Paraphrasing Exercises

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.

PARAPHRASED: Jacques Cousteau said that two important sources of heat and cold for our planet are the Antartic and the sun. Although these two, affect the climate of the entire world human activity is affecting the cycle these two have. When the cold water of the south runs into the north, to the warm waters of the tropics, these waters cool up as well as the surface.

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.

PARAPHRASED: During the twenties, there were several acts that were against the law. One of them was the consumption of alcohol, which was broken by the people. This was because everyone who wanted a drink would get one in a local bar. This was the time where jazz extended throughout the cities and Bix Beiderbecke, Louis Amstrong and Count Basie became the most important celebrities of the time. With the jazz also came the flapper, the small skirts and the exaggerated hair do´s.

3. ORIGINAL: 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.

PARAPHRASED: Bike Helmets: Unused Lifesavers says that the use of helmet is the key to reducing bicycling accidents. These accidents are mainly because head injuries because people do not wear their helmet. Studies affirm that if the head is cushioned in the risk of a head injury decreases.

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.

PARAPHRASED: Matisse paintings have always been oustanding by the sensory expresions the viewer feels when he/she sees the painting. For example, "The Casbah Gate" takes the viewer to the city of Tangier and the Bab el Aassa gateway near the Sultan's palace, where people can imagine the colors of the wonderful sunset.

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.

PARAPHRASED: One of the most important skyscapers in the world is the Sears Tower. This tower has acchieved the best engeneering work of all times. Many people wonder how can this tower stay upright and will there be one that exceeds this height? Architect Robert Sobel says that with the new technology there will be buildings taller than the Sears Tower.