Exercise for writing (Paragraph)
Topic sentence:
Exercise 1-1 Directions： Read the following paragraphs and find out the topic sentence， the supporting details and the concluding sentence， if there is one．
（1）
The need for wildlife protection is greater now than ever before．About a thousand species of animals are in danger of extinction,，and the rate at which they are being destroyed has increased． With mammals， for instance， the rate of extinction is now about one species every year； from A． D． 1 to 1800， the rate was about one species every fifty years． Everywhere， men are trying o solve the problem of preserving wildlife while caring at the same time for the world’s growing population．
（2）
The Americans and the British not only speak the same language but also share a large number of social customs．For example， in both America and England， people shake hands when they meet each other for the first time． Also， most English men will open a door for a woman or offer their seat to a woman， and so will most Americans． Promptness is important both in England and in America． That is， if a dinner invitation is for 7 o’clock， the dinner guest either arrives close to that time or calls up to explain his delay． Exercise 3-1
Directions： Identify the areas which limit the topic sentences．
3．1．1 Soccer has become increasingly popular in the U． S． in the last ten years．
Topic：_____________
Limitations：________________________________________________
3．1．2 Pollution has caused three major problems in the last decades．
Topic：______________
Limitations：________________________________________________
3．1．3There are two kinds of memory： short-term and long-term．
Topic：____________
Limitations：________________________________________________
3．1．4 Women are playing an increasingly important part in society today．
Topic：____________
Limitations：________________________________________________
3．1．5 Women are paid less for equal work than men in some companies．
Topic：____________
Limitations：________________________________________________
Exercise 3-2
Directions： Write two topic sentences for each of the topics，limiting the topic in different ways．
3． 2． 1 Topic： the study of English
Topic Sentence 1：__________________________________________
Topic Sentence 2：___________________________________________
3．2．2 Topic： college students today
Topic Sentence 1：__________________________________________
Topic Sentence 2：__________________________________________
3．2．3 Topic： women in China
Topic Sentence 1：__________________________________________
Topic Sentence 2：__________________________________________
3．2．4 Topic：crime
Topic Sentence 1：__________________________________________
Topic Sentence 2：__________________________________________
Exercise 3-3
Directions： Read the following paragraphs and supply the missing topic sentence．
（1）______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Iceland’s flag， for instance， stands for features of the land．Red for the fire of Iceland’s volcanoes． White is for ice． Blue is for the mountains． On India’s flag， the blue wheel stands for peace and progress． The white stripe behind it is for truth． The black stripe on the flag of Malawi stands for the Negro people of that African land． The red stripe represents the blood they shed to free themselves from foreign rule．
（2）
______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The one most people are familiar with is the“desk dictionary”，sometimes refered to as general-purpose dictionary． Another kind is the pronouncing dictionary， which is concerned with a word's pronunciation more than with its meaning． A third type is the bilingual dictionary， which lists the words in one language and attempts to give equivalent meaning in another language． Other types include technical dictionaries， special purpose dictionaries，and scholarly dictionaries． Exercise4-1 Directions： Read the following paragraphs and find out what details the authors use to support their topic sentences．
（1）
Warm water freezes more quickly than cold． Sir Francis Bacon stated that almost four hundred years ago． But few people believed him—till 1970． In that year， Canadian scientist George Kell proved the English scholar right． Dr． Kell filled an open pail with cold water． He filled another with warm water． He exposed both to the same low temperature． The warm water froze first．
Topic Sentence：____________________________________________
Details：1．________________________________________________
2．________________________________________________
（2）
There is a relationship between your blood type and your nationality． Among Europeans and people of European ancestry，about 42 percent have type A while 45 percent have type O．The rarest is type B． Other races have different percentages．For example， some American Indian groups have nearly 100 percent type O．
Topic Sentence：____________________________________________
Details：1．________________________________________________
2．________________________________________________ （3） Although thousands of people have been killed by sudden eruptions， volcanoes also benefit man， Tin， tungsten， gold and other metals have been brought closer to the earth’s surface．Chemicals in the ash have enriched farmland． When solid， lava is agood building material． And in Italy， steam from active volcanoes supplies heat and power to surrounding areas． Topic Sentence：____________________________________________ Details：1．_______________________________________________ 2．_______________________________________________ 3．_______________________________________________ 4．_______________________________________________ （4） The Women’s Movement has had several effects on the English language． It has created Ms， a title for women comparable to the title Mr． for men． The creator of the new title objected to the title Miss and Mrs． once given to women because these titles violated a woman's privacy by indicating her marital status． The use of Ms．now permits women to enjoy the same privacy that men have enjoyed with the use of Mr． Second， the Movement has changed the ending of many compound words from-man to-person．For instance， the word “chairman” has been replaced in many organization with the word “chairperson”， and the word“salesman”has become salesperson． Feminists insist that the substitution of-person for-man makes the position more suitable for members of either sex． Third， the Movement is responsible for new terms．One example is male chauvinist pig， a term applied to a man who refuses to recognize the equality of women． Another example is female chauvinist sow， a phrase used to describe a female who believes that she is superior to males． The most profound effect the Movement has had on the language is on the third person singular pronoun．Thirty years ago most English instructors forced their students to se he， him， and his for the third person singular when the sex of the person was not known． Thus， students were taught to say，“Everyone has his books”．Today many English teachers permit students to follow the feminist lead and use the masculine and feminine pronouns together． Therefore， constructions such as his or her books are common． Although the Women's Movement may not have yet achieved all of its goals， it has made a mark on the English language． Topic Sentence：___________________________________________ Details：1．______________________________________________ 2．______________________________________________ 3．______________________________________________ 4．______________________________________________ Exercise 5-2 Directions： Read the following paragraphs and underline the topic sentence of each． Then write your own concluding sentence to complete each paragraph． （1） Pollution has caused three major problems in the last decades．First， with the development of industry， more and more factories have been built and have sent out smoke and poisonous gases．Thus the air is polluted． The increasing number of cars adds to the air pollution． Second， farmers use chemical fertilizers to increase production and insecticide to kill insects． When rain flows with these poisonous chemicals to rivers， water is polluted． A third form of pollution， noise， is becoming more and more serious． Very loud noises can make people sick， and even drive them mad．
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
（2）
There are three important findings from studies concerned with notetaking． First，notetaking does not interfere with listening and comprehension； in fact， it helps you listen． Second， students who study their lecture notes remember one and a half times more after six weeks than students who do not review． Third， students who take no notes， or do not study their notes， forget approximately 80percent of the lecture by the end of two weeks．From these findings we can conclude that students who take enough notes and then study them， both directly after the lecture and several additional times before an examination， stand a good chance of remembering between90 and 100％ of the material！
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Exercise 6-1 Directions： In the following sentence grouping， circle the letter in front of any detail that does not support the topic sentence． Topic Sentence：My main satisfaction in life comes from the people who are part of my life． Supporting Details： a． For me a day is good or bad depending on whether or not I have gotten along well with my associates． b． I am not at all affected by the weather the way some people are． c． For instance， my father judges his day by whether or not the sky is blue． d． On a rainy day he is always in a bad mood． e． What counts for me is to feel human warmth and friendship． f． My favourite entertainment is to be with one or two intimate friends， sitting in front of a fireplace and sharing intimate recollections． Exercise 6-2 Directions： Read the following paragraph and identify the irrelevant sentences． ① Different people spend their weekends in different ways．②Some enjoy going to the mountains to hike， ski or just relax．③Water skiing is much more difficult than snow skiing．④Others prefer going to the beach to enjoy the seashore activities and to get a suntan．⑤ Some of these people work very hard during the week；others have rather relaxing jobs．⑥ Still others like to relax by staying home and reading a good book． Topic Sentence：________ Irrelevant Sentences：________________ Exercise 6-3 Directions： List at least five details that might used to develop thegiven topic sentence． Topic sentence： Day dreaming has always been my favourite． Details：1．_______________________________________________ 2．_______________________________________________