A Quiz About Combining Sentences

A Quiz About Combining Sentences A Quiz About Combining Sentences A Quiz About Combining Sentences By Mark Nichol One of the most useful techniques for tightening flabby prose is to concentrate more information into fewer words. This can be done with parenthesis and subordination. The result is that two or more sentences are combined into a single statement. Let’s try that again: One of the most useful techniques for tightening flabby prose is to concentrate more information, through parenthesis and subordination, into fewer words, with the result that two or more sentences are combined into a single statement. The outcome is a more complex construction and one that is not necessarily much more concise but one that is still digestible and creates a richer reading experience by collecting flat, simplified, isolated components of thought into an integrated whole. Not every multisentence passage merits combination, of course (and I admit that I favor longer sentences than some might find suitable), but vigilant effort to reduce verbiage has merit. Try this sentence surgery yourself with the following examples, and compare your results with my solutions: 1. â€Å"The Democratic presidential candidates had all been doing lousy imitations of Dean’s Bush-bashing road show. They noticed that his spiel was playing so well with the lefties in the North.† The second sentence folds easily into a parenthetical phrase placed within the first sentence; just omit the pronoun and change the verb form: â€Å"The Democratic presidential candidates, noticing that Dean’s spiel was playing so well with the lefties in the North, had all been doing lousy imitations of his Bush-bashing road show.† 2. â€Å"Christian leaders were used to spending a lot of time worrying about the faith of the unchurched. They were stunned to learn that the kids who showed up every week in the pews the churched didn’t know much more than those who didn’t.† The solution here is nearly identical to that in the first example, differing only in form; omit the first of the two repetitions of the verb were and delete the second sentence’s subject, but leave the form of stunned intact: â€Å"Christian leaders used to spending a lot of time worrying about the faith of the unchurched were stunned to learn that the kids who showed up every week in the pews the churched didn’t know much more than those who didn’t. 3. â€Å"The document addressed many issues that had been circulating in the government and industry sectors for the past several years. These issues were economic, military, and social in nature.† Here, the word count can be even further reduced by incorporating the second sentence in to the first one after deleting the verbose â€Å"issues . . . in nature† construction; relocate the subject so that it follows the series of adjectives: â€Å"The document addressed many economic, military, and social issues that had been circulating in the government and industry sectors for the past several years.† 4. â€Å"The group meets once a week. During each meeting, students participate in a mini-lesson that explains specific conventions or spelling patterns.† The first sentence has only one essential word in it: week. Slip its adjectival form into the second sentence before meeting and discard the rest, though you could, for more clarity, insert â€Å"in the group† after students: â€Å"During each weekly meeting, students [in the group] participate in a mini-lesson that explains specific conventions or spelling patterns.† 5. â€Å"The series has featured writings by a variety of French thinkers. It culminated in the publication of a two-part meditation by Jean d’Ormesson. This man was a well-known literary figure and member of the academy.† As I demonstrated in my introduction to this post, three sentences, not just two, can be reconstructed into one; in this case, convert all but the subject of the first sentence into a parenthetical for the second one, replace that sentence’s subject with the preceding one’s, and attach the third sentence to the second sentence as a subordinate clause: â€Å"The series, which has featured writings by a variety of French thinkers, culminated in the publication of a two-part meditation by Jean d’Ormesson, a well-known literary figure and member of the academy.† Voil! Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Bare or Bear With Me?One Fell SwoopEmpathic or Empathetic?

Bilingualism - Definition and Examples

Bilingualism s Bilingualism is the ability of an individual or the members of a community to use two languages effectively. Adjective: bilingual. Monolingualism refers to the ability to use a single language. The ability to use multiple languages is known as multilingualism. More than half of the  worlds population is bilingual or  multilingual: 56% of Europeans are bilingual, while 38% of the population in Great Britain, 35% in Canada, and 17% in the United States are bilingual (Multicultural America: A Multimedia Encyclopedia, 2013). Etymology From the Latin, two tongue Examples and Observations Bilingualism as the NormBilingualismmore generally, multilingualismis a major fact of life in the world today. To begin with, the worlds estimated 5,000 languages are spoken in the worlds 200 sovereign states (or 25 languages per state), so that communication among the citizens of many of the worlds countries clearly requires extensive bi- (if not multi-)lingualism. In fact, David Crystal (1997) estimates that two-thirds of the worlds children grow up in a bilingual environment. Considering only bilingualism involving English, the statistics that Crystal has gathered indicate that, of the approximately 570 million people world-wide who speak English, over 41 percent or 235 million are bilingual in English and some other language. . . . One must conclude that, far from being exceptional, as many lay people believe, bilingualism/multilingualismwhich, of course, goes hand in hand with multiculturalism in many casesis currently the rule throughout the world and will become increasingly s o in the future.(Tej K. Bhatia and William C. Ritchie, Introduction. The Handbook of Bilingualism. Blackwell, 2006) Global MultilingualismThe political history of the 19th and 20th centuries and the ideology of one stateone nationone language have given rise to the idea that monolingualism has always been the default or normal case in Europe and more or less a precondition for political loyalty. Facing this situation, it has been overlooked that the vast majority of the worlds populationin whatever form or conditionsis multilingual. This is quite obvious when we look at the linguistic maps of Africa, Asia or Southern America at any given time.(Kurt Braunmà ¼ller and Gisella Ferraresi, Introduction. Aspects of Multilingualism in European Language History. John Benjamins, 2003)Individual and Societal BilingualismBilingualism exists as a possession of an individual. It is also possible to talk about bilingualism as a characteristic of a group or community of people [societal bilingualism]. Bilinguals and multilinguals are most often located in groups, communities or in a particular region (e.g. Cata lans in Spain). . . . [C]o-existing languages may be in a process of rapid change, living in harmony or one rapidly advancing at the cost of the other, or sometimes in conflict. Where many language minorities exist, there is often language shift . . ..(Colin Baker and Sylvia Prys Jones, Encyclopedia of Bilingualism and Bilingual Education. Multilingual Matters, 1998) Foreign Language Instruction in the U.S.For decades, U.S. policymakers, business leaders, educators, and research organizations have decried our students’ lack of foreign language skills and called for better language instruction. Yet, despite these calls for action, we have fallen further behind the rest of the world in preparing our students to communicate effectively in languages other than English.I believe the main reason for this disparity is that foreign languages are treated by our public education system as less important than math, science and English. In contrast, E.U. governments expect their citizens to become fluent in at least two languages plus their native tongue. . . .[F]oreign language instruction in the U.S. is frequently considered a luxury, a subject taught to college-bound students, more frequently in affluent than poor school districts, and readily cut when math or reading test scores drop or budget cuts loom.(Ingrid Pufahl, How Europe Does It. The New York Times, February. 7, 2010)

I do not have one Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

I do not have one - Essay Example Prosecution includes jail term and fines and in Chris Brown’s case, the accused received years of probation as well as six months in community service. Protective orders were issued out to contain Chris’s behavior. This measure is in line with court actions on those found guilty of domestic violence (Weiss, 23). Many people ask themselves why the victims of the violence do not just leave. This may seem like an easy decision but as analysts say, this is not an easy decision. In our case, we see that Rihanna is adamant to leave an abusive relationship and she proudly tell other people to not interfere with her affairs (Weiss, 40). She claims that people often misjudge cases of domestic violence. They do not think of the perpetrator as requiring help. This is usually the case where the perpetrator requires help and counseling. It is commendable to see that they got back together after Chris Brown got back from probation and they even recorded a song together. Hence domestic violence issues can be resolved and a couple lives happily ever after (Weiss,

CRIME PREVENTION IN AMERICA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

CRIME PREVENTION IN AMERICA - Essay Example The rate of daily crimes shows that a person living in America cannot sure if he will live the next moment. â€Å"In America, the crime clock continues to click: one murder every 22 minutes, one rape every 5 minutes, one robbery every 49 seconds, and one burglary every 10 seconds.† (Anderson, 2009). The gravity of the situation has forced the government to make maximum efforts in the direction of controlling crimes of all kinds in the country. Various crime prevention programs are undertaken at federal, state and local levels. There are programs aiming every section of the people, implemented at each of these levels depending upon their importance and seriousness. It is found that many of these crimes involve teenagers or generally the youth. Juvenile crimes are a nightmare to the Americans. School violence and under-age drinking lead to fights and murders, suicides, rapes, gun violence and so on. It is found that under-age binge drinking is more among teenagers below the age of 21 than adults. Drug abuse is another major issue regarding the youth in America. Students are frequently seen carrying guns to schools. A major reason for this situation is the extreme exposure to television, computer games and internet. It was found that girls did more crimes than boys. To add on to i t, juvenile justice system showed no mercy to these children. In 1970s the statistics of juvenile crimes rose terribly, making it very important for the government to control juvenile crimes and giving better juvenile justice to them, in order to reduce the crimes in America. For this purpose, the federal government introduced a new act, called the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act in the year 1974. The major aims were to prevent juvenile wrongdoings, improve the juvenile justice system in order to protect them. This act was reauthorized in 2008, to be called the ‘Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Reauthorization

Ballard Fuel Cell :: essays research papers

THE BALLARD FUEL CELL The Ballard fuel cell is a power generating device which combines hydrogen (which can be obtained from methanol, natural gas, petroleum) and oxygen without the use of combustion in order to generate electricity. Since fuel cells operate very quietly and efficiently and their only emissions are pure water and heat they are expected to be the future of power generating machines. The PEM fuel cell is made of two plates with a plastic membrane coated with a catalyst in the middle. Hydrogen is then fed through the channels on one side of the plates and oxygen is fed through the other side. The hydrogen and oxygen atoms are drawn toward each other. Only one part of the hydrogen atom – the proton – can pass through the membrane. The electron has to take the long way around through an external circuit. This creates electricity. The oxygen side attracts protons and electrons that have traveled through the external circuit. This is where the byproducts water and heat are formed. Each fuel cell operates continuously as long as hydrogen is supplied. Single cells are combined to produce the required amount of power. PEM fuel cells operate at around 90 degrees Celsius and give off 90 degrees Celsius of heat, which is a fairly low temperature. This is much better than high temperature combustion engines, which operate at about 2500 degrees Celsius and give off 125 degrees Celsius of heat. This means the Ballard fuel cell can react quickly to load changes and makes it ideal for motor vehicles. Which is why Honda, Nissan, Volkswagen Yamaha, Daimler Chrysler and Ford have commercialized the use of these cells. The cities of Vancouver and Chicago are currently testing Ballard’s fuel cell transit buses. They are seeing the maintenance requirements of the pollution free buses as well as the public reaction to the program.

A Second Depression Predicted from History

The factors contributing to the struggle of working class Americans during the Depression are still relevant today. Clues as to the imminent occurrence of a second Depression can be found by comparing the Great Depression to today’s economic climate.The following essay compares contributing factors to the struggles of working class society during the time of the Depression and today. Key factors to be analyzed are; low wages and unemployment rates, unfair tax laws and foreign and American economic influences, as well as American spending.Low wages are as much a problem today as they were during the Depression. One out of four working families in America today are low income; earning wages which are so low that it is nearly impossible for them to survive financially (Waldron, et.al., 2004). Key characteristics in today’s poor include; low-paying jobs, inadequate benefits and little-to-no job advancement opportunities and lack of skills and/or education (2004).Presently t he economy demands high skilled workers, due to the rise in technology. Low paying service jobs are still available and needed by the economy, yet the United States has not taken the proper action to support employees of such jobs and thus their needs and those of their families, go unmet (2004). Lack of proper support by government reduces the chances for families of low paying service jobs to make or plan a solid future.Policies and regulations today are inadequate for the needs of the poor; much like during the Depression. Suggestions for the improvement of poverty-stricken American’s involve the creation of better paying jobs, better access to education, training and health care and better benefits; all these items are available to better paid employees. It is suggested that in order to accomplish these things, Americans must effectively invest public resources (2004).Research has shown that the level of education strongly influence living standards in America; for exampl e, thirty-five percent of low-income families have a parent who did not graduate high school (2004).America’s poor struggle with balancing their wages; the majority of their income is going to housing and utilities, not leaving enough for health care. This is a concern because without health care, America’s poor miss work or lose their job because of illness. The struggles of low-paid workers in America are similar to that of workers during the Depression. Education and skills were as important, and difficult, to obtain today as in the 1930s.As in the 1930s, tax structures and investments affect working Americans significantly. Public assistance varies and is mandated by state; however the maximum amount of earnings allowed by any state in America is so low, that if a family wanted to maintain health insurance after reaching the maximum income level, it is close to impossible. Some states only allow a maximum yearly income level of ten thousand dollars. Once reaching t he maximum amount, public assistance is no longer available. There were similar concerns of how to help America’s poor during the Depression.The Dust Bowl migration of the 1930s demonstrates the struggles and political policies which affected the poor during the Depression. During the Dust Bowl migration, families from Oklahoma and surrounding states headed for California during the Depression, in search for a better life in the growing agricultural state (Gregory, 2004). The Depression affected everyone, but especially farmers in Oklahoma and surrounding states; the severe drought made it all the worse.Unemployment rates were high across the country; farmers and those in the city experienced joblessness. The poor were often discriminated against by states; many states were unwilling to allow the poor to relocate to their states (Gregory, 2004). California, for example, set up a boarder patrol to keep poor migrants out of the state. It wasn’t until 1941, that the Supre me Court decided that states had no right to restrict fellow Americans from migrating to their state (2004). Â  There were attempts by some counties to help educated farmers; as well as give minor health care services.

Bullying Bullying And Bullying - 1394 Words

The Oxford dictionary defines a bully as a â€Å"person who uses strength or influence to harm or intimidate those who are weaker.† It is however difficult to define bullying as there are different types of bullying. Bullying can be verbal, non-verbal, violent and non-violent. The reactions to bullying are also varied. While some do not mind bullying, some get severely affected by it. There are also others who grow stronger under constant bullying. Bullying can also occur at all ages and different environments. Kids, teenagers, and adults get bullied at school, in the Internet and at work. Bullying can also be quite subtle where the bullied person is just ignored or treated like an outcast. Whatever forms bullying might take, it has been recognized as a worldwide problem. Bullying in schools is prevalent in almost all the countries and it serves as a major health and safety problem for the kids (Juvonen Graham, 2014). There are many ways in which people try to solve the problem of bullying. There are anti bullying assemblies in schools, seminars, lectures and many other initiatives. There is also the recent trend of publicity shaming bullies. However, all these measures do not really go far in solving the problem. The effective solution to stop bullying would be to start at the beginning-teaching kids about differences and encouraging them to be acceptable to everyone. Setting an example for them through proper behavior and di scussions at home would go a long way in preventingShow MoreRelatedBullying And Bullying : Bullying1180 Words   |  5 Pages Bullying is defined as unwanted or aggressive behavior that causes someone to feel afraid or intimidated. This behavior could be something physical, verbal, or something done electronically or through social media. If someone feels threatened by someone’s actions or words, it could be considered bullying, even if that was not the intent.There are many types of bullying, how to recognize bullying, how to report bullying, what to do if you see incidents of bullying, and what resources are availableRead MoreBullying : Bullying And Bullying985 Words   |  4 PagesBullying You may hear the word bullying a lot but never actually knew what it meant, well know is the time to know and be aware of what’s happening around you. Bullying is the use of force, threat, or aggressively dominate others. 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However, he still gets talked about behind his back but of course it’s not as bad as before. He visits his counselor on a weekly basis and things have gotten much better. I’m glad that I stuck around to be there for him while he struggled with such a horrible timeRead MoreBullying : Bullying And Bullying1387 Words   |  6 PagesAn average bullying session lasts about 37 seconds; an adult intervenes in the problem about one in twenty-five times (Bullying Facts). Bullying is seen as aggressive and unwanted behavior between two or more people (Aspa).   Most people who are not involved in the actions going on do not really know it’s happening.   Most parents do not even know when their child, or children, are being bullied (Bullying Facts).   Bullying can be prevented if the right consequences take place.   Parents and schoolsRead MoreBullying : Bullying And Bullying769 Words   |  4 Pagesphysically bullied on the premise and cyber-bullying. The females reported more Cyber-bullying, off-school premises, through text massages and social media outlets. The males reported a higher rate of physical bullying on the school premise than the females. Students reported the occurrence of physical intimidation preventing younger students to access hallways. Also, student’s who are perceived as â€Å"different† are target and taunted. Currently, the bullying behavior seems to be accepted by the staffRead MoreBullying : Bullying And Bullying948 Words   |  4 Pages Bullying Teasing and playing around are all part of growing up; however, what happens when it happens over and over. The Hernando County Code of Conduct defines bullying as: systematically and chronically inflicting physical hurt or psychological distress, or physical behavior, including and threatening, insulting, or dehumanizing gesture, by a student or adult, that is severe or pervasive enough to create an intimidating, hostile, or offensive educational environment; cause discomfort orRead MoreBullying : Bullying And Bullying Essay1924 Words   |  8 Pages Bullying is a very touchy subject for people to talk about. It deals with a lot of mental, physical, and emotional damage. Bullying is violent and unwelcoming behavior among various different aged children in school that involves a lack of power for one kid and a lot of power for another. The behavior of a bully is repeated numerous times over time and becomes more aggressive as the path goes on. The bully has an imbalance of pow er over the one being bullied. They bully uses their power for givingRead MoreBullying : Bullying And Bullying941 Words   |  4 PagesThere are different ways to describe bullying. Stopbullying.gov states the definition of bullying is â€Å"unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance.† Webster’s dictionary portrays the definition of bullying is to frighten, hurt, or threaten (a smaller or weaker person): to act like a bully toward (someone), or to cause (someone) to do something by making threats or insults or by using force. Violenceproventionworks.org mentions A person