Answers130CR English 3Writing Workshop: Compare-Contrast Essay

Unit 2 Assessment Answers

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Read the excerpt from the interview with E.Y. (Yip) Harburg.When I lost my possessions, I found my creativity. I felt I was being born for the first time. So for me the world became beautiful.With the Crash, I realized that the greatest fantasy of all was business. The only realistic way of making a living was versifying. Living off your imagination.Based on the excerpt, which best describes Harburg’s view of the Great Depression?

A
He has no interest in financial success for himself.
B
He values artistic success over financial success for himself.
C
He believes most people benefited from losing their financial stability.
D
He regrets the fact that he gave away his money to benefit his art.
2
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Read the excerpt from "The Environmental Ethic."It is fashionable in some quarters to wave aside the small and obscure, the bugs and weeds, forgetting that an obscure moth from Latin America saved Australia’s pastureland from overgrowth by cactus, that the rosy periwinkle provided the cure for Hodgkin’s disease and childhood lymphocytic leukemia, that the bark of the Pacific yew offers hope for victims of ovarian and breast cancer, that a chemical from the saliva of leeches dissolves blood clots during surgery, and so on down a roster already grown long and illustrious despite the limited research addressed to it.Which of the following claims is best supported by the evidence in this excerpt?

A
All species are worth protecting because even the small organisms contribute important functions in the environment.
B
Every effort should be made to protect each bug and weed species regardless of its potential to cause destruction.
C
All of the species that are now extinct or are becoming extinct could have cured a disease.
D
Only the species that can be used for medical purposes are worth protecting from extinction.
3

Read the excerpt from the interview with E.Y. (Yip) Harburg.We thought American business was the Rock of Gibraltar. We were the prosperous nation, and nothing could stop us now. A brownstone house was forever. You gave it to your kids and they put marble fronts on it. There was a feeling of continuity. If you made it, it was there forever. Suddenly the big dream exploded. How do Harburg’s words reflect the experience of many Americans during the Great Depression?

A
Like Harburg, many expected that they could maintain their possessions through the Depression.
B
Like Harburg, many were shocked by stock market collapse and ensuing Depression.
C
Like Harburg, many were grateful for the lessons they learned from the Depression.
D
Like Harburg, many made meticulous plans to prepare for the Depression.
4

Read the excerpt from "The Environmental Ethic." Mother Earth . . . is no more than the commonality of organisms and the physical environment they maintain with each passing moment, an environment that will destabilize and turn lethal if the organisms are disturbed too much. . . . To disregard the diversity of life is to risk catapulting ourselves into an alien environment. We will have become like the pilot whales that inexplicably beach themselves on New England shores.Which of the following choices best expresses the type of appeal Wilson uses in this passage?

A
The author uses logos to develop his argument by providing factual information about pilot whales in New England.
B
The author uses logos to develop his argument by gaining sympathy for the pilot whales in New England.
C
The author uses pathos to develop his argument by including emotionally charged language to evoke a response.
D
The author uses pathos to develop his argument by chastising the reader for the destruction of the environment.
5

Read the excerpt from Freakonomics. Now let’s look at the win-loss percentage between the 7–7 wrestlers and the 8–6 wrestlers the next time they meet, when neither one is on the bubble. In this case, there is no great pressure on the individual match. So you might expect the wrestlers who won their 7–7 matches in the previous tournament to do about as well as they had in earlier matches against these same opponents—that is, winning roughly 50 percent of the time. You certainly wouldn’t expect them to uphold their 80 percent clip. As it turns out, the data show that the 7–7 wrestlers win only 40 percent of the rematches. Eighty percent in one match and 40 percent in the next? How do you make sense of that?Which type of evidence does the authors use in this excerpt to support the claim that some sumo wrestlers will intentionally lose a match?

A
anecdotal
B
testimonial
C
statistical
D
analogical
6

Read the excerpt from Freakonomics. It’s worth thinking about the incentive a wrestler might have to throw a match. Maybe he accepts a bribe (which would obviously not be recorded in the data). Or perhaps some other arrangement is made between the two wrestlers. Keep in mind that the pool of elite sumo wrestlers is extraordinarily tight-knit. Each of the sixty-six elite wrestlers fights fifteen of the others in a tournament every two months. Furthermore, each wrestler belongs to a stable that is typically managed by a former sumo champion, so even the rival stables have close ties. Which of the following claims is best supported by the evidence in this excerpt?

A
The offering of a bribe is a guaranteed enticement for a champion sumo wrestler to purposely lose a match in a tournament.
B
The close relationship between sumo wrestlers could be an incentive for an elite wrestler to throw a match he doesn’t need to win.
C
Because sumo wrestlers have strong social ties, it is a dishonor to throw a match in a tournament.
D
There is great pressure for sumo wrestlers to cheat in order to beat wrestlers from rival stables.
7

Read the excerpt from the interview with E.Y. (Yip) Harburg.The prevailing greeting at that time, on every block you passed, by some poor guy coming up, was: “Can you spare a dime?” Or: “Can you spare something for a cup of coffee?” . . . “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” finally hit on every block, on every street. I thought that could be a beautiful title. If I could only work it out by telling people, through the song, it isn’t just a man asking for a dime. This is the man who says: I built the railroads. I built that tower. I fought your wars. I was the kid with the drum. Why the hell should I be standing in line now? What happened to all this wealth I created? Why does Harburg feel that “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” is a legitimate question, not just a plea from a beggar?

A
With their hard work, these individuals had invested in their country and they deserved to be suitably rewarded.
B
Manual labor jobs were replaced by white-collar jobs, so construction workers had no more options.
C
A dime was only a small amount of money that could feed an entire family for many days.
D
All of the wealthy had retained their riches, while the poor had to suffer through the Depression.
8

Read the sentence.Nia, my best friend, scored the winning goal.Which is the best revision of the sentence?

A
Nia my best friend scored the winning goal.
B
Nia, my best friend scored the winning goal.
C
Nia my best friend, scored the winning goal.
D
no change
9

Which sentence is written correctly?

A
Mrs. Ellis, a petite woman, wore the finest dresses from Paris.
B
Mrs. Ellis a petite woman, wore the finest dresses from Paris.
C
Mrs. Ellis, a petite woman wore the finest dresses from Paris.
D
Mrs. Ellis a petite woman wore the finest dresses from Paris.
10

Which excerpt from Fast Food Nation best illustrates the author’s use of the rhetorical appeal logos?

A
Her family’s modest townhouse sits beside a busy highway on the south side of Colorado Springs, in a largely poor and working-class neighborhood.
B
A job at a fast food restaurant became an American rite of passage, a first job soon left behind for better things.
C
English is now the second language of at least one-sixth of the nation’s restaurant workers, and about one-third of that group speaks no English at all.
D
When she finally walks home, after seven hours of standing at a cash register, her feet hurt. She’s wiped out.
11

Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. Unlike Olympic gymnastics—an activity in which teenagers consistently perform at a higher level than adults—there’s nothing about the work in a fast food kitchen that requires young employees. Which type of evidence does the author use in this excerpt?

A
anecdotal
B
statistical
C
testimonial
D
analogical
12

Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. The strict regimentation at fast food restaurants creates standardized products. It increases the throughput. And it gives fast food companies an enormous amount of power over their employees. “When management determines exactly how every task is to be done . . . and can impose its own rules about pace, output, quality, and technique,” the sociologist Robin Leidner has noted, “[it] makes workers increasingly interchangeable.”Which type of evidence is Schlosser using in this excerpt?

A
anecdotal
B
statistical
C
testimonial
D
analogical
13

Which is the best use of punctuation?

A
Many people are squeamish around, insects, and rodents.
B
Our instructor taught us techniques (to help us) master welding.
C
Upon hearing her diagnosis, she was filled with one emotion: relief.
D
The children in her afterschool class tend to be immature (and silly).
14

Read the sentence.I am interested in drawing, painting, and make sculpture. Which is the best revision of the sentence?

A
I am interested in drawing, to paint, and to make sculptures.
B
I am interested in drawing, painting, and to make sculptures.
C
I am interested in drawing, painting, and making sculptures.
D
I am interested in drawing, paint, and make sculptures.
15

Which sentence contains parallel elements?

A
Carina thought the rolling thunder was so frightening.
B
Carina thought the rolling thunder sounded like small explosions.
C
Carina could hear the rolling thunder and the howling winds.
D
Carina could hear the rolling thunder as the sky grew darker.
16

Read the excerpt from the interview with E.Y. (Yip) Harburg.In the song the man is really saying: I made an investment in this country. Where the hell are my dividends? Is it a dividend to say: “Can you spare a dime?” What the hell is wrong? Let’s examine this thing. It’s more than just a bit of pathos. It doesn’t reduce him to a beggar. It makes him a dignified human, asking questions—and a bit outraged, too, as he should be.According to Harburg, the song “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”

A
humanizes and lends a sense of worth to the common beggar on the street.
B
was written to assist the poor in getting more money from passersby.
C
answers the question “What is wrong?” for impoverished individuals.
D
lessens the outrage felt by the many poor, marginalized individuals.
17

Read the excerpt from song, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”Once I built a railroad, made it run, Made it race against time. Once I built a railroad, Now it's done— Which idea is conveyed in the excerpt?

A
The speaker does not want to build rails anymore.
B
All the necessary railroad tracks have been completed.
C
The American railroads are the fastest in the world.
D
The speaker used to have work, but now there isn’t any.
18

Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. “When management determines exactly how every task is to be done . . . and can impose its own rules about pace, output, quality, and technique,” the sociologist Robin Leidner has noted, “[it] makes workers increasingly interchangeable.” The management no longer depends upon the talents or skills of its workers — those things are built into the operating system and machines. Jobs that have been “de-skilled” can be filled cheaply. The need to retain any individual worker is greatly reduced by the ease with which he or she can be replaced.Which best describes the type of evidence presented in this excerpt?

A
analogical
B
anecdotal
C
statistical
D
testimonial
19

Which of the following pieces of evidence from Fast Food Nation best supports the author’s claim that teenagers are the ideal candidates for working in the fast food industry?

A
And it gives fast food companies an enormous amount of power over their employees.
B
Since most teenagers still lived at home, they could afford to work for wages too low to support an adult, and until recently, their limited skills attracted few other employers.
C
Workers at the counter are told to increase the size of an order by recommending special promotions, pushing dessert, pointing out the financial logic behind the purchase of a larger drink.
D
A McDonald’s kitchen is full of buzzers and flashing lights that tell employees what to do.
20

Which excerpt from the song, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?” best emphasizes the idea that average Americans felt abandoned by the wealthy elite and the government?

A
They used to tell me I was building a dream, And so I followed the mob—When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear I was always there—right on the job.
B
Once I built a railroad, made it run, Made it race against time. Once I built a railroad, Now it's done—
C
Say, don't you remember, they called me Al— It was Al all the time. Why don't you remember, I'm your pal— Buddy, can you spare a dime?
D
Once I built a tower, up to the sun, Brick, and rivet, and lime,Once I built a tower, Now it's done—

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