ACADEM IC PATHWAYS

Lesson A: Understanding cohesion

Analyzing arguments
Lesson B: Reviewing essay writing
Writing a cause-effect essay
 Deforestation
Loss of forest cover, such as in this part of Alberta,
Canada, contributes to a buildup of carbon dioxide
(a greenhouse gas) in the atmosphere. It also causes
so1l erosion and a loss of soil nutrients.

The Human
Impact
Around the world, natural
environments are under
pressure from the release
of air and water pollutants,
and by the removal of ATLANTIC
vegetation to extract
mineral resources or to OCEAN
create land for farming.
PACIFIC
OCEAN
In more developed
countries, industries
create waste and pollution;
farmers use fertilizers and
pesticides that run off into
water supplies; and motor
vehicles release exhaust Cities
fumes into the air. • Megacity, over 10 million
o 5 to 10 million
In less developed Pollution
countries, forests are cut (1 Areas most sensitive to acid rain

down for fuel or to clear Frequent pollution from shipping

land for farming; grasslands Desertification

are turned into deserts 0 Areas at highest risk of desertification
Deforestation
. as farmers and herders Intact forests
overuse the land; and 0 Other forests
expanding urban areas 0 Former forest
face problems of water
quality and sanitation. ,,

2 I uNIT 1
Desertification Pollution
In semiari d and arid areas, which receive limited Poor air quality is a serious environmental problem in
rainfa ll , land that is overgrazed or overcultivated can many parts of the world. Smoke from industrial plants,
become desertlike, such as in Nam ibia (above) . such as thi s one in Arizona, USA, may contain particles
that contribute to acid rain.

The map below uses population density,

land use, transportation , and energy
production and use, to identify areas of
Earth where human impact is greatest.

OCEAN

INDIAN
OCEAN
','

Kilometers

1000 2000 3000

Statute Miles

1000 2000 3000

ANTARCTICA

OUR HUMAN IMPACT I 3

LESSON A PREPARING TO READ

A I Building Vocabulary. Read the following paragraph about an event in Qatar. Use the context
to guess the meaning of the words in blue. Then w rite the words next to their definitions (1-6).

Diplomats and scientists from around the world met to discuss climate issues at the

The prefix equi-

2012 United Nations Climate Cha nge Conference in Qatar. T he conference was devoted
means equal, to discussing a commitment to red ucing global carbon emissions, which contribute to global
e.g., equivalent,
equidistant,
warming. One perspective on global warming is that human activities are not the cause;
equilateral , equitable. however, most climate scientists do not agree. Carbon emissions have increased dramatically
in th e last several years, and most cli mate scientists believe we can no longer ignore the issue.
While most experts agree that it is impossible to completely eliminate carbon emissions, they do
believe that it is possi ble to cool down the planet. One goal that resulted from the conference is
to keep any future global temperature rise within 2° Celsius-the equivalent of an increase of
3.6° Fahrenheit.

1. _________ : to not pay attention to

2. _________ : something that is equal to or corresponds with another in value

3. _________ : focused exclusively on

4. _________ : a meeting organized to exa mine a particular subject

5. _________ : to remove completely

6. _________ : a way of thinking about something

B I Building Vocabulary. Complete the sentences w ith the words from the box.
Use a dictionary to help you.

compound concept criteria incorporate register shifting

1. As a result of global warming, some bird species are movin g to nevv places. For example ,
the North American warbler is its habitat 65 miles to the north.

2. One of the _________ for naming a new animals species is that the name mu st
be easy to remember.

3. Researchers have recently discovered that a combination of chemicals in a common weed

killer, a called POE -15, can have a serious effect on human health .

4. If you an invention with the patent office, your idea will go into an
• An endangered
golden-cheeked official record, and it will be protected so that it cannot be copied.
warble r
5. A basic scientific _________ is cause and effect- the idea that an event is caused
by or atiected by another event.

6. To _________ something means to include it within something that already exists .

4 I UNIT 1
~ C I Using Vocabulary. Answer the questions. Share your ideas with a classmate.

1. What environmental issues do you think are too important to ignore? Why?

2. Can you name any of the chemical compounds in the products you use around the house?
Do you think any of them might cause health or environmental problems?

3 . What are some different perspectives on the causes of climate change?

•• • D I Brainstorming. Discuss your answers to these questions in small groups: What are some
ways that scientists make hypotheses about what Earth was like in the past? For instance,
how do we know that certain plants or animals existed in the past? Where (or how) do we
find evidence of them?

Example: Scientists find bones of animals that no longer exist.

E I Previewing and Predicting. Look at the photos and infographics on pages 6-12 and read
the captions . Read the title and the first sentence of each paragraph. Circle your answers
to the questions.

1. What area of science is this passage mainly about?

a. biology b. climatology c. geology

2. What time period do you think Anthropocene describes?

a. an ancient period b. the current period c. a future period

3 . What do you think this reading is about? Circle your answer (a-c).
It's an explanation of how on the planet is changing the way
people in the future might describe the current geological period.

a. the effect of global warmi ng

b. the overall human impact
c . the increasing population

OUR HU MAN IMPA CT .I 5

by Elizabeth lZolbert
 Hunldll beings have
aJtered the planet so n1uch
in just the past century
or two that we now have
a new name for a new
epoch: the Anthropocene.

() THE WORD ANTHROPOCENE was coined since Stoppani's day, in part because the size of
track 1-01
by Dutch chemist Paul Crutzen about a decade the population has roughly quadrupled, 1 to nearly
ago . One day Crutzen, who shared a Nobel Pri ze seven billion. "The pattern of human population
for discovering the effects of ozone-depleting growth in the 20th century was more bacterial
compounds, was sitting at a scientific conference. than primate," biologist E. 0. Wilson has
The conference chairman kept referring to the written. Wilson calculates that human biomass 2
Holocene, the epoch that began at the end of the is already a hundred times larger than that of any
last ice age, 11,500 years ago, and that-officially, at other large animal species that has ever walked
least-continues to this day. the Earth.

"Let's stop it," Crutzen recalls blurting out. In 2002, when Crutzen wrote up the
"We are no longer in the Holocene. We are in Anthropocene idea in the journal Nature,
the Anthropocene." It was quiet in the room for the concept was immediately picked up by
a while. When the group took a coffee break, the researchers working in a wide range of disciplines.
Anthropocene was the main topic of conversation. Soon it began to appear regularly in the scientific
Someone suggested that Crutzen copyright the vvord. press. "Global Analysis of River Systems:
From Earth System Controls to Anthropocene
Way back in t he 1870s, an Italian geologist
Syndromes" ran the title of one 2003 paper.
named Antonio Stoppani proposed that people
"Soils and Sediments in the Anthropocene" was
had introduced a new era, which he labeled the
the headline of another, published in 2004.
I! Anthropozoic. Stoppani's proposal was ignored;
other scientists found it unscientific. The
1
If somethi ng quadruples. it inc reases by a factor of four
Anthropocene, by contrast, struck a chord. Human 2
Biomass refers to the total amou nt of livi ng matter in an area
impacts on the world have become a lot more obvious

<1 Western Minnesota: Vast w heat fields and

long train lines have created a distinctive human
landscape in the Midwestern United States.

OUR HUMAN IMPACT .I 7

 At first , most of the scientists using the new as the Ordovician and the C retaceous, last much longer,
geologic term were not geologists. Jan Zalasiewicz , and eras, like t he Mesozoic, lo nger still.) The bou ndaries
a British geologist, found the discu ssions intriguing. between epochs are defined by changes preserved in
"I noticed that C rutzen's term was appearing in sedimentary rocks 4 -the emergence of o ne type of
t he se rio us literat ure, without qu otation marks and commonly fossilized organism, say, or the disappearance
without a sen se o f iro ny," he says. In 2007, Za lasiewicz of another.
was serving as ch airm an of th e Geological Society of
T he ro ck record of t he present doesn't exist yet, of
Lond on's Stratigraphy3 Commission . At a meeting,
course . So the question was: When it does, will human
he decided to ask his fellow stratigraphers what they
t!] impacts show up as "stratigraphically significant" ? The
t houg ht of t he Ant hropocene. Twenty-one of 22
answer, Zalasiewicz's group decided, is yes- though not
thought the concept had merit.
necessarily for the reasons you wou ld expect.
T he group agreed to look at it as a forma l problem
3
Stratigraphy is a branch of geo logy concerned with the study of rock layers .
in geology. Would the Anthropocene satisfy t he • Sedimentary rocks are formed from sediment-solid material that settles
[il criteria used for naming a new epoch? In geology, at the bottom of a liquid, especially earth and pieces of rock that have been
carried along and then left somewhere by water, ice, or wind .
epochs are relatively short time spans , though they
can extend for tens of millions of years . (Periods, such start of the
Anthropocene?

-~ • "~ ::-'-'-~~~"'>~'%· :, ,t""~~~~~kt.':_ ,,:.-::~ ~, ~-· ~\··~""'~"~.f""~'~~.[4~':t~.~'",iG~..~..-;;.,

;• Era • 0
.:
~
Penod
,.~
,
,;,·: · .,,,': · --~, ·- -~"'""':•"'l'£"·(· ~---- Epoch ",.·. ~; il;":-~*~fl~:fi-;t:t.
-~vi:>,:,.,.~.-",~ -:'"~""~'f<;;""•"~"" .<;;;.-";> _,,."' -~ , • , 1 ~' ~ ~i,~;u,?k $~ ~ft$

Holocene
Quaternary I>
Pleistocene
Pliocene
Earth's
(,)
'(5
N Neogene
0 Miocene
Geological 1:
Q)
(.) Oligocene
Timeline Paleogene Eocene
Paleocene .r.:r.::l
~
(,)
Cretaceous
'(5
N
0
Ill
Q)
Jurassic .
~
::E Triassic ~
t
Permian

Carboniferous
Pennsylvanian I·
(,)
'(5
Mississippian
N
0
Q)
Devonian
(ij
c. Silurian
Ordovician !•

Cambrian
.~
- ~

1:
nl Proterozoic
·;:
• t
.0
E Archean
nl
(,) : t t
...
Q)

c. Hadean ~
8 I UNIT 1
 .a. Humboldt County, California: The effects of timber logging are clearly
visible from the air above Maple Creek, near Redwood National Park.

PROBABLY THE MOST OBVIOUS way humans Fertilizer factories, for example, now take more
are altering the planet is by building cities, which are nitrogen from the air-converting it to a biologically
essentially vast stretches of man-made materials- usable form-than all the plants and microbes on
steel, glass, concrete, and brick. But it turns out land; the runofffrom fertilized fields is triggering
most cities are not good candidates for long-term life-throttling blooms of algae 6 at river mouths all
preservation for the simple reason that they're built over the world . But this global perturbation 7 of
on land, and on land the forces of erosion tend the nitrogen cycle will be hard to detect because
to win out over those of sedimentation. From a synthesized nitrogen is just like its natural equivalent.
geologic perspective, the most plainly visible human Future geologists are more likely to grasp the scale of
effects on the landscape today "may in some ways be 21st-century industrial agriculture from the pollen 8
the most transient, 5 " Zalasiewicz has observed. record-from the monochrome 9 stretches of corn,
Humans have also transformed the world wheat, and soy pollen that will have replaced the
through farming; something like 38 percent of the varied record left behind by rain forests or prairies.
planet's ice-free land is now devoted to agriculture. • Algae are organism s with no stems or leaves that g row in water or
D Here again, some of the effects that seem most on dam p surfaces .
7
A perturbation is a smal l change in someth in g, especially an
significant today will leave behind only subtle traces un usual change .
at best. 8 Pollen is a fi ne powder produced by fl owers. It fert il izes other
fl owers of the same species so that they prod uce seeds .
5 Transient describes a situation that lasts on ly a short ti me or is • If someth ing is monochrome, it is all one color.
constantly changi ng.

OUR HUMAN IMPACT I 9

 Why Is Our Impact Growing?
Is population growth the root cause? Or is it affluence, which leads to greater consumption of energy and
other resources? Or technology, w hich offers new tools for exploiting and consum ing? The IPAT formula is
a way of thinking about the issue: It says the three factors compound. Since 1900, world GOP (a measure
of A) and the number of patent applications (a measure of T) have grown even faster than population (P).

I p X A X T
Human Population Affluence Technology
Impact

Affluence
World GOP
(G ross Domestic
Product)
$55 trillion

Population $5.3 trillion Technology

Worldwide
Patent
7 billion applications
1.9 million

412,000

10 I UNIT 1
 ' Do we decide the
Anthropocene's here, or do
we wait 20 years and things
will be even worse? ''

ThE LEVELING OF THE WORLD'S FORESTS Long after our cars , cities, and factories have
will send at least two coded signals to future turned to dust, the consequences of burning
stratigraphers, though deciphering the first may billions of tons' worth of coal and oil are likely
be tricky. Massive amounts of soil eroding otT to be clearly discernible . As carbon dioxide
denuded 10 land are increasing sedimentation 11 in warms the planet, it also seeps into the oceans
some parts of the world-but at the same time, the and acidifies them. Sometime this century, they
dams we've built on most of the world's major rivers may become acidified to the point that corals can
are holding back sediment that would otherwise be no longer construct reefs, which would register
washed to sea. The second signal of deforestation in the geologic record as a "reef gap." Reef gaps
should come through clearer. Loss of forest habitat have marked each of the past five major mass
is a major cause of extinctions, which are now extinctions. The most recent one, which is believed
happening at a rate hundreds or even thousands of to have been caused by the impact of an asteroid,
times higher than during most of the past half billion took place 65 million years ago, at the end of the
years. If current trends continue, the rate may soon Cretaceous period; it eliminated not just the
be tens of thousands of times higher. dinosaurs but also the plesiosaurs, pterosaurs, and
ammonites. 12 The scale of what's happening now to
Probably the most significant change, from
the oceans is, by many accounts , unmatched since
a geologic perspective, is one that's invisible
then. To future geologists, Zalasiewicz says, our
to us-the change in the composition of the
impact may look as sudden and profound as that of
atmosphere. Carbon dioxide emissions are colorless,
an asteroid.
odorless, and, in an immediate sense, harmless .
But their warming effects could easily push global
temperatures to levels that have not been seen for 10
If a place is denuded, all the plants in the area have been destroyed.
millions of years . Some plants and animals are 11
Sedimentation is the process by which solid material , especially
already shifting their ranges toward the Poles, and earth and pieces of rock, settles at the bottom of a liquid.
12
Plesiosaurs , pterosaurs , and ammonites are extinct, prehistoric
those shifts will leave traces in the fossil record. organisms.
Some species will not survive the warming at all.
Meanwhile, rising temperatures could eventually
raise sea levels 20 feet or more.

OUR HUMAN IMPACT II

LESSON A READING

IF WE HAVE INDEED entered a new epoch, then the geologic timescale. A final decision will require
~ when exactly did it begin? When did human impacts votes by both the ICS and its parent organization,
rise to the level of geologic significance? the International Union of Geological Sciences.
The process is likely to take years . As it drags
William Ruddiman , a paleoclimatologist at
on, the decision may well become easier. Some
the University ofVirgini a, has proposed that the
scientists argue that we've not yet reached the start
invention of agriculture some 8,000 years ago, and
of the Anthropocene-not because we haven't
the deforestation that resulted, led to an increase in
had a dramatic impact on the planet, but because
atmospheric C0 2 just large enough to stave off what
the next several decades are likely to prove even
otherwise would have been the start of a new ice age .
more stratigraphically significant than the past few
In his view, humans have been the dominant force on
centuries. "Do we decide the Anthropocene's here, or
.!J the planet practically since the start of the Holocene.
do we wait 20 years and things will be even worse?"
Crutzen has suggested that the Anthropocene began
says Mark Williams, a geologist and colleague of
in the late 18th century, when , ice cores show, carbon
Zalasiewicz's at the University of Leicester in England.
dioxide levels began what has since proved to be an
uninterrupted rise. Other scientists put the beginning Crutzen, who started the debate, thinks its real
of the new epoch in the middle of the 20th century, value won't lie in revisions to geology textbooks . His
when the rates of both population growth and purpose is broader: He wants to focus our attention
consumption accelerated rapidly. on the consequences of our collective action-and on
how we might still avert the worst. "What I hope," he
Zalasiewicz now heads a working group of the
says, "is that the term Anthropocene will be a warning
International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS)
to the world."
that is tasked with officially determining whether
the Anthropocene deserves to be incorporated into
l' Trotternish, Isle of Skye: Millions of years of
history are recorded in the rocks of Scotland .
Are we creating a new chapter in Earth's
geological history?
UNDERSTANDING THE READING

A I Identifying Main Ideas. Write answers to the questions.

1. What is the purpose ofKolbert's article? Complete the main idea.

Kolbert's purpose is to present the idea of a new _________ and to show how
our human impact will be noted in the future.

2. What does "Anthropocene" mean? Explain it in your own words.

3. The reading passage has three main parts. Where could you place each of these section heads?
Write paragraph letters: ~ , [II , and

Section Head Before Paragraph ...

How We Are Changing the Planet

Tracing the Origins of the Anthropocene
A New Perspective on Earth's History

4. What four main areas does Kolbert examine for signs of human impact?
c·,f·,es,

B I Identifying Key Details. Write answers to the questions.

1. When was the idea of a new era first proposed? What was it called?

2. What do cities basically consist of, according to Kolbert? Why might cities not be visible
in the future?

3. How do fertilizers and industrial farming affect the environment?

4. What are two effects of cutting down forests?

5. How does climate change affect plants and animals? How is it affecting the oceans?

OUR HUMAN IMPACT I 13

-
LESSON A UNDERSTANDING THE READING

•• • C I Critical Thinking: Evaluating. Use your answers to exercise B to complete the chart
summarizing the human impact. Then discuss this question in a small group: Of the four
kinds of human impact, which do you think will leave the most obvious record in the
future? Why?

The Human Effect Will It Leave a Trace? Why, or Why Not?

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ - bv..f o"'\Y f,.o"" fhe

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ .. eco .. d of fhe Sh-,f+
f,.o"" lA viA,.ie+y of p\1AV1fs fo lA few fypes

by ____________ M"'ybe- sed·,""e"'f"'f"'o"' "'"'d

---------"""'Y

by ___________ Mosf \·,ke\y- st-.;,f+s ·,"' h"'b-,f~Af ,."'"'~e

fhe ~Af~V~osphe,.e w·,\\ \e~Ave f,.tAces ·,"'

~ D I Understanding lnfographics. Look at the infographic on page 10 and answer the questions.
Then discuss your answers with a partner.

1. What is the main purpose of the info graphic? Circle the best answer.
a. to show the importance of changes in human technology since 1900
b. to show how different factors have contributed to our human impact
c. to show how population growth has risen faster than affluence
2. Look at the "I=PAT" formula . What does it mean? Explain it in your own words.

3. Describe how the following factors have increased since 1900.

population:------------------------------

GDP (affluence): - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

technology:------------------------------

14 I UNIT 1
 CT Focus: Analyzing arguments
An argument usually presents a debatable issue and includes evidence that supports the issue.
When you read a passage that presents an argument, first identify the issue-the writer's argument.
Then analyze the writer's evidence. Is it fully developed? Is it accurate? Is it detailed? Is it current?
How do you know?

~ E I Critical Thinking: Analyzing Evidence. In the reading on pages 6-12, what evidence
does the writer present in support of either side of the main issue? Take notes in the chart.
Then discuss answers to the questions below with a partner.

Issue: Our impact on the planet is so great that we are now living in a new epoch.

Arguments For Arguments Against

1. Are the arguments on both sides equally balanced, or is there more evidence for one side
than the other?
2. Are we at the start of a new epoch? Should we name the current period "Anthropocene"?
Why, or why not?

F I Identifying Meaning from Context. Find and underline the following words and expressions
in the reading passage. Use context to guess their meanings. Then match the sentence parts.

1. _ _ Paragraph A: If a word is coined by someone , a. it moves slowly.

b. you can detect it.

2. _ _ Paragraph C: If an idea struck a chord,
c. other people thought it
3. _ _ Paragraph 0: If a concept is picked up, sounded logical.

4. _ _ Paragraph J: If something is life-throttling, d. you prevent it from happening.

5. _ _ Paragraph M: If a consequence is discernible, e. people decide to adopt it.

f. it was invented by that person.
6. _ _ Paragraph 0: If you stave off an event,
g. it causes things to die .
7. _ _ Paragraph P: When something drags on,

OUR HUMAN IMPACT I 15

 Reading Skill: Understanding Cohesion

Cohesion is the way that ideas are linked in a text. Writers use certain techniques (sometimes called
"cohesive devices") to refer to ideas mentioned elsewhere in the passage. Some of these techniques
include pronouns (one[s], another, the other), demonstratives (this, that, these, those), and synonyms.
Look at these examples from "The Human Age."

In 2002, when Crutzen wrote up the Anthropocene idea in the journal Nature, the concept was
immediately picked up by researchers working in a wide range of disciplines.
The writer uses a synonym, the concept, to refer to the idea in the first part of the sentence.

Wilson calculates that human biomass is already a hundred times larger than that of any other
large animal species that has ever walked the Earth.

In this example, the writer uses that to refer to biomass.

Note: The referent-the word or idea that is referred to-is not always close to the cohesive device. It may be in a different
part of the sentence, or in a different sentence or section of the text.

A I Analyzing. Circle the word or idea that each underlined word in these extracts refers to.

1. Paragraph D: "Glo bal Analysis of River Systems: From Earth System Controls to
Anthropocene Syndromes" ran the title of one 2003 paper. "Soils and Sediments in the
Anthropocene" was the headline of another, published in 2004.
a. title b. paper c. river system

2. Paragraph H : But it turns out most cities are not good candidates for lo ng-term preservation
for the simple reason that they're built on land, and on land the forces of erosion tend to win
out over those of sedimentation.
a. forces b. cities C. candidates

B I Analyzing. Find the following excerpts in "The Human Age." Write the words or ideas that each
underlined words or phrases refer to.

1. Paragraph E: At first, most of the scientists using the new geologic term were not geologists.

2. Paragraph F: The boundaries between epochs are defined by changes preserved in

sedimentary rocks-the emergence of one type of commonly fossilized organism, say, or the
disappearance of another. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
3. Paragraph L: Probably the most significant change, from a geologic perspective, is one that's
invisible to us-the change in the composition of the atmosphere. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __
4. Paragraph M: The most recent one, which is believed to have been caused by the impact
of an asteroid, took place 65 million years ago, at the end of the Cretaceous period.

16 I UNIT 1
 VIEWING

Before Viewing
A I Using a Dictionary. Here are some words you will hear in the video. Match each one
with the correct definition. Use a dictionary to help you.

excavation extract induced perturb stress (v.)

1. _ _ _ _ _ disturb greatly 4. ---;..---- caused; triggered

2. _ _ _ _ _ the act of digging in the earth 5. ---'----- take out; remove
3. _ _ _ _ _ put pressure on

.1.1 B I Thinking Ahead. Discuss these questions with a partner: What are some examples of
materials that are mined? What are some possible positive and negative effects of mining?

While Viewing
Read the questions (1-5). Think about the answers as you view the video.

1. Where did the earthquake described in the video occur?

2. What were the effects of this earthquake?
3. What was a possible cause of the earthquake?
4. What are "pre-existing conditions"? How do earthquakes affect them?
5. What percentage of earthquakes around the world may be caused by mining?

After Viewing
a A Discuss the answers to the questions in exercise B in "While Viewing" with a partner.
'9' Gold miners at
B Critical Thinking: Synthesizing. How does mining contribute to the human
Serra Pelada
impact on the planet? Mine, Brazil
LESSON B EXPLORING WRITTEN ENGLISH
.,

GOAL: Writing about the Human Impact on the Planet

In this lesson, you are going to plan, w rite, revise, and edit an essay on the follow ing topic: 1

Describe how the activities of a community or an institution are impacting

the planet.

~ A I Brainstorming. Choose a community or an institution that you want to write about (for example,
your city or your school). Then think about how its activities are impacting the planet. Write as many
activities and impacts (or effects) in the chart as you can. Share your ideas with a partner.

Activities Impacts (Effects)

fhe. SChOO\ W.Ai\S b~oChv.~e.S fo v.se. of il'\k "-"'d p"-pe.~ le."-ds +o

p~ospecf'1ve. sfv.de."'+s defo~e.sf"-f"1o"' "-"'d pollv.fio"'

B 1 Vocabulary for Writing. The following words and expressions can be useful when writing about the
human impact on the planet. Find these words and expressions-or forms of them- in the reading
passage on pages 6-12. Use context to guess their meanings. Then complete each definition.

deplete (paragraph A) transform (paragraph I) -

the emergence (paragraph F) traces (paragraph L)
preserve (paragraph H) the dominant force (paragraph 0)

1. If something leaves _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _, it leaves evidence that it was there or it existed.

2. To _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ something is to reduce it.

3. To _ _ _ _ _ _ __ something is to save or protect it.

4. To _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ something is to change it in a significant way.

5. If something is - - - - - - - - , it is the most important or powerful effect on a thing.

6. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ of something is its coming into being.

Free Writing. Write for five minutes. Write about one human activity that is having an
impact on the planet. Use some of the words and expressions from exercise B.

18 I UNIT 1
C I Read the information in the box. Then use the cues to complete the second sentence in each
pair (1-5) below. Use reference words, synGnyms, or word forms for the underlined words in
the first sentence.

Language for Writing: Using Cohesive Devices

Writers use cohesive devices to emphasize key concepts they have already mentioned
and to avoid repetition. Cohesive devices include reference words such as it, these,
those, and that. They also include synonyms and word forms.
Reference Words and Synonyms:
In 2002, when Crutzen wrote up the Anthropocene idea in the journal Nature, the
concept was immediately picked up by researchers working in a wide range of
disciplines. Soon it began to appear regularly in the scientific press.
The writer uses the concept and it to refer to the Anthropocene idea.
Word Forms:
Way back in the 1870s, an Italian geologist named Antonio Stoppani proposed that
people had introduced a new era, which he labeled the Anthropozoic. Stoppani's
proposal was ignored; other scientists found it unscientific.
The writer uses proposal to refer to what Stoppani proposed.

1. Cities are filled with structures made of glass, steel, and concrete. Many people might think
that are indestructible materials. (reference word)

2. This era has been called Anthropozoic. Today, geologists are using Anthropocene to refer to
this . (synonym)

3. Humans have destroyed forests, built over animal habitats, and heated up the atmosphere
with C02 emissions. Of all these , the changes in the atmosphere may
leave the most lasting traces. (synonym)

4. By creating pedestrian-only streets in city centers, planners are reducing the amount of time
people spend in cars. This of car use will have a positive impact on
the environment. (word form)

5. Chemicals used in pesticides may harm people and animals. These _ _ _ _ _ _ __

compounds can have a negative impact on the soil and water as well. (word form)

D I Write additional sentences that refer back to ideas in six of your original Free Writing
sentences. Use reference words, synonyms, and word forms in the new sentences.

OUR HUMAN IMPACT I 19

L ESSO N B EXPLORING WRITTEN ENGLISH

Writing Skill: Reviewing Essay Writing

An essay is a short piece of writing that includes an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. The
introduction presents general information on the topic and usually includes a thesis statement. The thesis
statement presents the main idea of the entire essay. The body paragraphs support the thesis with facts,
details, explanations, and other information. Key words or ideas in the thesis are reflected in the topic
sentences of the body paragraphs. Transitions between paragraphs help the reader follow the essay.
The conclusion restates the thesis and leaves the reader with some final thought on the topic.
You usually write an essay in response to an essay prompt. The prompt might be a statement (Describe I
t=xplain . . .), or it might be a question (Why . .. ? To what extent . .. ? How . .. ?). When you respond to a
prompt, think about your position on the topic (which will become your thesis statement) and ways to support
or explain your position (which may become the topic sentences of your body paragraphs). Use the key
words or synonyms of the key words in the prompt in your thesis statement and in your topic sentences.

~ E Critical Thinking: Evaluating. Read the following essay prompt. Choose the best thesis
statement for it. Why is it the best? Discuss your answer with a partner.
What are some ways that people can help heal the planet through their food choices?
a. People can make much better food choices.
b. People can help heal the planet by making environmentally friendly food choices.
c. People can help heal the planet by driving less and using fewer resources.
d. It's important that we start caring about the future of the planet right now.

F 1 Critical Thinking: Evaluating. Think about ways to support or explain the thesis statement.
Assume you are going to write three body paragraphs. Choose tlie three best supporting ideas
from the list below.
Make food choices that _ __

D a. are cheap D b. promote health D c. don't contribute to pollution

D d. preserve endangered species D e. use fewer resources such as water

G 1 Applying. Complete topic sentences for three body paragraphs based on the ideas you chose
in exercise F.
One way that we can help heal the planet is - -- - -- -- - - - - - - - - -

Anotherwaywecan _ _ _ _ _ _~------------------

Finally, - - -- -- - -- - -- - -- -- - -- -- - -- - - - -

~ H I Discussion. Discuss the following essay prompt. Think of a good thesis statement and at least
three possible ideas to .s.upport it. Share your ideas with a partner.

Describe new policies that would improve the quality of life at your college or school.
20 I UNIT 1
\ :1\
. ..,
~-
.·
0 ,· ."
, ~l . ,,
WRITING TASK: Drafting

A I Planning. Follow the steps to make notes for your essay.

Step 1 In the outline below, write down the name of the community or institution you are
going to write about. Note three of its activities that impact the planet.
Step 2 Write a thesis statement in the outline.
Step 3 Write a topic sentence for each of your body paragraphs.
Step 4 For each body paragraph, write two or three examples, details, or facts that explain
how the activities of the community or institution affect the planet.
Step 5 Note some ideas for an introduction and a conclusion for your essay.

Community or i n s t i t u t i o n : - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Three activities of this community or institution:

1. ----------------------------------------------------------
2. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

3. ---------------------------------------------------------
Thesis statement: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Body Paragraph l: Topic sentence: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - , - - - - - - - - - -

Details: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Body Paragraph 2: Topic sentence: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Details: -----------------------=---------

Body Paragraph 3: Topic sentence: - - - - - - - - - - - - - , - - - - - - - - - -

Details: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - = - - - - - - - - - -

Notes for Introduction: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - : - - - - - - - - -

Notes for Conclusion: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - _ _ : . - - - - - - - -

B I Draft 1. Use your outline to write a first draft of your essa

SDKCB: OU HUMAN IMPACT I 21
 J1 C I Critical Thinking: Analyzing. Work with a partner. Read the essay about some positive
impacts on city life. Then follow the steps to analyze the essay.

Cities are growing in size and in population. As they grow, will they have a harmful impact on
the environment? Not necessarily. Many city planners have solutions to make cities and the people
who live in them healthier and happier, while at the same time, having a positive impact on the
environment. Three ways to improve cities include creating green spaces, developing mixed-use
areas, and encouraging building owners to transform their rooftops into gardens.
Green spaces have a positive impact on a community. They are protected areas that remain
undeveloped, such as parks or other open areas. Increasing the number of green spaces in a city has
several advantages. Green spaces make a city more attractive, as plants and other features-such as
streams and rocks-are left in their natural state. Green spaces also provide peaceful recreation areas
for city dwellers. People can walk, hike, bicycle, and picnic in these areas away from the hustle and
bustle of city life. Trees also shelter the area from the noise and traffic of the city while improving
the air quality.
Another way to improve the quality of life in cities is the development of mixed-use areas.
Mixed-use areas combine several purposes in one space. A mixed-use area, for example, may contain
offices and businesses, apartments, and entertainment facilities. Ideally, mixed-use developments
attract people who want to live and work in the same area. The benefits to the community are
significant because mixed-use areas allow people to reduce the amount oftime they spend in cars
driving to work and running errands, which in turn reduces air pollution. Creating mixed-use areas
with pedestrian- and bicycle-only streets further lessens the impact on the environment, and it can
also encourage better health and fitness as citizens spend less time in cars.
Finally, encouraging building owners to convert their rooftops into high-rise gardens and farms
can bring about dramatic changes to city life and improve the environment at the same time.
Rooftop gardens insulate buildings. For example, in areas that have hot summer weather, rooftop
gardens can cool buildings so that they don't require as much air conditioning. This reduces energy
use as well as the cost to building owners. Rooftop gardens that are used to grow organic fruits and
vegetables- as opposed to those grown with chemical compounds-can also improve the quality of
life for city dwellers, especially if they live in areas where access to fresh produce is limited. Limiting
the use of harmful pesticides through organic gardening is good for the planet and for human
health, too.
Green spaces, mixed-use areas, and rooftop gardens are just a few of the ways that we can lessen
the impact of cities on the planet. By instituting these and other methods to make cities more
livable and environmentally friendly, we can look forward to a happy and healthy future
as our cities grow.

Step 1 Label the three main parts of the essay: A (the introduction), B (the body), and C
(the conclusion).
Step 2 Underline the thesis statement.
Step 3 Circle the key words or key concepts in the thesis statement.
Step 4 Underline the topic sentences in the body paragraphs.
Step 5 Circle the key words in the topic sentences that reflect the key words in the
thesis statement.
22 I UNIT 1
 0 Revising. Follow the steps in exercise C to analyze your own essay.

~ E Peer Evaluation. Exchange your first draft with a partner and follow the steps below.

Step 1 Read your partner's essay and tell him or her one thing that you liked about it.
Step 2 Complete the outline showing the ideas that your partner's essay describes.

Community or i n s t i t u t i o n : - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Three activities of this community or institution:

1.

2. --------------------------------------------------------
3.

Thesis statement: - - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -- -

Body Paragraph 1: Topic sentence: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Details:

Body Paragraph 2: Topic sentence: - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - - - - -

Det~s: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - ---

Body Paragraph 3: Topic sentence: - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - -- -

Det~s: - - - - - - -- - -- - - - - - - - -- -- - - - - - - - -

Step 3 Compare this outline with the one that your partner created in exercise A on page 21.
Step 4 The two outlines should be similar. If they aren't, discuss how they differ.

OUR HUMAN IMPACT I 23

 F I Draft 2. Write a second draft of your essay. Use what you learned from the peer evaluation
activity and your answers to exercise D. Make any other necessary changes.

G I Editing Practice. Read the information in the box. Then edit the sentences (1- 3) to
make them clearer.

When using cohesive devices, remember to:

• use pronouns that match the referent in gender and number.
• make sure a pronoun c learly refers to a specific word or idea.
Sometimes it 's better to repeat words or use synonyms for clarity.
• choose the correct synonym when using a dictionary or thesaurus.

~~~~~~--~--~~~--~~~~~~~
,, .,,, ·
,,, ·~ · ·~;

1. One reason to limit the use of pesticides is that it contains harmful compounds.

2. Some people are installing rooftop gardens and using solar panels in their homes.
It can save money and resources.

3. Many fish species have become extinct and, as a result, there is less biodiversity in our
oceans. They are a problem because they upset the natural balance of the
oceans' ecosystems.

H I Editing Checklist. Use the checklist to find errors in your second draft.

Editing Checklist Yes No

1. Are all the words spelled correctly?

2. Does every sentence have correct punctuation?

3. Do your subjects and verbs agree?

4. Have you used cohesive devices correctly?

5. Are your verb tenses correct?

Final Draft. Now use your Editing Checklist to write a third draft of your essay.
Make any other necessary changes.

24 I UNIT 1
ACADEMIC PATHWAYS
Lesson A : Identifying subjects in complex sentences
Evaluating sources
Lesson 8: Organizing a comparative essay
Writing a comparative essay
 People collaborate when they
work together to accomplish a task.
Collaboration among early humans helped
to ensure their survival. For example, they
used teamwork in order to find food and raise
children. In the modern world, collaboration is
a key feature in organizational settings such
as businesses. Most organizational behavior
experts agree that collaboration increases
productivity. When people work together, t hey
can use each other's knowledge to advance
new ideas.

In recent years, collaboration has been greatly

enhanced by the development of the Internet.
In the past, people had to be in the same
place in order to work together. Today, online
collaboration allows people to accomplish
a range of tasks collectively at any time and
from any location. Crowdsourcing, which
uses a network of a large number of people
to help solve a problem, is increasing our
scientific knowledge. Data collected from a
crowdsourcing website called Cerberus, for
example, is helping astronomers analyze
satellite images of Mars.

What makes humans want to collaborate?

James K. Rilling, an anthropologist at Emory
University, looked at brain activity whi le
participants were engaged in cooperative
activities. His study showed that the desire to
cooperate with others may be innate in humans.
Researchers are also looking into ways to
enhance human collaboration. Studies of the
ways in which animal and insect groups- such
as ants- collaborate may help us figure out ways
to work together even more efficiently.

96 I UNI T 5
col I lab I o I ra I tion noun

Collaboration is the act of working together on a

joint project.

..,. Collaboration among

construction workers in
El Kef, Tunisia, enables
them to carry supplies to
the top of a building site.
_-;~
~
LESSON A PREPARING TO READ - ' -.

A I Building Vocabulary. Read the following paragraph. Use t he context to guess the meaning of
the words in blue. Then write each word next to its definit ion (1 - 7).

Insects may help us improve the way we deal with d angerous situations. Scientists around
the world are studying insect behavior to create tiny robots that have many of the same
capabilities as insects. Insects, for example , can fly in and land precisely o n a tiny surface , and
then fl ap their wings to fly off with amazing speed. One application for these t iny insectlike
machines is in defense- robots w ill be able to scout battlefields and record images as t hey
hover over dangerous areas. Engineers are also building ornithopters-aircraft that get all of
their thrust and most of their lift from flapping wings. The flight mechanism of an ornitho pter
is essentially a simulation of the way that an insect flaps its wings to take off and fly. T hese
emergent technologies offer several advantages. One benefit is that operators can manipulate
the devices ti·om a distance. As a resu lt, t hey can stay out of harm's way while they perform
dangerous missions in unpredictable environments, such as war zones.

1. _ _ __ _ __ _ _ : action taken to protect against attack; also, the o rgani zation o f a

country's armies and weapo ns

2. _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ : to control, manage, o r use carefu lly

3. _ _ __ _ __ _ _ : mo del ; imitation of behaviors or processes

4. _ _ __ _ _ _ __ : skills or qualities

5. _ __ _ _ __ _ _ : not able to be know n in advance

6. _ _ _ _ _ _ __ _ : coming into existence

7. _ _ __ __ _ __ : accu rately and exactly

B I Building Vocabulary. Complete the definitions w ith the words from the box. Use a
dictionary to help you .

( comple__m
_ e_n_ta
_ rY___c_o_o_r_d_in_a_t_e_ _d
_ e_c_e_n_tr_a_l_iz_e_d___
de_clare relevant J
1. If people _ __ _ _ _ _ __ something, they formally annou nce it .

2. Something t hat is _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ to a situation is impo rtant or sign ifi cant.

3 . To _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ with others is to work together efficient ly.

4. A ____ _ __ _ _ system is o ne in which pmver is not in one place o r individu al,

but spread o ut.

5. _ _ __ _ __ _ _ things are different fi·om each o ther, but they make a

g ood combinatio n .

98 I UN I T 5
~ C I Using Vocabulary. Write answers to the questions (1 -3). Share your ideas with a partner.

1. What are some capabilities of groups versus individuals?

2. Think of a group that you belong to. A re the skills of the group members
complementary? Give examples.
Complementary
describes things
that go together
well or that make
something good even
3. What are some emergent technologies today? How mig ht t hey be useful? bet ter: "The members
of the team have
complementary
skills." Complimentary
refers to a polite
remark that you make
• • • D I Brainstorming. Discuss your answers to these questions in a small group. to or about someone:
"The manager's
1. What are some examples of group behavio r among animals) Think about insects, remarks about the
team's work were very
fis h, and herd animals (such as butTalo). complimentary."

2 . For what kinds of jobs is collaboration very important?

~ E I Predicting. Look at the photos and captions on pages 100- 105. Read paragraphs A and W.
Then discuss your answers to the questions below with a partner. Check your predictions as
you read the rest of the passage.

1. What animals might the passage di scuss?

2 . What aspects of their behavior might the passage discuss)

3. What human activities or inventio ns migh t th e passage discuss?

4 . What do you thi nk is the main purpose of the article?

WORK IN G TOG ET HE R I 99
 lhe study of S\\arrns i~
pro,·iding insights that
can help humans manage
complex systetns, fron1
online search engines
'-
to
nlilitarv robots.

How DO THE SIMPLE ACTIONS of individuals nearby boids, an d (3) stay close to nearby boids. The
track 1-05
add up to the complex behavior of a group? How do result, when set in motion on a computer screen, was a
hundreds of honeybees make a critical decision about convinci ng simulation o f floc king, 1 including lifelike
their hive if many of them disagree) W hat enables a and unpredictable movements.
school of herring to coordinate its movements so
At the t ime, Reynold s was looking for wavs to
precisely it can change d irection in a flash, like a
depict animals rea list ically in TV shows and fi lms .
single, silvery organism? T he answer has to do with a
(Batman R eturns in 1992 was the first movie to use
remarkable phenomenon I call smart swarm.
his approach , portraying a swarm of bats and an army
A smart swarm is a group of ind ividuals who of penguins.) Today he works at Sony doing research
respond to one another and to their environ ment in for games, such as an algorithm 2 th at simulates in real
ways t hat give them the power, as a group, to cope with time as many as 15,000 interacting birds, fish ,
uncertainty, complexity, and change . Take birds, for or people.
example. T here's a small park near the W h ite House
By demonstrating the power of self-o rgan izing
in Washington , D.C ., where I like to watch flocks
models to mimic swarm behavior, Reynolds was also
of pigeons swirl over the traffic and trees. Sooner or
blazing the trail fo r robotics engineers. A team of
later, the bi rds come to rest on ledges of buildings
robots that could coordinate its act io ns like a flock of
surrou nding the park. Then something d isrupts them,
birds could offer sign ificant advantages over a solitary
a nd they' re off aga in in synchroni zed fli g ht.
robot . Spread out over a large area, a group could
The birds don' t have a leader. No pigeon is telling func tio n as a powerful mobile sensor net, gathering
t he others what to do. I nstead, t hey're each paying in formation about what's o ut t here. If t he g roup
close attent io n to t he pigeon s next to t hem, each bird encountered someth ing unexpected , it could adjust
following simple rules as t hey w heel across the sky. T hese and respond quickly, even if the ro bots in the group
rules add up to a kind of swarm intelligence- one t hat weren't very sophisticated, just as ants are able to
h as to do wit h precisely coordinating movement. come up with various options by trial and error. If
Craig Reynolds, a computer graphics researcher, one member of the group were to b reak down, others
was curious about vvhat these rules might be. So, in could take its place. And, most important, control of
1986, he created a deceptively simple steering program the group could be decentralized, not dependen t o n
called boids. In this simulation, generic birdlike objects, a leader.
or bo ids, were each given three instructions: (l ) avoid 1
When animals flock, they congregate and do things as a large group.
c rowding nearby boids, (2) fly in t he averag e direction of 2
An a lgorithm is a series of mathematical steps, especially in a
computer program , that will give you the answer to a problem.

<11 M onarch butterflies in fli g ht in

Mic hoacan, Mexico

WORK I N G T OG ETH E R I 101

 • Safety in numbers: A school of sardines acts as a single entity to
defend against attack by an Atlantic sailfish.

"In biolog y, if you look at g roups wit h large transport things on the grou nd , "hand-bots" to climb
numbers, there are very few examples where you walls and manipulate objects, and "eye-bots" to fly
have a central agent," says Vijay Kumar, a professor around, providing informatio n to t he other units.
of mechanical engineering at the U niversity of
The military is eager to acquire sim ilar capabilities.
Pennsylvania. "Everything is very distributed:
On January 20, 2004, researchers released a swarm of 66
They don't all talk to each other. They act on local
pint-size robots into an empty office bu ilding at Fort A.
information. And they're all ano nymous. I don't care
P. Hill, a training center near Fredericksbu rg, Virginia.
who moves t he chair, as lo ng as somebody moves the
T he mission: Find targets hidden in t he bui lding.
chair. To go from o ne robot to mu ltiple robots, you
need all t hree of those ideas." Zipping down the ma in hallway, the foot-long
(30 em ) red robots pivoted this way and that on their
Within five years, Kumar ho pes to put a networked
t hree wheels, resembling not hing so much as large
team of robotic vehicles in the field . O ne purpose m ight
insects. Eight sonars3 o n each unit helped t hem avoid
be as first respo nders . "Let's say there's a 911 call ," he
collisions with walls and other robots. As they spread
says. "The fire alarm goes off. Yo u don't want humans
out, entering o ne room after another, each robot
to respond. You want machines to respond, to tell
searched for objects of interest with a small, Web-style
you vvhat's happening. Before you send firemen into a
ca mera. When one robot encountered another, it used
burni ng bu ilding, why no t send in a group of robots?"
vvirek ss network gear to exchange in formation . ("Hey,
Taking this idea one step further, computer scientist I've already explored that part of the bui lding. Look
Marco Dorigo's group in Brussels is leadin g a European somewhere else." )
effort to create a "swarmanoid," a group of cooperating
3
Sonar is equipment that can detect the position of objects using
robots with complementary abi lit ies: "foot-bots" to sound waves.

102 I UNI T 5
 In thl: back of one room , a robot spotted something have funded a number of robotics prog rams using
suspicious: a pink ball in an open closet (the swarm collaborative flocks of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft,
had been trained to look for anything pink). The robot schools of torpedo-shaped undl:rwatn gliders, and herds
ti-oze, sending an image to its human supervisor. Soon of unmanned ground vehicles. But, at the time , t his was
several more robots arrived to form a perimeter around the largest swarm of robots ever tested .
the pink intruder. With in half an hour, all six of the
"When we started Cent ibots, we were all thinking,
hidden objects had been found. The research team
this is a crazy idea, it's impossible to do," says Regis
conducting the experiment declared the run a success.
Vincent, a researcher at SRI International in Menlo Park,
Then they started a new test.
California. "Now we're looking to see if we can do it
TlK dl:monstration was part of the Centibots with a thousand robots."
project, an investigation to see if as many as a hundred
In natlllT, of course , animals travd in even larger
robots could collaborate on a mission. If they could,
numbers. That's because, as members o f a big group,
teams of robots might someday be sent into a hostile
whether it's a flock, school, or herd, in divid uals inciTase
village to flush out terrorists or locate prisoners; into
their chances of detecting predators, finding to od ,
an earthquake-damaged building to find victims; onto
locating a mate , or tollowing a migration route. for t hese
chem ical-spill sites to examine hazardous waste; or along
animals, coordinating their movcnKnts with OIK another
bordns to watch fOr intruders. Military agencies such as
can be a matter of li fe or death .
DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)
 "It's much harder for a predator to avoid being We can't control an emergent phenomeno n like traffic
spotted by a thousand fish than it is to avoid being by pu tting stop signs and lights everywhere. But the
spotted by one," says Da niel Gri.inbaum , a biologist at idea of shaping traffic as a sel f~ organ izi ng system ,
the University ofWashington. "News that a predator is that's very exciting."
approaching spreads quickly throug h a school becau se
Social and political groups have al ready adopted
fish sense from t heir neighbors that something's
crude swarm tactics. During mass protests eight years
going on."
ago in Seattle, anti-globalizat io n activists used mobile
When a predator strikes a school of fish, the group communicatio ns devices to spread news q uickly about
is capable of scattering in patterns that make it almost police movements, turning an otherwise u nru ly crowd
impossible to track any individual. It might explode into a " smart mob" that was able to d isperse a nd
in a Aash, create a kind of moving bubble around re-fonn like a school of fish.
the predator, or fracture into multiple blobs, 4 before
The biggest changes may be on t he I nternet.
coming back together and swimming away.
Consider the way Google uses gro up smarts to find
That's the wonderfu l appeal of swann intelligence. what you're looking tor. When yo u ty pe in a search
Whether we're talking about ants, bees, pigeons, o r que ry, Google surveys billions o fWeb pages on its
caribou , the ingred ients of smart group behavior- index servers5 to identify the most relevant o nes. It
decentralized control, response to local cues, simple then ranks them by the number of pages t hat link
rules of thumb-add up to a shrewd strategy to to them, counting links as votes (the most popular
cope with complex ity. sites get weighted votes si nce they're more likely to
"We don't even know yet what else we can do be reliable). The pages that receive the most votes arc
with this," says Eric Bonabeau, a complexity theorist listed first in the search results. In this way, Goog le
[l and the chief scientist at Icosystem Corporation in says, it " uses the collective intell igence of t he Web to
Cam bridge, Massachusetts. "We're not used to solving determine a page's importance."
decentra lized problems in a decentralized way.
• A blob is an indistinct or a shapeless form or object.
5
A server is a part of a computer network that does a particular
task such as maintaining an index of files.

-.. Living in a herd enables

reindeer to survive the cold
winter in Oymyakon, Siberia.
 Wikipedia, a free collaborative encyclopedia, Such thoughts u nderline an important tr uth
has also proved to be a big success , with millions of about collective intell igen ce : Crowds tend to be w ise
articles in more than 200 languages about everything o n ly if individu al members act responsibly a nd make
under the sun, each ofwhich can be contrib uted their ow n d ecisions. A gro up won't be smart if its
by anyone or edited by a nyone . "It's now possible members imit ate one another, slavish ly follow r:1d s,
f(>r huge numbers of people to think together in or wait for someone to tell t hem what to do. When
ways 1vc never imagined a few decades ago," says a g ro up is being intelligent, w hether it's made up of
T homas Malone of MIT's new Center for Collective ants or attorne ys, it rel ies on its mem bers tO do t heir
Intelligen ce . "No sing le person knows everything own part. For those of us w ho sometimes wonder if
that's needed to deal wi th pro blems we t:Ke as a it's really worth recycling t h at extra bot t le to lighten
society, suc h as health care or climate change , but o ur impact on the planet, t he b ottom line is t hat ou r
collectively we know tar mo re than we've b een able to actions matter, even if we d o n 't see how.
tap so far."

Wisdom of the Herd

c;rou p heh:l\ ior (;1!1 he vit.tl t{lr herd ,mim a ls to .lHlid ptnbtor:,. K:lrotCil I~lcucr, ,] \\ ildlitc
hio log.i\L :md his 11ifc, Lunnc Allivm, 11cre studving J Llrg.c ,:uibou herd in Can.1d.1. When thcv
spotted a 11 oif creepi ng tO\\ :1 rd the cctribou, t hn no ted that the herd responded with J clas~ic

s11 arm defense

".riK nc:1r,·q caribou jro the \\olfjturncd ,tnd r.m, .md tha t rc'.pon~c mo1ed like a wa1e
through till' uHirc herd until thn 1\C.IT .til rulltling,'' Ikucr S<lid. Each c~nimal turned .1nJ r,m :ts
LlK 11ull'approchcd it. Jn th<.' end, the herd escaped mer dK ridge, and the \\olhl,lS kft pantmg
.1nd gulpin[J. sn< '' ' .

uribou knew 11 l1cn it

1\'JS rime ro mn ,1nd in'' hi,·h dtrc,·tiun to ):!.U. ncn if it didn't knm1 c.\acth' wlw. :\o k.1dcr \\ '.lS
rc-.ponsihk t(lr coordin.1ting the rest ul'thc herd. Instead, C.l<.-11 ;uum:ll \l.lS follo-..1 ing simple rule\
,·yoJn~d o1cr thons:wds of1·cus oi'wolf ,Jlt.ll:ks.
 A I Identifying Main Ideas. Answer the questions about the main ideas in the reading passage
on pages 100- 105. Write the paragraph letter(s) in which you find the answers.

1. What is a "smart swarm"? Explain it in you r own words.

- - -- - - - - - - -- - -- -- -- - - - - - - -- - - - Paragraph _ _

2. How docs being part of a large group help ani mals>

- - -- - - - - - - - -- - - - - -- -- - -- - -- - - - Parag raph _ _

3 . What are the three key aspec ts of swarm intell igence?

- - -- - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - -- -- -- - - Paragraph _ _

4. How are search eng ines and online encyclopedias examples of collaboration?

- - -- -- - - - - -- -- - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - Paragraph _ _

B I Identifying Purpose. Write the correct paragraph letter(s) (B- C, D-N, 0-0, R, T-V, W) next to
each purpose (1-6).

1. _ _ to give examples of human activities and organizations that use swarm intel ligence
2. _ _ to summarize t he three key ingredients of swarm intelligence
3. _ _ to connect t he topic w ith our everyday decisions and actions
4. _ _ to show t he purpose of swarm behavio r for ani mals
5. _ _ to give an exa mple of swarm intelligence th at most people are famil iar with
6. _ _ to descri be technology applicatio ns t hat mimic swa m behavior

C I Identifying Meaning from Context. Find and underline the following expressions in
the reading passage on pages 100- 105. Use context to match each expression
with its meaning .

1. _ _ add up to (Paragraph A) a. to t(xce people or animals to leave

2. _ _ set in motion (Paragraph D) a place where t hey are hid ing
b. t he essential idea
3. _ _ blazing the trail (Paragraph F)
c. to start; to initiate an action
4. _ _ by trial and error (Paragraph F) d. to equal
5. _ _ flush out ( Paragraph M) e. something that is extremely important
f. doing something f(>r the first time as
6. _ _ a matter of life or death (Pa rag raph 0 )
an exam ple to r others
7. _ _ the bottom line (Paragraph W ) g. in a man ner that requ ires
experimentation
106 I UN IT 5
D I Summarizing Key Details. Complete the concept map with information from paragraphs
B-N of "The Smart Swarms."

Example in the
Animal World
• Flocks of _ __ _____ are
Human
an example of swarm intelligence. Applications
• Characteristics: There's no

They watch and follow

Entertainment
• Boids use bird rules to create computer graphics for entertainment.
• Rules: (1) avoid crowding, (2) _ _______ _ _______
(3) - - - -- - - ----

Robot Teams
• Advantages: Robot teams respond more effectively than individual robots. If o ne breaks down ,
another can _ _ __ __ __

• Rules: Everything is distributed; they use - -- - - -- -i they're anonymous.

• Examples: _ _ __ _ __ _ fo r moving things; _ _ __ ____ to climb walls and
manipu late things; to fly around and collect _ _ _ _ _ _ __
• Military uses: Centibots could locate terro rists or - - - -- -- -i help people in disasters,
such as - - - - -- - - i find and analyze dangerous _ _ _ _ __ __ after chem ical spill.

WO R KI NG T OGE TH E R I 10 7
LESSON A UNDERSTANDING THE READING

CT Focus: Evaluating Sources

Writers often quote experts- people who work in areas that are relevant to the topic-to support
their main ideas. When you read a quote, ask yourself: What are the credentials of the person being
quoted? What is his or her background or affiliation? How is his or her experience or expertise
relevant to the topic? Then ask yourself how the quotes support the writer's main ideas.

~ E 1 Critical Thinking: Evaluating Sources. Find the following quotes in "The Smart
Swarm." Note the paragraph where you find each one.

1. _ _ " I n biology, ... you need all th ree of t hose ideas."

2. _ _ " It's muc h harder fo r a predator . . . to avoid being spotted by o ne . . ..

News that a pred ator is approach ing spreads q uickly .. . that something's goi ng on ."

3. _ _ " It's now possible ... in ways \ve never im agi ned a few decades ago . . . .
No single person . . . we know t:u more than we've been able to tap so br."

Now discuss answers to questions 1-2 with a partner.

1. vVhat arc the credentials of t he people being quoted? H ow is t heir experience or

expertise relevant to the topic?

2. W hat mai n ideas do the quotes support) Match each quote (1-3) with o ne of
t he following id eas.

a. Swa rm behavior is a survival strategy.

b. Modern technology has [Kil itated swarm intelligence among humans.

c. Decentral ization is a key aspect of swarm intelligence.

••• F 1 Critical Thinking: Analyzing Information. In a small group, discuss your answers to the
following questions about paragraph W.

1. W hat is t he ro le of t he ind ivi du al in a group sit uat ion? W hat example of individual behavior
does t he aut hor give? G ive your own examples of this idea .

2. W hat d ocs t he aut hor mea n when he says, "The bottom li ne is t hat our actions matter,
even if we do n' t see how") W hat are some additional exam ples of t his idea?

108 I UNIT 5
I DEVELOPING READING SKILLS ~

Reading Skill: Identifying Subjects in Complex Sentences

It's important for overall read ing com prehension to be able to identify the subjects of sentences.
However, it's sometimes difficult to locate the subject in complex sentences. One type of complex
sentence has a main clause and a dependent clause.

main clause dependent clause

A team of robots that could coordinate its act1ons like a flock of b1rds could offer significant
advantages over a solitary robot.

The subject of the sentence is in the main clause. In this case, the subject is "A team of robots."
Another type of complex sentence has a main (independent) clause and a participial phrase or
a prepositional phrase.

participial phrase main clause

Spread out over a large area, a group could function as a powerful mobile sensor net.

pre positional phrase main clause

In the back of one room, a robot spotted something suspicious.

A I Identifying Subjects in Complex Sentences. Underline the main clauses in these sentences
from the read ing passage, and circle the subjects.

1. Taking th is idea o ne step fur t her, Marco D o rigo's grou p in Brussels is leading a E uropean
effo rt to create a "swa rmano id ," a g ro up of cooperating robots with co mplementary abilities.

2. The result, when set in motion o n a computer screen , was a convincing si mulation of fl ocki ng,
including lifelike and unpredictable mo vements.

3 . [A] smart swarm is a g roup o f individuals who respond to o ne anot her and to t heir
environment in ways that give them the power, as a g ro up, to cope with uncertainty,
complexity, and change.

4 . In this simulatio n, generic birdlike objects, or bo id s, were each given three instructio ns.

5. 1 ews that a predato r is approaching sp read s q u icklv t hroug h a school because fis h sense fro m

their neig hbo rs that something's going o n.

6 . Whether we're talking abo ut ants, bees, pigeons, or ca ribo u, the ingredients of smart grou p
behavio r- d ecentralized contro l, respo nse to local cues, si m ple rules o f thumb- add up to a
shrewd strategy to cope with complexity.

B I Applying. Scan paragraphs K, M, T, U, and W to find more examples of complex sentences.

When you find them, underline the subjects.

WORK IN G T OGE T H ER I 109

 VIEWING
LOCUST SWARM
Before Viewing
A I Using a Dictionary. Here are some words and expressions you will hear in the video.
Match each one w it h the correct definition. Use a dictionary to help you.

a menace plagued by tilled the soil vanished

1. _ _ _ __ _ _ _ disappeared

2. _ __ _ _ __ _ prepared land for growing plants

3. _ __ _ __ _ _ something that is likely to cause harm
4. _ __ _ __ _ _ affected by unpleasa nt things

5 . _ _ _ _ _ _ __ moved around violently

.1: B I Thinking Ahead. What insects can cause serious problems for humans? What kinds of problems
do they cause? With a partner, note your ideas below.

While Viewing
Read questions (1- 5). Think about the answers as you view the video.

1. What mystery is researcher Jeff Lockwood tryi ng to solve?

2. In what parts of t he world today do people su ffer from locusts?
3. How are locusts dangerous to people? According to the video, how much do they eat?
4 . Where did the American locusts lay their eggs? What probably happened to t he locust eggs?
5. How mig ht solving the mystery of the American locust swarm help people in Africa?

After Viewing
.1: A Discuss the answers to the questions in "While Viewing" with a partner.

B Critical Thinking: Synthesizing. How m ight the American locust swarm have used
swarm intelligence?

.,.. Painted locust,

Galapagos Island
Nat ional Park,
Ecuador

110 I UNI T 5
. I
 EXPLORING WRITTEN ENGLISH LESSON B

GOAL: Writing a Comparative Essay

In this lesson, you are going to plan, w rite, revise, and edit a com parative essay on
the following topic: Compare the ways in which two groups collaborate.

~ A I Brainstorming. Make a list of groups that collaborate. For each one, note some details about
how and w hy the members of the group collaborate. Think about both human and animal groups.

St~Ade"'+s - v_se soc·1"-l Med-~ "' +o

~'eSe"'" C h "'- ~,..ov_p p~'ojec-l- 1

B I Planning. To write a comparative essay, choose the subjects you are going to compare
and think of points to use to compare them (these can be points of similarity or difference).
For this task, first choose two subjects from exercise A that you want to compare.

Subjects to compare: _ _ __ __ _ __ _ __ an d _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __

C I Vocabulary for Writing. The words and phrases below can be useful when writing about
collaboration . Find them in the reading passage on pages 100- 105, and use context to guess their
meanings. Then complete each definition w ith the correct word or phrase from the box.

I
1
cope with (paragraphs B, R)
dependent on (paragraph F)
collective intelligence (paragraphs U, V, W)
interacting (paragraph E)
~-organizing (paragraphs F, S) synchronized (paragraph B)

1. If two activit ies are - - - -- - -- , they are made to happen together, at the same time .

2. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ is the intellectual power of a group of people, as opposed to an individual.

3 . To _ _ _ _ _ _ __ a situation or problem is to manage to deal with it.

WORK I N G T OGETH E R I I ll
LESSON B EXPLORING WRITTEN ENGLISH

4. If you are _ _ __ _ _ _ _ something or someone, you need that object or person

in order to succeed or be able to survive.

5. A _ __ _ _ __ _ system creates its own order without a leader or a controlling

mechanism.

6 . When people are _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ , they are doing something together and having
an effect on each other together.

Free Writing. Write for five minutes. Describe an example of human collaborative
behavior. Try to use some of the words in exercise C .

D 1 Read the information in the box. Then complete the sentences (1-5). Change the
underlined words and phrases to the correct parallel form . (There may be more than
one possible answer.)

Language for Writing: Using Parallel Structure

When you are listing items or comparing them, the items must follow the same
grammatical pattern. This is called parallel structure. Parallel structure applies to
adjectives, noun phrases, verb phrases, and clauses.
Adjectives:
The robots w ill be able to penetrate dangerous and unpredictable environments.
Noun phrases:
Both anti-globalization protests and crowd funding activities are examples of
collect ive intelligence.
Verb phrases:
The boids were programmed to avoid crowding, fly in t he same direction, and stay
close to each other.
Clauses:
Human groups make good decisions when members act responsibly and when
they maintain independence.
You may need to paraphrase ideas using a different part of speech.
Example: It's important for individuals in groups to make their own decisions.
They should act in a responsible way.
Parallel restatement: It's important for individuals in groups to make their own
decisions and to act in a responsible way.
In this case, they should act becomes to act in order to match the first verb
in the list; in a responsible way becomes responsibly.

112 I UN IT 5
 1. Micro-robots are almost undetectable because they are tiny. They also move quickly.

J\1icro -robots are almost undetectable because they are tiny and _ _ _ _ _ __ __

2. T he ants continue to go in the same direction. They continue communicati ng with each other.

T he ants continue to go in t he same direction and _ _ _ _ __ _ __ w ith each other.

3. Examples of swarm intelligence that artificial systems have simulated include fish schooling.
T here are systems that also simulate the way animals herd and birds flock.

Examples of swarm intelligence that artificial systems have simu lated include fish schooling,
_________ , and _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

4. Non -dominant wolves are responsible for looking after the young. They also must help the pack
find food .

Non -dominant vvolves are responsible for looking after the young and _ _ _ _ __ _ __
the pack find food.

5. Bees and ants are similar in terms of how they assign roles to each other and how they
communicate with each other. Avoiding predators is another similarity.

Bees and ants are similar in terms of how they assign roles to each other, how they communicate
with each other, and _ _ _ __ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __

E I Look back at your Free Writing. Did you write any sentences using parallel structures?
If not, add some to your sentences.

Writing Skill: Organizing a Comparative Essay

There are two main ways to organize a comparative essay: the block method and the
point-by-point method.
With the block method , you discuss all the points of comparison about one subject
and then d iscuss those same points about the other subject. The outline looks li ke this:

Introduction+ Thesis Statement

1st Body Paragraph : Subject A
Point 1
Point 2
Point 3
2nd Body Parag raph: Subject B
Point 1
Point 2
Point 3
Conclusion

WORKI N G TOG E T H ER I 113

' LESSON B EXPLORING WRITTEN ENGLISH

Writing Skill: Organizing a Comparative Essay (continued )

With the point- by-point method, you discuss each subject in terms of the points
of c omparison you've chosen. If there are three points of comparison, t he outline
looks like this:
Introduction
Thesis Statement
1st Body Paragraph: Point 1
Subject A
Subject B
2nd Body Paragraph : Point 2
Subject A
Subject B
3rd Body Paragraph: Point 3
Subject A
Subject B
Conclusion

Remember to use a variety of linking phrases to introduce your points. For example:

To show similarity: in the same way, likewise, similarly, both, the same
is true for . . . , have . . . in common

To show contrast: on the other hand, whereas, however, although, in contrast

J.l F 1 Critical Thinking: Analyzing. Look at the notes for a comparative essay on behavior and
discuss these quest ions with a partner.

1. W hat t wo subjects are being compared ?

2. W hat are possible points of comparison ?
3 . H ow would you make a block o utline for these notes? How vvould you make a
point-by-point outline?
4. T he writer has not found all the details and examples necessary to develop t he body
paragraphs. W hat other details would you look for to add to either o utl ine?

Notes
Hv.."""'- "'S "'-"'d so""e "'o"' h"'"""""' P"'.'"""'- +es coope"'"'- +e "'- "'d Sh"'- "'e w·,+h e"'-Ch o+t,.,eV".
Hv.."""'- "'S \·,ve ·,"' 5"'ov..psj o"'"""'5"'+"""'S \',ve "'-\o"'e, bv..+ o+t..,e,.. "'o"'h"'"""""' f".'""""+es
(e·5·• c t,.,·,""P"""'zees, "'- pes) \·,ve ·,"' 5"'ov..psj hv.."""'- "'S Sh"'-"'e {ood Ce.5., ?Q)i ""o"'l<.eys do "'o+.

Hv.."""'-"'S C"'- "' \e"'-"'"' { ... o......, e)(pe,..·,e"'Cej c t,.,·,""P"""'zees C"'-"'"'of- +hey \e"'-"'"' by ob se ... v"'-f',o "'i
h"'"""""' P"'-"'e"'+s +e"'-Ch c t..,.,\d"'e"'i p"'- ss o"' \("'o w\ed5e ve... b"'- 1\y """'d by de""o"'s+,.."'- +"•o"'i
c t..,·,""P"""'Zees "'- \so p"'- SS o"' \("'ow\ed5e- "'o+ ve... b"'- 1\y bv..+ by de""o"'s+,.."'-+"•o "'.
Hv.."""'- "'S c ... e"'- +e """'d v..se +oo \s { o... spec·,f,c pv..,..posesj ct..,·,""P"""'zees do, +oo Ce.3., sf', c~<.s +o
C"'-f c t.., """'+s {o... { ood); "'- pes ob seNed v..s·'"'3 +,..ee +"'v.."'l<.s "'-S b ...·,d3 es +o c ... oss s+"'e"'- ""S·

114 I U NIT 5
~- WRITING TASK: Drafting

A I Planning. Follow the steps to make notes for your essay.

Step 1 Look at your notes in exercise A, page 11 1. What points can you use to compare
your two subjects? Choose at least three.
Step 2 Complete the thesis statement in the space below.
Step 3 Choose an organizational method for you r essay and write it in the space below.
Step 4 Depending on your organizational method, complete the outline in the space below.
Step 5 Write a topic sentence for each body paragraph. Remember to relate these to the
key concepts of the thesis statement in your introduction .
Step 6 For each paragraph, note some examples or details that illustrate your comparison .
Step 7 Note some ideas for a conclusion.

Thesis Statement: - - - - -- - -- - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -

Organization Method (Block or point-by-point): - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -

1st Body Paragraph

To pic sentence: - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - -

Examples: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2nd Body Paragraph

Topic sentence: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -

Examples: - - -- -- - -- - - - - - - -- - - -- - - - - - - -

(for point-by -point method)

3rd Body Paragraph

Topic sentence: - - -- - - - - - - - -- - -- - -- - - - - - - - -

Examples: -- - -- - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - -

Ideas for Conclusion:

B I Draft 1. Use your outline to write a first draft of your essay.

WORKING TO GETHER 1 15
 Jl C I Critical Thinking: Analyzing. Work with a partner. Read the following essay, which compares
the behavior of two insects. Then follow the steps to analyze the essay.

Both honeybees and ants are social insects that live in gro ups called colo nies. They survive by
means of their collective intelligence. T heir decision-making power is d istri buted thro ug hout t he
group; that is, no o ne ant or bee makes decisions fo r t he group. Instead , they work together. As
Deborah M . Gordon, a biologist at Stanford U n iversity, says, "Ants aren' t sm art. Ant colo nies are."
The same is true for bee colonies. A lthough bees and ants are quite difTerent physically, they have a
lot in common in terms of their social behavior. Specifically, honeybees and ants have simi lar roles
within the colony, both h ave commun icatio n systems, and both have t he capacity for learning.
Both individual ants and bees have specifi c roles within t heir communities. Ants live in colonies
of up to a million individuals. There mav be one or more queens, ·which are fertile females. There
is also a number of fertile males. Thei r job is to mate with the queen. Most ants in a colony arc
wingless, sterile females called workers who care for the young, f(n·age for tood , and do just about
every other job that helps the colony survive. H oneybee colon ies, vvith fewer individuals than
ant colonies- up to about 6 0 ,000- have roles similar to t hose in ant colonies. There are sterile
female worker bees that perfor m a variet y of fu nctions, and fertile drones whose only job is to mate
with the queen. T he main difference in th e social organ izations of bees and ants is t hat while ant
colonies can have more than one queen, there is only one queen in a bee colony.
Sophisticated communication systems that ensure survival arc found among both bees and
ants. Ants communicate by using chemicals called pheromones, which ca n alert others to da nger
or lead them to a food source. For example, worker ants set out in search of food . W hen t hey
find a promising source, they let the rest of t he colony know how to find it by leaving a trail of
pheromones on the way back to the colony. T he other ants pick up the message using their sense
of smell. Bees, on the other h and , use movement to communicate wit h each o ther. Worker bees
send messages to each other by means of a "da nce." Di fferent speeds of movement send d ifferent
messages. For example, when worker bees called scouts go out to find a new home tor the colony,
t hey return and do a dance tor t he other worker bees t hat indicates t he location of t he new home
and also how suitable it is. The faster the scouts dance, t he better t he new location is.
Honeybees and ants are both capable of learning. Zhang, et al (200 5) fo und t hat bees can be
trained to learn and remember a route to a food source. The researchers also tf:n111d t hat bees ca n
be taugh t to recognize camouflaged o bjects and usc the concepts of "sameness" and "difference"
\ to accomplish certain tasks. Ants have also shown the ability to lea rn. Recent research has shown
th at ants, in fac t , teach t heir skills to each other. Franks and Richardson (2006) tcn111d t hat some
ants take a partner when they go foraging for food. T he leader "teaches" the rou te to t he next ant
by speeding up or slowing down so t he followe r doesn't get lost.
As we can see, t he social behavior of honeybees and ants is q uite similar. Bot h coord inate
complex actions and accomplish crucial survival tasks by cooperati ng in groups consist ing of a
large number of ind ividuals. Unintelligent as they may be as ind ividuals, as groups t hey often show
amazi ng brilliance as they go about their everyday activities.

References
Franks, N.R., & Richardson, T. (2006). Teaching in tandem-running ants . Nature, 439 (70 73), 153.
Miller, Peter (2010). The Smart Swarm (p. 6). New York, NY: Penguin Group .
Zhang, S., Bock F., Si A., Tautz J., & Srinivasan, M.V. (2005, A pril 5). Visual working mem ory in decision making by
honey bees. Proceeding s of the National Academy of Scienc es of the United States of America, 102 (14), 5250- 5255
116 I UN IT 5
 Step 1 Underline the t hesis statement and c ircle its key words .
Step 2 Underline the topic sentences of the body paragraphs. Does the order of the
parag raphs reflect the order of ideas in t he thesis? Did the w riter use the b lock
method or point-by-point?

Step 3 Circle the key words in the topic sentences. Do they reflect t he key words in the
thesis statement? Are they repetitions or paraphrases?

Step 4 What details in the body paragraphs does the writer use to develop the key
concepts in each of the topic sentences?

D Revising. Follow the steps (1-4) in exercise C to analyze your own essay.

.;& E Peer Evaluation. Exchange your first draft with a partner and follow t he steps below .

Step 1 Read your partner's essay and tell him or her one t hing that you liked about it.
Step 2 Complete the outline show1ng the ideas that your partner's essay describes.
(The o utline continues on page 118.)

Thesis Statement: - - -- - - - -- - - - - -- - -- - - - -- - -

Organizational Method (B lock o r point-bv-point): - - -- - - - - - -- - - --

lst Body Paragraph

Topic sentence:--- - -- -- - -- - - - -- - - -- -- - - - --

Examples: - - - -- - -- - -- - - - - -- - - - - - -- - - - - -

2nd Body Paragraph

Topic sentence: - - -- - - - - - -- - - - -- - -- -- - - - -- -

Examples: - - -- - -- - - - - - - -- - -- - -- - - -- - --

(for point-by-point method)

3rd Body Paragraph

Topic sentence: - -- - - - - - - - - - -- - -- -- -- - - -- - -

WORK IN G T O GE T HER I 11 7
LEssoNs WRITING TASK: Editing

Examples:-- - -- - - -- -- - -- - - - - -- - -- - -- -- -

Ideas for Conclusion: - - - -- - - - -- - -- - - - - - - -- -- - -

Step 3 Compare this outline with the one that your partner created in exercise A on page 115.
Step 4 The two outlines should be similar. If they aren't, discuss how they differ.

F I Draft 2. Write a second draft of your essay. Use what you learned from the peer evaluation
activity and your answers to exercise D. Make any other necessary changes.

G I Editing Practice. Read the information in the box. Then improve the parallel structure in each
of the sentences (1- 4).

Remember to use parallel structure in sentences with two or more adjectives,

noun phrases, or verb phrases. That is, keep the same part of speech for all
items in a list, paraphrasing when necessary.

1. T he robots were programmed to look for anything pink and they avoided ru nning
into each other.
2. Coyotes and wolves are similar in terms of how they choose a leader and they hunt together.
3 . T he robots are qu ick, responsive, and it is impossible to detect them.
4 . Ants survive by cooperating and they make group decisions.

H 1 Editing Checklist. Use the checklist to find errors in your second draft.

Editing Checklist Yes No

1. Are all the words spelled correctly?

2. Does every sentence have correct punctuation?
3. Do your subjects and verbs agree?
4. Have you used parallel structure correctly?
5. Are your verb tenses correct?

Final Draft. Now use your Editing Checklist to write a third draft of your essay.
Make any other necessary changes.

118 I UN IT 5
ACADEMIC PATHWAYS
Lesson A: Inferring an author's attitude
Understanding verbal phrases
Lesson B: Writing introductions and conclusi o ns
Writing a personal opinion essay

.._ Young students in Shanghai, China, read

a lesson from their textbook. Globally,
there are estimated to be more than one
billion students learning English.

119
According to many linguists, children are able to learn new
languages mo re easily than adults. Research shows that we
may be born with a natural, or innate, ability to learn language.
Changes that occur in the brain as we age may make language
learning progressively more difficult. This doesn't mean that
older people cannot learn a language. In fact, adults have some
advantages over chi ldren in a classroom setting. For example,
they can already read, they have the discipline to study, and they
are usually motivated to learn.

However, since children appear to have an innate language-

learning ab ility, there is a trend worldwide for countries to
introduce foreign language learning at an earl ier age. In Europe,
most children begin studying English between the ages of six
and nine. In Korea, where English-language kindergartens are
growing in popularity, ch ildren often begin learning English
between the ages of three and five. And in China, some parents
send children as young as t wo years old to private language
schools to learn English. Only time w ill tell whether studying
English at such an early age is an effective strategy.
 A I Building Vocabulary. Read the following paragraph about reading fiction. Use the context to
guess the meanings of the words and phrases in blue. Then w rite the correct word or phrase to
complete each definition (1 - 7).

For many people, certain fiction books have a special meaning. A story that a person read
when they were young, for example, can make them nostalgic for their child hoods. But why
should people read fiction? Those who enjoy reading may not have ever considered that question .
ir =not: irrational,
irregular,
They simply find reading fiction irresistible-vvhen they see a new novel, they want to pick it
irreplaceable, up. If you love fiction, you might feel it's impossible to feel any other way abo ut books. On the
irresistible,
irreparable contrary, some people are not interested in fiction at all. They find read ing fiction monotonous
and boring, or they feel the formal language of literature is unintelligible. Many people prefer
readin g nonfiction o r the news because the lang uage is more straightforward and easier to
understand. Howeve r, some researchers believe t hey have fou nd definitive proof that reading
fiction is actually beneficial for the human brain. A research team at the Un iversity of Toronto led
by professor Maja Djikic, for example, found that people who read literary fiction become more
open-minded and creative in their thinking, and are also better able to deal with uncertainty.

1. You use " " when you h ave just said or implied that someth ing is not
true and you are going to say that the opposite is true.

2. Something that is _____ _ _ __ is very boring because it has a regu lar, repe ated
pattern that never ch anges.

3. If you describe something as"- - - -- - - - -," you approve of it because it is easy to

do or understand.

4. Something that is _____ __ __ provides a firm conclusion t hat cannot be

questioned.

5 . When you feel _ _ __ __ _ __ , you th ink affectionately about the past.

6. If you describe something as " ," you mean that it is so good or

attractive that you cannot stop yourself from liking it o r wanting it.

7. If something is - -- -- - - -- , it is impossible to u nderst and because it is not written

o r prono unced clearly or because its meaning is confused or com plicated.

122 I UNIT 6
 B I Building Vocabulary. Complete the definitions (1-5) with words from the box.
Use a dictionary to help you.
r·---
l contemporaries cryptic excluded integral perpetu ~ con = together,
with: condone,
consensus,
contemporary,
1. A(n) _ _ _ _ _ _ __ remark or message contains a hidden meaning or is
convene
difficult to understand.

2. A(n) _ _ _ _ _ _ __ act, situation, or state is one that seems never to end

or change.

3. If someone is from a place or an activit y, that person is crypt = hidden :

crypt, cryptic,
prevented from enterin g it or joining it. encrypt

4. Someone's _ _ _ __ _ _ _ are people who are or were alive at the same time
as that person is or was.

5 . Something that is a(n) _ _ _ _ _ __ __ part of something is an essential part

of that thing.

Jl C I Using Vocabulary. Answer the questions. Share your ideas with a partner.

1. Are there any types offood or drink that you find irresistibler
2. Do any books, songs, or foods make you nostalgic for the past? Explain .
3 . For what reasons might someone be excluded from an activity or a place?

• • • D I Brainstorming. Discuss your answers to this question in small groups: What are some
different ways to learn new words or phrases in a foreign language?

E I Predicting. Read the first and last paragraphs of the reading passage on pages 124-127.
What kind of reading is this? Circle your answer and check your prediction as you read the
rest of the passage.

a . a scientific article
b. a personal essay
c. a short fiction story

LAN G UAGE A N D C ULTU R E I 1 23

on uo
by Daisy Zamora
 Language can be a barrier-
but also a window through
which we experience new
visions of the world.

() THE FIRST WORDS I HEARD IN ENGLISH were rise in high notes with the lonely, nostalgic so und o f
track 2- 01
from Ill~' grandmother Ilsc Gamez , who I remember as a flute, or swirl in a wh irl pool like the fi·enzicd crowds
a magical presence in my child hood. Everyth ing about I imagined r ushing around the streets of a big
her seemed legendary to me. Among t he stories she used metropolis .. .
to tell , my fworites were about her life in New Orleans,
Before long, my ears began to d iscern anot her
where she and her family a rrived from Europe and where
way of speaking the langu age . It was not the cryptic
she spent her ch ildhood until she was 14, when thev set
and fan tastic English full o f attractions and mystery
sail agai n, bound tor N icaragua, fulfilling her parents'
that I loved to listen to, nor t he tiresome, repetitious
wish to return definitively to t heir country of origin.
one that sounded like a cart struggl ing over co bbled
Her stories of New Orlea ns were filled with references
streets. No, t his other English expressed things
and names in English (frequent ly also in fr ench), and
in a d ifferent way t hat was not enigmatic 5 and
those mysterious words, so diffe rent from the ones I
seductive, nor dumb and ntonotonous, but dramatic
heard in everyday speech, produced in me an irresistible
and d irect: whatever the characters said , happened
t:1scination. T hey sounded li ke stra nge music, an exotic
simultaneously. That is to say, a word was an act;
melodv com ing from farawav Emtastic places where life
words and action occurred at the same time. An
had an agitation ,1 a rhythm, an acceleration 2 unknown
activitv was n amed at t he very moment it took place.
and unheard-of in the peaceful world I shared with
For example, a charac ter that was evidently erving,
nw parents, sisters, a nd brothers. \Ne were a ll part of
wo uld sav: "I 'm crying." Another one, obviously
an enormous familv t hat included g r:mdparents, great-
hiding somet hing, would declare: " I'll hide this!"
aunts, g reat-uncles, uncles, aunts , and firs t cousins,
as well as a second and t hird level of blood relatives, It was th e English I started to learn from
fol lowed immediately by all the other people in the cartoons on television , where the characters
category of relatives included in the fami ly universe and expressed thoughts, e motions, and feelings in a
its state of perpetual expa nsion . straightforward way: " Out! Help' Stop it ! Don't go
away! I ' ll be back! Let's go!" I learned phrases and
The English I heard from nw gr:mdmother li se
words that communicated necessity in a fast, precise
had not hing to do with the Eng lish I was taug ht in
manner. The la nguage of ca rtoons also introduced
kindergarten throug h songs teaching us to count from
me to metaphors . The first time I heard characters in
o ne to ten , or the lang uage that appea red in the English
a downpour shouting their heads off with the phrase
textbooks we studied in t he second and t hi rd grade of
"The sky is fllling, t he sky is falli ng !" I believed it vvas
primary school: "Sec Dick. See Jane. See Spot. See Pu ff.
the proper way to say in Engli sh, "It's a downpour,"
Sec Spot run. Sec Puffjump." For me, t hat English
or " It's rai ning very h ard."
bckcd charm, instead sounding like the noise of my
shoes crunch ing in the gravel of t he schoolyard during
recess. But t hat other English , the one my g ra ndmother ' If someone is in a state of agitation . he or she is very worried or upset.
2
An acceleration is an increase in speed.
and her sisters spoke, possessed mu ltiple and ,·aried 3
A reg ister is a variety of language used in a specific situation.
registers 3 t hat alwavs amazed me . Sometimes it sounded • Amber is a hard yellowish substance that is often used as jewelry.
5
like the trill of a bird , lig ht and crysta ll ine, and at other Someone or something that is e nigmatic is mysterious and difficult
to understand.
times flowed in dense , thick a mbcr4 like honey. It wou ld

L ANGUAGE AND CULT UR E I 125

 I had no choice but to learn yet anot her ki nd brig hte ned my day. At the school library, I d iscovered,
of English fro m cowboy movies, because my amo ng other aut ho rs, Walt \tVh it ma n, Emi lv D ickinson,
co usins constantly used it in t heir games. Also , in a and Ed na St. Vi ncent M illay, t hen C arl Sandburg a nd
mechanical way, ! learned by heart the English na mes W illiam C arlos \tVi lliams. Furt her alo ng, I enco un te red
for all t he plays in baseball , the most po pu lar sport W illiam Blake, the sisters Bronte, Jane Auste n, and Ernest
in N icaragua. H em ingway. Years later, wh ile at un iversity, I read t he
Americans Wil liam Fau lkner, Ez ra Pound , and G ertrude
Gradua lly, t he English t hat was so dull to me in
Stei n , and t he Irish aut ho rs Wil lia m Butler Yeats and
t he fi rst g rades of scho ol expanded and deepened ,
James Joyce.
wit h read ings tra nsform ing it into a beautifu l
lang uage t h at kept g rowi ng inside , becoming more A lon g w it h m y intense read ing, I also became a musiL
and mo re a part of my conscio usness, invading my lover and put together a rat her subst antial co llect io n of
thoug hts and appearing in my drea ms. Understa nding Frank Si natra and Beatles records- my favorites, although
the la ng uage and speaking it in a natu ral way became mv interests included many ot her groups a nd singers in
integral to my being, my way of appreciating Eng lish . From t hat deep relationship wit h t he language,
literat ure, especially poetry, and enjoying the lyrics of I vvo und up w ith ·w hat I conside red a broad and complex
my favo rite songs, which I was able to repeat perfectly. kno wledge of E ngl ish , t he sounds of wh ich captivated me
in th e first years o f lite.
Literature classes were my favorite. To act as a
character in any of Sha kespeare's plays, or to read But mv true encoun ter w ith living English (t hat is,
an 0. H enry sho rt story o ut loud to my classmates, the o ne spoken in everyday life) happened in t he U nited
o r a chapter of Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure States, where I went to spend my schoo l vacat io ns in
Island, or a so n net6 bv E lizabet h Barre tt Brown ing,
• A s onnet is a special type of poem with 14 lines and regular rhymes.

12 6 I UN IT 6
Midd letown, Connecticut . Mv first impression of the fo r anot her. Desolate, I t hought about the abundant
co u ntr~' was completely idyl lic. Mv aunt and uncle's literature I had read up to then , and t he songs I had
house , where I would stay fo r three months, was a worked so ha rd to memorize. It \\'JS al l \\O rthless for
beautiful and co mfortable th ree-storv build ing, an old learning to speak practical English t hat \\Ould help me
~ew E ngland manor with a gorgeous garden out back, est abl ish bonds with boys and girls nw O\\·n age. On
an o rcha rd, a stable wit h horses, and a pond fu ll of the contrary, t he vocabulary I learned from books,
t ro ut. A de nse woods of birch and a variety of pine and especially from t he poetry that taught me to lon: t he
spruce t rees, crisscrossed by narrow paths dotted with language, had no place in the everyday speech of nw
wildflowers, went aro und t he edge of that pcacefu l pond contemporaries.
in a land scape that seemed li ke it was lifted fl·om a fairy
To be accepted by everybody, I started paving
talc . Those vacation s are part o f the happy memo ries of
extreme attention to how I expressed myself and to
nw life because I also had t he unforgettable experience
the words I chose. I anxiously searched fo r ways to
of going to New York C ity fo r t he fi rst t ime and visiting
adapt my wav of speaking, imitating what I heard
the 1964 World's Fa ir. However, what is most deeply
fro m others, so I wouldn't be excluded from t heir
imprinted in mv memo ry of th at first visit to the U.S. is conversatio ns or act ivities. I understood t hat if I
t he shock I received h o m t he lang uage I had believed I
didn't do that , I would be left on the fringes of t he
understood and spoke correctly.
main current, t he mainstream where all U.S. teenagers
Almost immediately, I reali zed th at my E nglish , t lut lived, with space on ly for t hemselves . T he barrier
is, the English through wh ich I expressed myself, sounded was not easy to cross , and when I couldn't do it, my
strange to everybod y. My co usins, not to mentio n their consolatio n was to take refuge in t he li brary of t he
fr iends, li stened to me with surprise or mocking looks. house, where I read, during t hat first vacation, an
In tu rn, their English was almost unintelligible to me English tra nslation of Fyodor Dostoevsky's C1rime
because t hey spoke, o f course, in teenage slang . W hen and Punishment.
one of my cousins couldn't stand it anymore, she to ld
I was 14 years old when I went to t he States t(x
me that I was a weirdo, t lu t I spoke like a philo sopher,
the first time-t he sa me age as my grandmother Il se
some sort of Socrates o r somet hing, and asked me to
when she watched New Orleans fade into the distance
make an effort to try to ta lk like no rma l people so I
from t he deck o f a steamship-a nd ever since t hen I've
could make some tl·iends . She didn't h ave a clue abo ut
u nderstood what it means to live in d irect contact with
the extreme ang u ish I was going t h rough tryi ng to
a lang uage t h rough the people who speak it, through
understa nd what was being said arou nd me, t ryi ng to
t heir cu lture, and thro ugh rheir vision of the world.
decipher everyt h ing I misunderstood, assuming one t hing

~ The 1964 World's Fair in New York City

 Writers of the World
During her first vacation overseas, Daisy Zamora describes seeking refuge in her family
library, where the literary treasu res included an English translation of Dostoevsky's Crime and
Punishment. Today, as shown below, Dostoevsky remains one of the world's most translated
authors. Several other of Zamora's favorite writers appear in this Top 50: Shakespeare,
Stevenson, and Hemingway have been translated from English into many other languages.

Julesrne Alistair Marka· •n

Arthur conan Ve Maclean TW 1
P~~rault Dov!! [iihdon ,,, ['aedimirn1.~419n H~~e
'"" ste·~,l R~~~;,u· Hi!'mingway ''" Sti~~iJ'son
D ·lc.;ehanrlesS
Anders··
• •
1\ ,,, , ,. w·~~~~
1362

ardyton'"' , .
M3f.~ t~1ki~2
Honore de
r IS Ie, ., Cittland,,, K1ng GOScinny
Steph: • ,,,

Balzac 1,271
J0hnPau Ill 1,916
MaryHiggins
Clark Brothers
Gr·lmm 2 591
'
Edgar Allan
Ro~erts . Astrid 1 163
• 2,382 (Jncob); 2.374 (Wilhetrn) Plato Poe
Llndgr~n K~fka st•R.L.
1,174 1,168
1,560

11
· 63 liolstoy
Leo
1ne Anton Friedrich

si~~:; SHiikesPear@
1.953 Victoria Robert Sheldon
Ch~~~;~d~., :::~'!
Fyodor * Holt Rudolf Ludlum OAUiexmandrae S 1 363

Dostoyev~.~y stein~~
'
1 534 1 211
. '
1,889

In this UNESCO c ompilation of the most translated authors, size of

last name correspond s to the number of translations (listed below name).
Color indicates language of original publication.

• English • German • French • Russian Danish

• Anc ient Greek • Italian/ Latin/ Polish • Swedish

' Dostoyevsky is an alternate spelling of Dostoevsky

1 28 I U N IT 6
 UNDERSTANDING THE READING -

A I Identifying Main Ideas. In the reading on pages 124- 127, Zamora describes the
different ways she experienced English. Write the correct paragraph letter(s) next to
each method (1 - 6).

A/B B C/D F/G H 1/J

1. by reading literature

2. by encounteri ng native speakers in t he U.S . (her cousins)

3. as a child, from her familv (g ra ndmoth er)

4. fi-om TV and movies

5. tl·om her sch ool

6. by listening to music

B I Identifying Key Details. Match each type of English (1-5) w ith Zamora's description of it.

1. her grandmother's E nglish a . impossible to unde rstand

2. the E nglish in primary school b. mysterious words

3. the E nglish in cartoons c. a fast, precise man ner

4. the E ngl ish of literatu re d. lacked charm
5. the Eng! ish of her cousins e. brig htened her d ay

CT Focus: Inferring an Author's Attitude

An author's use of language can help us understand his or her attitude toward, or feelings about, a subject.
For example, in personal essays or narratives, writers often use figurative or sensory language to convey their
feelings now or in the past. When Zamora describes her grandmother as "a magical presence in my childhood,"
we can infer that she had-and probably still has- a warm and loving feeling toward her grandmother, even
though she doesn't state that explicitly.

~ C I Critical Thinking: Inferring an Author's Attitude. Write answers to the questions

(1 - 4) and discuss your answers with a partner.

1. How do cs Zamora desc ribe her g ra ndmother's English ? What does she compare it to ?
vV hat ca n we tell abo ut her feeling s about t his lang uage?

L A NGU AGE A ND C U LTURE I 1 29

 2. What does Zamora tell us about the English she learned at school? What two sounds does
she compare it to? What can we inter about her teelings about this type of language?

3 . W hat adjecti\'es and phrases does Zamora use to describe her childhood vacation home in
Connecticut? What does she compare the landscape to? What can we infer about her
feelings toward that place today?

4. Hovv does Zamora describe her experience of speaking with teenagers in the United States?
Who docs Zamora's cousin compare her to? What can we infer about how Zamora felt at
that time?

D I Identifying Meaning from Context. Find and underline the following phrases in the reading
passage on pages 124-127. Use context to help you identify the meaning of each phrase (1-8).
Then match each phrase with its definition.

1. _ _ Paragraph A: unheard-of a. didn't know anything about

b. yelling loudly
2. _ _ Parag raph B: had nothing to do with
c. left out or excluded from the
3 . _ _ Paragraph D: shouting their heads off most popular group
d. was completelv u nrelated to
4. _ _ Paragraph H: wound up with
e. cvcnwally bad
5 . _ _ Paragraph J: not to mention f. nonexistent

6. _ _ Paragraph J: didn't have a clue g. plus; in addition

h. didn't belong in
7. _ _ Paragraph J: had no place in
8. _ _ Paragraph K: on the fringes of the main current

130 I UNI T 6
·~· E I Critical Thinking: Analyzing Types of Language. Find one example of teenage language
from the reading. Add four more examples of English words or phrases that teenagers say.
Then discuss how the English found in literature and textbooks is different from teenage English.
Complete the chart and share your ideas in a small group.

Teenage Language How Is the Language in How Is the Language in

Literature Different? Textbooks Different?

·~ F I Personalizing. Write an answer to the question below. Then share your answer in a small group.

H ow does being a language learner he lp yo u understand Zamora's essay?

LA NGUAG E A ND CULTURE I 131

LESSON A DEVELOPING READING SKILLS

Reading Skill: Understanding Verbal Phrases

Verbals are forms of verbs that are used as other parts of speech. The three kinds of verbals are
present participles (going, speaking), past participles (scared, surprised), and infinit ives (to speak,
to try). A verbal phrase is a phrase that begins with a verbal. Writers often use verbal phrases to
vary their sentence patterns and to combine short sentences. Verbal phrases are sometimes
separated from the rest of the sentence with commas.

Speaking slowly, she gave me directions to the train station. =

She spoke slowly. She gave me directions to the train station.

I had a whole conversation in Spanish, surprised I was able to communicate at all. =

I had a whole conversation in Spanish. I was surp rised I was able to communicate at all.

To Jearn Japanese quickly, I didn't allow myself to speak English for a month. =
I wanted to learn Japanese quickly. I didn't allow myself to speak English for a month.

~ A I Analyzing. Underline the verbal phrases in these sentences from the read ing. Some sentences
have more than one verbal phrase. Then write answers to the questions. Share your answers
with a partner.

Example: For me, that English lacked charm, instead sound ing like the noise of my shoes
crunchi ng in t he g ravel of the schoolyard during recess.

What does the verbal ph rase describe~ _ __ _ ___;+c..:.(..>,.e:: . . . +y~--'p~e=--o

. :. , _,t--=E=--"'.:. .~'-'-\'I:. : .S"(.".,'-----------

1. The first t ime I heard characte rs in a downpour sho uting their heads off with t he phrase
"The sky is f~1 lling, the sky is bl ling!"
Who does t he verbal phrase describe? _ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __

2. Gradually, the Eng lish that was so dul l to me in t he first grades of school expanded and
deepened wit h readings transforming it into a beautiful language that kept growing inside,
becoming more and more a part of my conscio usness, invading my thou ghts and appearing
in my dreams.
What activitv does the first verbal phrase describe ? _ _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ _ _ __

W hat do t he second and t hird verbal phrases describe? _ _ _ _ __ __ _ _ __ _ __

3. She didn't have a clue about t he extreme ang ui sh Twas goi ng through trying to u nderstand
what was being said around me, trying to decipher everyth ing I misu nderstoo d, assuming
one thing for another.
Who do the t hree verbal phrases describe? _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __ _ _ _ _ __ _ _ __

4. To be accepted by everybody, I started paying extreme attention to how I expressed myself

and to t he words I chose.

VVhat docs the verbal phrase do: ask a q uestion, g ive a reason , or descri be a thing~ _ _ _ __

132 I UNI T 6
Kenyans
4 A tou r bus drives through Times Square in New York Cit y.
Before Viewing
A I Using a Dictionary. Here are some words and phrases you will hear in the video.
Match each word or phrase w ith the correct definition. Use your dictionary to help you.

grab (something) graze like cows stretch (our) legs

1. _ __ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ (informal) eat snacks throug hout the day in place of full m eals
2. _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __ walk around after sitting fo r a lo ng period of time
3 . _ __ _ __ _ _ __ get; pick up quickly

~ B I Thinking Ahead. Imagine you are from a small rural community and you are arriving in a large
city for the first time. What things might you find surprising? Make a list w ith a partner.

While Viewing
A I Watch the video about two Kenyans visiting New York City. As you watch, check you r answers
to exercise B, above. Circle the topics that are mentioned in the video.

B I Read questions 1- 4. Think about the answers as you view the video.

1. What are some t hings that surprised the two visitors from Kenya?
2 . What new words and phrases did the Kenyans pick up from their guide?
3. How does one Kenyan compare an ATM with a goat?
4 . Do you think these m.en vvould find your ho metown more o r less surprising than New York C ity?

After Viewing
~ A Discuss your answers to the questions 1-4 above with a partner.

B Critical Thinking: Synthesizing. Consider the challenges that the Kenyans and Daisy Zamora had
when they came to the United States for the first time. In what ways were their experiences similar and
d ifferent? Who do you think had more difficulty adapting? Why?

LAN G UAGE AND C ULT U R E I 133

LESSON B EXPLORING WRITTEN ENGLISH

... '"
·: ... ~: r:
GOAL: Writing a Personal Opinion Essay
In this lesson, you are going to plan, write, revise, and edit an essay on the fol lowing topic:
Write an opinion essay about the best way to learn a language.

Language for Writing: Adding Information with Verbal Phrases

You can add information to your sentences and vary your sentence patterns by using
verbal phrases.
A present or past participial verbal phrase consists of a verbal with an adverb or an
adverbial phrase (a phrase that modifies a verb). You can use a present or past participial
verbal phrase like an adjective. It can modify a noun, a pronoun, or a whole clause.
pronoun present participial verbal phrase

He looked totally confused, staring at the teacher with his mouth open.
past participial verbal phrase pronoun

Totally confused, he~tared at the teacher with his mouth open.

An infinitive verbal phrase consists of an infinitive verb w ith an object or other modifier.
Infinitive verbal phrases often express reasons or purposes. They can also modify a whole
clause.
infinitive verbal phrase clause
To improve his grade, he hired a tutor.
infinitive verbal phrase c lause infinitive verbal phrase

To improve his grade, he hired a tutor to help him study.

(Do not use a comma if the infinitive phrase comes at the end of the sentence.)

A I Circle the correct verbal phrase to complete each sentence (1-4).

1. To teach I Teaching I Taught their children to read , parents have to make it a point to read
aloud books that are interesting to their chi ldren .

2. To excite I Exciting I Excited by t he events in a story, children have a purpose for listening
as someone reads to them- they need to find out what happens next.

3 . To look I Looking I Looked for meaning as they listen , chi ldren begin to learn t hat
read ing has value.

134 I UNI T 6
 4. To increase I Increasing I Increased vocabulary, child ren need to hear and read words
they don't know.

Jl B I Analyzing. Find the features (a- f) in the following introduction and conclusion. Underline them
and write the correct letter next to each feature. Share your answers with a partner.

a. thesis statement
b. general information about the topic
c. surprising statement, interesting question, quotation , or story
d. restatement of thesis
e. explanation of how points fi t together
f. final thought

Writing Skill: Writing Introductions and Conclusions

The first paragraph of an essay-the introductory paragraph - includes the thesis statement and
general information about the essay topic. To grab the reader's attention, you can start with a
surprising statement, an interesting question, a quotat ion, or a brief story.
The last , or concluding, paragraph of an essay should give the reader a sense of completeness.
The conclusion usually includes a restatement of the thesis, an explanation of how the points
made in the paper fit together, and a final thought about the topic. This final thought can take
the form of a provocative question or a prediction about the future.

Introduction:
Nelson 1\iandela once said , " I f you talk to a ma n in a langu age he u nderstands, t hat goes to his
head. If you talk to him in his own language, t hat goes to his hea rt ." In other words, you can only
truly communicate with another person ifvou speak that person's language. While the ability to
com municate wit h someone who speaks a different la ng uage is a great benefit of lang uage lea rning,
I believe that studying a second language can improve ou r lives in other ways .

Conclusion:
Learning anything new can increase our knowledge and experience of life . H owever, language
learning benefits us in several ways, even if we never plan to use a second language. Studying a
second lang uage can improve o ur reading skills and li steni ng skills in our own language. Having
better reading and liste ning skill s can make us better students. Studies shovv that lang uage learning
ca n also improve our memories and our p roblem -solving skil ls. T hese abilities can help us in
school, at work, and in lite in general. Moreover, scientists have recently discovered that stud ying
a second lang uage can actually change the brain's shape . These changes can help us become better
th inkers. Considering all these benefits of learning a new language, why would anyone choose not
to study a second language?

L A N G UAG E AND CU LTUR E I 135

LESSON B EXPLORING WRITTEN ENGLISH

Jl C I Brainstorming. Refer back to your ideas for exercise D on page 123. Choose the three best
methods for learning English. Complete the chart below w ith reasons that each method is
effective. Include some examples from your own experience. Share your ideas with a partner.

Methods

Reasons
and
Examples

D 1 Vocabulary for Writing. You can use phrases such as "I think," "I believe," and "In my
opinion" to introduce your opinion . However, varying your phrases can add interest to your
writing. Some of t he phrases below can introduce personal opinions, and some can introduce
general opinions. Write each phrase in the correct column in the chart.

As far as I'm concerned, It is thought that Some people say that

In my experience, ... is generally considered to be ... Speaking for myself,
It is accepted that Personally, I think

Personal Opinion General Opinion

1 36 I U NI T 6
WRITING TASK: Drafting ·- :~:-·.·.~>:'1

A I Planning. Decide which of the methods you listed on page 123 is best. Follow the steps to
make notes for your essay.

Step 1 Make notes for your introduction in the outline.

Step 2 Write your thesis statement.
Step 3 For each topic sentence, write one reason why the method you chose is effective.
Step 4 For each body paragraph, note examples or details that support your topic
sentence. Include an example of a personal experience in at least one paragraph.
Step 5 Make notes for your conclusion.

Introduction: - - - -- - - -- - -- - -- -- - - - -- - -- - - - - -

Thesis statement:

lst body paragraph:

Topic sentence: - -- -- - -- - - -- - - - -- - - -- - - - -- -- -

Examples o r details: - - - - - - -- -- -- - - - -- - - -- - -- - - - -

2nd body paragraph:

Topic sentence:

Examples o r details: - - -- - - - - - - - - -- - - -- - -- - -- - - - -

3rd body paragraph:

Topic sentence:

Examples or detai ls: - - - - - - - - - - - - - -- -- -- -- -- - - - - -

Conclusion:

Restatement of thesis:

Final t hought:

B I Draft 1. Use your outline to write a first draft of your essay.

L ANGUAG E A N D CULTURE I 1~ 7
 .&; C I Critical Thinking: Analyzing. Work with a partner. Read the following opinion essay, which
discusses the best way to teach chi ldren to read. Then follow the steps to analyze the essay.

Author Emi lie Buchvvald once said, "Children are made readers on the laps of their
parents." I agree with her statement, and I think that some ch ildren very easi ly beg in reading
on their own as a resu lt of having been read to by their parents . But, in my experience, it's
not always that straightforward. Many children have difficulty with reading comprehension
or are not interested in reading because they t hin k it's boring. I believe that to teach these
chi ldren to read, parents, teachers, and other responsible adults have to make it a point to
read aloud books that are interesting to the child ren and are slig ht ly above the children's
reading level.
W hen books are interesting, children understand that reading can be exciting and, as
a result, they pay attention. Excited by the events in a story, children have a purpose for
listening as someone reads to t hem- they need to find out what happens next. That purpose
can increase read ing comprehension. W hen ch ildren begin reading on their own and are
given books that they will enjoy, t hey have a purpose for reading, which will motivate them
to try to understand what they're reading.
Even books witho ut excit ing stories can be interesting if children ca n connect the books
to their own lives. Relatable characters and events give children something to discuss after
a book is finished . T his shows ch ildren that books can teach them something . Looking for
meaning as they listen along, children begin to learn that reading has value. Tradit ionally, it
was thought that children have to first learn to read, and then read to learn. In other words,
children have to learn the sounds of letters fi rst and then learn that the letters can form
words with meaning. Personally, I think t hat it's never too early to start equating read ing
with learning. As far as I'm concerned, children as young as two or t hree yea rs old can begin
to understand that books can teach them something.
When children start to read by themselves, it can still be helpfu l to read to them ,
especially if the books that are read to them are a bit hig her than their reading level. To
increase vocabulary, children need to hear and read words that they don't know. Confused
or pu zzled by unfamiliar words, children wi ll push themselves to learn because the words are
relevant to the story. When parents or teachers reali ze that they've just read an unfamiliar
word , they should resist explaining t he definition right away. Rereading t he surroundi ng
sentences slowly, they encourage children to try to use context to g uess t he meaning of the
word, teaching them an important ski ll they can use throughout their reading lives.
When children are encouraged to see books and stories as tools that can excite t hem,
teach them, and take t hem to new worlds, they are motivated to read. This motivation goes
a long way toward creating strong readers. Reading interesting books t hat are higher than
a child's reading level can help bu ild a strong desire to read and an understa nding of what
words have to offer. Surfing t he Internet, reading information on social networking sites,
and clicking on links to read entertaining blog posts, people read more these days t han t hey
ever have in the past. In the future, the need for strong reading skills will probably increase.
T herefore, understanding the value of reading at a very young age can on ly benefit children
in t he future.

138 I UN IT 6
 Step 1 Underline the thesis statement.
Step 2 Circle the surprising statement, interesting question, quotation, or story in the introduction.
Step 3 Underline the topic sentences of the body paragraphs.
Step 4 Circle each reason in the body paragraphs.
Step 5 Label the features of the conclusion (restatement of thesis, explanation, final thought).

D Revising. Follow steps 1-5 in exercise C to analyze your opinion essay.

Jl E Peer Evaluation. Exchange your first draft with a partner and follow these steps.

Step 1 Read your partner's essay and tell him or her one thing that you liked about it.
Step 2 Complete the outline showing the ideas that your partner's essay describes.

Introduction:

T hesis statement:

lst body paragraph:

Topic sentence: - - - -- - -- - - - - - -- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Examples or details:

2nd body paragraph:

Topic sentence : - - -- -- -- - -- -- -- - - -- - - - -- -- -- -

Examples or details:

3rd body paragraph:

Topic sentence:

Exam ples or details: - - - - -- -- - -- - -- -- -- - - - - -- - - --

Conclusion:

Restatement of thesis: - - - - -- - - -- - -- - - - - -- - -- - - -- -

Final thought:

Step 3 Compare this outline w ith the one that your partner created in exercise A on page 137.
Step 4 The two outlines should be similar. If they aren't, discuss how they differ.
L ANG U AGE AND C ULTURE 139
LEssoNs WRITING TASK: Editing

F I Draft 2. Write a second draft of your essay. Use what you learned from the peer evaluation
activity and your answers to exercise D. Make any other necessary changes.

G 1 Editing Practice. Read the information in the box and find and correct one mistake with
verbal phrases in each sentence (1-5). Then write the letter for the type of mistake you find .

When you use verbal phrases, remember:

• verbal phrases modify nouns, pronouns, or w hole clauses.
• to separate a verbal phrase from a clause with a comma.
• you don't need a comma if an infinitive verbal phrase comes at the end of a sentence.

Types of mistakes:
a. no nou n , pronoun, or clause after the verbal phrase
b. unnecessary comma
c. missing comma

1. _ _ Taking classes every night, learned a lot quickly.

2. _ _ You can take private lessons, to learn a new language.

3. Living in a bilingual household I learned Spanish easily.

4. To improve your pronunciation you have to practice.

5. _ _ Watching TV in English, learned a lot of natural language.

H 1 Editing Checklist. Use the checklist to find errors in your second draft.

Editing Checklist Yes No

1. Are all the words spelled correctly?

2. Does every sentence have correct punctuation?

3. Do your subjects and verbs agree?

4. Have you used verbal phrases correctly?

5. Did you vary your phrases for introducing an opinion?

6. Are your verb tenses correct?

Final Draft. Now use your Editing Checklist to write a third d raft of your paper.
Make any other necessary changes.

140 I UNIT 6