does Steinhart emphasize the consequences of the population decline rather than the cause?

______

“The Only Harmless Great Thing”

Locate and identify the three causes of the population decline.

Cause 1: ______

Cause 2: ______

Cause 3: ______

Locate and Identify the two effects that lead from these causes.

Effect 1: ______

Effect 2: ______

  1. 128

List the four types of cannibalism. ______

______

Now explain the basis for the author’s classification system. ______

______

Practice Exercise p. 136

“An Empire Wilderness: Travels into America’s Future”

Method of development: ______

Main idea: ______

______

“Lying: Moral Choices in Public and Private Life”

Method of development: ______

Main idea: ______

______

“The Harriet-the-Spy Club”

Method of development: ______

Main idea: ______

______

“The McCain-Media Chemistry”

Method of development: ______

Main idea:______

______

“Some Thoughts about Flirting”

Method of development:______

Main idea: ______

______

“Amusing Ourselves to Death”

Method of development: ______

Main idea: ______

______

  1. 139

“Conversations with the Cannibals”

Main idea: ______

Controlling idea:______

List 2 expository methods of development: ______

______

  1. 140

Which methods of development covered in this chapter would be appropriate for these situations?

1)You have just... ______

2)Why did the founders of choose that name? ______

______

3)Your English teacher said that the eyes are the windows of the soul. What does that mean?

______

4)You are considering quitting school...What impact would that decision have on your life?______

5)Your literature instructor has assigned you to write a paper on the unique characteristics of science as a literary genre. ______

Selection 1

  1. VOCABULARY

For each italicized word from the selection, write the dictionary definition most appropriate.

1)immune to [sentence 1] ______

2)charged [3]:______

3)suppress [4]: ______

4)alienation [21]:______

  1. Content and Structure

Complete the following questions.

1)Write a sentence stating the main idea of the passage. ______

______

2)Write the method represented in each group of sentences. (One answer is a method of development from ch. 3.)

Sentences 1 to 4: ______

Sentences 6 to 10: ______

Sentences 11 to 20: ______

3)What is the relationship between sentence 2 and 3?

a. They show steps in a process.

  1. Sentence 2 shows a contrast from sentence 1.
  2. the Mediterranean was more offended than the Briton.
  3. both diplomats deliberately violated each other’s Personal Space to establish dominance.

4)from Morris’s description of this hypothetical conversation between the diplomats in sentences 13 to 19, we can conclude that

  1. the Briton and the Mediterranean felt equally offended.
  2. the Briton was more offended than the Mediterranean.
  3. the Mediterranean was more offended than the Briton.
  4. both diplomats deliberately violated each other’s Personal Space to establish dominance.

5)The author’ s point of view in sentence 20 is

  1. sneering, ridiculing.
  2. objective, impartial.
  3. mildly humorous.
  4. highly negative, critical.

Answers for Section 1

1)unconcerned

2)intensified

3)hold back

4)describing a state of isolation

B.

1)Our concept of Personal Space is linked to powerful feelings, which make it difficult for us to be immune when it is invaded.

2)1-4 cause-effect

6-10: classification or example

11-20 illustration

3)d

4)a

5)c

Selection 2 p. 143

  1. Vocabulary

For each italicized word from the selection, choose the best definition according to the context in which it appears.

1)trivial [sentence 1]:

  1. silly.
  2. ordinary.
  3. of little significance.
  4. unobserved.

2)abreast of [2]:

  1. in the vicinity of.
  2. near.
  3. alongside.
  4. behind.

3)tolerable [2]:

  1. fair, adequate.
  2. able to be endured.
  3. permissible.
  4. exact, accurate.

4)peerless [4]:

  1. reliable.
  2. well-trained.
  3. hazy.
  4. unmatched.

5) fickle [4]:

  1. hard to get along with.
  2. changeable
  3. hard to please.
  4. complicated.
  1. Content and Structure

1)The method of development in this passage is clearly analogy. First state what Twain is comparing to what. ______is compared to ______Now explain in your own words what, in literal terms, the analogy means-that is, what is required of a Mississippi river pilot.______

______

2)Twain most likely uses this analogy because

  1. we can understand ho hard it would be to learn all of a street’s characteristics.
  2. the familiar can be explained better in terms of the unfamiliar.
  3. a river and a street have nearly identical characteristics.
  4. everyone should learn the characteristics of a single street as well as Twain suggests.

3)It is apparent from sentence 2 that learning to be a Mississippi pilot.

  1. can be quickly and easily accomplished
  2. takes an enormous amount of patience.
  3. requires a person who follows orders.
  4. requires a person who can make quick life-and-death decisions.

4)We usually reserve the word fickle to describe human behavior. From what Twain suggests in sentence 4, what are some factors that would make a river fickle? ______

______

Selection 3

  1. Vocabulary

For each italicized word from the selection, write the dictionary definition most appropriate for the context.

1)infusion [sentence 3]: ______

2)dissidents [3]: ______

3)ascribed [4]: ______

4)sedentary [6]: ______

5)bourgeoisie [7]: ______

6)egalitarian [8]: ______

7)gentry [9]: ______

8)intrigue [12]: ______

  1. Content and Structure

Complete the following questions.

1)Which sentence expresses the main idea of the first paragraph? ______

In the sentence you chose, locate the topic of the first paragraph. ______

______

Write the controlling idea. ______

______

2)Which sentence expresses the main idea of the second paragraph? ______The topic is the same in this paragraph as for the first paragraph, but what is the controlling idea? ______

3)Which two methods of development are used in the paragraph? ______

______

4)The author evidently sees a strong connection between the increasing popularity of coffee and

  1. the beginning of unions to protect laborers from exploitation.
  2. the Industrial Revolution.
  3. a rigid workday.
  4. the increasing importance of democracy and social equality.

5)Look again at sentence 5... From the evidence, on which side of this argument- for or against coffee- does the writer appear to stand? ______How can you tell? ______

6)In the last sentence, the author quotes Irene Fizer, who writes that the “urban workaday economy would be unthinkable without coffee.” What seems to be the author’s personal opinion about this statement?

  1. His opinion is favorable.
  2. His opinion is unfavorable
  3. His opinion is not evident
  4. His opinion is mixed or ambiguous.

Page 150

  1. Comprehension

Choose the answer that best completes each statement. Do not refer to selection while doing this exercise.

1)Choose the sentence that best represents the main idea of the essay.

  1. Punctuation rules must be consistently applied to make the reader’s task easier.
  2. Punctuation marks determine both the meanings and rhythms of a writer’s words as well as our emotional responses to them,
  3. Use of punctation marks in the twentieth century has become more daring and unorthodox.
  4. Each culture has a unique system of punctuating to determine meaning.

2)lyer labels the comma a “humble” mark of punctuation because

  1. its appearance is so insignificant
  2. there are too many rules governing its use.
  3. it should be used only when the reader takes a breath or pauses.
  4. it lacks the authority and finality of other marks of punctuation.

3)The writer compares punctuation marks to road sign to emphasize their

  1. shape
  2. difficult rules.
  3. use as controls over our reading.
  4. ease of recognition.

4)Iyer states that by “establishing the relations between words,”” punctuation

  1. establishes a relationship between the writer and the reader
  2. establishes a relationship between the writer and his or her publisher
  3. serves as an agreed-upon system for distinguishing between important and less important ideas
  4. establishes the relations between people using words.

5)Iyer characterizes a world with “only periods” as one without

  1. love and affection
  2. inflections and shade.
  3. music.
  4. interest or enthusiasm.
  1. Vocabulary

1)a pedant’s tick[paragraph 1]: Referring to a person who

  1. pays excessive attention to learning and rules.
  2. is uneducated about the rules of grammar.
  3. writes well.
  4. refuses to follow conventional rules.

2)schoolteachers exalt it [2]:

  1. instruct.
  2. identify.
  3. clarify.
  4. glorify.

3)the first proprieties [3]:

  1. customs of polite society.
  2. religious traditions.
  3. qualities of ownership.
  4. civic virtues.

4)his so-called inscrutability[4]:

  1. difficulty of understandings
  2. lack of precision
  3. explanatory remarks.
  4. reverence, devotion.

5)the ignominy of having his faith reduced [6]:

  1. punishable crimes.
  2. evil portent.
  3. disrespect for something sacred.
  4. matter of speculation.

6)double sacrilege [6]:

  1. punishable crimes.
  2. evil portent
  3. disrespect for something sacred.
  4. matter of speculations

7)the silent discretion [8]:

  1. thought, rumination.
  2. freedom to act on one’s own.
  3. scheme, plot.
  4. devil-may-care attitude.

8)to hear its nuances [9]:

  1. rhythmic melodies
  2. poetic images
  3. rising and falling tones
  4. subtle shades of meaning.
  1. Interferences

Mark these statements as follows: PA (probably accurate); PI (probably inaccurate); or NP (not in the passage).

1)____ Good writers would be wise never to break the rules of punctuation.

2)____ Punctuation marks are more important than the words on the page for determining meaning.

3)____ The rules for punctuation and for music are identical.

4)____ Without punctuation marks, words would be dead and lifeless and lacking rhythm and nuance.

5)____ When parents say to their child, “Do not do that,” it is much more frightening than “Don’t do that.”

6)____ Iyer teaches grammar and punctuation at a university.

  1. Structure

Complete the following questions.

1)Which of these sentences best states the main idea of the essay?

(a)“Punctuation, one is taught, has a point: to keep up law and order.”

(b)“Punctuation, then, is a civic prop, a pillar that holds society upright.”

(c)“Punctuation thus becomes the signature of cultures.”

(d)“Punctuation, in short, gives us the human voice, and all the meanings that lie between the words.”

2)The mode of discourse in the essay is

  1. narration
  2. description
  3. exposition
  4. persuasion

3) Which three methods of paragraph development are evident in the essay?

______

4)Read paragraph 3 again. Then write a sentence in your own words stating the main point Iyer makes in it. ______

5)Look up the word jackboot[paragraph 8]. Then explain why this word is appropriate for its context. ______

______

6)In calling punctuation marks “tiny scratches” [paragraph 8], Lyer emphasizes their

  1. apparent lack of purpose.
  2. seeming insignificance.
  3. odd appearance.
  4. lack of grace and elegance.