PART THREE
SAMPLE EXERCISE

The following exercise is a sample one. Its purpose is to show how the information you have studied in Parts One and Two is put to use in reading.

A second purpose of the sample exercise is to preview the 30 exercises which appear in Part Four. Reading the sample passage and answering the sample questions will help you get off to a good start.

The answers to all the questions are fully explained. Reasons are given showing why the correct answers are the best answers and where the wrong answers are faulty.

Complete the sample exercise carefully and thoughtfully. Do not go on to Part Four until you are certain you understand tone and atmosphere and how to identify them correctly.

Sample Exercise

It will probably come as a mild shock to no one that there are four hundred different kinds of mushrooms. What are mushrooms? Nothing more or less than toadstools, but why they call them toadstools is beyond me. I have yet to see a toad sitting on a stool. It seems a strange name to give an innocent mushroom, doesn't it? It was probably made up by someone who hated mushrooms and thought he could get even. But why should anyone hate mushrooms? The little fellow goes about his business quietly. Once in a while he kills a family of twenty or thirty people, but then, what right has anyone to have a family numbering twenty or thirty people?

1. The tone of the paragraph is

  1. sad.
  2. formal.
  3. serious.
  4. humorous.

2. How does the author feel about mushrooms?

  1. He has a deep hatred for them.
  2. He is angry with families for eating them.
  3. He believes they are potentially dangerous and should not be sold.
  4. He is amused by them.

3. The author expects that the reader will be

  1. mildly entertained.
  2. deeply insulted.
  3. scientifically instructed.
  4. thoroughly confused.

4. Underline the sentence which proves that exaggeration may be used to create tone.

Answers and Explanations

1. The best answer to the first question is d, the tone of the paragraph is humorous. All the sentences except the first four support this answer. The author makes the mushroom seem like a person with expressions like "innocent mushroom", "the little fellow", and "goes about his business quietly". He also uses exaggeration in describing a family as twenty or thirty people.

Answers a, b, and c are wrong for these reasons:

Answer a: Although the author does mention death, he does not create a sad tone.

Answer b: The paragraph is not written in a formal tone; rather it is written in an informal tone. The author asks many questions which is a clear indication of an informal, conversational tone.

Answer c: Only the first three sentences are serious.

2. The best answer to question 2 is d, the author's attitude toward his subject is one of amusement. He handles his subject in a light-hearted manner.

Answers a, b, and c are wrong for these reasons:

Answers a, b, and c: No single word, expression, or sentence suggests hatred, anger, or danger, not even when death is mentioned.

3. The best answer to question 3 is a, the author expects that the reader will be entertained. Humorous writing is meant to be entertaining.

Answers b, c, and d are wrong for these reasons:

Answer b: A paragraph about mushrooms could hardly insult anyone, particularly if it were presented humorously as this one is.

Answer c: The paragraph presents only one fact; there are four hundred different kinds of mushrooms. One fact cannot inform the reader on a particular topic.

Answer d: No writer deliberately tries to confuse the reader; the author of this paragraph has made special efforts to show clearly that not all mushrooms are good to eat.

4. The best answer to the fourth question is the last sentence: "Once in a while he kills a family of twenty or thirty people, but then, what right has anyone to have a family numbering twenty or thirty people?" Very few families are so large; the reader must understand that this statement is an obvious exaggeration.

If you had difficulty answering these questions correctly, review the paragraph and questions. If, after that, you still do not understand the answers and explanations, check with your instructor before going on.