Paraphrasing Exercises in Class

Paraphrasing Exercises

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/619/02/

1. ORIGINAL: "The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet, just as the sun is the source of our heat, and it exerts tremendous control on our climate," [Jacques] Cousteau told the camera. "The cold ocean water around Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water from the tropics, and its upwellings help to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. Yet the fragility of this regulating system is now threatened by human activity." From "Captain Cousteau," Audubon (May 1990):17.

PARAPHRASING: In the documentary, Cousteau explained to his audience in greater depth about the planet's climatical situation. The sun is an essential part of our existence and warmth, while the Antarctic is a very important source of cold also necessary for our existence. These two aspects vastly control the climate on planet Earth. The cold water currents that mix with the warmer, Northern ones help maintain stable temperatures and livable conditions for ourselves. However, this natural cycle that assures our own survival is currently endangered by our own activities.

2. ORIGINAL: The twenties were the years when drinking was against the law, and the law was a bad joke because everyone knew of a local bar where liquor could be had. They were the years when organized crime ruled the cities, and the police seemed powerless to do anything against it. Classical music was forgotten while jazz spread throughout the land, and men like Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie became the heroes of the young. The flapper was born in the twenties, and with her bobbed hair and short skirts, she symbolized, perhaps more than anyone or anything else, America's break with the past. From Kathleen Yancey, English 102 Supplemental Guide (1989): 25.

PARAPHRASING: The 1920s were marked by a foolish Prohibition, organized crime, and corrupt and helpless police. Everyone knew how to get liquor, crime was everywhere, and the police couldn't do very much without risking their lives. Jazz took over the scene, leaving Classical music in the past and stars like "Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie" rose to fame giving the youth hope to fight. Just as well, the flappers came about with their "bobbed hair and short skirts" to represent the future.

3. ORIGINAL: 3. Of the more than 1000 bicycling deaths each year, three-fourths are caused by head injuries. Half of those killed are school-age children. One study concluded that wearing a bike helmet can reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent. In an accident, a bike helmet absorbs the shock and cushions the head. From "Bike Helmets: Unused Lifesavers," Consumer Reports (May 1990): 348.

PARAPHRASING: Wearing a helmet can reduce the risk of hurting your head when you fall of a bike by almost 85%. This is due to the fac that the helmet ¨absorbs the shock¨which in turn protects the head by smoothing out the fall. Three-fourths of 1000 the deaths caused by bicycle accidents are caused by head trauma. Half of these deaths are children.

4. ORIGINAL: Matisse is the best painter ever at putting the viewer at the scene. He's the most realistic of all modern artists, if you admit the feel of the breeze as necessary to a landscape and the smell of oranges as essential to a still life. "The Casbah Gate" depicts the well-known gateway Bab el Aassa, which pierces the southern wall of the city near the sultan's palace. With scrubby coats of ivory, aqua, blue, and rose delicately fenced by the liveliest gray outline in art history, Matisse gets the essence of a Tangier afternoon, including the subtle presence of the bowaab, the sentry who sits and surveys those who pass through the gate. From Peter Plagens, "Bright Lights." Newsweek (26 March 1990): 50.

PARAPHRASING: Matisse is one of the very few painters that can make the viewer get the sensations lived in the painting, although he is a modern artist he is also very realistic. "The Casbah Gate" is a painting that shows "the well-known gateway Bab el Aassa, which pierces the southern wall of the city near the sultan's palace." Matisse captures the essence of a Tangier afternoon perfectly: all the colors lived in the view that capture the "art history", as well as "the subtle presence of the bowaab, the sentry who sits and surveys those who pass through the gate."

5. ORIGINAL: While the Sears Tower is arguably the greatest achievement in skyscraper engineering so far, it's unlikely that architects and engineers have abandoned the quest for the world's tallest building. The question is: Just how high can a building go? Structural engineer William LeMessurier has designed a skyscraper nearly one-half mile high, twice as tall as the Sears Tower. And architect Robert Sobel claims that existing technology could produce a 500-story building. From Ron Bachman, "Reaching for the Sky." Dial (May 1990): 15.

PARAPHRASING: Architects and engineers have yet to finished their search "for the world's tallest building," even if the Sears Tower is without a doubt the best triumph in modern day engineering. Many engineers have still bigger plans for the world's buildings, but how big can these plans be? William LeMessurier designed a building "half as tall as the Sears Tower" and would be one mile high. Just as well, Robert Sobel, it's enthusiastic in saying that with the modern technology humans would be capable of building a "500 story building."