UNIVERSITI TUNKU ABDUL RAHMAN

ACADEMIC YEAR 2014 / 2015

FHEL 1012 English for Academic Study
_____________________________________________________________________________________
WORKSHEET LECTURE 5

Task 1
Directions: On a separate piece of paper, write a paraphrase of each of the following passages. Try not to
look back at the original passage.
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.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
2. 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," by Catherine Willows, May 2012
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
3. 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.
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________________

Task 2
Read the following text and compare the summaries. Decide which is best, giving reasons.
Researchers in France and the United States have recently reported that baboons are able to think
abstractly. It has been known for some time that chimpanzees are capable of abstract thought, but baboons
are a more distant relation to humankind. In the experiment, scientists trained two baboons to use a
personal computer and a joystick. The animals had to match computer designs which were basically the
same, but had superficial differences. In the experiment the baboons performed better than would be
expected by chance. The researchers describe their study in an article in the Journal of Experimental
Psychology.

a) French and American scientists have shown for the first time that baboons have the ability to think in
an abstract way. The animals were taught to use a computer, and then had to select patterns that were
similar, which they did at a rate better than chance.

b) Baboons are a kind of monkey more distant from human than chimpanzees. Although it is known that
chimpanzees are able to think abstractly, until recently it was not clear if baboons could do the same. But
new research by various scientists has shown that this is so.

c) According to a recent article in the Journal of Experimental Psychology, baboons are able to think in an
abstract way. The article describes how researchers trained two baboons to use a personal computer and a
joystick. The animals did better than would be expected.