1. Paraphrasing Exercises
Show how much you
understand the given
sentence or short paragraph.
2. Compare the sentences
"The individual who lacks affection,
recognition or the fulfillment of other
emotional needs may turn to food."
A person who is unloved or unrecognized may
eat for emotional fulfillment.
"Education in the United States is financed
by taxing everyone, even those people
without children or those whose children
attend private school."
Even childless people or those with children in
private schools contribute to education through
taxes in the United States.
3. "Computer systems contain internal memory units for
storage of instructions and data; in addition, they
may include external systems to increase the
memory and provide flexibility.“
Instructions and data are kept in the internal memory
units of computer systems. External memory units may
be added for extra storage and flexibility.
We might well find that we need more than three
weeks in which to complete a report of this kind.
It's quite likely that three weeks won't be sufficient for us
to finalize such a report.
4. Paraphrase the following. The
answers are suggested only.
Frankly, in my opinion the girl's musical
abilities are no more than average for her
age.
Suggested paraphrase:
To be honest, I don't think the girl's
musical talents are anything out of the
ordinary considering her age.
5. For many years now transport planners in the
UK have been demanding that motorists pay
directly for the use of roads.
Transport planners in the UK have, for a long
time now, been insisting that those who use the
roads must pay for them directly.
The dramatic fall in share prices took even the
experts by surprise.
Even those in the know were unprepared for
the rapid drop in share prices.
6. The new range of products launched last
Autumn is already selling well.
The goods put onto the market for the first time
last Autumn have already found plenty of
buyers.
What worries me is that they have so far failed
to improve the quality of the work.
The fact that they still haven't managed to
upgrade the quality of the work troubles me.
7. Roof insulation will pay for itself within two years in
lower heating costs, or so they claim.
They claim that roof insulation would reduce
heating costs; therefore, in two years you could
recover the amount invested.
Those opposed to gambling continue to argue the
case against it on social and moral grounds.
Those who are against gambling continue to state
the moral and social reasons for the stand they
take.
8. Worries that the strong yen will hurt
exports and strangle Japan's economic
recovery, have pushed share prices
sharply down.
Share prices have dropped noticeably in
Japan for it is feared that the strong yen
will adversely affect exports and make
the nation's economic recovery
impossible.
9. Although Windows 2000 has a number of
features that distinguish it from NT4, and make
it more flexible, more secure and easier to
maintain, the main aim has been something
altogether different.
Windows 2000 is certainly different in several
aspects from NT4 with the result that it is less
rigid, safer and upkeep is less complex; but
these changes do not by any means constitute
the main goal.
10. Try this paragraph!
Lead has been known to be a poison for many centuries.
In fact, there is evidence that it contributed to the fall of
the Roman Empire. There is no doubt that in the second
century BC Rome's wealthy ruling class suffered from a
disproportionately high level of stillbirths, sterility and
brain damage. And a high lead content has been found
in the bones of such ancient Romans. One widely-
supported hypothesis is that the cause of both facts was
lead poisoning from leaden wine-cups and plates which
only the rich could afford (Williams 1982, p. 83).
11. A suggested paraphrase…
According to Williams (1982) the ancient Roman elite
had a much higher incidence of mental retardation and
child mortality than the rest of the Roman population. They
also had trouble producing children. One explanation for
this was the fact that they ate and drank from utensils
made of lead. Only the wealthy Romans could afford such
utensils. Lead was found in the bones of these people after
skeletal remains were discovered in archaeological sites,
and later analysed in laboratories. One can even speculate
that lead might have been a factor in the decline in the
Roman civilisation. Of course, lead has been regarded as a
toxic substance for many years but the Roman elite would
not have known this.
