Developing Critical Reading Skills, 6 th edition Chapter 6 Exercises

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1 Connotation and synonyms pg Developing Critical Reading Skills, 6 th edition Chapter 6 Exercises In each pair of words, mark the word with the Positive connotation with a plus sign; mark the word with the negative connotation with a negative sign. Chubby Assertive Shopping binge Faux Childish Loiter Frankenfoods Pedantic Modest Plump Aggressive Shopping spree Fake Childlike Wait Genetically altered foods Learned (adj.) Prudish Connotative Restrictions pg Demure: What is the word's denotative meaning? Is its connotation positive or negative? Which gender does it seem more appropriate? Does it suggest any particular age? 2. prarie: Denotation: Connotation: 3. The persistent cloud cover pg 188 Do these words and phrases have a positive or a negative connotation?

2 Does the writer intend the word narcotic to have a positive or negative connotation? Explain your thinking. How is she using the word here? 4. The railroads brought new and Opportunity was the magnet pg Write the central impression of the westward march Steinbeck conveys. Now do the same for the Billington passage. Connotation in fiction: It was Miss Murdstone, pg. 190 Consider the words and phrases underlined; then write a sentence explaining what these connotative words and phrases suggest about Miss Murdstone's character. Playful aspects of figurative language pg. 194 My first surprise was in the store Taken together, what impression of Kerouac's fictional mother do these figures of speech suggest? _ Personification pg Just then they heard, Does the writer suggest here that the thunder is loud or soft? Few [residents of Nanking, China] To what is war being compared? The building was hanging, What image of this building does Follett convey?

3 Practice Exercise 1 pg Decide if each of the short passages represent simile, a metaphor, or personification. Then decide the literal subject and what the subject is metaphorically being compared to. Finally, briefly explain the meaning. 1. It was a late hour Simile metaphor personification 2....we watched some of the Simile metaphor personification 3. America is a large Simile metaphor personification 4. Regret grew only more insistent Simile metaphor personification 5. regret grew more intense Simile metaphor personification 6. It had been a hostile town... Simile metaphor personification 7. Second terms far too Simile metaphor personification 8. Parker's wife was sitting Simile metaphor personification

4 9. Two flickering bugs were Simile metaphor personification 10. In the upper middle Simile metaphor personification 11. It seems that Father Simile metaphor personification 12. Spring weather is capricious Simile metaphor personification 13. The man who has not Simile metaphor personification 14. My mother died at the moment Simile metaphor personification 15. And then abruptly Simile metaphor personification _ 16. As I looked about me Simile metaphor personification

5 17. He had thought he could Simile metaphor personification 18. The logic that pointed Simile metaphor personification 19. I am cognizant of the interrelatedness Simile metaphor personification 20. Time is but the stream Simile metaphor personification Practice Exercise 2 pg Read the passages; then decide which type of misuse or abuse of language is used cliché, doublespeak, euphemism, Jargon PC language, or sneer words. 1. When Maryland beat Stanford In 1998 President Clinton appeared A brochure for a memorial park Employees at Sea World During the Vietnam War O.J. Simpson, the famous In Jonathan Harr's A Civil Action During both the 1996 and In New York, one cannot At the First international...

6 Chapter Exercises pg Section 1: Hockey has [been] and will always be... A. Content & Structure 1. Identify the simile used in sentence 1. is compared to 2. Identify the metaphors used in sentences 7 & 8. is compared to 3. Explain why these figures of speech are appropriate for the content of the paragraph. 4. Locate the sentence that represents the central transition between the two major ideas in the paragraph. 5. We can accurately infer that McCall a) played hockey better than he played baseball. b) was required to play both hockey and baseball at school. c) became nearly obsessed by baseball once he began to play it. d) also enjoyed curling and working out with Indian clubs. 6. Which of these inferences is more likely? a) McCall merely followed the sport of baseball rather than playing it himself. b) McCall actively played baseball. B. Language analysis 1. The word palpitating, in sentence 1, means quivering or shaking. In light of the simile the author uses here, why is this adjective particularly appropriate in this context? 2. In comparing hockey to a trusty family dog and in addressing the sport with Good dog, hockey! what feature of the sport is he praising? 3. Explain the underlying meaning of this phrase in sentence 5: its big-league sagas churning through season after season without so much as a nod from me. 4. The adjective virulent, in the last sentence, means extremely infectious. What meaning does McCall intend here? a) neutral or denotative b) connotative with positive overtones c) connotative with negative overtones

7 Section 2: It was so hot that I went down... pg A. Content and Structure 1. The dominant impression the passage suggests is that the creek was (a) open and spacious (b) clear and cool (c) hot and dustry (d) lonely and isolated 2. We can infer that the narrator of the passage is probably (a) a little girl of about 5 or 6 (b) a girl of about 11 or 12 (c) a young woman of 19 or 20 (d) a middle-aged woman 3. What evidence in the passage helped you arrive at your answer for question 2 above? B. Language Analysis 1. Consider the words sumps in sentence 1 and glared in sentence 4. How would you characterize their use in the passage? a) denotative b) connotative with positive overtones. c) connotative with negative overtones. d) figurative 2. In sentence 3, which of the five senses is Leffland appealing to? 3. Identify the figure of speech in sentence 8. Is it a metaphor or simile? is compared to What characteristic of the literal subject does this figure of speech emphasize? Finally, would you characterize the sensation described as pleasant or unpleasant? _ 4. In the context of sentence 11, the writer intends the adjective reckless to be a) strictly denotative b) connotative w/ positive overtone c) connotative with negative overtone d) figurative 5. In sentence 11, the adjective hot is used ambiguously, suggesting two different but complementary meanings. What are they? _

8 6. Identify the figure of speech in sentence 11. is compared to Is it a metaphor or a simile? What attribute or characteristic does Leffland emphasize about the narrator in choosing this comparisonon? Section 3: The noses of a great many Canadians... pg A. Content and Structure 1. In your own words, write a sentence stating Atwood's main idea. 2. When Atwood writes at the beginning of paragraph 2, in referring to Americans, bless their innocent little hearts, she is being: a) honest b) scornful c) sarcastic d) religious e) admiring 3. From what Atwood implies in Paragraph 2, explain what Americans think about Canadians. _ 4. From the information in paragraph 4, why specifically do Canadians worry a lot about their southern neighbor? 5. What are the broader implications of Atwood's passage? What is the central inference you can make about the relationship between Canada and the United States? B. Language Analysis 1. Read paragraph 1 again. Why do Canadians' noses resemble Porky Pig's? 2. What does Atwood mean when she refers to the border between Canada and the United states as a one-way mirror? What does this metaphor say about Canadians? 3. How would you characterize the word snoop in the context it is used toward the end of paragraph 1? It suggests:

9 a) neutral, denotative meaning b) positive connotative c)negative connotative d) cliché 4. Atwood says in paragraph 2 that Americans go on playing in the sandbox of the world, bashing on another on the head and planning how to blow things up, same as always. What does the sandbox metaphor refer to? Explain what the metaphor means: 5. the longest undefended backyard fence in the world. In your own words, explain Atwood s thinking about how these neighboring nations get along In paragraph 4, what is the literal meaning of these sentences? Sometimes they do drop by next door, and find it exciting but scary. Sometimes the Americans drop by their house and find it clean. Practice Essay pg The Death of the Moth, by Virginia Woolf A. Comprehension 1. The main idea of the essay is that, for Woolf, a) the death of the moth illustrated the cruelty of nature b) rural life is the scene is the scene of daily tragedies and triumphs. c) observing death up close makes the observer more accpeting and reflective of this inevitability d) the little moth embodied life itself, but it could not overcome death s power. 2. The sentence, It was as if someone had taken a tiny bead of pure life and decking it as lightly as possible with down and feathers, had set it dancing and zigzagging, shows: a) what the moths look like and how they fly b) the strangeness of insect life. c) the true nature of life d) how pathetic and insignificant the moth was 3. Woolf views the little moth with pity because a) his shape so limited his activities b) he would not survive the heat of the day.

10 c) his death would be unnoticed by everyone but her. d) he would live for only one day. 4. In the moth's death, Woolf sees a) and admirable yet futile struggle to survive death s superior force b) a foreshadowing of her own death c) a rebellion against and a refusal to accept death s inevitability. d) a triumph over a force greater than life itself. 5. In observing the little moth, Woolf concludes that a) life and death are inextricably linked. b) death's triumph over the forces of life was both strange and moving. c) all organisms have an innate desire to triumph over death. d) its death shows the impersonality and indifference of the universe. B. Vocabulary: For each italicized word, write the dictionary definition most appropriate for the context. 1. A pleasant morning,... benignant [paragraph 1] a) mild, gentle. b) promising good fortune c) hot, humid. d) inactive, lazy. 2. his zest in enjoying his meagre opportunities (British spelling of meager) [2]: a) unusual, different b) limitless, abundant. c) paltry, limited. d) curious, strange 3. to move with the greatest circumspection [3]: a) care, watchfulness b) frenzy, frantic activity. c) grace, elegance. d) curiosity, inquisitiveness 4. triumph... over so mean an antagonist [5]: a) victor b) opponent c) instigator of trouble d) bearer of bad tidings C. Language Analysis 1. Read paragraph 1 again. In her description of the ploughman, the rooks, and the horses, the dominant mood and atmosphere she establishes are: a) sleepy and languid b) full of life, energy, and vigor c) mournful, somber d) exciting, adventurous 2. In paragraph 1, Woolf figuratively compares the rooks to: 3. this figure of speech is meant to illustrate: a) the birds' movement and energy. b) the great clamor the birds were making c) the birds' mating habits d) the birds disruption by the ploughman and his horses

11 4. Read paragraph 2 again, which emphasizes that, despite its insignificant size and simple activities, the moth a) represented all the energy and life in the world b) longed to be more than merely insignificant c) reflected the same energy as the rooks and the horses. d) had probably been injured somewhere before flying into the house. 5. What realization does Woolf come to when she considers trying to help the struggling moth with her pencil? 6. Consider this excerpt from paragraph 5: One could only watch the extraordinary efforts made by those tiny legs against an oncoming doom which could had it chosen, have submerged and entire city, not merely a city, but masses of human beings... Explain what Woolf means in your own words.

Developing Critical Reading Skills, 7 th Edition Chapter 6

Developing Critical Reading Skills, 7 th Edition Chapter 6 PRACTICE EXERCISE 1 (Pg. 187) For the following pairs of words, mark the word that carries a positive connotation with a plus sign and the word