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Chapter 4 - Exercise 4
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Paragraphs for Analysis






1One especially interesting fact about carnivores is the way modes of dominance vary from one species to another. (2) For instance, packs of wild dogs and wolves, in which both males and females join in the hunt, have only a weak hierarchy, functioning only within each of the sexes (though the pack is usually led by an alpha male). (3) Aggressive encounters in which individual members assert their status, or even attempt to climb the social ladder, are not a prominent part of their social behavior. (4) By contrast, a pride of lions is often a tense social unit, in which the dominant male repels other males who have the effrontery to intrude, and also insists on first place in the meal queue even though the kill will more often have been made by the lionesses. (5) Females have their turn among spotted hyenas, where they are dominant over the males.
--Richard E. Leakey and Roger Lewis, Origins

Which sentence best expresses the main idea?
A)1
B)2
C)3
D)4
E)5






2In the sentence you chose for question 1 above, write the words that express the subject.
Then write the words that express the controlling idea.



3A good title for this paragraph would be
A)"Modes of Dominance among Carnivores."
B)"Hyenas, Wild Dogs, and Lions."
C)"Aggression in the Animal World."
D)"Weak and Strong Hierarchies."



4The mode of discourse is
A)narration.
B)description.
C)exposition.
D)persuasion.



5The author's specific purpose is to
A)prove that not all animals are aggressive.
B)describe some common types of aggression in animals.
C)contrast types of dominance in various species of animals.
D)argue that the desire to establish dominance is innate in all animal species.



6What method of development is evident in sentences 2 - 5?
A)definition.
B)analogy.
C)cause and effect.
D)example.
E)process.



7What transitional device helped you arrive at this answer?
in sentence .






8In sentence 5, what do the authors mean when they write, "Females have their turn among spotted hyenas"?



9Girls' sexual conduct, unlike that of boys, is governed less by hormones than by social controls. (2) But in a cultural climate of sexual freedom, girls have lost much of their authority in boy-girl relationships. (3) Until quite recently girls organized, managed, and regulated the social pursuits of their peer groups, with the strong support of adults. (4) In romantic relationships girls exercised their power by withholding sex, keeping boys in the role of craven sexual petitioners. (5) At the same time, they moved their boyfriends in the direction of commitment and monogamy. (6) "Going steady," the ultimate romantic achievement for teenage girls, offered a pseudomarriage that might include parceling out some of the sexual favors of marriage. (7) Of course, this system was seriously flawed. (8) In the intimacy of a steady relationship, girls could lose control, "give in," and go all the way. (9) Then they had to deal with the dire consequences of their sexual transgression-a guilty conscience, a ruined reputation, and sometimes an unwanted pregnancy.
--Barbara Dafoe Whitehead, "The Failure of Sex Education," The Atlantic Monthly

Which two modes of discourse predominate in the passage?
A)narration
B)description
C)exposition
D)persuasion



10Which methods of development are represented in the passage?
A)cause-effect
B)contrast
C)analogy
D)classification



11A good title for this paragraph would be
A)"The Sexual Revolution."
B)"Changes in the Sexual Conduct of Girls."
C)"Sex in America."
D)"Consequences of Sexual Transgressions."



12The author's purpose, specifically, is to
A)explain some positive effects of the availability of birth control pills and the sexual revolution.
B)explain some negative effects of the availability of birth control pills and the sexual revolution.
C)trace the history of the sexual revolution.
D)criticize parents, teachers, and college health services for being too tolerant of premarital sexual relationships.



13Label sentences 2 - 6 according to whether they represent major support (MA) or minor support (MI).
sentence 2
sentence 3
sentence 4
sentence 5
sentence 6






14In terms of the main idea of the passage, in your own words, explain why the author includes sentences 7 - 9.



15Identify the primary loss girls today suffer from today's sexual freedom.







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