Ex. 1. Read the paragraphs of details, define the topic sentences with its controlling ideas and the type of details.

A)  Few people know the basic facts about diamonds. They consist of pure crystallized carbon and are usually found in the form of crystals. They come in many shapes: some have eight faces; others have forty-eight. Diamonds are the hardest substance known, and for this reason acids do not affect them. They are, however, brittle and can be split. To polish diamonds one must use oil and diamond powder. Purity of color is rare in a diamond; most stones are cloudy, owing to small grooves or air bubbles. Diamonds are found in many parts of the world: for example, in India, China, Malaya, Borneo, Australia, Africa, Brazil, and even in the United States. The huge Cullinan diamond weighed 3025 carats. The largest and most perfect of the blue-stone diamonds, known as the Hope diamond, is worth a very great fortune.

 

diamond - алмаз

carbon – углерод

shape – форма

substance – вещество

acid – кислота

brittle – хрупкий

split – раскалывать

purity – чистота

groove – углубление

bubble – пузырек

 

B)  It is quite easy to prepare tiger prawns in lemon butter sauce. First, prepare ingredients: 6 tablespoon white wine, 2 teaspoon white vinegar, juice of 1 lemon, 75 g unsalted butter, chilled and cubed salt and freshly ground black pepper, 1 teaspoon olive oil, 125 baby button mushrooms, 200 g cooked and peeled tiger prawns, 100 g pack asparagus tips, cooked warm crusty bread to serve. Then place the wine and vinegar in a small saucepan over a moderate heat and boil rapidly to reduce to 2 tablespoons. Add the lemon juice. Gradually whisk in the butter over a low heat, one cube at a time, until slightly thickened and glossy. Remove from the heat, add seasoning to taste, then set to one side. Heat the oil, add the mushrooms and cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally until golden. Add the prawns and asparagus, heat through and transfer to a warmed serving plate. Serve with the warm lemon butter sauce poured over. 

 

prawns – креветки

reduce – уменьшить

pour – полить

 

Ex. 2. Supply five sentences using detail as major supporting statements for one of the following topic sentences.

 

1 Each morning when I get up I follow a regular routine.

2 Here’s how I cram for an examination.

3 A standard dictionary is a very serviceable tool.

4 Exams is not a holiday time.

5 Part-time jobs can provide valuable business experience.

ü When you are asked to a question that involves your personal opinion or judgment, you should give it your best thinking.   What you will have to say will probably be based upon your personal experience, on what you have read, or on what you have heard people whom you respect say on the subject. If you write a paragraph in response to such a question, you will very likely develop your topic sentence with reason.

 Ex. 3. Read the paragraphs of reason, define the topic sentences with its controlling ideas. Say what test word can help you to define the type of the paragraph.

 

A) A suburban community grows out of the needs of certain city dwellers. Businessmen seek locations outside the city limits away from the congested downtown traffic and in areas where parking space is readily available. City dwellers, eager to take advantage of adequate parking facilities, attractive and well-stocked department and food stores, as well as the drug stores, gift shops, and bakeries essential to every shopper, desert the city establishments for the ones in a suburban area. Finally lower tax rates, choice of building sites, and modest homes on convenient terms attract prospective clients in search of a place to live.

 

suburban community – население пригорода

congest – перегружать

available – доступный

drug store – аптека

desert – покидать

tax – налог

convenient terms – приемлемые условия

 

B) People who talk about “correct English” are usually over-simplifying the problem dangerously. There is no single, monolithic “correct English”. There is nothing inherent or intrinsic that makes language “correct”. For instance, in America it is considered low-class or “backwoodsy” to say “He et his dinner”. In England, however, et, as the past tense of eat, has the highest prestige, and the best-spoken Englishmen will say “He et his dinner”. It is simply a matter of differing usage, in one social group or another. Even good speakers have several styles at their command – not only the formal English of the purists, but an easy, informal English for conversational situations. Good English is that which is appropriate and effective, even if it goes against the pronouncements of purists.

 

intrinsic – присущий

purists – сторонники очищения литературного языка

 

Ex. 4. Supply five sentences using reason as major supporting statements for one of the following topic sentences.

1 Women still do not enjoy equal opportunities in business and the professions.

2 The death penalty is (is not) a deterrent to major crime.

3 An auction is a good place to buy nothing for something.

4 It is (isn't) foolish to give money to beggars.

5 I approve (or disapprove) of the honor system for undergraduate examinations.

 

ü The paragraph of illustration or example may be like the old saying, “One picture is worth a thousand words”.