Question 1

Effective and Ineffective Paraphrasing Directions: Read each passage.Then select the letter of the best paraphrase.
The first American flag flown by the patriots of the Revolutionary War was not the Stars and Stripes.It was a banner created by South Carolina Colonel Christopher Gadsden, a bright yellow flag that featured an ominous coiled rattlesnake and the words "Don't Tread On Me." Gadsden's flag symbolized the spirit of the American Revolution and became the banner of the militia* that fought and died for liberty.
* militias: armies composed of ordinary citizens, rather than soldiers
Paraphrase
A) Before the Stars and Stripes existed, soldiers of the Revolutionary War rallied under a banner created by Colonel Christopher Gadsden.The yellow "Don't Tread On Me" flag featured a coiled rattlesnake.The banner captured the country's mood and inspired the minutemen * who fought for freedom.
* minutemen: During the Revolutionary War, these were men who pledged to be ready to fight at a moment's notice.
B) Most Americans have forgotten the yellow "Don't Tread On Me" flag created by Christopher Gadsden.Without this symbolic banner, though, the minutemen may not have been inspired to fight and die for freedom.Therefore, Gadsden's flag is historically more significant than the Stars and Stripes.
C) The Stars and Stripes is not the only powerful symbol of the United States.Before it was created, Christopher Gadsden, a Colonel from South Carolina, came up with a yellow flag that pictured a rattlesnake and the warning "Don't Tread On Me." This catch-phrase of the American Revolution stirred up public opinion against the British and inspired many young men to enlist in the military.

Accepted Answer

This choice accurately conveys the information from the original passage using different words and sentence structure. It includes the main points such as the yellow "Don't Tread On Me" flag being created by Christopher Gadsen, featuring a rattlesnake, and inspiring the minutemen.

Question 2

Effective and Ineffective Paraphrasing Directions: Read each passage.Then select the letter of the best paraphrase.
Jet travel has altered the way Americans lived and thought more than anything else, including the Internet.By enhancing mobility, jets-like railroads in the nineteenth century-advanced a truly national market.They made it possible for Disney World and Las Vegas to become national destinations, and they allowed Harvard to recruit from the West Coast and Stanford from the East.
(Adapted from Robert J.Samuelson, "Requiem for the Jet Age?"
Newsweek, November 26, 2001, p.61.)
Paraphrase
A) The airline industry has revolutionized modern American life much more than the Inter-net has.Jets are also superior to railroads, although both increase people's ability to get where they're going much faster.If it weren't for the airlines, places like Disney World and Las Vegas probably wouldn't even exist, and the big universities would be much smaller.
B) Jet travel is much more important than the Internet.Jets, like railroads, enable people to go anywhere they want to go.Without a doubt, they created the whole travel industry and allowed universities to increase their enrollments.
C) The airline industry has changed American life more than any other modern innovation.Because jets, like trains, improved people's ability to go anywhere in the country, they opened up vacation spots like Disney World and Las Vegas to an entire nation of consumers.They also allowed students to attend universities that were far away from their homes.

Accepted Answer

Choice C accurately conveys the main points of the passage, including the impact of jet travel on American life, its role in creating a national market and allowing for increased mobility, and specific examples of how it has affected popular destinations and universities. Choices A and B do not accurately convey all of these points.

Question 3

Effective and Ineffective Paraphrasing Directions: Read each passage.Then select the letter of the best paraphrase.
In 1899, the sociologist Thorstein Veblen took three previously published articles and combined them into a book titled The Theory of the Leisure Class: An Economic Study of Institutions .In doing so , Veblen introduced to the American reading public the now famous term "conspicuous consumption." While many of Veblen's readers at the time prided themselves on having climbed the ladder of financial success and proved it to themselves and others by acquiring clothing, habits, and objects that carried a significant price tag, Veblen did not pat them on the back for it.Instead his book castigated readers, announcing that taking obvious pride in prosperity was nothing more than an indication of personal snobbery and deep insecurity. What Veblen did was make one of the very first arguments against believing that consumerism was the key to happiness.
Paraphrase
A) Many writers have claimed that the key personality trait of an American is his or her patho-logical desire to buy products.With his "The Theory of the Leisure Class," Thorstein Veblen forced Americans to admit that they were guilty of "conspicuous consumption," and he called rich people arrogant savages.People who like to shop, according to Veblen, hope to make their friends and neighbors jealous.
B) In 1899, the sociologist, Thorstein Veblen in his book "The Theory of the Leisure Class" introduced the term "conspicuous consumption," and he stunned his American readers readers by pointing out that the drive to get and spend money reveals deep feelings of inadequacy, insecurity, and cravings for superiority.Veblen said that Americans didn't really need most of the things they bought; they purchased those things in the hope that others would admire and look up to them.
C) The best writing about Americans has been on the topic of their out-of-control consumer-ism.Thorstein Veblen, for instance, who invented the phrase "conspicuous consumption" (in his "The Theory of the Leisure Class") insisted that his countrymen bought things only to compensate for their own lack of character.

Accepted Answer

Choice B accurately conveys the main ideas and arguments made by Thorstein Veblen in "The Theory of the Leisure Class," including introducing the term "conspicuous consumption" and criticizing the belief that consumerism leads to happiness. Choices A and C contain inaccurate or exaggerated statements and do not fully capture the original passage.

Question 4

Selection A Copernicus (1473-1543): An Unintentional Heretic * 
The first fruit of the new concern with mathematics and experimentation in the sixteenth century was the work of the Polish priest and astronomer Nicholas Copernicus , who in fact had no intention of making an aggressive attack on the received ideas of his day.In his On the Revolution of the Heavenly Bodies , published in 1543 and dedicated to the pope, Copernicus generally accepted the traditional conception of a finite universe characterized by a series of heavens, the moon, the planets, and the fixed stars.Copernicus' innovation was to substitute the sun for the earth at the center of the universe .For him the earth became one of the planets and, like other bodies, circulated around the center .Copernicus' primary reason for switching the position of the sun and earth was that this conception furnished a better explanation of the observed motions of the heavens , reducing the need to ascribe exceptional movements to individual bodies as in the earth-centered theory.According to the deeply religious Copernicus , the ability of his sun-centered theory to explain the appearances and to show heavenly motion to be simple and regular magnified the perfection of the divine creator .Copernicus presented his ideas as a hypothesis ; but over succeeding decades, as new observations were recorded and found to support it, some thinkers came to insist that the theory was proved .The ancient picture of the universe gradually disintegrated .
Adapted from Mary Ann Frese Witt et al., The Humanities.
Vol.II, 5th ed.Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1997, p.131.
* heretic: person who challenges religious law or tradition 
Selection B Copernicus (1473-1543): An Unintentional Heretic 
The first fruit of the new concern with mathematics and experimentation in the sixteenth century was the work of the Polish priest and astronomer Nicholas Copernicus , who in fact had no intention of making an aggressive attack on the received ideas of his day.In his On the Revolution of the Heavenly Bodies, published in 1543 and dedicated to the pope, Copernicus generally accepted the traditional conception of a finite universe characterized by a series of heavens, the moon, the planets, and the fixed stars.Copernicus' innovation was to substitute the sun for the earth at the center of the universe .For him the earth became one of the planets and, like other bodies, circulated around the center .Copernicus' primary reason for switching the position of the sun and earth was that this conception furnished a better explanation of the observed motions of the heavens, reducing the need to ascribe exceptional movements to individual bodies as in the earth-centered theory.According to the deeply religious Copernicus, the ability of his sun-centered theory to explain the appearances and to show heavenly motion to be simple and regular magnified the perfection of the divine creator .Copernicus presented his ideas as a hypothesis ; but over succeeding decades, as new observations were recorded and found to support it, some thinkers came to insist that the theory was proved.The ancient picture of the universe gradually disintegrated .
Selection C Copernicus (1473-1543): An Unintentional Heretic 
The first fruit of the new concern with mathematics and experimentation in the sixteenth century was the work of the Polish priest and astronomer Nicholas Copernicus , who in fact had no intention of making an aggressive attack on the received ideas of his day.In his On the Revolution of the Heavenly Bodies , published in 1543 and dedicated to the pope, Copernicus generally accepted the traditional conception of a finite universe characterized by a series of heavens, the moon, the planets, and the fixed stars.Copernicus' innovation was to substitute the sun for the earth at the center of the universe .For him the earth became one of the planets and, like other bodies, circulated around the center.Copernicus' primary reason for switching the position of the sun and earth was that this conception furnished a better explanation of the observed motions of the heavens , reducing the need to ascribe exceptional movements to individual bodies as in the earth-centered theory.According to the deeply religious Copernicus, the ability of his sun-centered theory to explain the appearances and to show heavenly motion to be simple and regular magnified the perfection of the divine creator .Copernicus presented his ideas as a hypothesis ; but over succeeding decades, as new observations were recorded and found to support it, some thinkers came to insist that the theory was proved.The ancient picture of the universe gradually disintegrated .
Selection _______ _ is effectively underlined.
Selection _______ _ is underlined too much.
Selection _______ _ is not underlined enough.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Selection A Copernicus (1473-1543): An Unintentional Heretic...

Question 5

Effective and Ineffective Paraphrasing Directions: Read each passage.Then select the letter of the best paraphrase.
Dean Kamen, award-winning inventor, has created a new battery-powered personal transportation device called the Segway Human Transporter.This device averages eight miles an hour, which is three times faster than walking pace, weighs only sixty-five pounds, and runs about fifteen miles for the cost of about ten cents' worth of electricity.Mr.Kamen says that the Segway could cause cities to be redesigned, help wean the world from oil dependence, compress time and space for pedestrians, and raise productivity for corporations and government agencies.
(Adapted from Amy Harmon, "An Inventor Unveils His Mysterious Personal Transportation Device,"  The New York Times, Dec.3, 2001, www.nytimes.com.)
Paraphrase
A) Inventor Dean Kamen's latest creation, a personal transportation device called the Segway Human Transporter, has several advantages.It's lightweight, cheap to operate, and it allows people to move three times faster than they can walk.Therefore, Kamen argues, it could revolutionize the world by saving individuals, companies, and govern-ments time and money, and it could reduce our need for gasoline.It might even change the way we build our cities in the future.
B) Inventor Dean Kamen has come up with an amazing new transportation device called the Segway Human Transporter.It's inexpensive and easy to operate, so it will probably require us to change how cities are laid out.Everyone will want one of these devices because they go three times faster than we can walk, and companies won't need to hire as many people because workers will be able to get around more quickly.
C) Inventor Dean Kamen wants everyone to buy his latest invention, a transportation device called the Segway Human Transporter.He thinks people walk too slowly and pay too much for fossil fuel energy.He invented the Segway in hopes of changing the problems plaguing big cities.He thinks his invention will make walking unnecessary, allowing companies and governments to save money.

Accepted Answer

Choice A accurately summarizes the main points of the passage, including the Segway's features, potential benefits, and impact on city design. Choices B and C contain some inaccuracies and oversimplifications, such as the suggestion that everyone will want a Segway or that Kamen's main goal is to eliminate walking.

Question 6

Effective and Ineffective Paraphrasing Directions: Read each passage.Then select the letter of the best paraphrase.
University of Memphis professor David Hildebrand says that the current furor over Harvard University's tendency to inflate students' grades reveals the educational community's unhealthy preoccupation with carrot-and-stick motivators.According to Hildebrand, true excellence is never the result of competition for high grades.Therefore, colleges and universities should abandon their debate about grade inflation and figure out how to inspire students to achieve for achievement's sake.
(Adapted from Hildebrand's letter to The New York Times, December 7, 2001.)
Paraphrase
A) David Hildebrand, a professor at the University of Memphis, is fed up with schools who insist on giving grades.He argues that teachers and students can't learn by being threatened with poor grades since most young people cannot handle high-stakes compe-tition for grades.He recommends that schools abandon grading systems and let everyone achieve according to his or her abilities.
B) University of Memphis professor David Hildebrand has joined the debate over grade inflation at Harvard University by declaring that Harvard crushes true competition by tempting students with high grades.Hildebrand believes that grades don't accurately reflect students' performance because faulty grade distributions reduce the desire to achieve.
C) University of Memphis professor David Hildebrand believes that students and teachers place too much emphasis on grades as motivators.He thinks that people who strive for excellence do not do so for the sake of earning high grades, so arguing about grade inflation is wasted effort.Instead, Hildebrand says, schools should figure out how to motivate students to achieve without the use of grades.

Accepted Answer

This paraphrase accurately captures Hildebrand's argument that the focus on grades as motivators is unhealthy and that colleges and universities should instead strive to inspire students to achieve for achievement's sake. Choices A and B include significant inaccuracies and do not demonstrate a clear understanding of the original passage.

Quiz 1: Acquiring the Keys to Academic Success