SECTION 2: INTRODUCTION

Activity 1: State whether these Introductions are good or bad:

Question: There is a good deal of evidence that increasing car use is contributing to global
warming and having other undesirable effects on people’s health and well-being.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?

1. Nowadays, cars are a very popular way of getting around. Day by day many more people drive cars
around but others feel that they cause global warming. Global warming is one of the most serious issues
in modern life. They also affect people’s health and well-being which is also a serious issue.

2. Rising global temperatures and human health and fitness issues are often viewed as being caused by
the expanding use of automobiles. This essay agrees that increasing use of motor vehicles is contributing
to rising global temperatures and certain health issues. Firstly, this essay will discuss the production of
greenhouse gases by vehicles and secondly, it will discuss other toxic chemicals released by internal
combustion engines.

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Activity 2: Paraphrase topic question
1. Use synonyms

Example 1:

Question: Violent crime is on the rise among teenagers.

Paraphrased sentence: Violent offences are rising among young people/adolescents.

Example 2:

Question: Global warming is mostly caused by emissions from internal combustion

engines.

Paraphrased sentence: Climate change is mainly caused by the release of fumes from
motor vehicles.

2. Change the word order

Example:

Question: As languages such as Spanish, Chinese and English become more widely used,
there is a fear that that many minority languages may die out.

Paraphrased sentence: There is dismay that many lesser used languages may pass
away, as languages such as Chinese, English and Spanish become more broadly spoken.

3. Change the form of the word

Example:

Question: Longer life spans and improvements in the health of older people suggest
that people over the age of sixty-five can continue to live full and active lives.

Paraphrased by changing word form: Longer life spans and improvements in the health
of older people are suggesting that people over the age of sixty-five can
continue living full and active lives.

4. Change from active to passive

Example:

Question: The property developers invested $20 million in the development of the
shopping centre.

Paraphrased sentence: $20 million was invested in the development of shopping

centres.

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 PARAPHRASING PRACTICE

Exercise 1:

1. Relatively few people actually know what the festival of Mai-son represents.

2. There is little doubt that some customs should be upheld.

3. Only a minority of people know how to prepare food properly for a hangi.

4. Traditions are lost as popular culture dominates almost all of our free time.

5. All but a few New Zealanders have heard of the haka or seen it performed.

6. The number of Maori speakers is not insignificant.

7. It is unlikely that cultural misconceptions will ever be completely overcome.

8. It is far from inconceivable to imagine a world where most people speak English.

Exercise 2:

Original paragraph:

Many people, when driving their cars, go over the speed limit in city centers. As a way of solving this, the
government should put more speed cameras on major streets to put people off speeding. If this is done,
more people who speed will be caught and this problem will eventually be solved.

Paraphrased paragraph:

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Exercise 3:

1.

Question:

Science and technology have helped the world make many advances. The Arts, such as painting, theatre
and dance, to name just three examples, however, are also valuable.

Paraphrased statement:

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2.

Question:

According to a recent study, the more time people use the Internet, the less time they spend with real
human beings. Some people say that instead of seeing the Internet as a way of opening up new
communication possibilities world wide, we should be concerned about the effect this is having on social
interaction.

Paraphrased statement:

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_____________________________________________________________________________________

3.

Question:

Some people think children in secondary school should study international news as part of the
curriculum. Others think that this would be a waste of time as there are already too many subjects for
children to concentrate on.

Paraphrased statement:

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