College Writing Skills with Readings 8th Edition by John Langan

Exercise 5

Both of the essays that follow could be revised to improve their coherence. Answer the questions about coherence that come after each essay.
Noise Pollution
1 Natural sounds-waves, wind, birdsong-are so soothing that companies sell recordings of them to anxious people seeking a relaxing atmosphere at home or in the car. 2 One reason why "environmental sounds" are big business is that ordinary citizens, especially city dwellers, are bombarded by noise pollution. 3 On the way to work, on the job, and on the way home, the typical urban resident must cope with a continuing barrage of unpleasant sounds.
4 The noise level in an office can be unbearable. 5 From nine to five o'clock, phones and fax machines ring, computer keyboards chatter, intercoms buzz, and copy machines thump back and forth. 6 Every time the receptionists can't find people, they resort to a nerve-shattering public address system. 7 And because the managers worry about the employees' morale, they graciously provide the endless droning of canned music. 8 This effectively eliminates any possibility of a moment of blessed silence.
9 Traveling home from work provides no relief from the noisiness of the office. 10 The ordinary sounds of blaring taxi horns and rumbling buses are occasionally punctuated by the ear-piercing screech of car brakes. 11 Taking a shortcut through the park will bring the weary worker face to face with chanting religious cults, freelance musicians, screaming children, and barking dogs. 12 None of these sounds can compare with the large radios many park visitors carry. 13 Each radio blasts out something different, from heavy-metal rock to baseball, at decibel levels so strong that they make eardrums throb in pain. 14 If there are birds singing or wind in the trees, the harried commuter will never hear them.
15 Even a trip to work at 6 or 7 a.m. isn't quiet. 16 No matter which route a worker takes, there is bound to be a noisy construction site somewhere along the way. 17 Hard hats will shout from third-story windows to warn their coworkers below before heaving debris out and sending it crashing to earth. 18 Huge front-end loaders will crunch into these piles of rubble and back up, their warning signals letting out loud, jarring beeps. 19 Air hammers begin an earsplitting chorus of rat-a-tat-tat sounds guaranteed to shatter sanity as well as concrete. 20 Before reaching the office, the worker is already completely frazzled.
21 Noise pollution is as dangerous as any other kind of pollution. 22 The endless pressure of noise probably triggers countless nervous breakdowns, vicious arguments, and bouts of depression. 23 And imagine the world problems we could solve, if only the noise stopped long enough to let us think.
1. In "Noise Pollution," what is the number of the sentence to which the transition word Also could be added in paragraph 2 ________
2. In the last sentence of paragraph 2, to what does the pronoun This refer ________________________
3. What is the number of the sentence to which the transition word But could be added in paragraph 3 ________
4. What is the number of the sentence to which the transition word Then could be added in paragraph 4 ________
5. What is the number of the sentence to which the transition word Meanwhile could be added in paragraph 4 ________
6. What word is used as a synonym for debris in paragraph 4 ________
7. How many times is the key word sounds used in the essay ________
8. The time order of the three supporting paragraphs is confused. What is the number of the supporting paragraph that should come first ________ Second ________ Third ________
Weight Loss
1 The big fraternity party turned out to be the low point of my first year at college. 2 I was in heaven until I discovered that my date with handsome Greg, the fraternity vice president, was a hoax: he had used me to win the "ugliest date" contest. 3 I ran sobbing back to the dorm, wanting to resign from the human race. 4 Then I realized that it was time to stop kidding myself about my weight. 5 Within the next two years, I lost forty-two pounds and turned my life around. 6 Losing weight gave me self-confidence socially, emotionally, and professionally.
7 I am more outgoing socially. 8 Just being able to abandon dark colors, baggy sweaters, and tent dresses in favor of bright colors, T-shirts, and designer jeans made me feel better in social situations. 9 I am able to do more things. 10 I once turned down an invitation for a great camping trip with my best friend's family, making up excuses about sun poisoning and allergies. 11 Really, I was too embarrassed to tell them that I couldn't fit into the bathroom in their Winnebago! 12 I made up for it last summer when I was one of the organizers of a college backpacking trip through the Rockies.
13 Most important, losing weight helped me seek new professional goals.
14 When I was obese, I organized my whole life around my weight, as if it were a defect I could do nothing about. 15 With my good grades, I could have chosen almost any major the college offered, but I had limited my goal to teaching kindergarten because I felt that little children wouldn't judge how I looked. 16 Once I was no longer fat, I realized that I love working with all sorts of people. 17 I became a campus guide and even had small parts in college theater productions. 18 As a result, last year I changed my major to public relations. 19 The area fascinates me, and I now have good job prospects there.
20 I have also become more emotionally honest. 21 Rose, at the college counseling center, helped me see that my "fat and jolly" personality had been false. 22 I was afraid others would reject me if I didn't always go along with their suggestions. 23 I eventually put Rose's advice to the test. 24 My roommates were planning an evening at a Greek restaurant. 25 I loved the restaurant's atmosphere, but there wasn't much I liked on the menu. 26 Finally, in a shaky voice I said, "Actually, I'm not crazy about lamb. 27 How about Chinese food " 28 They scolded me for not mentioning it before, and we had dinner at a Chinese restaurant. 29 We all agreed it was one of our best evenings out.
30 Fortunately, the low point of my first year turned out to be the turning point, leading to what promises to be an exciting senior year. 31 Greg's cruel joke became a strange sort of favor, and I've gone from wanting to resign from the human race to welcoming each day as a source of fresh adventure and self-discovery.
1. In "Weight Loss," what is the number of the sentence to which the transition words For one thing could be added in paragraph 2 ________
2. What is the number of the sentence to which the transition word Also could be added in paragraph 2 ________
3. What is the number of the sentence to which the transition word But could be added in paragraph 2 ________
4. In sentence 11, to what does the pronoun them refer ________________________
5. What is the number of the sentence to which the transition word However could be added in paragraph 3 ________
6. What word is used as a synonym for obese in paragraph 3 ________
7. How many times is the keyword weight used in the essay ________
8. What is the number of the supporting paragraph that should be placed in the emphatic final position ________