Exercise: Countable and Noncountable Nouns

Choose the correct word: Because diabetes can cause devastating damage to almost all body ________ (system, systems), people with diabetes should not underrate the seriousness of their ________ (disease, diseases). Learning to live with a chronic ________ (illness, illnesses) such as diabetes must be an ongoing ________ (process, processes). The Hospital's Center for Family Life Education is sponsoring a five-part educational series on diabetes. The series will begin on April 30 and continue through May 29. Each _________ (program, programs) will be held in the second floor classroom of the Education Center from 7-9 p.m. The diabetes series is free and open to the public and will be of a specific _________ (interest, interests) to people who have diabetes and their families and friends.

Answer: Countable and Noncountable Nouns

Because diabetes can cause devastating damage to almost all body systems, people with diabetes should not underrate the seriousness of their disease. Learning to live with a chronic illness such as diabetes must be an ongoing process. The Hospital's Center for Family Life Education is sponsoring a five-part educational series on diabetes. The series will begin on April 30 and continue through May 29. Each program will be held in the second floor classroom of the Education Center from 7-9 p.m. The diabetes series is free and open to the public and will be of a specific interest to people who have diabetes and their families and friends.

Exercise: Countable and Noncountable Nouns

Put an X next to the incorrect combinations: 1. a table 2. these person 3. this furniture 4. that assignment 5. a boy 6. the poetry 7. a difficulty 8. a today 9. this eggs 10. those argument

Answer: Countable and Noncountable Nouns

1. ___ a table 2. X these person (this person, these people/persons)

3. ___ this furniture 4. ___ that assignment 5. ___ a boy 6. ___ the poetry 7. ___ a difficulty 8. 9. 10. X a today (a day, today) X this eggs (this egg, these eggs) X those argument (this argument, these arguments)

TOPIC PREVIEW: Workplace Discrimination

In Korea, are there many Korean women in powerful positions? Do companies focus on the age of employees rather than their skills?

DIALOGUE:
Lynda: I was shocked today when an older co-worker told me to get him coffee.

Allan: Yes, but he is from a different generation and before it was

common for this to happen. Lynda: Really? Well, that is unfair for those men to treat women badly.

Allan: I agree with you. However, women are not the only people who
are not treated equally at work. Lynda: What do you mean? I thought other workers here were satisfied with their situation.

Allan: Yes, but other companies force older employees to quit so

younger people can work instead.

Workplace Discrimination

During World War II, many men from different countries were required to leave their regular jobs and go fight. At this time, many factories and offices counted on women. Women were asked to fill-in for these men in order to maintain output levels for the employers. Maybe this can be considered the beginning of the womens liberation movement as women had a new feeling of power - they were able to do the work and they became economically independent. Since that time women have tried to achieve equal status to men in many different parts of life, especially at the workplace. Although there are many success stories, such as Carla Fiorina being the head honcho of HewlettPackard, or Margaret Thatcher being the Prime Minister (PM) of England, a lot of women still complain about a glass ceiling. Yes, higher rates of women work than in past decades. However, some say that the level of their positions still remains quite low. The men are still the ones who receive the promotions and higher pay at the executive level. In addition, in some cultures, once a woman gets married, she sometimes feels as if the other staff members are giving her the cold shoulder. They want to influence her to leave the company. It could be a way for companies to avoid paying for maternity leave if she became pregnant. Another issue at work involves reverse discrimination. Some people complain that job positions or promotions are not always based on who is the best-qualified candidate. Rather, it is decided by the persons gender or ethnic background. It might create more equal opportunity for minorities and increase the image of the company, but it leaves some individuals out in the cold.

VOCABULARY:
output levels *Quantity of final items produced -The companys output level fell when the workers had a strike.

womens liberation movement*Movement seeking equal rights for women -The womens liberation movement has helped improve work conditions for women. glass-ceiling *Invisible barrier blocking promotion because of the persons gender or race. -The glass-ceiling influenced the woman to start her own business. *Paid time a woman takes off of work for the birth of a baby -Next month she will take three months off for maternity leave.

maternity leave

reverse discrimination *Discrimination (unfair treatment) of members of a majority group -Bob complained about reverse discrimination when a woman got the job and he did not. candidate ethnic *Person trying to be chosen for a position -She is the best candidate for the job. *People's background, like race or religion -The company has employees from many ethnic backgrounds. *A small part of the population that is different (eg. due to their race) -Thirty percent of our staff consists of minorities.

minorities

EXPRESSIONS:
counted on *Depended on, relied on, expected -The manager counted on her staff to prepare material for the meeting. *Substitute -She had to fill-in for her sick colleague at the meeting. *Boss, especially in a high position -The head honcho is disappointed with last months sales amount. *Style of not being nice and friendly intentionally -I gave my boss the cold shoulder because he did not promote me. *Left out, not being part of something -He felt left in the cold because all his friends had jobs except him.

fill-in head honcho

cold shoulder

out in the cold

Dan Gilbert: Why we make bad decisions

Paraphrasing, and Summarizing

Summarizing involves putting the main ideas into your own words, including only the main points. Summaries are shorter than the original, take a broad overview of the source material, and condense it slightly. A paraphrase is... Your own concept of essential information and ideas expressed by someone else, presented in a new form. A more detailed restatement than a summary, which focuses concisely on a single main idea. How to use paraphrases, and summaries Read the entire text, noting the key points and main ideas. Summarize in your own words what the single main idea of the essay is. Paraphrase important supporting points that come up in the essay.

Some examples to compare length:

The original passage: Students frequently overuse direct quotation in taking notes, and as a result they overuse quotations in the final [research] paper. Probably only about 10% of your final manuscript should appear as directly quoted matter. Therefore, you should strive to limit the amount of exact transcribing of source materials while taking notes. Lester, James D. Writing Research Papers. 2nd ed. (1976): 46-47. A legitimate paraphrase: In research papers students often quote excessively, failing to keep quoted material down to a desirable level. Since the problem usually originates during note taking, it is essential to minimize the material recorded verbatim (Lester 46-47). An acceptable summary: Students should take just a few notes in direct quotation from sources to help minimize the amount of quoted material in a research paper (Lester 46-47).

Sample Essay for Summarizing

So That Nobody Has To Go To School If They Don't Want To
by Roger Sipher A decline in standardized test scores is but the most recent indicator that American education is in trouble. One reason for the crisis is that present mandatory-attendance laws force many to attend school who have no wish to be there. Such children have little desire to learn and are so antagonistic to school that neither they nor more highly motivated students receive the quality education that is the birthright of every American. The solution to this problem is simple: Abolish compulsory-attendance laws and allow only those who are committed to getting an education to attend. This will not end public education. Contrary to conventional belief, legislators enacted compulsory-attendance laws to legalize what already existed. William Landes and Lewis Solomon, economists, found little evidence that mandatory-attendance laws increased the number of children in school. They found, too, that school systems have never effectively enforced such laws, usually because of the expense involved. There is no contradiction between the assertion that compulsory attendance has had little effect on the number of children attending school and the argument that repeal would be a positive step toward improving education. Most parents want a high school education for their children. Unfortunately, compulsory attendance hampers the ability of public school officials to enforce legitimate educational and disciplinary policies and thereby make the education a good one.

Private schools have no such problem. They can fail or dismiss students, knowing such students can attend public school. Without compulsory attendance, public schools would be freer to oust students whose academic or personal behavior undermines the educational mission of the institution. Has not the noble experiment of a formal education for everyone failed? While we pay homage to the homily, "You can lead a horse to water but you can't make him drink," we have pretended it is not true in education. Ask high school teachers if recalcitrant students learn anything of value. Ask teachers if these students do any homework. Quite the contrary, these students know they will be passed from grade to grade until they are old enough to quit or until, as is more likely, they receive a high school diploma. At the point when students could legally quit, most choose to remain since they know they are likely to be allowed to graduate whether they do acceptable work or not. Abolition of archaic attendance laws would produce enormous dividends. First, it would alert everyone that school is a serious place where one goes to learn. Schools are neither day-care centers nor indoor street corners. Young people who resist learning should stay away; indeed, an end to compulsory schooling would require them to stay away. Second, students opposed to learning would not be able to pollute the educational atmosphere for those who want to learn. Teachers could stop policing recalcitrant students and start educating. Third, grades would show what they are supposed to: how well a student is learning. Parents could again read report cards and know if their children were making progress. Fourth, public esteem for schools would increase. People would stop regarding them as way stations for adolescents and start thinking of them

as institutions for educating America's youth. Fifth, elementary schools would change because students would find out early they had better learn something or risk flunking out later. Elementary teachers would no longer have to pass their failures on to junior high and high school. Sixth, the cost of enforcing compulsory education would be eliminated. Despite enforcement efforts, nearly 15 percent of the school-age children in our largest cities are almost permanently absent from school. Communities could use these savings to support institutions to deal with young people not in school. If, in the long run, these institutions prove more costly, at least we would not confuse their mission with that of schools. Schools should be for education. At present, they are only tangentially so. They have attempted to serve an all-encompassing social function, trying to be all things to all people. In the process they have failed miserably at what they were originally formed to accomplish.

Example Summary:
Roger Sipher argues to remove compulsory-attendance laws in schools with six arguments. These arguments fall into three groupsfirst that education is for those who want to learn and by including those that don't want to learn, everyone suffers. Second, that grades would be reflective of effort and elementary school teachers wouldn't feel compelled to pass failing students. Third, schools would save money with the elimination of compulsoryattendance laws.

Summarizing Exercise
Write a summary of each of the following passages: 1. "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.

1. According to Jacques Cousteau, the activity of people in Antarctica is jeopardizing the earth's climate. He fears that human activity could interfere with our planets balance ("Captain Cousteau" 17).

2. 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.

2. During the twenties organized crime flourished, including drinking alcohol. Many people started to like jazz music. The trend of "flappers" started, women who rebelled by cutting off their hair and shortening their skirts (Yancey 25).

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.

3. The use of a helmet is the key to reducing bicycling accident deaths ("Bike Helmets" 348).

4. 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.

4. Matisse paintings give viewers the experience of really being there (Plagens 50).

5. 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.

5. People are still trying to make buildings taller and taller. We dont know how high buildings can go, but architects are currently trying to go even higher (Bachman 15).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WbVeN13wGFc

This American Life

The craze that overtook the 5th and 6th grades started in the art room. He doesnt know where it came from. He doesnt know how he did it. He doesnt know why he did it. One day one kid, on a whim, took a box and the inner core from a paper towel roll and painted it with paints. He made a fake TV camera. It had a pipe cleaner as an antenna. It used another cardboard tube, or a dowel, as a handle. The kid picked up the fake camera and started doing a news report. He said, I am standing here in an art room in Ashville, Massachusetts reporting live. He doesnt understand why it happened, or how it happened, but it just happened. Within 2 or 3 days the whole playground started making their own TV cameras. They made them bigger, and fancier, and a couple of the girls made theirs pink and had crepe paper flowing off of it. So this became a new trend. If they were not making the TV cameras, they were pretending to be the TV news anchor in front of the fake TV camera. Or they were providing a pseudo- production service. They became a series of competing news operations. This continued for 3 or 4 days. Then one day, Jeff came out to recess late. He saw a huge cluster of kids in the middle of the playground. As he got closer he realized that in the center of all of the commotion there were two kids. One of them is pommelling the other. All around in a circle are kids focusing their fake cameras on the fight, with their fake microphones in front of the fake cameras, breathlessly reporting on the fight that is happening. Meanwhile, the kid is getting the stuffing beat out of him. Nobody stepped in to help him, not a soul. Very shortly after the teachers ran out and broke it up and it was declared that the TV camera craze had gotten completely out of control. Then they were banned. He doesnt know what happened to the cameras. He thinks they took them away and confiscated them. He doesnt know what they did with them. The camera really changed the way they behaved. It still disturbs him how they lost their humanity and let one of their classmates get trampled on. They werent even real cameras. People act different if they are behind a camera. Even if the camera isnt real. You can be overtaken and do things you ordinarily wouldnt do.