‫המכללה האקדמית אשקלון‬
‫מסלול בר‪-‬אילן‬
‫‪Strategies‬‬
‫לשימוש פנימי ולצורכי לימוד בלבד‬
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 1 - READING STRATEGIES
Page number
o
Student Obligations
4
o
Grading Guidelines
6
o
Strategies for Unknown Words
7
o
Dictionary Use
8
o
Vocabulary in Context
10
o
Definitions in the Text
13
o
Affixes: Prefixes & Suffixes
16
o
Reference
21
o
Sentence Structure
26
o
Simple Sentences
29
o
Adjective Clauses
36
o
Expended (Compound & Complex sentences)
42
o
Connectives
47
o
Cause & Effect
51
o
Markers of Contrast
58
o
Markers of Comparison
62
o
Comparison & Contrast
64
o
General Idea – Specific Examples/Illustration
66
o
Inference
71
o
Paragraph Structure, Main Ideas & Supporting Details
72
o
Inferring & Implied Main Idea
80
o
Prediction/Skimming/Scanning
87
2
STUDENT OBLIGATIONS
ATTENDANCE
Attendance is required at all classes. No more than 2 absences per semester are allowed.
A student with numerous absences will not be given an internal grade (which constitutes 60% of
the final grade) or may not be allowed to continue his English course that year/semester.
GROUND RULES
Lateness for class is unacceptable no matter what the reason may be. Students will not be
allowed to enter the classroom after the first 10 minutes of the lesson. Therefore, they will be
considered absent.
Other unacceptable behavior patterns:
1) early departures from lessons
2) cellular phones may not be switched on during lessons
3) food and drink during a lesson
4) switching class from one to another because of a student’s changing needs.
Once a student has signed up for a particular course with a specific instructor, he may not
attend a lesson given at a different hour even if the instructor is the same. All of the class
hours must suit the student. Otherwise, he should not be enrolled in that particular
course.
CLASS ASSIGNMENTS
Homework will be assigned regularly and must be completed for the next lesson. If you were ill or in
the army reserves and could not attend the lesson, you are expected to contact someone from your
group in order to complete your homework assignment. Hand in the completed assignment
immediately upon your return to class.
TESTS
If a student knows he will not be able to take a scheduled test, it is his responsibility to inform his
instructor so that appropriate measures can be taken.
If a student has missed a test, it is his obligation to inform the instructor and explain his absence.
STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL NEEDS
All students with special needs (e.g. extra time, use of a tape, new immigrants up to 5 years in
Israel, over 40’s) must provide documentation from Bar Ilan to validate their needs within the
first 2 weeks of the course.
BOOKS
Students are required to buy the newest version of the Course book. Older copies are
inadmissible.
ATTENDANCE IS COMPULSORY.
BOOKS MUST BE BROUGHT TO LESSONS.
SOME ELECTRONIC** AND ALL PAPER DICTIONARIES MAY BE USED.
**THE USE OF ‘PEN STYLE’ ELECTRONIC DICTIONARIES (QUICKTIONARY) OF ALL TYPES
IS BANNED IN CLASS AND IN ALL EXAMS.
3
MITKADMIM ANNUAL COURSE GRADING GUIDELINES 2010
The PASS GRADE in English courses and ALL exams at Ashkelon Academic College is 60.
The INTERNAL CLASS GRADE will include no fewer than 5 (FIVE) internal tests:
TESTS – 80%
Semester 1 - Two regular exams (ranging from 1800 – 2200 words) No grades to be dropped
semester one.
Semester 2 – Two regular exams (2500 – 3000 words) and one sample final test (3000 words)
and a MAKE-UP
TOTAL - 4 regular exams plus 1 sample final (3000 words)
Students should make up tests they miss DURING the course, not wait until the end.
At the end of the course a sixth (6th) exam should be given. It will be counted as follows:
a) If the student takes the exam because he missed an earlier one, he will now have 4 regular
exams and one compulsory, all to be counted.
TOTAL: 5 TESTS, all internal
b) If the student wants to improve one of his grades in semester 2, the 6th test can replace one
of his weaker grades in the same type of test. In other words, the student will still have 5
grades, one of which must be a sample final exam
TOTAL: 5 out of 6 TESTS, all internal The sample final grade cannot be dropped
HOMEWORK/ CLASSWORK:
5%
Homework should be set each week. The teacher determines the amount and type of classwork to
be counted in the grade.
GUIDED READINGS - semester 1 only, annual courses - 5%;
At least 2 guided tests should be given.
(A class exercise, where the teacher may draw the students’ attention to significant points in the
text; the questions are to be completed under test conditions)
READING PROJECT – annual course, semester 2 only. – 10%
Students will study a unit on empirical academic articles, and will be required to read, analyze and
answer questions on such an article under test conditions.
FINAL MARK
The final mark consists of the internal grade (60%) and the final test (40%).
A minimum grade of 50 is required on the final test before calculations of the final mark can
be made.
ATTENDANCE IS COMPULSORY.
LATEST COPIES OF REQUIRED COURSEBOOKS MUST BE BROUGHT TO ALL LESSONS.
SOME ELECTRONIC** AND ALL PAPER DICTIONARIES MAY BE USED.
*THE USE OF ‘PEN STYLE’ ELECTRONIC DICTIONARIES (QUICKTIONARY) OF
ALL TYPES IS BANNED IN CLASS AND IN ALL EXAMS.
4
‫הסבר חלוקת ציון בקורסי אנגלית‬
‫ציון הקורס מרוכב מציון כיתה – ‪ 60%‬וציון מבחן סופי – ‪.40%‬‬
‫ציון כיתה‪ :‬ציון זה אינו "מגן"‪ ,‬אלא משקף את רמת הידע של הסטודנט ומוכנותו להמשיך לרמה הבאה‪.‬‬
‫להלן הרכב ציון כיתה‪:‬‬
‫‪ .1‬מבחנים פנימיים במהלך הקורס מהווים ‪ 80%‬מסך ציון הכיתה‪.‬‬
‫על הסטודנט להשלים את כל המבחנים הפנימיים טרם סיום הקורס‪.‬‬
‫כל המבחנים (‪ 5‬או ‪ 6‬מבחנים‪ ,‬בהתאם לדרישות הרמה) כלולים בחישוב הציון הסופי‪.‬‬
‫אין מבחן "שיפור ציון" פרט לרמת "מתקדמים"‬
‫‪ .2‬שיעורי בית‪ ,‬השתתפות בשיעורים‪:‬‬
‫תרגילים בכיתה ובחנים‪:‬‬
‫‪5%‬‬
‫‪15%‬‬
‫קורס שנתי ‪ -‬חובות הסטודנט‬
‫ציון עובר‪ 60 :‬לכל המבחנים‪ ,‬ולקורס בכלל‪.‬‬
‫נוכחות‪:‬‬
‫חובת נוכחות בכל השיעורים‪ .‬אסור להעדר מיותר מ‪ 4-‬שעות שבועיות בסמסטר בקורס שנתי ומ‪ 8-‬שעות‬
‫שבועיות (שני מפגשים) בקורס סמסטריאלי‪ .‬סטודנט שנעדר פעמים רבות לא יקבל ציון כיתה (שערכו ‪60%‬‬
‫מהציון הסופי) או שלא יוכל להמשיך את קורס האנגלית באותו סמסטר‪/‬שנה‪.‬‬
‫כללי יסוד‪:‬‬
‫איחורים לשיעור מכל סיבה שהיא לא מקובלים‪ .‬סטודנט לא יוכל להיכנס לכיתה אחרי ‪ 10‬הדקות הראשונות‬
‫של השיעור‪ .‬לכן‪ ,‬ייחשב הדבר כהיעדרות‪.‬‬
‫דפוסי התנהגות לא מקובלים‪:‬‬
‫‪ .1‬יציאה מוקדמת מהשיעורים‪.‬‬
‫‪ .2‬דיבור בפלאפון בזמן השיעור‪.‬‬
‫‪ .3‬אכילה ושתייה בשיעור‪.‬‬
‫‪ . 4‬אין אפשרות להחליף קורס חוץ מאשר בתקופת השינויים‪ .‬סטודנט חייב להישאר באותו קורס אליו הוא‬
‫נרשם‪ .‬לכן‪ ,‬כל שעות הקורס צריכות להתאים לסטודנט‪.‬‬
‫בית‪:‬‬
‫שיעורי‬
‫שיעורי בית יינתנו באופן קבוע‪ .‬יש להשלים את שיעורי הבית עד לשיעור הבא‪ .‬אם הסטודנט נעדר משיעור‬
‫מכל סיבה שהיא‪ ,‬עליו ליצור קשר עם סטודנט אחר מהקבוצה ולהתעדכן לגבי שיעורי הבית‪ .‬סטודנט כזה‬
‫יראה למרצה את שיעורי הבית מיד בשובו לכיתה‪.‬‬
‫מבחנים‪:‬‬
‫אם הסטודנט יודע שלא יוכל להבחן בבחינה שנקבעה במערכת‪ ,‬עליו להודיע למרצה מראש‪,‬‬
‫כך שיינקטו הצעדים המתאימים‪.‬‬
‫אם הסטודנט לא נכח במבחן‪ ,‬מחובתו להסביר את היעדרותו למרצה‪.‬‬
‫סטודנטים עם צרכים מיוחדים‪:‬‬
‫כל הסטודנטים עם צרכים מיוחדים (תוספת זמן‪ ,‬השמעת השאלון על גבי קלטת‪ ,‬עולים חדשים עד ‪ 5‬שנים בארץ‪ ,‬בני ‪)+40‬‬
‫חייבים להמציא את המסמכים המתאימים מבר אילן במהלך השבועיים הראשונים של הקורס‪.‬‬
‫ספרים‪:‬‬
‫על הסטודנט לרכוש את הגרסה החדשה של הספר‪ .‬אסור להשתמש בספרים ישנים‪.‬‬
‫מילונים‪:‬‬
‫חל איסור מוחלט על שימוש בכל סוגי מילוני "עט" (בסגנון ‪ ) QUICKTIONARY‬גם בכיתה וגם‬
‫במבחנים‬
‫‪5‬‬
Strategies for Unknown Words
When you see words in a text that you don’t know,
ask yourself:
1. Can I understand the text without knowing the meaning of this word? If the answer is yes, then
ignore the word and keep on reading.
Example:
attention.
The thief walked casually through the town, careful not to attract any
2.
What do I know about the word? Is it a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb? Is it a
negative or positive word?
Example:
almost no friends.
3.
He was known to be a parsimonious person and therefore had
Does the sentence give me any clues to the meaning of the word?
Example: The Japanese had been preparing secretly for Pearl Harbor, but the
actual attack was entirely overt.
4.
Does the word itself give me any clues to its meaning? Do I know any part of the
word?
Example: He did not wish to relive the unpleasant experience.
5.
Does it sound like a word I know in Hebrew?
Example:
Inflation has been a serious problem in the twentieth century.
Example:
The speaker told many anecdotes about his travels in India.
6
Dictionary Use
Exercise 1. Read the following groups of sentences. Look up the meanings of the emphasized
words in your dictionaries and explain them in English or Hebrew.
1. a. Sam wasn’t content until he was sure that all the children were safe.
content: ________________________
b. The programme was entertaining but had little content.
content: ___________________________
2. a. Please fill out this form.
form: __________________________
b. During the course the students will form ideas on different issues.
form: ____________________________
c. She bought a vase in the form of a swan.
form: _____________________________
3. a. The students showed perfect discipline during the ceremony.
discipline: _________________________
b. We discipline students who never work.
discipline: __________________________
c. Courses in disciplines such as biology, chemistry and physics are part of John’s
scientific training at the University.
discipline: _________________________
4.
a. President Obama succeeded President Bush.
succeed: _____________________________
b. All the students succeeded in the final examination.
succeed: _____________________________
4. a. Have you seen the movie “The Sound of Music”?
sound: ________________________________
b. Thank you for your sound advice on this issue!
sound:________________________________
5. a. His illness stems from the period he lived in tropics.
stem: _________________________________
b. He cut the stems of the flowers.
stem: _________________________________
By Dr. Anna Lyubman
7
Exercise 2. Use your dictionary to translate the underlined words (words with different
meanings). Indicate what part of speech they are.
1. The employer noted the employee's late arrival.
note _____________________________
_________
2. Florence Sabin, noted for her scientific research, was one of the few women to
hold a prominent position in her field.
note _____________________________
_________
3. He sprang to his feet when he heard about his admission into college.
sprang _____________________________
_________
4. The spring broke, that’s why the handle of this door won’t hold.
spring _____________________________
_________
handle _____________________________
_________
5. The manager was unable to handle the situation anymore, so he resigned.
handle _____________________________
_________
6. You must never abandon a friend in trouble.
abandon _____________________________
_________
7. Idan Raichel’s singing is so emotional; he sings with so much abandon.
abandon _____________________________
_________
8. There are special stores to outfit skiers.
outfit _____________________________
_________
9. They were conspicuous in their outfit.
Outfit ___________________ ________
10. His reckless behavior may compromise the situation.
compromise _____________________________
_________
11 Nobody ever gets everything one wants; we must all make compromises in life.
compromise _____________________________
_________
12. The fallen trees bar the road so vehicles are directed to alternative roads.
bar _____________________________
_________
8
Vocabulary in Context
Context Clues
1.
Explanations and Definitions: Sometimes an explanation or definition
of a word is given in a text; if you keep reading, the meaning becomes clear.
Example: The hippocampus, which is located in the medial temporal lobe of the
brain, is an important structure in memory processing.
Example: The salesman was very garrulous, talking endlessly about various
insignificant things.
Example: Plankton, i.e., minute plants and animals that float in the ocean, are a
significant source of food for many fish.
2.
Examples: Examples of something may help you understand what it is; if
you don’t understand the example, knowing what it exemplifies may help you understand
the word.
Example: Such flowers as cyclamens and anemones are native to Israel.
Punctuation: Colons (:), dashes (-), commas (, ,), parentheses ( ), and semicolons (;) may mean that an example or explanation will follow.
Example: During the festival, the park was filled with vehicles of all types – cars,
trucks, buses, and motorcycles.
3.
Cause/Effect: Understanding a cause/effect relationship in a text may
help you understand the meaning of an unknown word.
Example: The student’s writing was so incoherent that the teacher couldn’t
understand a single word of it.
4. Synonyms: Instead of repeating the same word in a text, writers will often use
synonyms. If you understand the synonym, you’ll understand the word.
Example: Proponents of legalizing drugs believe that it will result in less crime and
supporters of keeping drugs illegal believe that legalizing drugs will lead to more
crime.
5. Antonyms and Contrast: When you know what something is not, then you can
understand what it is.
Example: Tony thought his criticism was justified, but it was gratuitous.
Example: Although Ron was generally quite malleable, this time he refused to give
in.
6. Words in a Series: When words appear in a series in a sentence, they generally
have similar meanings.
Example: Most students go to university with the hope that it will lead to a lucrative,
profitable and rewarding job.
9
7. General Meaning of the Text: The general meaning of the text can help you
understand the meanings of unfamiliar words.
Example: The context of this word makes its meaning apparent.
EXERCISE 1
Read the following sentences. From the possibilities given, choose the one that best
describes the meaning of the word in bold letters. Use the structure of the word or the
context for clues.
1.
The popular, or even the lawbook, theory of everyday criminal processes
oversimplifies in some respects what usually happens.
a.
b.
c.
d.
2.
Whenever an infraction of the law occurs, the police try to catch the criminal and
bring him or her to justice. Unfortunately they are not always successful. The crime
is recorded but the lawbreaker is unpunished.
a.
b.
c.
d.
3.
a criminal
breaking
changing
keeping
The contrast between the rich, green vegetation of the coastal area and the
barren, brown hills of the desert was striking to the eye.
a.
b.
c.
d.
4.
does not make it simple enough
makes more difficult
makes too simple
simplifies in the wrong way
rich
with many trees and bushes
without any plants
beautiful
The professor told her students to review the lecture notes if they wanted to
understand the material. She did not say directly that there would be a test the
following week, but from her comments, the students inferred it.
a.
b.
c.
d.
doubted
understood
denied
believed
10
5.
He is sentenced by the judge to a term of probation under which he is permitted
to live in the community as long as he behaves himself.
a.
b.
c.
d.
6.
A commands because he possesses authority; B obeys because he is subject to
that authority.
a.
b.
c.
d.
7.
road repairs
consideration
carelessness
good intentions
From the public reaction to her speech, the politician realized that she had
misjudged the extent of her influence.
a.
b.
c.
d.
10.
changes for the better
does not change
leaves room for hope
becomes worse
The worker who leaves a hole in the ground endangers public safety. This kind of
negligence should be punished just as crimes are punished.
a.
b.
c.
d.
9.
is under control
refuses to be under control
gives orders to powerful people
shows a liking to command
The situation does not improve as the stutterer gets older. On the contrary, the
stutterer's self-image deteriorates still further.
a.
b.
c.
d.
8.
a period in prison with visits home every week
a punishment for an indefinite period of time
life in a special institution
a period of normal living under certain conditions
had not judged
had not judged enough
had judged before the event
had judged wrongly
Many scientists claim that there is life on Mars. This claim, however, is disputed
by those who have studied the photographs brought back by astronauts who have
been in space.
a.
b.
c.
d.
proved
supported
not accepted
accepted
From: Build It Up, by A. Levine, B. Oded, and S. Statman, Aviv Printers.
11
Definitions in the Text
Technical and specialized terms are often defined in texts, since many readers are not
familiar with them. In the following sentences, underline the terms being defined once
and the definitions twice. Circle the clues in the sentences that helped you to find the
definitions.
1.
A buyer’s market refers to a market in which the quantity of goods for sale
surpasses the amount that consumers are willing and able to buy at the existing prices.
2. A simile is a comparison between two things that is signaled overtly by words such as
like or as.
3. Sampling means taking snapshots of an audio or video signal at rapid intervals,
usually tens of thousands of times per second.
4. A fluegelhorn is a valved brass instrument resembling a bugle with a wide bell that is
used in jazz and commercial music.
5. Many linguists are interested in semantics, i.e., the study of the meaning of linguistic
expressions.
6. Homeostasis, that is, the tendency of living organisms to maintain a balanced
internal state for optimal operation, allows organisms to function in a wide variety of
environmental conditions.
7. The process of changing from one key to another in music is known as modulation.
8. In the 1930’s, doctors dealing with uncontrollable, violent patients would sometimes
perform a lobotomy: they would drive a tool through the person’s eye socket in order
to sever the nerves that connect the frontal lobes of the brain to the brain region that
controls emotions.
9. Many tragic events throughout history have been blamed on groupthink, or a
phenomenon in which people become so involved with a group that they lose their
capacity for sound judgment and independent thinking.
10. After a coup d’etat (a forceful and unlawful change of government), a new
government might be formed by a junta, or group of military officers ruling the
country after seizing power.
11. Stagflation, which occurs when economic stagnation and inflation occur
simultaneously, is very difficult to eliminate once it starts.
12. Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer was well known for his genre paintings – scenes of
everyday life – as well as his portraits, among which is Girl with a Pearl Earring.
12
13. Emoticons, text-based faces and objects often seen in e-mails, are used to help the
reader of a text understand the emotions of the writer.
14. Free trade, international trade between countries without government interference or
restrictions, stands in stark contrast to protectionist trade policies, whereby
governments interfere in international markets through price setting and supply
quotas.
15. The gene alpha 1-3 gal transferase, which produces a sugar that triggers rejection of
transplanted organs, must be deactivated in transplant patients.
List the different ways of including definitions in the text:
Words / Phrases ________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
Punctuation: ____________________________________________________________
By Minna Lipner
General Terms, Definitions and Examples
The hazards of insomnia have been much better investigated and tabulated than those
of hypersomnia (too much sleep). When discussing insomnia, doctors ask if the patient
has difficulty in getting to sleep, difficulty in staying asleep, is waking too early, or waking
unrefreshed. The problem is characterized as “transient” insomnia, which is usually
related to external circumstances and lasts only for days; “intermittent “ insomnia, which
lasts for longer periods but is interspersed with times when the patients sleep well; or
“chronic” insomnia, which persists for weeks or months. Whatever the type, causes such
as working antisocial hours, depression, bipolar disorder, some diseases - including
heart troubles, thyrotoxicosis and sleep apnoea (crescendo snoring with intermittent
pauses in breathing) – or inappropriate use of caffeine or alcohol, have to be excluded.
(adapted from “How Much Sleep Should We Have, by T. Stuttaford, The Times, February 2004)
13
1. Fill in the following table with the terms and/ or their definitions as they appear in the paragraph.
Indicate the markers that helped you find the answer. Some answers have been filled in for you.
Term
Definition/Explanation/Example
Marker/Clue
Term
Definition/Explanation/Example
Marker/Clue
2.
too little sleep
1. hypersomnia
…which is related
to…
3.
4.”intermittent”
insomnia
5.
6. thyrotoxicosis
7.
()
2. Complete the following sentence:
Working antisocial hours, bipolar disorder and inappropriate use of caffeine are all
examples of _________________________________________________________
By Dr. Anna Lyubman
14
AFFIXES: PREFIXES and SUFFIXES
Many words are formed by adding prefixes or suffixes to the root word. Knowing the
meanings of the prefixes and suffixes can help you to understand the definitions of
words formed in this way. Below is a list of common prefixes and suffixes.
Prefix/Suffix
Usual Meaning
Examples
un-, non-, in- not
unchanged, nonviolent, inexpensive,
il-, ir-, im-, a-
illogical, irresponsible, impossible, atypical
in-
inside
inborn, innate, incoming
de-, dis-
reverses action of
defrost, disconnect
verb
re-
again
redo, retry
ante-, pre-
before
antedate, preread
fore-
a) before b) in front
forehead, foresee
post-
after
postdate, postwar
anti-,
against
antiwar, contradict, counterargument,
in favor of, supports
pro-business, pro-choice,
contra-,
counter-,
pro-
pro-conservation
inter-
between
international
intra-
within
intravenous, intranational
mid-
middle
midday, mid-sentence, midnight
mal-
bad, ill
malfunction, maltreat, malnourish
mis-
in the wrong way
misunderstand, misplace, misguided
out-
a) outside b) to do
outgoing, outbuilding, output
better or more
outdo, outrun, outsmart, outstare
many
multipurpose, multimillionaire
multi-, poly-
polysyllabic, polyglot, polytheism
semi-
partly, half
semicircle, semidarkness, semi-annual
super-
great amounts,
super-efficient, superman, superhuman,
bigger, better, etc.
superpower, superstar
below
subtitle, subnormal, subhuman, subway
sub-
15
tele-
distant
telephone, telescope, telepathy
over-
a) over
overrule, overview
b) too much
overconfident, overweight
Prefix/Suffix
under-
Usual Meaning
Examples
a) under
underwater, underwear
b) not enough
underpay, underpriced, underestimate
uni-, mono-
one
uniform, unicycle, monopoly, monotone
bi-
two
bicycle, biannual
trans-
across
translate, transportation
co-, con-,
together, with
co-author, cooperate, cohabit, connect,
col-, comex-
consensus, collect, community
a) former
b) out, more than,
very, outside
ex-husband, ex-friend, exit, exceed, excel
en-, -en
make
enrich, sweeten
-ology
study of
psychology, physiology, biology
-er, -or,
carrier, actor, driver, policeman, biologist,
-ful
person who
does/knows
something/
profession/ in the
style of
a) someone who is
affected by an action
b) someone who
does an action
with, has the quality
-less
without
careless, hopeless, rainless
-ify, -ize
to make
simplify, unify, dramatize, equalize
-able, -ible
can, having ability
avoidable, lovable, noticeable
extra-
-man, -ist,
-ian
-ee
extra-large, extra-curricular
mathematician, Machiavellian
employee, examinee, payee, interviewee,
absentee, divorcee, escapee
careful, beautiful, harmful
Suffixes often tell us what part of speech a word is:
Noun Markers
Verb Markers**
Adjective Markers
*ment–improvement
ate – liberate
*al – accidental
*ness – happiness
fy, ify – satisfy
*ic – tragic
*ship – partnership
ize – visualize
able/ible–
acceptable
16
Adverb Markers
ly - slowly
*(a)tion (sion, cion) –
politician
er/or – teacher
en – weaken
*ous – serious
*ity – abnormality
*ance/ence–
independence
*ive – protective
ful – peaceful
**All of these verb
suffixes mean: “to
make”
less – homeless
(without)
By Minna Lipner
Affixes – Practice
Exercise 1
Based on your knowledge of prefixes and suffixes, divide the bold words into their
components (roots + affixes), and then define them according to their meanings in the
sentences.
1. World War II happened because an amoral leader came into power.
________________________________________________________________
2. Harry is feeling disillusioned because after all his hard work, he has discovered
that no one really believed in the project at all.
________________________________________________________________
3. The building collapsed when it was finished because no one had the forethought to
redesign the foundation after the top floors were changed.
________________________________________________________________
4. Intraparty politics and the party leader’s lack of interpersonal skills caused the
party to call new election.
________________________________________________________________
5. The computer malfunctioned because there was a misprint in the instructions, and
people misused it.
________________________________________________________________
6. The students sat in a semicircle, watching the film in the semidarkness.
________________________________________________________________
7. With telecommunications technology, it is possible to transmit information from
one country to another.
________________________________________________________________
8. Due to his overconfidence, the accountant underestimated the amount of money
needed for expenses, and exceeded the budget by millions of dollars.
________________________________________________________________
17
9. The writer’s style was Agnonian.
________________________________________________________________
10. Because Rachel is a realist, she believes that the situation is hopeless.
________________________________________________________________
11. The musician’s flawless performance seemed effortless.
________________________________________________________________
12. In order to be profitable, you must diversify your investment portfolio.
________________________________________________________________
by Minna Lipner
Exercise 2
Enclose in parentheses the asterisk in front of the word that best replaces the underlined word.
Examples:
John is too heavy.
* underweight
(*) overweight
* mid-weight
The Egyptian pyramids predate classical Athens.
* postdate
(*)antedate
*outdate
1. The child has only become poorly accustomed to the new situation.
* re-adjusted
* well-adjusted
* mal-adjusted
2. The new advertising seems to be having the opposite effect in regard to increasing sales.
* counterproductive
* reproductive
* underproductive
3. Snow storms can immobilize community services like home nursing and garbage collection.
* enable
* disable
* unable
4. The word ‘port’ comes from a Latin word that means ‘bring’ or ‘convey.’ Thus, a ‘seaport’
or an ‘airport’ is a place where objects are brought into a country or conveyed out.
* exported
* imported
* reported
5. When a person is unwillingly sent out of a country, we may not be sorry to see him go.
* supported
* imported
* deported
18
6. Engineers had the vision to plan against mishaps in the rocket’s pre-launch testing.
* hindsight
* oversight
* foresight
7. The file was supposed to be in the Desktop folder, but it was incorrectly put in My Documents.
* misplaced
* replaced
* pre-positioned
8. Some pupils dislike the classroom because they are overly restless.
* hyper-active
* super-intelligent
* ultra-modern
9. Many people who have lived a regular life find that when they reach the age of fifty, they
bemoan a sense of boredom and yearn for new experiences.
* non-life
* pro-life
* mid-life
10. My sister-in-law is divorced, but her former spouse is trying to get custody of the children.
* extradition
* ex-husband
* ex-manager
11. My father worked 16 hours a day, five days a week, in a factory for a small hourly wage.
He was underpaid and driven too hard.
* anti-labor
* overworked
* disallow
12. Astrology is a system of knowledge that cannot be proven by rigorous testing or
experimentation.
* semi-conductor
* pseudo-science
* quasi-system
Adapted from: Words to Texts©2008 by Eli Ben-Joseph (pp. 26-29). All Rights Reserved.
19
Reference
What are references?
References are words that point (refer) to other words in the text – either one word, a
group of words, or a sentence (or sentences). Usually the word refers to something
mentioned before it in the text, but sometimes it refers to something that comes after it.
How do you know what the reference points to?
If you are not sure of what is being referred to by the reference word, try the substitution
test: Replace the reference word with the word(s) you think it points to and then read
the sentence to see if it makes sense in the context.
Examples:
-Stress is experienced differently by different people, but it does cause a number of
physiological changes in the body.
The reference word “it” refers back to “stress.”
-Though it may be tricky, men and women can successfully become close friends.
The reference word “it” refers forward to “men and women can successfully become
close friends.”
Some Common Reference Words:
Read the sentences below, and underline the referents for the reference words in bold.
1. it (they)
Example: Healthy alternatives to sugar exist, and they need to be made more
accessible to the public.
2. this (these), that (those)
Example: Some educational researchers maintain that early intervention programs
for disadvantaged children have long-term benefits. Other researchers disagree with
this.
Example: Some educational researchers believe that early intervention can help
disadvantaged children and that decreasing class size in their schools will lead to
enhanced educational results. However, these ideas are the subject of much
debate.
20
3. one (ones)
Example: There are many factors that may result in an innocent suspect being
found guilty. One is public pressure to catch the criminal.
4. such (+ noun)
Example: The number of hours people sleep may vary widely. Such variation may
be the result of various factors, such as different lifestyles and physical needs.
5. so
Example: Before reading a text, it is important to read the title and subtitles. Doing
so may help you understand the main idea.
6. the former, the latter
Example: Researchers compared orphaned rats and rats with mothers. The former
were found to have more cell death in several brain regions.
Example: Although Japanese students outperform Americans at early stages of
education, the latter catch up and even surpass the former in university.
7. there, then
Example: During World War II, 70% of the buildings in Berlin were destroyed by
bombs. People living there then lived in terrible conditions.
By Minna Lipner
21
Exercises 1
Underline the word(s) or sentence(s) that the reference (substitute) words replace. The first
one is done for you.
1.
The press cannot be separated from the movements in popular culture any more easily
than the other media. The way it has developed has not protected it from
contemporary pressures.
2.
Perhaps the approach that philosophy offers will at least provide a framework for a
theory of semantics. It would be comforting to think so.
3.
Although in recent years, people frequent cinemas less and less, film making is still a
major industry. There are a number of reasons for this.
4.
The critics argued that although many popular novels claim to be involved with the
"values of our civilization" they offer an extreme simplification of experience.
5.
British consumers have been left to flounder in a pile of communications from industry,
each one having reached them according to the speed of the publicity machine used.
6.
To remain profitable, more firms are having to devote time and money to market
planning. It is but a short step to persuade them that the information they should work
with is that which reflects real needs and not merely the sales reports of their
competitors' current models.
7.
Our era is distinguished by much discussion on patriotism, social welfare, law, and
order. Some people believe that such talk is only a mask to hide private indifference to
public issues.
8.
In 1945, there was a shortage of 2 million homes, and the new government promised
to overcome it by constructing subsidized housing estates.
9.
George Orwell predicted that by 1984 war ill have become peace. This is believed to
have happened in certain totalitarian states.
22
10.
In the world of business executives, images of status and achievement predominate.
These, however, are so uniform that it is often difficult to evaluate any act that does not
conform to an absolute standard.
From: Build It Up, by A. Levine, B. Oded, and S. Statman, Aviv Printers.
Exercise 2.
Read the sentences below and answer the questions after each sentence. Identifying
references will help you find the answers.
1. According to one of the traditional assumptions about earning and buying, if people who
have money expect prices to go up, they will hasten to buy. If they expect prices to go
down, they will postpone buying. But research surveys have shown that this is not always
true.
Which traditional attitude is not supported by research data?
______________________________________________________________________
2. It is not merely desirable but essential for a teacher to have a genuine capacity for
sympathy—in the literal meaning of that word; a capacity to tune in to the minds and
feelings of other people, especially, since most teachers are school teachers, to the
minds and feelings of children. Closely related with this is the capacity to be tolerant –
not, indeed, of what is wrong, but of the frailty and immaturity of human nature that
induce people, and especially children, to make mistakes.
Which two qualities of a teacher are closely connected? ______________________________________________________________________
3. The nineteenth century saw the sudden growth of many cities with populations ranging
from 100,000 to 8 million. An important reason for this development lies with the great
advances in technology that came during the second half of the eighteenth century and
during the nineteenth century.
What was one of the effects of the great advances in technology during the nineteenth
century?
______________________________________________________________________
4.
At about 3 months of age, a baby is likely to smile if somebody comes close and talks to
him. This shows that he is aware of the approach of the other person, that pleasurable
sensations are aroused. If, however, the person moves too quickly or speaks too
sharply, the baby may look apprehensive and cry. He will not “trust” the unusual situation
but will have a feeling of uneasiness, of mistrust, instead.
What kind of reaction shows that the baby is aware of the approach of another person?
______________________________________________________________________
23
5. Democratic discipline uses punishments and rewards, with more emphasis on rewards.
Punishments are never harsh. They are used where children willfully disobey their
parents.
How do parents react when children refuse to obey them?
______________________________________________________________________
6.
In Mexico and India, the “revolutionary party” tends to remain in power long after the
revolution is over. It remains in power through popular gratitude and through the adept
manipulation of the institutions that the veterans created in the first place for themselves.
Like well-tailored suits, they fit their measurements perfectly.
What are compared with well-tailored suits? ___________________________________
Whose measurements do they fit? ____________________________________________
From: Build It Up, by A. Levine, B. Oded, and S. Statman, Aviv Printers.
24
Sentence Structure
UNDERSTANDING DIFFICULT SENTENCES: SENTENCE STRUCTURE
What do you do if you come across a sentence that you don’t understand? You may
look up the hard words in a dictionary. But - what do you do if you look up every hard
word, and you still don’t understand the meaning?
In this case, you may understand the sentence by breaking it down into its main parts.
When you understand the main parts of a sentence, you can understand its main
message. Then you can understand how the other parts of the sentence relate to the
main parts, and understand the sentence one section at a time.
What are the main parts of a sentence?
The main parts of every sentence are the verb and the subject. The subject comes
first, and the verb comes immediately after.
Example:
subject
verb
The children are selling lemonade.
VERBS
The verb can be an action word like swim, read, help, talk. The verb can also be the
verb “be” (am, is, are, were, etc.).
Example:
subject
verb
The English teacher is nice.
When is a verb form not a verb?
Sometimes there are words that look like verbs that do not function as verbs in the
sentence.
1. If the verb has “to” in front of it, it is not a verb.
Example:
subject
verb
To study English in university is sometimes difficult.
2. If the verb form is “verb+ing” without a helping verb, it is not a verb.
Example:
subject
verb
Studying English can be very exciting.
subject
verb
The boringadj. lecture put the students to sleep.
25
3. Some words that take the form of “verb+ed” are adjectives. They come before a noun
and they modify the noun.
Example:
subject
verb
The bored students snored gently.
SUBJECTS

The subject of a sentence is usually a noun or noun group (a noun + all of the
words that modify it).
Example:
subject
verb
The exciting stories about the war heroes have been told many times.

Sometimes the subject of a sentence is a clause (sentence), which includes a
verb. If the subject is a clause, then the first verb is NOT the verb of the
sentence – the second verb is.
How do you know if a subject is a clause?
a. If the sentence starts with a question word, but it’s not a question (no question
mark at the end), then the subject is a clause.
b. if the sentence starts with “whether, whoever, whenever, whichever, whatever” –
the subject is definitely a clause.
c. if the sentence starts with the word “that” – then you must check – the subject
could be a noun or a clause.
Examples:
What I need is a long vacation.
Whoever left their books on the floor should move them.
That his theory was flawed soon became obvious
How do you find the subject and verb of a sentence?
1. Start by finding the verb of the sentence. Start from the beginning of the sentence
and find the first verb that can be a verb (if it has “to” before it, or if it has “ing” and no
helping verb, or if it is part of a subject clause -- it is NOT a verb!).
2. After you find the verb, ask “who or what did the verb?” – the answer is the subject of
the sentence. The subject always comes before the verb – and there shouldn’t be
anything between the subject and the verb.
26
Once you have found the main subject and verb of the sentence, you can
understand the main message of the sentence.
SOME VARIATIONS

Sometimes, there is an introduction to the sentence before the subject. The
introduction is often a phrase describing when or where the sentence
happened (and it will start with a preposition).
Example:
introduction
subject
verb
In most modern countries, building new housing requires permits from the
municipal government.

Another kind of introduction is a phrase that starts with a V3 or V+ing. This
kind of introduction describes the subject of the sentence; sometimes it gives
a reason for the sentence.
Examples:
introduction:
subject
verb
-Tired by her children’s constant demands, the mother quietly walked into her bedroom
and closed the door.
introduction
subject
verb
-Complaining loudly about the unfairness of the school rules, the students marched into
the principal’s office.

If a sentence starts with “it is” or “there is”, technically, “it” and “there” are the
subjects of the sentence, but they refer to the end of the sentence.
Examples:
-It is impossible to understand what they are saying.
-There is a broad consensus in some societies that the proper role of a female is to be in
the home.
27
Simple Sentences
Exercise 1: Label the subjects and verbs in the following sentences.
1. The use of animal organs for transplantation into humans has traditionally met with
failure.
2. Jonathan Allen, a virologist at the South-West Foundation for Biomedical Research
in San Antonio, Texas, was recently quoted in Time magazine.
3. Writing about citizens and their voluntary services to the needy is a good way to
record official appreciation.
4. Over the last several decades, public awareness of the medical feasibility of organ
transplantation as a viable means of prolonging human life has increased.
5.
This awareness, combined with a strong desire on the part of the medical
establishment to promote the technique of transplants, has resulted in the creation of a
demand for suitable donor organs that has far outstripped the limited supply.
6. Vilified by critics on the right and the left, the politician reluctantly retired from politics,
still convinced of the justness of his claims.
7. Bored with hearing the same material explained again and again, the student looked
for alternative means of stimulation.
8. Attempting to add to the literature on weight disorders, the researchers studied a
college student sample of overweight men and women on diets to determine which
factors lead to successful weight loss.
9. That he should fail to conduct the investigation seems very strange.
10. What all these events have in common is that they interfere with or threaten our
accustomed way of life.
11. In humans, however, it is harder to predict what will be stressful to a particular
person at a particular time.
12. There is one approach to improving health care that government members from all
parties agree on: finding ways to prevent illnesses.
13.
Whether a particular stimulus will be stressful depends on a person’s
subjective appraisal of that stimulus.
14. Knowing the results of an AIDS test could not possibly help the mother of an infected child.
15. That the failure of the educational system in America is caused by the irrelevance of
what is taught in school is emphasized by Goodman, a prominent educator.
By Minna Lipner
28
Note how the subject may be expanded:
Pronoun:
It interests him.
Noun:
Behaviour interests him.
Adjective & Noun:
Animal behaviour interests him.
Noun Phrase:
The behaviour of captive animals interests him.
Noun & Adj. Clause: The behaviour of animals which are aggressive interests him.
Gerund Phrase:
Watching animals interests him.
Infinitive Phrase:
To solve difficult social problems interests him.
Noun Clauses:
That animals are similar to people interests him.
Reduced Adj. Clause: Animals found in remote parts of the world interest him.
Note how the complement may be expanded:
He studies it.
He studies people.
He studies unusual people.
He studies all kinds of people in unusual situations.
He studies reading.
He studies to improve his knowledge.
He studies people who suffer from various problems.
He studies what interests him.
He studies people involved in difficult situation.
29
SIMPLE SENTENCES
Divide the sentences below into groups of words that go together. Start by finding the
main subject(s) and verb(s) of each sentence. Then answer the comprehension
questions that follow.
1. Whether or not acquisition of a new language in adults depends on a general
learning ability is controversial.
What do people argue about? (Complete the sentence.)
Some people think ___________________________________________________
Others think ________________________________________________________
2. The fact that research on anorexia nervosa continues to assert that eating
disorders are psychiatric illnesses means that anorexics carry a stigma.
Why are anorexics stigmatized? _________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
3. Job seekers’ decisions concerning whether or not to disclose information
about a disability or associated needs must be based on knowledge about the
benefits of disclosure as well as thorough information about their legal
entitlements, rights, and responsibilities in disclosing.
What do job seekers need to know about?
a. _________________________________________________________________
b. _________________________________________________________________
Why do they need to know this? (Complete the sentence.)
Because it will help them decide if they should tell employers
___________________________________________________________________
4. In developing our critique, which is in part motivated by the necessity to
examine the presuppositions of our own work, as well as the assumptions in
work done by Fitch and Meltzer, we identify fundamental problems that must
be addressed if progress is to be made in this area of inquiry.
Why do the writers develop their critique? Because they think they must investigate
__________________________________________________________________
and _______________________________________________________________
How do they develop the critique? (Answer briefly.)
30
By addressing ________________________________
5. The mismatch between the elemental concepts of linguistics and cognitive
neuroscience prevents the formulation of theoretically motivated, biologically
grounded, and computationally explicit linking hypotheses that bridge
neuroscience and linguistics.
What is the difference between linguistics and cognitive neuroscience?
Their ____________________________ (1-2 WORDS) do not
_______________________ (1 WORD).
Why is this a problem? (Fill in the blanks to answer the question.)
Because it stops the creation of ___________________________ (ONE WORD)
that connect ________________________________________________________.
6. That research on affective issues has generally looked for stable factors that
can be measured by questionnaire, or even personal interviews, that most
research from the past has focused on products, not on processes, has
resulted in a lack of attention to the emotional reactions of students in
research on affect in mathematics education.
Why has research on affect in mathematics education ignored the emotional
reactions of students? (Circle the correct phrases to complete the answer.)
Because this research has sought
PERSONAL INTERVIEWS / PRODUCTS
STABLE FACTORS / EMOTIONAL REACTIONS ,
and it has concentrated on LACK OF ATTENTION / PRODUCTS / PROCESSES /
RESEARCH ON AFFECT.
7. Improving practices on gender issues and promoting gender equality by hiring
gender diverse senior management can improve the financial performance of a
company and provide reputational benefits that enhance an organization’s
ability to compete in the global marketplace for highly skilled workers.
Which two actions are beneficial to companies?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
In which two ways will they help companies? (Answer briefly):
a. They will ________________________________
b. They will ________________________________
31
8. An impressive first-century Roman arch of Pentelic marble with Corinthian
capitals, known as The Arch of Titus, commemorates the emperor Titus’
triumphant victory in Jerusalem in 70 C.E. with depictions of the spoils taken
from the Jewish Temple and an inscription recording the dedication of the arch
by the Senate and people of Rome to “the divine Titus Vespasianus Augustus,
son of the divine Vespasian.”
What is the source of the information about the Roman victory in Jerusalem?
a. Corinthian capitals;
b. Jewish Temple
c. The Arch of Titus
d. The Roman Senate
What two pieces of information are given? Underline the answers in the sentence.
9. To accurately reflect the significant number of studies describing sensory
processing from multiple disciplines in addition to occupational therapy, we
use terminology that is consistent with the terminology used by the studies’
authors, and, when possible, link the terms to current consensus terminology
in sensory integration and practice.
What 2 things do the writers do?
a. ________________________________________________________________
b. ________________________________________________________________
Why do they do this?
__________________________________________________________________
What kind of terminology do the writers use?
__________________________________________________________________
10. Given that stress, psychological resources (e.g., locus of control), and social
support appear to have some role in the etiology of postpartum depression,
the stress and coping paradigm (see Lazarus & Folkman, 1984 )--which could
incorporate these findings--may be useful in this regard.
Why does the writer think that the stress and coping paradigms may be useful?
__________________________________________________________________
32
11. In relation to personal resources, it has been suggested that, in comparison to
people with internal control beliefs, those with external control beliefs are
likely to doubt their ability to actively manage stressful situations, which
means that they typically expend less effort on the development of coping,
hence impairing their adjustment to stress.
Who has difficulty adjusting to stress?
__________________________________________________________________
Why do they have trouble with this adjustment? (Fill in the cause-effect chart to
describe the process.)
difficulty in adjusting


to stress
By Minna Lipner with Anna Lyubman
Noun Groups
A noun group is made up of a noun + all the words describing (modifying) it. There are
several different types of modifiers:
1. Adjectives:
nice friendly country; calm careful driver;
incompetent, corrupt, oppressive and unrepresentative government
2. V+ing form:
boring lecturer; developing country; convincing evidence
3. V3 forms:
bored student; wasted day; developed country; manufactured goods
*Adjective combinations: privately owned press; fairly untroubled life; commonly held
belief
4. Nouns: In any noun-noun group, the second noun is the head noun and the first
noun becomes an adjective describing the second noun.
housework
school day
price list
workhouse
day school
list price
33
5. Prepositional Phrases:
the car in the garage; the book about the pioneers; the man with the mustache
in the classroom
about
above
across
after
among
around
at
before
behind
below
beneath
beside
between
by
down
during
except
for
from
in
into
of
off
on
over
through
to
toward
under
up
with
Answer the questions after reading the sentences.
1. The university entrance test on grammar and spelling was given in the administration
building.
Which test was given? _________________________________________
In which building? _________________________________________
2. The Knesset law committee chairman added his voice to the chorus of critics of the
proposed legislation about stricter punishments for repeat offenders.
Who added his voice? the _______________________ of
the__________________________
What were people criticizing?
___________________________________________________
3.
The exhausted London city tour guide is waiting for the lost group from
Brazil in the tourist information office on the corner.
Which tour guide? _______________________ Which group?
_________________________
Where is he waiting? ___________________________________
Questions by Minna Lipner
Rewrite the following:
1. suggestion for the improvement of the restaurant of the university
__________________________________________
2. party for the staff of the department
__________________________________________
3. letter of news of the organization
__________________________________________
4. campaign for the prevention of accidents
__________________________________________
5. committee for the curriculum of the department of history
__________________________________________
34
Adjective Clauses
An adjective clause is a group of words containing a verb that describes a noun. It
comes after the noun it is describing. It is marked by the words who, whom, whose,
which, that, when, where.
Examples:
The students who worked hard passed the test.
The house where I was born has fallen down.
The friend that I told you about passed his driving test.
Identifying adjective clauses can help you in 2 ways:
1. It may help you find the main verb of the sentence – because you will know that the
verb in the adjective clause is NOT the main verb of the sentence.
2. If you have a long, hard sentence, you can first put the adjective clauses into parentheses
in order to shorten the sentence; then read the sentence without the adjective clauses and
get the main message; and finally, add in the adjective clauses.
Exercise 1: Circle the adjective clauses in the sentences below, and draw an arrow to
the words that they modify. Then underline the main verb of the sentence. The first one
has been done for you.
1.
Thirty-four percent of people who said they never got sleepy during
the day performed like a person with sleep apnea.
2. Reductions in the number of people who were suffering from infectious diseases
stemmed from public health programs that kept these afflictions from occurring in the
first place.
3. The shocker in this report is that husbands who kill their wives are not treated more
leniently than men who kill strangers, despite the media myth to the contrary.
4. Virtually anything that sends the patient one of four messages – someone is listening
to me; other people care about me; my symptoms are explainable; my symptoms are
controllable – can bring measurable improvements in health.
5. People who have suffered strokes in certain brain regions have been known to have
prolonged bouts of pathological laughter.
35
6. Sometimes the best strategy is to join a patient support group, where you can share
your story and learn from those of people in the same predicament.
7. There is absolutely no support in this data for the claim that husbands who kill their
wives are systematically treated with kid gloves by the system.
Adapted from Minna Lipner
Reduced Adjective Clauses
Sometimes, the adjective clause marker (who, whom, whose, which, that, when, where) and the
verb be are taken out. In other words, the adjective clause is reduced (made shorter).
Examples:
The idea that the teacher explained was important for understanding the
text.  The idea the teacher explained was important for understanding the text.
The doctor who was available in the emergency room had not yet finished
his training.  The doctor available in the emergency room had not yet finished his
training.
The flowers which are blooming in the garden are my favorites.  The
flowers blooming in the garden are my favorites.
The car that was taken by the thieves was found in an abandoned field.
 The car taken by the thieves was found in an abandoned field.
How can we identify reduced adjective clauses?
1.
The most important way is by reading to the end of the sentence and
seeing which words go together.
2.
There are some patterns to look for:
noun + Ving (example 3);
noun + V3 (with no helping verb) – (example 4);
noun + V3 + by… (with no helping verb); and
noun + adjective (example 2).
When you see these patterns, you know that the words after the noun are an adjective
clause modifying the noun.
Exercise 2: Circle the reduced adjective clauses in the following sentences. Then draw
arrows to the nouns that they modify.
1.
Higher education obtained at a young age is often considered the
key to economic stability.
2. One of the customers at McDonald’s sued the company for damages done in the
course of drinking hot coffee in her car.
3. The cookies made with whole wheat flour were uneaten at the end of the day.
4. The prison inmates were brought to the court by the policeman known to be kind.
5. Ballet dancers struggling to maintain slim, graceful bodies often suffer from eating problems.
6. The researchers investigating language problems visited the schools attended by
children with special needs in order to observe firsthand the influence of new
techniques designed to alleviate language problems.
36
Exercise 3: Put parentheses around the adjective clauses in the following sentences,
and draw an arrow to the noun they modify. Underline the main verb of each sentence.
1.
One issue that has repeatedly gripped public attention in recent years is
the issue of violence in the media.
2.
Studies have shown that one factor contributing to high and rising levels
of violence in the United States and elsewhere is media violence.
3.
Several lines of research conducted in very different ways are consistent
with this interpretation.
4.
Participants who witnessed media violence later demonstrated higher
levels of aggression than participants who were not exposed to such materials.
5.
Results indicated that for boys who were rated by their teachers as being
highly aggressive in the classroom, exposure to the violent program had the expected
effects: it increased their violent behavior.
6.
Such findings were not obtained among groups of boys previously rated
as nonaggressive – a finding suggesting that violence in the media is more likely to
enhance aggression among persons who already have a strong tendency for such
behavior than among those in whom this tendency is relatively weak.
7.
In the first game, the character controlled by subjects hit or kicked various
villains in order to destroy them.
8.
A new study using mice has raised questions about whether sunscreens
can protect against melanoma.
9.
The number of Americans diagnosed with melanoma has increased
steadily for decades.
10. The secrecy surrounding HIV screening in newborns grew out of a reasonable effort
to balance the need for information about the extent of the epidemic with the need to
protect the privacy of patients, who may be discriminated against by employers and
By Minna Lipner
insurance companies.
Exercise 4:
I. Circle all of the words that modify the underlined head nouns, and answer the questions.
1. Observations of the children’s behavior revealed that those who had seen the model
behave aggressively were much more likely to attack the inflated toy than those who
had not witnessed such behavior.
a. Which two groups are being compared in this sentence?
________________________________________ and
____________________________________
b. Which words in the sentence indicate that a comparison is being made?
_____________________
c. What does the word “those” refer to? _______________________________
d. What is indicated by the word “that” in the sentence above? (Choose one answer.)
-a new sentence within the sentence
-a description of a noun
37
2. In a violent game called “Karetaka,” the character controlled by subjects hit or kicked
various villains in order to destroy them.
a. Who hit or kicked the villains? _______________________________________________
3. Results indicated that youngsters exposed to violent programs or movies demonstrate
higher levels of aggression than those exposed to nonviolent materials.
a. Which two groups are being compared in this sentence?
___________________________________ and ____________________________________
b. Which words in the sentence indicate that a comparison is being made?
____________________
c. What does the word “those” refer to? _______________________________
d. What is indicated by the word “that” in the sentence above? (Choose one answer.)
-a new sentence within the sentence
-a description of a noun
4. These findings suggest that even very young children can acquire new ways of
aggressing against others through exposure to filmed or televised violence.
a. Who can acquire new ways of aggressing?
___________________________________________
b. What is indicated by the word “that” in the sentence above? (Choose one answer.)
-a new sentence within the sentence
-a description of a noun
5. In this investigation, second- and third-grade boys watched either an exciting film
about a bike-racing team or excerpts from a popular, violence-filled television program.
a. Who participated in this study?
_____________________________________________________
b. What two things did they watch?
________________________________________ and
____________________________________
38
II. Circle the noun groups in the sentences below. Underline the head noun in each
group. (The number of noun groups in each sentence is written in parentheses at the
end of each sentence.)
1. The latter film contained scenes in which the member of a special police team killed
or knocked unconscious a large number of criminals. (2)
2. Results indicated that for boys who were rated by their teachers as being highly
aggressive in the classroom, exposure to the violent programs had the expected
effects: Those who watched these shows engaged in more acts of aggression during
the hockey game. (6)
3. Such findings were not obtained among groups of boys who were previously rated as
nonaggressive – a finding suggesting that violence in the media is more likely to
enhance aggression among persons who already have a strong tendency for such
behavior than among those in whom this tendency is relatively weak. (3)
By Minna Lipner
Noun Groups
Exercise 5: Write the following sentences without adjectives and adjective groups:
1. Complex computer systems which were created to absorb statistical information may
present problems to technicians who are inexperienced in the field.
______________________________________________________________________
2. The clever little boy who had been dressed beautifully by his mother gave the flowers
to the visiting queen.
______________________________________________________________________
3. The bored, tired students fell asleep in the hot stuffy classroom.
______________________________________________________________________
4. The cruel, merciless sun shone down on the traveling group and increased their
burning, desperate need to find a source of purified water.
______________________________________________________________________
5. The October Revolution’s amazingly easy victory occurred in a totalitarian country
with a despotic and centralized bureaucratic system.
39
______________________________________________________________________
6. The weekend newspaper supplement is read by many regular contributors when
they sit on the golden, grubby sans of the Tel-Aviv beach.
______________________________________________________________________
7. The mathematics department curriculum committee will present its findings to the
present rector.
______________________________________________________________________
8. The large rambling semi-detached house which had always been the object of
Jane’s dreams was bought by a member of a visiting basketball team.
______________________________________________________________________
9. The amateur gardener used the grass cutter too near the blossoming flowers.
______________________________________________________________________
10. Office staff who are bored in their work often gossip with friends whom they can
reach by telephone.
______________________________________________________________________
Noun Modifiers
Exercise 6: Read the following paragraph. Take all the adjective groups out, and
translate the main idea into Hebrew.
Dynamite
On April 13, 1888, Alfred Nobel, a Swedish chemist and industrialist, who twenty years
earlier had mixed a capricious, extremely powerful oil called nitroglycerine with
kieselguhr, a diatomaceous earth, to create a baton shaped explosive which he called
dynamite, woke to read his own obituary in a French newspaper. The notice, placed
inadvertedly instead of the obituary of an older brother, who had died the previous day,
described Nobel as a “merchant of death” whose work with explosives was responsible,
to a great extent, for Europe’s accelerating arms race.
______________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
From Bryan D. Salvatore ‘The Vehement Fire’
40
Expanded (Compound and Complex) Sentences
Sentences can be expanded in two ways:
1. Two or more complete sentences may be attached together with a semicolon (;) or
FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). Each sentence has its own main subject and
verb.
Examples:
-She wanted to take the course, yet it was already closed.
-The children went out to play, and the adults stayed inside and talked.
-We decided to cancel the picnic, for the weather forecast predicted rain.
2. Dependent sentences may be added to a complete (main) sentence. Each
dependent sentence starts with a dependent marker (a.k.a. subordinator), and
contains a subject and verb. The dependent sentences explain, or answer questions,
about the main sentence. They also show the relationship between the main sentence
and the dependent sentence(s).
Common Dependent Markers / Subordinators:
(Relationship of time) before, after, when, once, as long as, while, as soon as, until,
as
(Relationship of cause/effect/condition) as, since, inasmuch as, because, if, provided
that, on condition that, unless, so that, in the hope that, in case
(Relationship of contrast) in spite of, despite, though, even though, although,
whereas, while
Example:
One complete sentence:
The scientist will compile her results.
One complete sentence + one dependent clause:
The scientist will compile her results as soon as she gets home from the conference.
One complete sentence + two dependent clauses:
Although she has many other commitments, the scientist will compile her results as
soon as she gets home from the conference.
* To understand a long difficult sentence, break it up into separate sentences, and find
the subject and verb of each sentence.
41
Expanded Sentences
Exercise 1: Divide the following sentences into separate sentences. Circle the
subordinators that mark the beginnings of new sentences.
1. If there were no wireless internet access on the campus, the students would be very
unhappy despite the fact that this change might help them concentrate better during
class.
2. After people have experienced a traumatic event, such as a car accident or terrorist
attack, they often seek help in the form of psychotherapy in the hope that this
therapy will help them overcome the distress that they feel as a result of their ordeal.
3. As people become more environmentally aware, they have started using
environmentally friendly products in their daily lives since they realize that the
changes they make can have a cumulative long-term impact on the world that we live
in.
4.
Because diet programs such as Atkins and Weight Watchers are
advertised aggressively, they are very popular even though these diet programs involve
a slow initial weight loss period before people can achieve their weight-loss goals.
By Minna Lipner
COMPLEX SENTENCES
Exercise 2: Divide the sentences below into groups of words that go together. Start by
finding the main subject(s) and verb(s) of each sentence. Then answer the
comprehension questions that follow.
1. Although studies on alternative treatments for aggressive cancers are
controversial, the amount of resources devoted to such studies suggests that
they are motivated by a viable and successful research program, and implies
that substantive progress is being made.
What is the problem with the studies that are mentioned in this sentence?
They are ________________________________ (ONE WORD).
What are some advantages of these studies? (List 2.)
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
On the whole, is the writer more POSITIVE or NEGATIVE about these studies?
Circle one answer:
POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
42
2. While insights gained by research into the neurological processes underlying
language are certainly scientifically interesting, clinically relevant, and receive
considerable popular attention, there are clear limitations to this methodology
that dampen our enthusiasm about this approach as a comprehensive
research program.
What are the advantages of research on the neurological processes of language?
It provides information that:
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
On the whole, is the writer more POSITIVE or NEGATIVE about this research?
Circle one answer:
POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
3. Although the government has made efforts to pass legislation controlling
investment scams, frauds of this type are reportedly on the rise as con artists
target aging investors who are worried that their savings will not last them
through their retirement.
What is the main idea of this sentence?
a. aging investors are concerned for their savings;
b. investment scams are increasing;
c. the government has enforced laws against frauds;
d. con artists aim at elderly investors
What has caused investment scams to increase?
___________________________________________________________________
Why are aging investors especially vulnerable to investment scams?
___________________________________________________________________
43
4. In spite of significant breakthroughs in the development of human embryonic
stem cell research that have left many people hopeful about its potential for
new medical treatments, progress in this area has stalled as opponents debate
the ethical issues involved in obtaining embryonic stem cells, resulting in the
prevention of legislation that would provide for funding of this research.
Fill in the following cause-effect chart about the sentence.
lack of progress in


human embryonic
stem cell research
What is the writer’s MAIN message regarding the future of the embryonic stem cell
research?
a. there has been considerable success in this area;
b. it has potential for new medical treatments;
c. there are ethical problems with this research;
d. research in this area has come to a halt.
5. However, many terms in investor protection laws may not be binding since firms
have the flexibility in their corporate bylaws to either choose to "opt-out" and
decline a specific term or adopt additional terms not listed in the legal code.
What can companies do if they don’t want to obey some aspects of investor
protection laws? They can:
__________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________
6. Since they can be replicated to take the form of any cell or tissue in the body
and have the ability to be produced in mass amounts, embryonic stem cells
have the possibility of performing permanent organ repair when healthy cells
of this type are injected into the body, a process commonly referred to as
regenerative medicine, in the hope that terminal or life-altering diseases such
as juvenile-onset diabetes, leukemia, and Parkinson’s disease can be cured.
Why do embryonic stem cells have such great potential for curing diseases?
___________________________________________________________________
44
What is regenerative medicine? When new cells in the body ___________________
___________________________________________________________________
What is the purpose of regenerative medicine? _____________________________
___________________________________________________________________
7. In this view, the data generated by the range of techniques that are used in
neurolinguistic research – i.e. the neuropsychological deficit-lesion method,
EEG, MEG, PET, or fMRI – provide evidence for concepts, representations, and
processes that are independently motivated by linguistic research, and the
neurolinguistic data give the theoretical-linguistic conceptual framework the
authority of hard science methodology.
In what ways is neurolinguistic research helpful to linguistic research?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
By Minna Lipner with Anna Lyubman
45
Connectives
INTRODUCTION
I. Quickly scan the following paragraph. What is it about? How is it organized?
There are several cultural reasons why the aged are stigmatized and oppressed in
American society. One reason is that the members of our society are obsessed with
youth. We have traditionally associated certain highly valued traits with youth: beauty,
health, happiness, usefulness, etc. Second, in our rapidly changing, highly technical
society, old people are considered unnecessary. Finally, the elderly are non-producers
in a society where production translates into value.
Adapted from: Ten Steps to Advancing College Reading Skills, by J. Langan, Townsend Press,
NJ 1993
II. Try to predict the continuation of the following sentences. What helped you to guess?
1. Although I left my house late this morning, _______________________________
2. Sharona decided to go to the party because _____________________________
3. There are several things that I like about studying political science. First of all,
___________________________________________________________________
Transitions, which are also known as connectives or markers, have several functions:
*They connect ideas and show relationships.
*They can help us understand the organization of paragraphs and texts.
*They may help us predict what will come next in the text.
By Minna Lipner
Connectives, which are also known as transitions or markers, have several functions:
*They connect ideas and show relationships.
*They can help us understand the organization of paragraphs and texts.
*They may help us predict what will come next in the text.
46
Exercise. Read the following short passages. Use the markers to help you predict
how each passage will continue.
1.
A study of consumer behavior not only helps the marketing bodies,
but it may also give useful information to a psychologist. Moreover…
a. another result of a study of consumer behavior
b. the specific information that such a study gives to a psychologist
c. a problem in conducting a study of consumer behavior
2.
Money did not become necessary until social groups developed and
needed to increase the area of their trade and the field of individual specialization.
People living in small groups can easily barter goods. But...
a. the problem of barter for larger-groups
b. the advantages of the barter system.
c. a cause of the beginning of individual specialization
3.
Most societies are stratified. In England, for example, we find a class
system1 whereas in India, we find a caste system. The factors that determine a
person’s class are largely economic. The factor that determines a person’s caste,
on the other hand…
a. a description of the economic factors that determine a person’s class
b. a description of a factor that is not economic
c. a comparison to show the similarity between class and caste
4.
In the average classroom, the teacher does his or her best in distributing
reinforcement within the class group or within groups for particular activities, hoping
in this way to shape behavior progressively in the desired direction. This leads to…
a. the result of the teacher’s efforts
b. another method used by the teacher to shape behavior
c. the description of the teacher’s methods
47
5.
It is commonplace among moralists that you cannot get happiness by
pursuing it. This is only true if you pursue it unwisely. Gamblers at Monte Carlo are
pursuing money, and most of them lose it instead. But there are other ways of
pursuing money that often succeed. So it is with…
a. list of the successful ways of pursuing money
b. something the writer will compare to pursuing money
c. the result of the pursuit of money
6.
Intelligence tests often seem to be biased against people from lower
socioeconomic levels and minority groups. But tests are not biased simply because
some people get higher scores than others. Bias means that the measurement
represents different things for different people, which is not the same as simply
showing a difference between people. For instance,
a. an example of an unbiased intelligence test
b. an example of what the measurement of an intelligence test means to different people
c. a conclusion about intelligence tests
7.
When a committee has acted favorably on a bill, the proposed legislation is
sent to the Congress for open debate. When debate is ended, members vote to
approve the bill, defeat it, table it, or return it to the committee. If the bill…
a. an example of a specific bill that passed in Congress
b. a specific condition in connection with the passing of the bill
c. an explanation of how different legislative procedures developed
From “Build It Up” by A. Levine, B. Oded,
and S. Statman, Aviv Printers
48
Study the following table:
*Words with more than one meaning
TIME / ORDER
ADDITION
COMPARISON
CONTRAST
*first
*then
*next
*since
before
after
*as
until
previously
*while
when
often
frequently
rarely
seldom
one
not only(…but also)
also
besides
apart from
aside from
as well as
too
another/other
in addition
additionally
moreover
furthermore
*next
firstly, second(ly)
*first, second, third
first of all, second of
all
last of all
finally
And
*(both)
*like
just like
just as…so
equally
correspondingly
*as (…as)
likewise
similar(ly)
neither…nor
*both
in the same way
in a similar way
in a similar
fashion/manner
*but
however
yet
although
(even) though
instead
rather than
still
conversely
nevertheless
nonetheless
notwithstanding
on the other hand
despite
in spite of
*while
in contrast (to)
on the contrary
unlike
more than
(tall)er…than
whereas
ILLUSTRATION
CAUSE (REASON)
EFFECT (RESULT)
*like
for example
for instance
to illustrate
such as
*thus
including
that is
e.g.
i.e.
namely
specifically
in particular
a case in point
:
( )
*as
*since
for
because (of)
stem from
arise from
result from
as a result of
as a consequence of
on account of
owing to
due to
on the grounds that
inasmuch as
if…(*then) (C +E)
originate in
has its roots in
consequently
as a consequence
as a result
result in
resulting
bring about
cause
lead to
therefore
*thus
so
such/so…that (C+E)
*then
hence
thereby
accordingly
give rise to
49
Cause and Effect
Transitions of cause indicate that the reason for something will follow, and transitions of
effect show that the result of something will follow.
Note that sometimes the cause comes first, and sometimes the effect comes
first. There is no difference in meaning.

Sick people who laugh a lot may recover more quickly because laughter increases
the production of new immune cells in the body.

Because laughter increases the production of new immune cells in the body, sick
people who laugh a lot may recover more quickly.
Cause
Effect
________________________________  ________________________________
Sometimes, there is more than one cause, or more than one effect.

Some scientists believe that in the coming century, there will be more droughts as
well as rising sea levels due to global warming.
Cause(s)
Effect(s)
________________________________ _________________________________

Violent conflicts and political or religious persecution in a country may result in
increased immigration to more peaceful or tolerant regions.
Cause(s)
Effect(s)
__________________________________ __________________________________
In some cases, a marker of time may indicate a cause/effect relationship.

When it rains a lot in the desert, there are flash floods.
Cause
Effect
_______________________________  _________________________________
50
Sometimes there is a cause/effect relationship with no explicit marker of cause/effect. In
many cases, the verbs indicate the relationship.
Some words that may indicate cause/effect relationships:
trigger
necessitate
produce
influence
overwhelm
disrupt
disturb
contribute
create
attribute

Lots of exercise and fresh air contributed to Sam’s quick recovery.
Cause
Effect
______________________________  __________________________________
By Minna Lipner
Exercise 1: Circle the marker that shows cause or effect. Write which it shows. Answer
the question.
1. Owing to the bad weather, the game was cancelled.
-What caused the cancellation?
_______________________________________________________
2. As a consequence of his bad behavior, he was confined to his room for the evening.
- What was the result of his behaving badly?
______________________________________________________
3. Pollution comes from human beings' carelessness in protecting the environment.
- What is the consequence of our lack of concern?
_____________________________________________________
4. Due to the devaluation, Tomer no longer had enough money to fly home.
- What caused Tomer's problem?
____________________________________________________
5. The hot weather is impossible. It makes sense, therefore, to buy air conditioners.
- How can the problem be resolved?
___________________________________________________
51
6. Inasmuch as a six day week is tiring, it makes sense to introduce a shorter working
week.
- What is the cause of the problem?
__________________________________________________
7. New measures have been introduced, since most of the workers are dissatisfied.
- What did the workers' complaints result in?
__________________________________________________
8. Dehydration stems from lack of liquids in the body.
- What is the cause of dehydration?
_________________________________________________
Connectives of Cause
Connectives of Effect
Exercise 2: Find the cause and the result and circle the marker.
1. The change in weather led to the cancellation the picnic.
2. The crops failed and consequently there was a sudden rise in prices.
3. Freudian theories have come to explain “everything”, and therefore
these theories are never ready to accept a straight political biography at its
face value.
4. Natural gas prices are at their lowest point in more than 10 years, due
to too much supply and too little demand.
5. The high growth rates result partly from declines in infant and child
mortality rates due to improving health practices.
52
6. Internal control over behavior comes from educating children to
behave in a proper manner and by sowing them the rewards for doing so.
Exercise 3: Choose the appropriate completion from the list below for each of the
following sentences.
A
B
1. Her satires were so brilliant ____
a. that several people fell asleep.
2. From infancy on, the individual is so
b. as to make even her victims laugh.
dependent upon the judgment of others for
direction in his own affairs ____
3. He spoke so monotonously ____
c. that no one is likely to attempt it.
4. The news in western countries is so
d. that he comes to lean heavily on the
pervasive ____
opinion of others.
5. This is so difficult a task to accomplish
e. that it has become one of life's
alone ____
necessities.
B
Exercise 4: In the following sentences, circle the markers that show cause or effect.
Answer the question that follows.
1) Nine-tenth
of
the
serious
controversies
which
arise
in
life
result
from
misunderstandings.
What causes most controversies?
___________________________________________________________________
2) Her claim was rejected by the board on the grounds that she had not paid her
premium.
Why did the board reject her claim?
___________________________________________________________________
3) The fact that Karl Marx had an illegitimate son was not known in his lifetime because
the Socialists wanted to protect his reputation.
53
In an attempt to protect Marx’s reputation, the Socialist party __________________
___________________________________________________________________
4) Increasingly acid rain and the destruction of plant and fish are some of the most
alarming consequences of industrial pollution.
What are the effects of pollution caused by industry on the environment?
___________________________________________________________________
5) Farmers look forward to favorable weather conditions which will contribute to good
harvests. A good harvest ensures an adequate supply of food for local consumption.
Good harvests
6) Since academic achievements demanded of the lower-class child are beyond his or
her capacity, it is common to find pupils with a sense of alienation from school or with
bitter resentment against the middle class personnel who staff the school system.
What are the consequences of the high academic demands on children from lower
classes? ____________________________________________________________
Exercise 4: Read the following text.
The recent flood of cheaper imports has had a disastrous effect on American industry.
The steady decline in the demand for local products, which are often more expensive
than the competition from abroad, has forced many American businesses to close down
and this, in turn, has given rise to widespread unemployment. A case in point is the
American car industry. Lower-priced foreign cars have drastically reduced the sales of
automobiles manufactured in the U.S.. As a result, many car factories and their suppliers
have had to shut their doors, leaving thousands of Americans jobless.
Fill in the boxes with the appropriate letters from the list of items below (taken from the
text).
a. many business fail to survive
Main Chain
b. less expensive foreign cars
c. cheap imports
cause1
54
effect1
effect 2 effect 3
d. car industries are forced to stop operating
e. less U.S. products are sold
f. decrease in the U.S. car sales
g. automotive workers loose their jobs
Illustration Chain
h. unemployment increases sharply
cause1
effect1
effect 2 effect 3
Exercise 5: Read the text below and answer the questions.
The Effects of Advertising on Women
Adapted from: J. Moore, The Effects of Advertising on Women, Justice #29 March 2002
1. The anxiety girls and women experience from feeling unattractive is arguably one of
the most pervasive and damaging consequences of advertising. Only one body type is
almost always presented in the media and in advertisements -- that of a very tall, thin
woman -- a woman who would meet the criteria for anorexia as 15% below normal
weight (APA 1994). In reality, this unhealthy body shape is unattainable for 99% of
women (Kilbourne 1997). Many times, even these "beautiful" women are deemed not
good enough for advertisements. Photographs are airbrushed or otherwise altered to
remove any lines, bumps, or lumps - anything less than "perfection." If the ideal of
beauty is physically unattainable, then consumers will never be able to attain the image
they want, and therefore there will be an endless demand for new beauty products.
This is the reason for the incredible proliferation of the weight-loss, fashion, and
cosmetics industries, which are among the largest and most profitable consumer
industries.
2. Another serious problem is the fact that ads almost always portray women as sex
objects, in order to increase the appeal of their product. This significantly affects the way
women think about themselves, particularly young women, because it is during the
adolescent stage of life that young people develop their sense of self and identity. This
sends the underlying message to women and girls that the only important thing about
themselves is the way they look, causing many women to believe that their self-worth is
dependent upon attention from men. Commodification of women as sex objects has
55
another very detrimental effect on girls and women. The constant abuse of women's
sexuality to sell products in the beer, sports, film and music industries, for example, has
completely distorted our understanding of sexuality and gender roles. In addition, the
commodification of women undoubtedly contributes to the high incidents of rape and
physical assault in our society. In the US, a woman is raped every 3 minutes, and 55%
of women report having experienced rape and/or physical assault in their lifetime
(Sisterhood Is Global Institute, 1998).
Questions
Circle or highlight all of the words that point to causes and effects in the paragraph. Then
answer the questions.
1. According to the writer, what is one of the worst effects of advertising on women?
___________________________________________________________________
_______________
2. Why are advertisements filled with “perfect” women with a very tall, thin shape?
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________
3. What is the reason that advertisers choose to depict women as sex objects?
___________________________________________________________________
4. List several of the consequences of this depiction.
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________
By Minna Lipner
56
Markers of Contrast
When you see a marker of contrast in a text, it means that two things are being
contrasted; that is, they are different from one another.
Example
Unlike his father, Larry decided to study at university.
Some markers — although, in spite of, despite, yet, still, nevertheless,
notwithstanding — do more than indicate a contrast. They indicate that what happens
in reality is a surprise, given our expectations.
Examples
1. Although trade union movements are intended to serve the interests of the workers,
they are often influenced by political considerations.
2. Despite the continued existence of corruption, the President’s economic moves are
beginning to pay off.
3. In spite of the Administration’s concern about the talkative federal employees, the
frequency of leaks from Government officials has not changed.
4. Notwithstanding a steady decline in numbers, the school has had a very successful
year.
Exercise 1.What is being contrasted? Which marker is used to show the difference?
1. Unlike sports, politics, entertainment, the arts or the law, teaching does not give rise to
“stars”. Nobody ever got a Nobel Prize for teaching achievements.
2. The refrigerator repair service is governed by regulations of the Indu and Trade
Ministry, whereas air-conditioning servicing is not.
3. Contrary to popular notions, Americans continue to show remarkable financial
responsibility: almost all consumers pay theft bills on time.
4. Professional writers do not wait for inspiration. On the contrary, they stick to a strict
schedule of writing.
5. Reporters, as opposed to opinion journalists, traditionally have tried to keep their
personal feelings and opinions out of their reports.
57
6. There is a considerable consensus in support of our criminal laws; however, attitudes
toward others may vary from apathy to active opposition.
Exercise 2 Read the passage below. Highlight the markers of contrast. Answer the questions.
Japanese Education
Excerpted from Can Race Be Linked to Intellect?
Time Magazine, October 6, 1986
Japanese experts speak on education:
Tamotsu Senogoku, director of the Japanese Youth Research Institute states: “It is
simply outlandish to think that you could generalize the state of intelligence or even
education with but a few words.” He points out that in Japan, discipline and expectations
of the young are much more stringent in schools and in family life than they are among
Americans. In the U.S., schools run an average of 180 days a year. In Japan, they run
240 days and assign heavier course loads and homework. Hence the Japanese
superiority in, for example, early math – though in cognitive capacity (the bedrock ability
to learn) no difference shows between youngsters of the two nations.
Significantly too, in a monolithic nation like Japan, where more than 90% of the
people consider themselves middle class and the ethic is to conform to society rather
than challenge it, the dropout rate among high school seniors is 2%, in contrast to 27%
in the U.S. Yet Japanese scholars view the regimented conformity of their schools with
increasing concern, fearing that it stifles creativity. Says Joetsu University’s Shibuya,
“Consider the number of Nobel Prizes won so far by Japanese - fewer than ten. The
number in the U.S.? More than 100. Steven Jobs, who founded Apple Computer on a
shoestring and no college degree (he dropped out), is an example of the kind of
creativity that American society can foster. Job’s achievement would be unthinkable in
Japan, where no degree equals no such chance. Notes Harvard’s Chall: “Their computer
managers…. are trying to emulate the more ‘freed up’ American approach.”
The Japanese are also aware that, once in college, their students tend to slack off
– possibly out of relief from surviving their earlier regiment – while Americans turn up the
heat. As a result, the top 10% of U.S. students equal or surpass the achievements of
their Japanese counterparts. With such contrasts in mind, the Research Institute’s
Senogoku concludes,” There are, in fact, differences in education between out countries.
And as far as I’m concerned there should be differences.”
58
I. Fill in the following table about the differences in Japanese and American education.
Put an X in the appropriate column. Indicate the markers of contrast or words that
helped you find the answer. The first one is done for you.
JAPAN
1. discipline and
expectations of the
young (par. 1)
2. length of school
year (par. 1)
USA
X
3. course loads and
homework (par. 1)
4. achievements in
early math (par. 1)
5. conforming to the
norms of society (par.
2)
6. Dropout rate (par.
2)
7. creativity (par. 2)
8. number of Nobel
Prizes (par. 2)
9. achievements in
college (par. 3)
10. achievements of
top students
59
Markers of
contrast/ evidence
from the text
much more
stringent
II. Comprehension Questions
1). Complete the following cause and effect chain:
Cause: Japanese schoolchildren learn for more days and do more homework.
Effect: _________________________________________________________________
What marker helped you find the answer? ______________________
2). TRUE/ FALSE: Japanese superiority in early math is the result of better cognitive
abilities.
Bring evidence from the text to support your answer.
______________________________________________________________________
3). Why is the word “Yet” used in par. 2? _____________________________________
4). Why does the writer mention Steven Jobs (par. 2)? _________________________
______________________________________________________________________
5). Does Tamotsu Senogoku think that the differences between Japanese and American
education should disappear? YES/ NO
Quote from the text to support your answer.
______________________________________________________________________
By Anna Lyubman
60
Markers of Comparison
When you see a transition of comparison in a text, it means that two things that are
similar are being compared. Thus, you must understand:
a. which two things are being compared, and
b. what is similar about them.
Examples:

A rose is the visible result of a multitude of complicated occurrences in the depths of
the earth and in the air above. Similarly, a work of art is the product of strange
activities in the human mind.
Adapted from Clive Bell
Which two things are being compared?
________________________________ and _______________________________
What is similar about them? _____________________________________________

My neighbor has as many chins as a Chinese phone book.
Which two things are being compared?
________________________________ and _______________________________
What is similar about them? ____________________________________________
Exercise 1: Each of the following sentences contains a comparison. Read the
sentences and circle any transitions of comparison. Then explain: a. which two things
are being compared, and b. how they are similar.
1.
Like the middle-class children in Fuhrman’s study, middle-class
children in our study thought that they should have to do some household chores in
exchange for their allowance.
Which two things are being compared?
_________________________________ and ______________________________
What is similar about them?
___________________________________________________________________
2. Women initiate violence against their male partners as often as men initiate violence
against their female partners.
Which two things are being compared?
_________________________________ and ______________________________
61
What is similar about them?
___________________________________________________________________
3. As in previous studies, this study showed that people driving while talking on cell phones were
involved in more car accidents than people who weren’t talking on the phone while driving.
Which two things are being compared?
________________________________ and _______________________________
What is similar about them?
___________________________________________________________________
4. The writer Napoleon Hill once said: “Just as our eyes need light in order to see, so our
minds need ideas in order to conceive.”
Which two things are being compared?
_______________________________ and _______________________________
What is similar about them?
___________________________________________________________________
5. In terms of their effects on society, the impact of Gutenberg’s printing press in the
15th century was as significant as the Internet has been in the last century.
Which two things are being compared?
________________________________ and _______________________________
What is similar about them?
___________________________________________________________________
6. Soldiers in the army fight harder when they are treated well and when their commanders
maintain their calm. In a similar fashion, human immune cells function better when they
are protected from toxins and undue stress.
Which two things are being compared?
______________________________ and _________________________________
What is similar about them?
___________________________________________________________________
7. Neither students in Israeli universities nor their counterparts in American colleges feel that
university education adequately prepares them for the real world.
Which two things are being compared?
_______________________________ and _______________________________
What is similar about them?
62
___________________________________________________________________
By Minna Lipner
Comparison and Contrast
Read the text below, and circle the markers of comparison and contrast. Then answer the questions.
Murder in Families
1. The Justice Department recently put out a report on “murder in families,” which contains some
surprising information. For example, the report shows that husbands who kill their wives are
not treated more leniently than men who kill strangers, despite the media myth to the contrary.
Indeed, they were as likely to be charged with first-degree murder, were no more likely to
have their cases dismissed or diverted, and were as likely to be convicted. Nor were their
sentences significantly different, when relevant "case characteristics"--such as prior criminal
record--were taken into account. Indeed, the only real difference is that spousal murderers
"required less time to disposition than other types of murder cases."
2. In addition, some of the Justice Department data dramatically undercuts another myth:
that husbands who kill their wives are treated more leniently than wives who kill their
husbands. The available evidence points overwhelmingly in the opposite direction.
Wives who kill their husbands were acquitted in 12.9 percent of the cases studies, while
husbands who kill their wives were acquitted in only 1.4 percent of the cases. Women
who were convicted of killing their husbands were sentenced to an average of six years
in prison, while men received an average of seventeen years for killing their wives.
Sixteen percent of female spousal killers get probation, compared to 1.6 percent for
male. By almost every other measure as well, female spousal killers are treated more
leniently than male spousal killers.
Adapted from: Dershowitz, Alan M. 1994. "Wives Also Kill Husbands--Quite Often."
In The Abuse Excuse: And Other Cop-outs, Sob Stories and Evasions of Responsibility. Boston:
Little Brown.
63
Paragraph 1:
Who is being
compared?
Similarities
Difference
a.
b.
Which general idea do the comparisons and contrasts in this paragraph support?
______________________________________________________________________
Paragraph 2:
This paragraph is COMPARING / CONTRASTING two groups:
_________________________________ and _________________________________.
Which aspects are being compared / contrasted? (List 3)
____________________________________
____________________________________
____________________________________
What is the MAIN difference between the two groups?
______________________________________________________________________
By Minna Lipner
64
General Ideas – Specific Examples/ Illustration
Exercise
Read the following paragraph and answer the questions regarding generalization,
definition, example or illustration, and explanation in the paragraph.
CIVIL CONSCIENCE
The state tends to deprive people of their humanity. By the “state” is meant the
government that hires, musters, and enforces laws and decrees through its bureaucratic
set-up. The mass of people serve the state not so much as thinking humans but as
physical machines without judgment or sense. They become the state’s standing army
and militias, jailers and constables. They have the same sort of worth only as a horse or
a dog. Yet they are commonly esteemed as good citizens. Certain others, like most
legislators, politicians, lawyers, and clerics serve the state chiefly with their heads; and,
as they rarely make any moral distinctions, they are as likely to fail by serving evil,
though unintentionally, as good. A very few, who are heroes, patriots, great reformers
and human beings, serve the state with their consciences, and so must usually disobey
it.
1. What is the generalization that the “mass of people” and “certain others” illustrate?
2. What is the definition of the state?
3. Complete the following explanation according to the paragraph.
The paragraph explains that the mass of people do not act like people because they
do not behave as __________________________ but rather as _________________
_____________________________________________________________________
4. What kinds of jobs are offered as examples of the sort of work which the state
assigns to ordinary people?
i. ____________
ii. ____________
iii. ____________
65
iv. ____________
5. Give one example of “Certain others.” _______________________
6. Complete the following explanation according to the paragraph.
Although certain others use their heads, they usually fail to make _______________.
7. According to the final illustration, how do people with consciences generally serve the
state?
Complete the following sentence with one word.
A small number, who act as human beings, ____________ the state.
From: From Words to Texts ©2008 by Eli Ben-Joseph.
REVIEW OF CONNECTIVES
How Consistent is Human Behavior?
Adapted from Introduction to Psychology, ed. by Ernest R. Hilgard
I. Read the text and circle all the transitions. Then answer the questions that follow.
1.
In studying personality, psychologists try to discover regularities in
behavior. An assumption that is basic to most personality theories is that people behave
consistently. But the empirical evidence for personality consistency is slim. Research
over the years has failed to demonstrate much consistency in human behavior either
over time or across situations. For example, one of the earliest studies of “moral
character” in children found very low correlations between different measures of honesty
– a child might lie to a teacher but not to a parent, cheat in the classroom but not on the
playground (Hartshorne and May, 1928; 1929). Studies of other personality traits
including self-control, cooperativeness, and submissiveness have also demonstrated
little cross-situational consistency.
1. How do we explain the discrepancy between the data and our intuitive assumption that
personality is consistent? One possibility is that the consistency assumption is wrong.
Behavior is largely situation specific, and we attribute more consistency to a person’s
behavior than actually exists. There are numerous reasons why we may do so (c.f. Bem
and Allen, 1974). We will mention only three. First, our preconceived notions of how
people behave may lead us to generalize beyond our actual observations. That is, we
66
may fill in missing data according to our “implicit personality theories” of what traits and
behaviors go together (Schneider, 1973). Specifically, stereotypes of how a
“homosexual” or a “career woman” or an “athlete” behave may cause us to attribute
greater consistency to a person’s actions than observations warrant. Furthermore, our
own presence can result in people behaving in certain ways. Thus, our acquaintances
may appear to be behaviorally consistent because we are present as a stimulus during
every observation we make. They may behave quite differently when we are not
observing them. Lastly, because the actions of another person are such a salient
feature of any scene, we tend to overestimate the extent to which behavior is caused by
personality characteristics or attitudes and underestimate the importance of situational
forces that may lead the person to act as he does (Jones and Nisbett, 1971). Observing
someone behaving aggressively, we assume that the person has an aggressive
disposition and will behave similarly in other settings – even though the situational
factors may be quite different.
Questions
1. a. How many groups of studies are cited in paragraph 1 to support the main idea of
the paragraph? ________________
b. Which words signal the list of studies? _________________________________
2. What does the dash ( - ) in paragraph 1 indicate? __________________________
3. Self-control, cooperativeness, and submissiveness are all examples of
______________________
___________________ (2 words) that show
SOME / VERY LITTLE consistency across _______________________________.
4. Paragraph 2 mentions 3 reasons why ___________________________________
5. Which words signal the reasons? _______________________________________
6. Why do we generalize beyond our observations?
__________________________________________________________________
7. a. Copy the explanation in the text of what it means to generalize beyond our
observations.
__________________________________________________________________
b. Give an example of generalizing.
__________________________________________________________________
8. According to the second reason, what makes people behave in certain ways?
__________________________________________________________________
67
9. What kind of relationship is indicated by the word “thus” in paragraph 2?
____________________________
10. What is the relationship between the last two sentences of the article? (Notice that
without a transition, it’s much harder to figure out!)
____________________________
By Minna Lipner
Groups in Society
Read the text below and use your knowledge of transitions to help answer the questions
that follow.
To understand how different groups affect society and individual behavior, we must first
classify human beings in social groups. Inasmuch as primary relationships are satisfying
and enjoyable, they are an end in themselves and not a means to a political, economic,
or any other end. Members of the primary group feel free to speak their minds and
express emotion. Close friends and families are the typical primary groups.
If people associated only when they liked each other, however, society would not last
long. Secondary groups provide enduring relationships that do not depend on personal
attraction and intimacy. The characteristics of secondary groups are roughly opposite
those of primary groups. Members of secondary groups have disparate rather than
common goals, and they value the extrinsic political, economic, or other benefits of the
relationship rather than the relationship itself. While relations in primary groups are
personal and spontaneous, those in secondary groups are impersonal and constrained.
Such relations exist, for example, between sales clerks and customers, employees and
employers, and taxpayers and the Internal Revenue Service. Because secondary
contacts are brief and formal in nature, they are not emotionally involving. When you buy
toothpaste in a drugstore, you have a purely rational relationship with the clerk who sells
it to you. Whether you like him or not is irrelevant. As far as you are concerned, the
transaction could just as well be made by an automatic vending machine.
If this distinction sounds too simple, it is because primary and secondary groups are
sociological concepts that do not exist in their pure forms in the real social. Moreover, it
would be difficult to find a secondary group that was completely rational and unfeeling. In
fact, most secondary groups rely on the primary relationships among their members,
68
since no group could long survive without the loyalty and cooperation of the people who
belong to it.
Questions:
1. What is the purpose of classifying humans in social groups?
___________________________________________________________________
2. What is the goal of primary relationships?
___________________________________________________________________
3. Under what condition would society survive?
___________________________________________________________________
4. True / False: Secondary groups offer relationships that are based on attraction and
expression of emotions and ideas.
___________________________________________________________________
5. How are the features of secondary groups different from those of primary ones?
___________________________________________________________________
6. What does the example of the purchase of toothpaste in the drugstore illustrate?
___________________________________________________________________
7. What does the word "they" in line 15 refer to?
___________________________________________________________________
8. Yes / No: Does the author agree with the social distinction made in this passage?
(2 reasons)
___________________________________________________________________
9. Fill in the missing cause:
Cause: ____________________________________________________________
Effect: Most secondary groups depend on primary relationships among themselves.
69
Inference
Exercise: Read the following sentences and answer the
questions after each sentence.
1. The research has shown that, contrary to popular opinion, men talk more than women.
What popular belief has been refuted by the research? ____________________
________________________________________________________________
2. In contrast to what many people believe, fat does not convert to energy through
physical exercise.
a. What do many people believe? ______________________________________
b. What happens in reality? ___________________________________________
3. Unlike all the previous tests, this exam has been difficult!
Complete: All the previous examinations __________________________________.
4. Researchers have repeatedly refuted the claim that neither the average Third World
man nor the average Third World woman wants to limit the size of their family.
Complete: It was once thought that both Third World woman and Third World man
_____________________________________. However, according to the research,
___________________________________________________________________
5. The government should not any more avoid the issue of the increased juvenile
delinquency.
We can infer from this sentence that today the government does not _________
_______________________________________________________________.
6. Mary and Jane are twin sisters. Most teachers believe Jane to be the leader of
the two. However, their mother believes the opposite.
a. What do the teachers think about Mary? _____________________________
b. What does the mother think about Jane? _____________________________
c. Which daughter is domineering, according to the mother? _______________
By Dr Anna Lyubman
70
Paragraph Structure
Main Ideas and Supporting Details
Topics versus Ideas
A topic is the general subject of something. It is usually written as a phrase.
An idea (or main idea) is what someone says about a topic. It is always written as a
positive sentence.
Practice: Next to each item below, circle “topic” or “idea.”
1. TOPIC / IDEA The accuracy of victims’ and bystanders’ descriptions of the criminal.
2. TOPIC / IDEA People often get mixed up about where they heard or saw
something.
3. TOPIC / IDEA The human ability to acquire details during a crime.
4. TOPIC / IDEA The resemblance of a person in the lineup to the criminal.
5. TOPIC / IDEA Witnesses often choose the person in a lineup who most resembles
the criminal, even if the resemblance is not very strong.
6. TOPIC / IDEA How reliable the eyewitness testimony is.
7. TOPIC / IDEA The difference between eyewitnesses and victims in remembering
the suspect.
Now choose any two topics from the list above and rewrite them as main ideas. Each
main idea should be written as a sentence explaining what you would like to say
about the topic.
Dr. Anna Lyuman Adapted from Minna Lipner
71
What is a paragraph?
A paragraph is a group of sentences that develop one idea. This main idea is usually
located at or near the beginning of the paragraph, but sometimes it appears in other
places in the paragraph. The rest of the sentences support or develop the main idea:
they can be quotes, explanations, proof, examples, causes, effects, comparisons, or
contrasts. Sentences that directly support the main idea are called major supporting
details; sentences that expand on major supporting details are called minor supporting
details.
Different Paragraph Structures
1.
Main Idea
(Expansion / explanation of main idea)
Supporting Details
(Conclusion)
2.
Introduction / Supporting Details
Main Idea
Supporting Details
3.
Main Idea
Supporting Details
Main Idea
4.
Supporting Details
Main Idea
5. Implied Main Idea
Supporting Details
72
6a. One Main Idea for 2 (or more) paragraphs: Type 1
Main Idea
Supporting Details
Supporting Details
(Main Idea)
6b. One Main Idea for 2 (or more) paragraphs: Type 2
Main Idea
Supporting Detail 1
Supporting Detail 2
73
Exercise 1
Read the following paragraph and fill in the information below describing its structure.
Health Care for the Poor
In view of the overwhelming health problems among the poor, it is important to make
massive efforts to prevent such problems, which is usually much less costly than treating
them later on. There are a couple of important approaches to take in working to prevent
illness among the poor. First of all, there should be a major focus on preventive health
services to poor children and their families. Such programs should include immunization
schedules, along with parent education on the need for such immunization and help in
getting children to the clinics. The clinics should emphasize dental care, an often
neglected service. More extensive prenatal care is needed. In addition, society must
also fight the social conditions of poverty that breed disease. We have to help more lowincome people get better housing, free from the rats that bite their babies and the lead
paint that poisons their toddlers. We have to help people break out of the cycle of
poverty, illiteracy, and unemployment if we are going to make the promise of medical
progress become a reality for all our citizens.
1. Copy the sentence from the paragraph that is the main idea. (Remember, the main
idea is the sentence that most or all of the other sentences support.)
________________________________________________________________
2. Fill in the major and minor supporting details: (A and B are the major details.)
A. ______________________________________________________________
1.___________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________
3. __________________________________________________________
4. __________________________________________________________
5. __________________________________________________________
B. ______________________________________________________________
1. __________________________________________________________
2. __________________________________________________________
Exercise 2
Read the following paragraphs, and underline the main ideas. Then answer the
questions that follow.
*Hint: If you are not sure if a sentence is the main idea, ask yourself: Does most or all of
the paragraph support this idea? If the answer is “yes,” then that is the main idea.
74
1. A growing body of experimental and human evidence has identified a number of significant
environmental risk factors as causes of cancer. They include past diagnostic and
therapeutic radiation; diets high in some fats and low in fresh fruits and vegetables;
workplace exposure to chemicals, dust, and fumes; pharmaceuticals; sunlight; and heavy
alcohol drinking. Long-term, low-level exposures to some environmental contaminants,
such as small particulates, chlorination by-products in domestic water, and organochlorine
residues in animal and fish fat appear to increase the risk of cancer in human populations,
and extensive animal studies indicate a clear risk. Some compounds may function by
altering hormones, whereas others may directly affect gene expression.
(Excerpted from: “An Ounce of Prevention” By D. L. Davis and H. P. Freeman, From Scientific American,
September 1994)
What kind of support is there in this paragraph? ____________________________
2. In the face of danger, this short-lived reaction to stress helps you survive. If the stress
response is regularly tripped for the wrong reasons, however, it has the opposite effect.
Indeed, researchers have known for some time that chronic stress often leads directly to
certain illnesses, including heart disease, hypertension, depression, immune suppression
and diabetes. Recently they have discovered that stress also causes developmental
abnormalities, unhealthy weight gain and neurodegeneration. Fortunately, some of these
new insights suggest better means for combating excess stress.
(Excerpted from: “Don’t Stress” By K. Leutwyler, From Scientific American, January 1998)
What is the function of the first sentence in the paragraph? _______________________
What is the function of the last sentence in the paragraph? _______________________
3. How do we explain the discrepancy between the data and our intuitive assumption that
personality is consistent? One possibility is that the consistency assumption is wrong.
Behavior is largely situation specific, and we attribute more consistency to a person’s
behavior than actually exists. There are numerous reasons why we may do so (c.f. Bem and
Allen, 1974). We will mention only three. First, our preconceived notions of how people
behave may lead us to generalize beyond our actual observations. That is, we may fill in
missing data according to our “implicit personality theories” of what traits and behaviors go
together (Schneider, 1973). Specifically, stereotypes of how a “homosexual” or a “career
75
woman” or an “athlete” behave may cause us to attribute greater consistency to a person’s
actions than observations warrant. Furthermore, our own presence can result in people
behaving in certain ways. Thus, our acquaintances may appear to be behaviorally consistent
because we are present as a stimulus during every observation we make. They may behave
quite differently when we are not observing them. Third, because the actions of another
person are such a salient feature of any scene, we tend to overestimate the extent to which
behavior is caused by personality characteristics or attitudes and underestimate the
importance of situational forces that may lead the person to act as he does (Jones and
Nisbett, 1971).
(Excerpted from: “How Consistent is Human Behavior?” From Introduction to Psychology, ed. By E. R.
Hilgard)
Circle the words that signal the major supporting details in the paragraph.
What kind of support is used in this paragraph? ___________________________
4. Whatever the challenges of male-female friendship, researchers agree that to
succeed as friends, both genders have to openly and honestly negotiate exactly what
their relationship will mean--whether sexual attraction is a factor and how they'll deal with
it--and establish boundaries. In Afifi's and Reeder's studies, the friendships that
survived--and even thrived--after sex or attraction came into play were those in which
the friends extensively discussed the meaning of the sexual activity and felt confident
and positive about each other's feelings. Once they got past that, they were home free.
"If sex is part of the dynamic, addressing it explicitly is the best strategy" for making sure
the friendship survives, says Werking. "The issue will fester if friends try to ignore it." So
in the end, male-female friendship does have something in common with romantic
relationships: To work, communication is key.
(Excerpted from: “Overcoming Sex: Can Men and Women be Friends?” By C. Chaterjee,
downloaded from http://www.psychologytoday.com/menwomenfriends.html)
What 2 types of support are used in this paragraph? __________________________
5. In the fifteenth century, a German goldsmith named Johannes Gutenberg was the first
Western European to invent a printing press using moveable wooden or metal letters.
This invention promoted progress in the sciences, arts, and religion through the
widespread dissemination of texts. For example, the printing press played a role in
creating a community of scientists who could communicate their findings with each other
in academic journals, thus facilitating the advancement of science. In addition, the rate of
76
adult literacy in Europe rose sharply. The accessibility of printed texts also changed the
process of reading; group oral readings gave way to more widespread silent reading by
individuals. Finally, the language of published materials changed from Latin to the
vernacular language of each country, as books became available to all.
Write the main idea of the paragraph in your own words
_________________________________________________________________.
How many major supporting details are there in this paragraph? _____________
Another pattern of paragraph structure: One main idea for several paragraphs
Sometimes, the main idea of a paragraph is developed in several paragraphs. That is,
there is one main idea for two or more paragraphs. This kind of structure may be used
when each supporting point is very long.
This structure may look like this:
a.
Paragraph 1: Main Idea
First supporting detail
Paragraph 2:
Second supporting detail
Paragraph 3:
Third supporting detail
b.
OR
Paragraph 1: Last sentence of
paragraph = main idea
Paragraph 2:
First supporting detail
Paragraph 3:
Second supporting detail
Exercise 2
The paragraphs below, from an article on media violence, have one main idea. Read
them, and underline the main idea.
It is likely that all three of the explanations, the vested interests of the news media
industry, a misapplied fairness doctrine, and communication failures, are operative, in
both the specific case of research on media violence and aggression and more
generally. The research community can do relatively little about the first two. However,
we believe that the research community can more effectively present the research
findings.
77
One major step would be to realize that the conservative scientist role and the public
educator role are two very different roles with different norms. When the U.S. Senate,
CNN, The New York Times, or the London Daily Observer asks researchers whether
they believe that exposure to violent media causes an increase in aggression, they are
not asking for the overly conservative, self defensive kind of answer that is appropriate
when discussing their latest research projects at an APA convention. They are asking for
their opinions, based on their knowledge of the research literature and their general
knowledge of their scientific fields. This is not to say that scientists should abandon all
caution and deliver outlandish, quotable statements.
Another major step that researchers can take is to realize that the role of disseminating
insights gained from their research is a part of their job, along with restructuring
evaluation systems so that they explicitly include a public-education component. For the
typical faculty member at a research university, this suggests that departments need to
add a public education efforts dimension to the annual performance evaluations.
Finally, scientists must be willing to pay some of the unavoidable costs, both monetary
and personal, associated with educating the public. Other costs, such as time or having
to deal with hate mail, are costs that individual researchers may simply have to pay on
their own. We believe that the benefit to society of more effectively communicating to a
broad general audience the knowledge gained from psychological research is worth the
cost.
(Excerpted from: “Media Violence and the American Public: Scientific Facts Versus Media
Misinformation” By B.J. Bushman and C.A. Anderson, From American Psychologist, June/July
2001)
Circle the words that indicate the supporting details.
What type of support is used in these paragraphs? ___________________________
By Minna Lipner
78
Inferring an Implied Main Idea
A writer may feel that the example(s) and explanation(s) presented are so clear that
there is no need to state the paragraph’s main idea. The reader is expected to use the
examples as clues for arriving at the implied main idea. Of course, the reader’s ability to
take a reasonable step forward in thought is crucial to grasping the main idea. This type
of reasoning is called inference.
Exercise 1
Read the following paragraphs and then choose the statement that best expresses the
implied main idea in each paragraph.
FACING THE CRISIS
These are the times that try our souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot
will, in the present crisis, shrink from the service of their country, but s/he that stands it
now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily
conquered; yet we have this consolation with us that, the harder the conflict, the more
glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we esteem too lightly; it is dearness
only that gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price upon its
goods, and it would be strange indeed if such heavenly merchandise as freedom should
not be highly rated.
The implied main idea in the paragraph is:
a. Patriots who succeed in a hard struggle for freedom will experience a great victory.
b. People who help only when it is easy will not serve their country at the present time.
c. The harder people struggle, the more they enjoy the outcome of the conflict.
d. It is unusual for people to think their country’s independence is of little value.
THINK AGAIN!
Politicians, academics, and religious leaders often place a higher value on what they
each have to say than does their audience; and therefore they speak. A similar
experience is not infrequent in private life. A young and ardent person may keep a diary
in which s/he writes down what s/he takes as compelling deeds. S/he may feel that the
pages thus written are urgent and well-phrased. After some time has elapsed, s/he
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wishes to show these pages to a friend, though with hesitation, believing the fervent
words may overwhelm the friend. However, the friend coldly turns the pages and easily
passes from the diary to a conversation about some other topic. The diarist is
astonished, but cannot suspect the writing itself. S/he does not fathom that one may
have an impressive experience but not know how to put this private fact into literature.
The implied main idea in the preceding paragraph is:
a. Politicians, academics, and religious leaders may believe too much in themselves.
b. A serious young person who keeps a diary may feel that what s/he writes is literary.
c. People may have too confident a belief in the importance of their deeds and words.
d. Someone who keeps a personal diary may not know how to report an occurrence.
AN IMPORTANT BOOK
In 1732, Benjamin Franklin first published Poor Richard’s Almanac, under the
penname of Richard Saunders, with an eye to selling his book to the common people.
An almanac is a reference book issued annually and containing factual information,
practical advice and often a calendar of holidays and public occasions. Poor Richard’s
Almanac included a calendar in which all the little spaces between special dates were
filled with catchy proverbs, like “Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy
and wise,” in order to instill industry and frugality as the means of procuring wealth, and
thereby securing virtue. For Franklin believed it difficult for a person with little means to
act honestly, in the same way that, to use another of his proverbs, “It is hard for an
empty sack to stand upright.” Franklin’s almanac came to be in such demand that he
received a considerable profit from it, selling close to ten thousand copies per year from
1733 to 1758. Scarcely any neighborhood in the province was without it.
The implied main idea in the paragraph is:
a. Richard Saunders wrote and published Poor Richard’s Almanac for ordinary people.
b. The main value of the Almanac was that it included a calendar with special dates.
c. Benjamin Franklin felt that poor people need to learn to work and save to better
themselves.
d. Franklin endeavored to make his almanac both entertaining and useful to the common
people.
From Eli Ben-Josef
80
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Global Reading
Important
Information
Topic
Main Idea
Purpose
Conclusion
What is it?
What the article is about
The main message of the
article. What does the
author say about the topic?
How the writer presents the
information (e.g. By
reviewing research? By
giving a history? By
comparing/contrasting? etc.)
OR Why did the writer write
the article?
The writer’s final word;
‫מסקנה‬
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Where is it found?
-Title (usually)
-Subtitle (usually)
-Subtitle
(sometimes)
-Introduction
(usually)
-Conclusion
(sometimes)
-Subtitle
(sometimes)
-Introduction
(sometimes)
(*it may be stated
explicitly or implicitly)
-Conclusion (end)
The Structure of an Academic Article - Introductions and Conclusions
Academic articles have three main parts:
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
Preparation to read
the article;
Introduces the
topic; contains the
main idea (thesis);
may contain
purpose; one or
more paragraphs
long
Contains key ideas to develop and
support the main idea; is the
longest part of the article; may be
divided into sections; several
paragraphs or longer
Ends the paper;
may be one
sentence, one
paragraph, or
several paragraphs
long
Typical Contents of Introduction
Typical Contents of Conclusion
* General presentation of topic
* General conclusions on the topic
* Background / context of article /
history
* Reference to beginning of article
* Main Idea (for the first time, or
repetition)
* Main Idea (thesis) of article
* Example / story that illustrates the
main point (followed by main idea)
* Solution to a problem
* Summary of main points of article
* Presentation of question or problem
to be addressed in the article
* Example / story that illustrates the
main point
* Purpose / plan of article
* Results of a survey / experiment
* Definition of key terms used in
article
* Discussion of the results of a survey /
experiment
* Survey or summary of past work
done on the topic
* Implications of main idea / results of
study / recommendations
* Indication of what has not yet been
done on the topic (“gap”)
* Limitations of this study
* Possible benefits of the study /
report
* Directions for further study
*Predictions / suggestions for the future
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*Which of the “typical contents” of introductions and conclusions do you think usually
only apply to research articles?
Exercise: Read the following introductions and conclusions.
a. What is the topic of each article?
b. Find and underline the main idea / purpose and conclusion (if there is only one) of
each article.
c. In the margins, indicate any other elements of introductions and conclusions that you
find.
I.
Excerpt from: The Emotional Toll of Motor Vehicle Accidents by Dennis Kramer,
PhD., from Transport Topics (week of August 27, 2001 p.9.)
Introduction
In "Anatomy of an Accident," an article in the Sept. 13, 2000 Transport Topics, the
reporter likened the cost of a truck crash to an iceberg, stating that the indirect costs are
four times greater than the obvious direct costs. One hidden cost that has not received
attention is the potential emotional or psychological toll of an accident on the truck driver.
Only recently have doctors begun to realize that exposure to motor vehicle accidents
can result in a number of psychological and emotional reactions. While the majority of
those involved in an accident will not develop any serious emotional problems, evidence
from a number of studies, focused on the general public, suggests that many will
develop at least some stress reactions.
Conclusion
It is in the interests of both carriers and drivers to recognize that impaired functioning
after exposure to an accident is not a rare event and does not reflect negatively on the
character of those distressed. Once we recognize that post-trauma reactions are to
some degree "normal reactions to abnormal events," those who suffer can feel free to
admit and talk about their fears and concerns. Then, as an industry, we will have truly
helped reduce one of the hidden costs of motor vehicle accidents.
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II. Excerpt from: Contemporary Fundamentalism, by Hava Lazarus-Yafeh, from
Jerusalem Quarterly, 47, Summer 1988
Introduction
It has become fashionable to talk about fundamentalist movements, attitudes or
leadership. Nevertheless, there exists no reasonably accurate definition of the term (it is
mainly used as a synonym for fanatics or extremists) and few people seem to be aware
of the fact that common denominators exist between very remote and different
fundamentalist phenomena, such as revolutionary Iran, the Muslim Brethren in Egypt
and Syria, Evangelist preachers, in both the USA and England, and the Jewish UltraOrthodox or messianic groups in Israel. Yet, although it may seem at first sight
farfetched, all these and similar phenomena share many common traits and all seem to
express a universal reaction to the modern Western world. In this paper some common
characteristics of all will be described, following an attempt to mention in a very general
way some of the causes which brought about the rise of the contemporary
fundamentalist phenomenon.
Conclusion
Only a few characteristics have been surveyed here in order to point out the many
common denominators between different fundamentalist phenomena. Of course, even in
a general survey like this, the many differences also emerge and point up the need for a
thorough study to clarify the role of each factor in the three religions surveyed.
III. Excerpt from: An Ounce of Prevention, by Devra Lee Davis and Harold P. Freeman,
From Scientific American, September 1994
Introduction
Public hopes and presidential promises that cancer could be cured provided much of the
cultural meaning and all of the federal funding for the modern war on cancer, launched
some two decades ago. The search for a cancer cure, in part, reflected the belief that
the disease arises chiefly from discrete external entities such as viruses that can be
attacked and eradicated.
Lately the war on cancer has reinvented itself as the exhilarating quest for defective
genes. We read and hear that all cancer is genetic in origin, arising from mutations in the
basic building blocks of cells that lead to unregulated growth. Yet only a relatively small
portion of most dominant types of cancer is inherited. The key questions remain: What
85
causes the majority of people who have originally inherited a healthy array of genes –
some 95 percent of women with breast cancer, for instance – to develop defects that
lead them to acquire cancer; and what strategies can be applied to reducing the
incidence of disease for all segments of society?
Conclusion
No matter how efficient we may become at delivering health care, we must also seek to
reduce the need for treatment. An increase in cases of cancer in younger persons in the
U.S. and parallel findings in Sweden indicate that we need to identify avoidable causes
of cancer in addition to smoking and to develop effective interventions that keep people
from developing the disease altogether. If we avert only 20 percent of all cancers each
year, we will save more than 200,000 people and their families from this difficult disease
and spare the public from the burgeoning costs of treatment and care.
By Minna Lipner
86
Predictions / Skimming / Scanning
To read an article globally, first read the introduction and conclusion. Then skim the
body paragraphs. When you skim the body paragraphs, you read the first sentence in
each paragraph. After you read the sentence, you must do several things:
1.
NEW OR CONTINUATION?
Ask: Is this a new topic, or a continuation of the previous topic? Look for words that
indicate a relationship with the previous paragraph.
Example: An additional technique is called “memory transfer.”
The word “additional” shows that this paragraph is a continuation of the previous
paragraph.
* Show that the paragraph is a continuation by writing "‫ "המשך‬or by drawing an
arrow down the side of the page; show that the paragraph begins a new topic
(section) in the text by drawing a line above it.
Par. 1
‫המשך‬
Par. 2
Par. 3
‫ חדש‬Par. 4
*This is how you divide an article into sections.
2.
RELATIONSHIP?
If the paragraph is related to the previous one, what type of relationship is it:
addition (more of the same type of thing), contrast, cause/effect, summary, time…
In the example above, what is the relationship? _______________________
3.
PREDICT THE CONTENT
Predict the content of the paragraph, and write notes on the side (in your native
language) to remind you of what you predicted.
Example: An additional technique is called “memory transfer.”
What do you think the paragraph will be about?
– ‫טכניקה‬
"‫"העברת זיכרון‬
An additional technique is called “memory transfer.”
87
Exercise 1
The sentences below are the first sentences of paragraphs from different articles (there
is no connection between them). Read each one, and follow the following steps: 1.
Predict the content of the paragraph, and write notes (in English or Hebrew). 2. If the
paragraph is related to the previous one, what is the relationship?
Notes
1.
Nevertheless, the power of school officials to restrict what students wear
to school is not unlimited.
2.
In short, this finding suggests that parental English literacy skills may
not play a vital role in determining school performance.
3.
We, on the other hand, suffered a great deal as a result of the new law.
4.
So there is an overwhelming case for some heritable component in IQ.
5.
Not many Americans know a great deal about intelligence testing, but
strong opinions about it are rampant.
6.
The media have done worst of all with the nature-nurture issue.
7.
In a widely noted 1998 study, Robert Kraut and his colleagues
speculated that virtual friendships and online social networks are poor
substitutes for face-to-face connections.
8.
But looks alone do not determine how a person is treated by his/her
peers.
9.
There is one catch: Typing has been shown to require four to five times
as long as talking.
10. Researchers must also understand that spending a lot of time online
may be productive, rather than dysfunctional, behavior.
11. Over time, elevated levels of stress hormones cause other serious
disorders.
12. Previously, research had found only a weak association between
playing violent video games and aggressive feelings and behaviors.
13. The new bill, then, is liable to further worsen the condition of medicine,
and indeed of the society in general, in Israel.
14. This article has presented some data on the frequency of cheating,
reasons for cheating, and the influence of penalties on cheating.
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15. To illustrate the danger to the public’s health as a result of incorrect and
excessive use of medicines and late self-treatment for illnesses,
consider the case of Leah Navon, who was diagnosed with lung disease
last winter.
Beyond the first sentence…
1. Reading the second sentence: Sometimes after you read the first sentence of a
paragraph, you may decide to read a second sentence. Read the second sentence of
the paragraph when the first sentence of the paragraph is a transition sentence, or it
“points” to important information in the second sentence.
Example:
a. There is another very different response to this problem. (What is the response? It is
probably in the second sentence.)
b. (From an article listing reasons why suspects confess to crimes that they didn’t do – the
transition sentence is underlined. To find out the topic of the second paragraph, you must read
the second sentence.)
Suspects with low IQ’s are particularly vulnerable to the pressures of police interrogation: They
are less likely to understand the charges against them and the consequences of professing guilt.
One of the suspects in the Central Park attack had an IQ of 87; another was aged 16 with a
second-grade reading level.
But intelligence is by no means the decisive factor. Suspects with compliant or suggestible
personalities and anxiety disorders may be hard-pressed to withstand an interrogation, according
to Gisli Gudjonsson, PhD., a professor of forensic psychology at the Institute of Psychiatry in
London. Gudjonsson’s suggestibility scale is used by courts around the world to evaluate selfincriminating statements. But he cautions against seeking only personality-driven explanations
for confessions: “A drug addict may not be particularly suggestible but may have a strong desire
to get back out on the street.”
2. Going back to the previous paragraph: Sometimes you must go back to the last
sentence of the previous paragraph. Do this when the context of the first sentence is not
clear.
Example:
Surprisingly, the answer seems to be yes. (The answer to what? What is the question?
You must go back to the end of the previous paragraph to find out.)
89
3. Peeking at the second sentence: It often pays to “peek” at the beginning of the
second sentence to see where the paragraph is going (especially if you’re not sure if you
should read on…)
Example:
-Part of this confusion stems from the media. A certain 1989 film…
-Some parents may deliberately construct an environment that is negatively correlated
with the child’s genotype. For example…
Exercise 2
The sentences below are the first sentences of paragraphs from different articles. Read
each sentence as if you were skimming the article. Then circle “ENOUGH” if you don’t
need to read more; “CONTINUE” if you would read the second sentence; or “go BACK” if
you would go back to the previous paragraph.
1.
There are proven – and apparent – differences between female friendship and male
friendship.
ENOUGH
2.
CONTINUE
GO BACK
But that’s only one of the major barriers.
ENOUGH
4.
GO BACK
Wrong, say relationship experts.
ENOUGH
3.
CONTINUE
CONTINUE
GO BACK
“Boys and girls form their own gender groups in elementary schools,” explains
Monsour.
ENOUGH
5.
CONTINUE
GO BACK
Men and women have increasingly similar rights, opportunities, and interests, which
can make cross-sex friendships very political.
ENOUGH
6.
CONTINUE
GO BACK
First, this interpretation is supported by many short-term laboratory studies.
ENOUGH
CONTINUE
GO BACK
90
7.
Additional evidence for the aggression-enhancing impact of media violence is
provided by a second group of studies using different methods.
ENOUGH
8.
CONTINUE
GO BACK
In a benign environment isolated from modern civilization, what kind of society is
likely to develop?
ENOUGH
CONTINUE
GO BACK
ADAPTED FROM MINNA LIPNER
Making Predictions
Exercise 3
Read the sentences below. Choose from the alternatives given the logical
continuation of the first sentence.
1. The mind is commonly thought to consist of a number of faculties.
a.
The mystery of the mind is the subject of scientific investigation.
b.
But, in fact, psychologists have shown this to be an error that has a harmful
influence on education.
2. Who qualifies for a position in the establishment? Theoretically, everybody
qualifies, whether young or old, native born or newly immigrated.
a.
In reality, the establishment is made up of older men who took part in the
revolution.
b.
It is clear, therefore, that no qualifications are needed.
3. People once thought that the barrier to human progress was illiteracy, the
widespread inability to read.
a.
But events have shown that this is simply not true.
b.
Therefore, we must teach all adults to read the printed word.
4. In spring 1945, the war minister advised the recruitment of 6 million women for
work in the ammunition factories. As the war ended 6 months later, it was
fortunate that his advice had not been taken.
a.
Had the women been mobilized, they would have helped the war effort.
b.
Had the women been mobilized, they would have found themselves
without work.
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5. At first glance, the phrase “philosophy of education” seems irrelevant to the
practical methods of teaching.
a.
In fact there is no connection at all between the philosophy of education
and teaching methods.
b.
But if we examine it more closely, we will find that much can be
gained
from a better understanding of its implications.
Exercise 4
Skim the article “Aids and the Next Pandemic” by reading the introduction, the
conclusion, and the first sentence of each paragraph as given below. Answer the
questions that follow the text.
AIDS AND THE NEXT PANDEMIC
1.
The worldwide AIDS epidemic has grown from approximately 100,000
people infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in 1980 to eight to ten
million today. The pandemic (worldwide epidemic) remains, fifteen years after its
discovery, dynamic and volatile, fueled by deep-seated and little understood behavior.
Moreover, the decade to come seems inescapably worse. The combination of new HIV
infections (estimated at 10 million to 25 million) and the natural history of individuals
already infected is expected to result in at least six million new cases of clinical AIDS in
adults during the 1990s.
2.
Yet, the situation could have been much, much worse. The reaction to AIDS has been
truly remarkable at many levels: science has made progress in developing vaccines and
therapies; communities and local governments have mobilized quickly; public
information efforts have been impressive in scale and, occasionally, in candor; and the
world community has gained an increased awareness of the need for solidarity in
confronting the pandemic. The global response has been unprecedented (which is not
to say that major challenges do not remain.) All these developments are of course
predicated entirely on the recognition of AIDS in 1981. The world must count itself
fortunate to have discovered AIDS then rather than five or even ten years later. The
reasons for the early detection of this disease reveal a lesson of supreme importance for
dealing with the next pandemic.
3. First, by 1981 AIDS was occurring in the U.S., a country with a highly developed disease
surveillance system.
92
4. Detection of AIDS was enormously facilitated by the unusual nature of its characteristic
infections and malignancies.
5. Next, AIDS first came to the notice of officials in the U.S. as a health problem among a
highly self-aware group of men who had sex with men.
6.
Finally, the technical ability to detect human retroviruses was developed at
precisely the same time the HIV pandemic was silently spreading, during the late 1970s.
7. Thus, extraordinary circumstances, both viral and human, led to detection of a global
public health threat within five to ten years after it became pandemic.
8. The new globalism means that viruses and other pathogens, already known but
geographically circumscribed, have unprecedented potential to spread.
9. What can we do to catch the next pandemic in time?
10. This task will require the involvement of psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists
as well as virologists and specialists in communicable diseases to develop creative ways
of uncovering patterns in health and disease.
11. Finding different ways of looking for patterns of disease will be conceptually difficult and
may be fairly expensive to implement. Yet the AIDS pandemic tells us that in the face of
some dangers we must develop the capacity to respond globally. Failure to do so will
condemn us to the vagaries of chance in our confrontation with the health challenges
that appear, today as in the past, to be the inevitable traveling companions of social,
economic, and political change.
93
Global Questions
1. What is the main idea of the article? (Copy the sentence from the article.)
________________________________________________________________
2. What is the conclusion of the article? (Write in your own words)
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
3. What is the relationship between paragraphs 3 and 4? _____________________
________________________________________________________________
4. What is the relationship between paragraphs 5 and 6? _____________________
________________________________________________________________
5. What is the relationship between paragraphs 6 and 7? _____________________
________________________________________________________________
6. Which word in paragraph 8 signals to us that paragraph 8 continues an idea from
paragraph 7? ________________________
7. Divide the article into sections, and write an outline with the name of each section.
By Minna Lipner
94
Annotating Texts
How can annotating a text help me?

It helps you to focus on the text – you are active instead of passive.

It helps you to analyze the text.

It helps you remember the material quickly and easily after time has passed.

You will have the text and your notes in the same place.
What should I mark?

Things that are important
-main ideas (of the text and of paragraphs)
-purpose/plan of the text
-conclusion
-topic of sections of the text
-structure of the text (if it’s not clear)
-key words, important phrases/ideas
-words that show the relationship between ideas in the text
(e.g. first, second, for example, however)

Things that are confusing / unfamiliar
-ideas that you don’t understand and would like to clarify
-words you don’t know (if they seem important)
-write questions about the text (This is important for active reading!)

Comments
-write comments on the side
-summarize parts of the text as you read
-try to connect this text to other things you have read
How should I mark the text?
Use any combination of the following techniques:

Circle or put boxes or shapes around words and phrases

Underline (but not too much - it can get messy!)

Highlight

Write in the margins and on the top and bottom of the page
The most common complaint about annotating is that it slows down your reading.
Yes, it does. That’s the point.
[10 pts]
By Minna Lipner