Developing Critical Reading Skills, 6th edition
Chapter 2 Exercises
Using Evidence to Make Inferences, Page 73
What specific evidence in the story suggests that Marie died?________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
Which character is morally directly responsible for Marie’s death?_____________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
“Paper has limitations”: If you paraphrase the title to ask, Will books become obsolete in the future?
what answer, according to Max’s evidence, would you give?
_________________________________________________________________________________
Now list at least three pieces of evidence in the paragraph that lead to this inference:_____________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
What other evidence can you provide from your own knowledge to support the idea that the demise of
the book is not imminent?
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________
Practice exercise 2, pg. 75 - 78
“About 750,000 airplane components,” Write PA, PI, or NP
1.______
2.______
3.______
4.______
5.______
Blind workers are more dependable and take fewer sick days than
nonhandicapped employees.
Other airline manufacturers besides Boeing use blind workers to manufacture,
machine, and assemble airplane components.
Nonhandicapped (i.e., sighted workers) have higher rejection rates for airplane
components than blind workers do.
Rejected airplane parts are retolled so that they can be used rather than merely
thrown away.
Sight is an unimportant sense in machining and assembling airplane components.
“For four years I attended”
1. Which of the following can you infer about the author?
2. What inference can you make about the book Soto says in read in fourth grade, The Story
of the United States Marines?
3.
What inference can you make about his new teachers, Mr. Stendhal and Mrs. Sloan?
“Between 1980 and 1991"
According to Lamb’s experiences (and aside from overeating), why are so many Americans
overweight?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
“For all the scientific awareness”
The author ends by saying that “the idea that no two snowflakes are ever exactly the same” is “in fact
unverificable.” Why is this statement likely to be true? What evidence in the paragraph
suggests it?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Chapter Exercises, pages 81-88
1. “Computer analysis of the English Language”
A. For each italicized word, write the dictionary definition most appropriate for the context.
1. wanted to rally the
nation____________________________________________________
B.
2.
all these stirring words_____________________________________________________
3.
the earthy epithets_________________________________________________________
4.
the earthy epithets_________________________________________________________
5.
monkish
scribes___________________________________________________________
1.
Write a main-idea sentence in your own words for the first paragraph:________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2.
Write a main-idea sentence in your own words for the second paragraph:_____________
____________________________________________________________________________
3.
In relation to sentence 1, label the next three sentences MA (major support) or MI (minor
support).
_____sentence 2 _____sentence 3 _____sentence 4
4.
The first paragraph strongly implies that Anglo-Saxon-based words are: a
d
b
c
5.
6.
Look through the passage and locate the two factors that allowed “earthy epithets” to be
imported into English:
The writer’s attitude toward the idea that swear words were absent in Anglo-Saxon is:
a) one of astonishment
b) skeptical
c)
critical
d) not evident from the passage
C. On the basis of evidence, mark PA (probably accurate), PI (prob. inaccurate), NP (not in passage)
1. _____ The Normans who came to England in 1066 spoke French.
2.______ The authors know how to read and write Anglo-Saxon.
(Missing page)
Section __ “As I approached the Gypsy camp”
A. For each italicized word, choose the best definition according to the context.
1. vitality ______________________________________
2.
rollicking____________________________________
3.
pungent_____________________________________
4.
permeated___________________________________
B. 1. Find two nouns Yoors uses to state his dominant impression of these Gypsies:
_________________________________________________________________________
B. 2. Yoors uses many words that appeal to our senses. Which sense is not emphasized?
a)
sight
b)
smell
c)
sound
d)
touch
B. 3. Yoors most likely found these Gypsies to be:
a)
wierd
b)
fascinating
c)
B. 4. A good title for this paragraph would be:
a) “A Study of Gypsy Life”
b)
c) “I Decide to Become a Gypsy”
d)
alien
d)
lazy
“The Survival of the Gypsies”
“First Impressions of a Gypsy Camp”
C. On the basis of evidence, mark PA (probably accurate), PI (prob. inaccurate), NP (not in passage)
1._____ The Gypsy camp the author came across was in America.
2._____ The writer had been to the Gypsy camp many times before.
3._____ Gypsies are persecuted in many European countries.
4._____ Gypsy culture, at least the culture represented by theis group, is essentially nomadic.
5._____ In Gypsy culture, the women do all the work while the men lie around, enjoying
themselves.
6._____ Despite the children’s ragged appearance, they appeared to be happy.
Section 3 - “In Japan, specially licensed chefs”
A.
For each italicized word, write the dictionary definition most appropriate for the context.
1. deft________________________________________________________
2. aficionados__________________________________________________
3. intrepid_____________________________________________________
4. ultimate____________________________________________________
5. connoisseur_________________________________________________
6. excruciating_________________________________________________
B. 1. With regard to puffer fish, Ackerman’s purpose in writing is a
b
c
d
2. The main idea of the paragraph is stated in sentence a) 2
b) 5
c)8
d)
13
3. In sentence 3, what does Ackerman mean when she compares the puffer fish’s poison to
armor?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
4.
Why does Ackerman characterize diners who eat chiri the “ultimate fugu connoisseur”?
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
5.
As the headnote indicates, this passage comes from Ackerman’s book, A Natural History of
the Senses. Each section of the book takes up one of the five senses. Which section does
this passage most likely appear in?
6.
Which of the following best describes the author’s attitude toward puffer fish connoisseurs?
a)
She thinks they are wierd.
b) She thinks they are foolish.
c)
She thinks they are admirable. d)
Her attitude is not evident from the passage.
C. On the basis of evidence, mark: PA (probably accurate), PI (prob. inaccurate), NP (not in passg)
1. Fugu is another word for puffer fish.
2. The puffer fish is poisonous only when it is served raw as sashimi.
3._____ It would be risky to eat puffer fish prepared by an inexperienced or novice chef.
4._____ People who eat puffer fish seek the thrill of the possibility of being poisoned.
5._____ Eating puffer with a tiny amount of poison left in it makes one’s entire body feel tingly.
6._____ The author has sampled puffer fish.
7._____ Puffer fish is served only in Japan.
Practice Essay, “Making the Grade,” pgs.89 - 94
A. 1.
Wiesenfeld states that some college students do not consider grades a measure of their:
a) mastery of the subject.
c) ability to organize their time wisely
b) personal performance and effort
d) performance in relation to other students’
performance in the class.
A. 2.
Some students try to get high grades by:
a) cheating
b) cramming at the last minute
c) begging and pleading
d) threatening the instructor
A. 3.
a)
c)
d)
The students described in the article receive low grades because they:
attend class sporadically
b)
are unprepared academically for the course work
work too many hours, which interferes with their studies.
let an entire semester’s work slide without doing anything.
4.
The idea that students deserve high grades without working for them reflects:
a) parental pressure for them to succeed b)
the superficial values of the larger society
c) the importance of getting into a good graduate school
d) grade inflation
5.
One particularly serious consequence of undeserved grades in science and engineering courses
is that:
a) educational standards in other disciplines are also weakened.
b) unsafely designed buildings and structures can result in loss of lives.
c) graduates expect similar undeserved rewards when they enter the working world.
d). professors feel as if they are under siege.
B. For each italicized word, write the dictionary definition most appropriate for the context.
1. the e-mail assault (par. 2)______________________________________________________
2.
a disgruntled-consumer approach (3)_____________________________________________
3.
hyperrational thinking (5): The prefix hyper- means__________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
______
4.
wheedling better grades
(6)_____________________________________________________
5.
sincerely overwrought student (6)________________________________________________
6.
intrinsically worthless (6)_______________________________________________________
7.
illiterate and mathematically inept (9)_____________________________________________
8.
less blatant deficiencies (9)_____________________________________________________
9.
eroding academic standards (9)_________________________________________________
10. maintain safety and integrity (11)________________________________________________
C. On the basis of evidence, mark: PA (probably accurate), PI (prob. inaccurate), NP (not in passg)
1._____
2._____
3._____
4._____
5._____
6._____
Many students equate good grades with high salaries rather than with knowledge
acquired.
It is not only science and engineering students who plead for higher grades; liberal arts
students do as well.
Parental pressure and the large financial investment college entails may account for
some students’ begging for grades they do not deserve.
The designers of the faulty bridge and the Olympic Stadium light tower received higher
grades than they should have in their college courses.
Professors in engineering courses should give partial or extra credit on examinations or
projects.
Professors should understand that today’s students are under tremendous pressure
and grade more leniently.
D. 1. The mode of discourse:
a) narration
b) description
c) exposition
d) persuasion
D. 2. From the information in paragraph 1, explain the “rookie error” that Wiesenfeld made:
D. 3. Write a main idea sentence in your own words for paragraph 4.___________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
D. 4. With respect to the practices of giving partial credit for incomplete answers or giving easy
grades, the purpose of paragraphs 7 to 10 is to:
a)
warn the reader about their long-term consequences
b) explain their origins
c) prove how widespread they are
d) present the students’ point of view
D. 5. According to parag. 10, who was responsible for the uneven foundation in the new dormitory?
a) The engineers who designed the building and who had been given partial credit and
undeservedly high grades while they were undergraduates.
b) Wiesenfeld’s own engineering students, who desiigned the dormitory as a class project.
c) The construction firm that cut corners to save money.
d) Wiesenfeld does not blame anyone in particular for feeding the computer incorrect data.