1. Read the text below and then evaluate the three paraphrases (1=best), giving reasons.

THE CAUSES OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION

Allen (2009) argues that the best explanation for the British location of the industrial revolution is
found by studying demand factors. By the early eighteenth century high wages and cheap
energy were both features of the British economy. Consequently, the mechanisation of industry
through such inventions as the steam engine and mechanical spinning was profitable because
employers were able to economise on labour by spending on coal. At that time, no other country
had this particular combination of expensive labour and abundant fuel.

(a) A focus on demand may help to explain the UK origin of the industrial revolution. At that time
workers’ pay was high, but energy from coal was inexpensive. This encouraged the
development of mechanical inventions based on steam power, which enabled bosses to save
money by mechanising production (Allen, 2009).

(b) The reason why Britain was the birthplace of the industrial revolution can be understood by
analysing demand in the early 1700s, according to Allen (2009). He maintains that, uniquely,
Britain had the critical combination of cheap energy from coal and high labour costs. This
encouraged the adoption of steam power to mechanise production, thus saving on wages and
increasing profitability.

(c) Allen (2009) claims that the clearest explanation for the UK location of the industrial
revolution is seen by examining demand factors. By the eighteenth century cheap energy and
high wages were both aspects of the British economy. As a result, the mechanisation of industry
through inventions such as the steam engine and mechanical spinning was profitable because
employers were able to save money on employees by spending on coal. At that time, Britain
was the only country with significant deposits of coal.

2. Read the following text and then practise the paraphrasing techniques.

FOUR WHEELS GOOD

1) The growth of the car industry parallels the development of modern capitalism. It began in
France and Germany, but took off in the United States.

2) There Henry Ford adapted the moving production line from the Chicago meat industry to
motor manufacturing, thus inventing mass production.

3) In the 1920s Alfred Sloan’s management theories helped General Motors to become the
world’s dominant car company.

4) After the second world war the car makers focused on the styling of their products to
encourage more frequent model changes.

5) From the 1970s there was criticism of the industry due to the inefficiency of most vehicles,
which used petrol wastefully.
6) At the same time, trades unions became increasingly militant in defence of their members’
jobs. Today the industry owns some of the most famous brands in the world.

7) However, many car makers are currently threatened by increased competition and saturated
markets.

1)__________________________________________________________________________
____

2)__________________________________________________________________________
____

3)__________________________________________________________________________
____

4)__________________________________________________________________________
____

5)__________________________________________________________________________
____

6)__________________________________________________________________________
____

7)__________________________________________________________________________
____

3. Find synonyms for the words underlined.

4. Change the word class of the underlined words, and then re-write the sentences.
5. Change the word order of the following sentences (other changes may be needed).

6. Use the same techniques to paraphrase the following text.

THE PAST BELOW THE WAVES

(1) More than three million shipwrecks are believed to lie on the seabed, the result of storms
and accidents during thousands of years of sea-borne trading. (2) These wrecks offer marine
archaeologists valuable information about the culture, technology and trade patterns of ancient
civilisations, but the vast majority have been too deep to research. (3) Scuba divers can only
operate down to 50 metres, which limits operations to wrecks near the coast, which have often
been damaged by storms or plant growth. (4)A few deep sea sites (such as the Titanic) have
been explored by manned submarines, but this kind of equipment has been too expensive for
less famous subjects. (5) However, this situation has been changed by the introduction of a
new kind of mini submarine: the automatic underwater vehicle (AUV). (6) This cheap, small craft
is free moving and does not need an expensive mother-ship to control it. (7) Now a team of
American archaeologists are planning to use an AUV to explore an area of sea north of Egypt
which was the approach to a major trading port 4,000 years ago.
1)__________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

2)__________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

3)__________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

4)____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

5)____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

6)____________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

7)__________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________

7. Write a paraphrase of each of the following passages. Try not to look back at the
original passage.

1. "The Antarctic is the vast source of cold on our planet, just as the sun is the source of our
heat, and it exerts tremendous control on our climate," [Jacques] Cousteau told the camera.
"The cold ocean water around Antarctica flows north to mix with warmer water from the tropics,
and its upwellings help to cool both the surface water and our atmosphere. Yet the fragility of
this regulating system is now threatened by human activity." From "Captain Cousteau,"
Audubon (May 1990):17.

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________

2. The twenties were the years when drinking was against the law, and the law was a bad joke
because everyone knew of a local bar where liquor could be had. They were the years when
organized crime ruled the cities, and the police seemed powerless to do anything against it.
Classical music was forgotten while jazz spread throughout the land, and men like Bix
Beiderbecke, Louis Armstrong, and Count Basie became the heroes of the young. The flapper
was born in the twenties, and with her bobbed hair and short skirts, she symbolized, perhaps
more than anyone or anything else, America's break with the past. From Kathleen Yancey,
English 102 Supplemental Guide (1989): 25.

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________

3. Of the more than 1000 bicycling deaths each year, three-fourths are caused by head injuries.
Half of those killed are school-age children. One study concluded that wearing a bike helmet
can reduce the risk of head injury by 85 percent. In an accident, a bike helmet absorbs the
shock and cushions the head. From "Bike Helmets: Unused Lifesavers," Consumer Reports
(May 1990): 348.

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________

4. Matisse is the best painter ever at putting the viewer at the scene. He's the most realistic of
all modern artists, if you admit the feel of the breeze as necessary to a landscape and the smell
of oranges as essential to a still life. "The Casbah Gate" depicts the well-known gateway Bab el
Aassa, which pierces the southern wall of the city near the sultan's palace. With scrubby coats
of ivory, aqua, blue, and rose delicately fenced by the liveliest gray outline in art history, Matisse
gets the essence of a Tangier afternoon, including the subtle presence of the bowaab, the
sentry who sits and surveys those who pass through the gate. From Peter Plagens, "Bright
Lights." Newsweek (26 March 1990): 50.

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________

5. While the Sears Tower is arguably the greatest achievement in skyscraper engineering so
far, it's unlikely that architects and engineers have abandoned the quest for the world's tallest
building. The question is: Just how high can a building go? Structural engineer William
LeMessurier has designed a skyscraper nearly one-half mile high, twice as tall as the Sears
Tower. And architect Robert Sobel claims that existing technology could produce a 500-story
building. From Ron Bachman, "Reaching for the Sky." Dial (May 1990): 15.

____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________

8.

9. Use paraphrasing to correct the mistakes the following text.

10. Paraphrase each sentence