Unit 9 Narrative Paragraphs

ELEMENTS OF GREAT WRITING

Activity 1, page 158

Possible answer: The speaker might feel nervous or shy about

speaking in front of his class.

1. c

2. e

3. a

4. b

5. d

Activity 2, page 159

Topic Sentence: c

Beginning of the Story: e

Middle of the Story: a, b

End of the story: d

Activity 3, page 160

After Paragraph 9.1

1. Possible answer: The purpose of Paragraph 9.1 is to tell the

author’s story of getting lost in a department store.

2. The story takes place in a department store in New York

City.

3. Order of events:

    a. 4

    b. 3

    c. 2

    d. 1

4. Possible answer: The story ends with an explanation of its

significance to the author.

Activity 4, page 161

After Paragraph 9.2

Possible answers:

1. The purpose of this paragraph is to tell the story of how

Cory Richards became an explorer for National Geographic.

2. It was a freezing cold winter day, and mountain climber

Cory Richards was climbing down from Gasherbrum II,

the 13th-tallest mountain peak in the world, when his life

changed in an instant. Gasherbum II is the 13th-tallest

mountain peak in the world, is located between Pakistan

and China, and is not an easy mountain to climb.

3. They saw a wall of snow and ice coming toward them. All

were hit and thrown to the ground.

4. The story ends with Cory Richards becoming a National

Geographic explorer.

After Paragraph 9.3

1. Possible answer: The purpose of the paragraph is to give a

lesson on making friends.

2. The background information is that the author used to

go to school in Toronto where he was on the football and

track teams and had a lot of friends. It’s important because

it shows the difference between the author’s life in Toronto

and his life in Florida.

3. Possible answer: I learned that to make friends, you have to

be open and have the courage to talk to new people.

Activity 5, page 162

Best answers: Luke’s Adventure in Nepal, The Graduation Party,

and A Great Day in the Mountains.

Activity 6, page 163

Answers will vary.

Activity 7, page 163

Possible answer:

A man was hiking when he saw a bear. He decided to climb a

tree, and a bear noticed him climbing and ran over. The man

took out his phone to take a photo and the bear became

angrier. The man put his phone away and raised his arms to

scare the bear. The bear ran away.

(Note: The actual photo is by National Geographic

photographer Joel Sartore. This is not a wild bear. This bear is

trained and was responding to his trainer and “acting” angry.)

Activity 8, page 164

Answers will vary.

Activity 9, page 165

1. knew

2. followed

3. got

4. rode/was riding

5. looked

6. arrived

7. saw

8. was working

9. was calling

10. went

11. heard

12. turned

13. said

14. left/was leaving

15. took

16. sent

Activity 10, page 166

My First Job

    The happiest day of my life was when I got my first job last

year. After college, I tried for six months to get a job with an

advertising firm, but my luck was bad. Finally, one day my life

changed. While I was eating a sandwich in a downtown coffee

shop, my luck began to change. A young woman who was

sitting next to me asked if she could read my newspaper. I said

OK, and we started talking. She began to tell me about herself.

She was an executive in a huge advertising company and was 

looking for an assistant. I told her that I was very interested

in mass communication. She gave me her business card, and

within one week, I got a job as her assistant. It was the best

lunch of my life!

BUILDING BETTER VOCABULARY

Activity 11, page 167

1. casually - relaxed

2. document - paper

3. frighten - afraid

4. get over - be OK again

5. incredibly - hard to believe

6. shocked -surprised

7. silence - no sound

8. strategy - plan

9. task - job

10. valuable - expensive

Activity 12, page 167

1. reply to an email

2. happened in an instant

3. realized that I made a mistake

4. to capture a special moment

5. frightened by a loud noise

6. reminds me of my childhood

7. an advertising strategy

8. a valid passport

9. a good relationship with your family

10. wonder why something happened

Activity 13, page 168

1. advertising

2. advertise

3. frighten

4. frightened

5. incredible

6. incredibly

7. pain

8. painful

9. silently

10. silence

Activity 14, page 168

Answers will vary.

BUILDING BETTER SENTENCES

Activity 15, page 169

1. On March 27, 1964, Alaska had a severe earthquake that

caused 139 deaths.

2. The first of the famous Star Wars movies was released to

the public in on May 25, 1977.

3. When it was time for to board my flight for Tokyo, I could

no not find my boarding pass.

4. The airport in San Francisco often experiences long flight

delays because of fog.

5. Alaska becomes became a state on in 1959.

Activity 16, page 169

1. As soon as I arrived at the hotel, I realized that I did not

have my laptop with me.

2. The worst day of my life occurred when I was 31 years old.

3. On the second day of the trip, Matt had a car accident and

had to go to the hospital.

4. First, I wrote down all the new vocabulary that I did not

know yet.

5. My most embarrassing moment took place at a

supermarket when I was about 15 years old.

Activity 17, page 170

Possible answers:

1. She was born in a small town in central Florida on January

18, 2000.

2. My high school graduation was certainly the most

important day in my life.

3. My best friend and I were sitting on a train in Frankfurt that

was going to Paris when our long nightmare began.

WRITING

Activities 18–19, pages 170–171

Answers will vary.

Unit 10 From Paragraphs to Essays

ELEMENTS OF GREAT WRITING

Activity 1, pages 175–176

Topic Sentences:

    In the past, people did not live as long because they often

died from bacterial infections, but this is not true today.

    Because of antibiotics, people suddenly had longer lives

and, therefore, time to accomplish more things.

After Essay 10.1

1. The topic sentence in paragraph 2 states that lives were

worse before antibiotics; The topic sentence in paragraph 3

states that a longer life means more time to do more

things. These topics support the writer’s opinion in the

thesis statement that antibiotics were the most important

discovery of the last 100 years.

2. The writer discusses important inventions and makes the

reader think first about what the most important invention

was in the last 100 years (before saying what the writer

thinks it was).

3. The conclusion repeats the ideas in the introduction and

summarizes the ideas in the essay/gives an opinion about

the impact of antibiotics.

Activity 2, page 176

Possible answers:

I. Introduction (What is the thesis statement?) However, in

my opinion, antibiotics are the most important discovery

because they have allowed people to live longer.

II. Body (topic sentence) In the past, people did not live as

long because they often died from bacterial infections, but

this is not true today.

III. Body (topic sentence) Because of antibiotics, people

suddenly had longer lives and, therefore, time to

accomplish more things.

IV. Conclusion (What does it do?) It explains that if there were

no antibiotics, we would not be able to enjoy the quality of

life that we have today.

Activity 3, page 177

1. 2

2. Possible answer: The first two sentences mention different

answers to the question the thesis statement answers.

Activity 4, page 177

Statements 1 & 3 are the two best thesis statements.

Activity 5, page 178

Possible question:

Why should students be required to take a cooking course?

Possible ideas:

1. Being able to cook your own food means you can take care

of yourself when you live on your own.

2. Being able to cook your own food means you can save

money because eating in a restaurant can be expensive.

3. Cooking your own food means you can control your diet

and eat healthy foods.

Activity 6, page 179

1. people list the most important inventions of the last

100 years

2. technology

3. antibiotics

4. quality of life / improve our lives

Activity 7, page 179

Answers will vary.

Activity 8, pages 180–181

1. a

2. b

3. b

4. c

5. a

Activity 9, page 182

Answers will vary.

Activity 10, page 183

I. Introduction (paragraph 1)

    A. Beginning of Essay

    B. Thesis Statement: When people move to a new

country, many of them begin to forget not only their

culture but also their first language, and as time passes,

they lose the many benefits of being bilingual.

II. Body (paragraph 2) Topic Sentence: One of the most basic

advantages of being bilingual is easier communication

with more people around the world.

A. Supporting Idea: They can travel to more countries with

less worry.

B. Supporting Idea: They do not need a translator and can

communicate better.

III. Body (paragraph 3) Topic Sentence: Speaking a second

language also allows people to learn about another culture

through the special words and phrases in that language.

    A. Supporting Idea: The expression “meat and potatoes”

teaches us about what kinds of food this culture values.

    B. Supporting Idea: The expressions “to rat on someone”

and “to be a rat” teach us that rats do not have a positive

image in this culture.

    C. Supporting Idea: Through the baseball expressions to

“hit a home run” (to do something that is very successful)

or to “strike out” (to fail completely), we learn that the

sport of baseball is important in the culture.

IV. Body (paragraph 4) Topic Sentence: Finally, bilingualism

can help people from different countries, languages, and

cultures get along better.

    A. Supporting Idea: It is easier to understand other people’s

ideas, beliefs, and actions.

    B. Supporting Idea: It is easier to understand the

problems and situations in other countries.

V. Concluding paragraph (paragraph 5)

    A. Restatement of Thesis: The benefits of bilingualism

are clear.

    B. Opinion/Prediction: If people do not maintain their

first language, they will clearly miss out on all the wonderful

benefits of being bilingual.

Activities 11–12, pages 184–185

Answers will vary.

Activities 13–14, page 186

Answers will vary.

BUILDING BETTER VOCABULARY

Activity 15, page 187

1. accomplish - do

2. bilingual - two languages

3. decade - 10 years

4. discovery - found

5. diverse - different

6. expression - say

7. maintain - keep

8. mayor - person

9. prevent - stop

10. rural - nature

Activity 16, page 187

1. maintan a good safety record

2. focus on a specific issue

3. a bilingual dictionary

4. a decade of economic success

5. to prevent an accident

6. discover a better way to do something

7. accomplish a goal

8. a basic reason (for something)

9. the mayor of a city

10. a great invention from the 1920s

Activity 17, page 188

1. accomplishment

2. accomplish

3. beneficial

4. benefits

5. inventor

6. invention

7. maintain

8. maintenance

9. prevent

10. prevention

Activity 18, page 188

Answers will vary.

BUILDING BETTER SENTENCES

Activity 19, page 189

    Some words do not translate exactly from one language to

another. In French, for example, there are two ways to say know.

One is for knowing a fact, and the other is for knowing a person.

English has the words make and do, but Spanish has only hacer. In Spanish, you use hacer with a reservation and homework,

but this certainly seems strange to an English speaker. Finally,

the English verb miss is hard to translate well into some foreign

languages. In summary, it is hard to translate certain words

from one language to another.

Activity 20, pages 189–190

1. A good mayor can accomplish a great deal if his or her

plans are creative.

2. Modern technology has brought many economic benefits

that can help improve people’s lives.

3. Many students prefer to use a bilingual dictionary when

they are trying to learn new vocabulary.

4. One invention that has clearly changed the world is

the computer.

5. Although cars are responsible for a lot of the pollution

that we have today, they have been very important to our

daily lives.

Activity 21, page 190

Possible answers:

1. Bad weather can cause traffic accidents and flight delays.

2. Buenos Aires is the capital of and largest city in Argentina.

3. Oxygen is a colorless, odorless gas that is essential to

human life.

WRITING

Activity 22, page 191

Answers will vary.