Jeff Barker
English 3050
September 18 Week
Kolln
Chapter 3
Exercise 7, page 46
A. Transform the following active sentences into the passive voice;
remember that the direct object of the active functions as the subject in
the passive.
1. My roommate wrote the lead article in today’s Collegian.
Answer: The lead article in today’s Collegian was written by
my roommate.
2. Bach composed some of our most intricate figures.
Answer: Some of our most intricate figures had been composed by
Bach.
3. Our homecoming committee has organized an elaborate celebration.
Answer: An elaborate celebration has been organized by our
homecoming committee.
4. I should have washed the car before our trip.
Answer: Before our trip, I should have washed the car.
5. The county commissioners are proposing a new tax-collection system
this year.
Answer: A new tax-collection system is being proposed
by the county commissioners this year.
6. Your positive attitude pleases me.
Answer: I am pleased by your positive attitude.
B. Transform the following passive sentences into the active voice,
remember that the subject of the passive is the direct object in the active.
(Note: If the agent is missing, you will have to supply one to act as the
subject for the active)
1) This year’s cheerleading squad was chosen by a committee last spring.
Answer: A committee chose this year’s cheerleading squad
last spring.
2) Bill’s apartment was burglarized last weekend.
Answer: Last weekend, a burglar robbed Bill’s apartment.
3) The election of the class officers will be held on Tuesday.
Answer: We will hold the election of the class officers on Tuesday.
4) Your car’s oil should be changed on a regular basis.
Answer: You should change your car’s oil on a regular basis.
5) The suspect is being kept in solitary confinement.
Answer: The police are keeping the suspect in solitary
confinement.
6) The kidnap victim has been found unharmed.
Answer: They found the kidnap victim unharmed.
C. First decide if the following sentences are active or passive; then transform
them.
1) Barack Obama was elected president in 2008.
Answer: We elected Barack Obama president in 2008. (Passive to
Active)
2) You should read the next six chapters before Monday.
Answer: The next six chapters should be read by you before
Monday. (Active to Passive)
3) The cities in the Northeast have been affected by migration in recent
years.
Answer: Migration has affected the cities in the Northeast in recent
years. (Passive to Active).
4) After the dot-com bubble burst, many employees of financial institutions
were cheated out of their retirement savings.
Answer: Many employees of financial institutions were cheated out
of their retirement savings after the dot-com bubble burst. (Passive to Active)
5) Our company is trying out a new vacation schedule this year.
Answer: A new vacation schedule is being tried out this year by our
company. (Active to Passive).
7) The streetlights on campus are finally being repaired.
Answer: They are finally repairing the streetlights on
campus. (Passive to Active)
Dinty Moore (The Soup Company
Chapters 5 and 6
Page 56, prompt 3: “I am then never less alone than when alone.”
Human beings are social animals. Much like the wolf, deer, and lemmings,
humans typically prefer to spend time in groups of varying sizes. Humans also
prefer to be seen as individuals and, on occasion, act thusly by deviating from
social norms. I, for example, am among the ranks of people who deviate from
the societal norm of spending time in a group.
While I enjoy spending time with friends and family, I find more enjoyment
on a daily basis when I spend hours by myself. With an overly active imagination
like mine, I rarely feel the need to converse with another person for reasons
other than getting something done. Mere pleasantries are things I find trivial and
would much rather do without, however, a societal paradigm dictates that
small talk must commence when a pressing issue is not the proverbial topic of
the day.
When I’m bored I often turn to writing, reading, videogames, or film as
distractions. One may notice that “personal interaction” cannot be found in the
aforementioned list. In fact, there have been multiple occasions when friends
have extended offers of escapism and well-mannered frivolity only to be met
with what is nothing more than an excuse as to why I can’t make it. The truth is
usually that I just don’t want to go anywhere. Horrible? Absolutely. However, I
cannot help that I usually have better things to do.
Chapter 6, page 61, “Leisure”.
Leisure means different things to different people and I am no exception.
While some would argue that leisure means spending time and money with
friends and family others would argue that leisure is doing something with one’s
free time that brings happiness to that person. My opinion parallels that of the
latter.
Writing, reading, television and film, and videogames are among my most
practiced leisure activities. Limited as the free time of a full-time college student
may be, mine is almost always spent doing one of the aforementioned activities.
I rarely choose to spend my much anticipated free time with anyone other than
my wife and I find that my activities are more productive that way. Interestingly
enough, there seems to be a correlation to my productivity and my happiness
(at least in the context of my leisurely time).
Like Agnes Repplier, I feel there should be a balance between leisure and
honest work. Without the constant grind of hard work, leisure time would mean
very little. If one indulges too much in leisure time and not enough in actual
work, the enjoyment of leisure will eventually decrease into nothing. These, I fell,
are things that should be considered when deciding just how long I should play
Borderlands or read The Silmarillion. Currently, I feel that things are in nearly
perfect proportion as my schedule is very hectic.