for CHAPTER 18: WRITING EFFECTIVE page 419 Combining Sentences by Inserting Words EXERCISE A Each of the following items contains two sentences. Combine the two sentences by taking the underlined word from the second sentence and inserting it into the first sentence. The directions in parentheses will tell you how to change the form of the word if needed. Write the revised sentence on the line provided. You may need to add commas. Example 1. A kangaroo is an animal that hops. A kangaroo is fascinating. A kangaroo is a fascinating animal that hops. 1. A horse is born ready to stand on its own legs. It has four legs. 2. Marsupials, however, give birth to undeveloped offspring. The offspring are extremely undeveloped. 3. The young kangaroo must climb into its mother s pouch. The pouch is warm. 4. The baby kangaroo grows in the pouch. The kangaroo grows slowly. 5. The kangaroo will have large hind legs as an adult. Its legs will have a lot of power. (Add ful.) 6. Kangaroos use their hind legs to hop at speeds up to thirty miles per hour. They use the strength of their hind legs. (Change strength to strong.) 7. Kangaroos use their tails for support and balance. Kangaroos have long tails. 8. Kangaroos ears can twist forward and backward. They use their ears constantly. (Add ful.) 9. Kangaroos are preyed upon by dogs called dingoes. These dogs live in Australia. (Change Australia to Australian.) 10. Laws protect kangaroos from human hunters. These laws are strict. Language and Sentence Skills Practice 407
for CHAPTER 18: WRITING EFFECTIVE page 419 Combining Sentences by Inserting Words (continued) EXERCISE B Each of the following items contains two sentences. Combine the two sentences by taking the underlined word from the second sentence and inserting it into the first sentence. The directions in parentheses will tell you how to change the form of the word if needed. Example 1. My sister is learning about sleep in her course. The course is in biology. My sister is learning about sleep in her biology course. 11. Sleep is a state of rest shared by human beings and animals. Sleep is natural. 12. Scientists study people s habits. Scientists study how people sleep. (Add ing.) 13. A sensitive machine can show how the brain functions during sleep. The machine s sensitivity is high. (Add ly.) 14. When people are awake, their brains give off about ten electrical waves per second. The waves are small. 15. Brain waves continue during sleep. The brain waves vary. (Add ing.) 16. People need both slow and fast brain waves for sleep. This type of sleep is restful. 17. People have eye movements when they experience fast-moving brain waves. The eye movements are rapid. 18. Dreams often occur during REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. These dreams may be vivid. 19. People sometimes question what their dreams mean. Their dreams puzzle them. (Add ing.) 20. People who are prevented from entering deep sleep can become irritable. It is an eventual result of missing deep sleep. (Add ly.) 408 HOLT HANDBOOK First Course
for CHAPTER 18: WRITING EFFECTIVE page 424 Forming Compound Sentences EXERCISE A Each of the following pairs of sentences is closely related. Use a coordinating conjunction and proofreading symbols to make each pair a compound sentence., but Example 1. The Sahara is a desert that is almost as big as the United States. It has only two million inhabitants. 1. This desert has one of the world s harshest climates. Large portions of it are completely uninhabited. 2. The word Sahara comes from the Arabic word for desert. Different parts of this desert have other names. 3. The Sahara contains valuable minerals such as copper, iron, tin, and gold. Many of these have not yet been mined. 4. The Saharan climate is hot and dry. The air turns cool at night. 5. Much of the desert consists of vast seas of sand called ergs. The shifting sand in these ergs can form dunes as high as six hundred feet. 6. The landscape of the Sahara does not change for mile after mile. This barrenness is probably why it is nicknamed ocean of the sands. 7. People believe that a continuous sandy landscape is typical of the Sahara. Such terrain accounts for only one eighth of the desert s area. 8. The Painted Desert in Arizona differs in character from the Sahara. Its name indicates its more colorful terrain. 9. Its brightly colored rocks impressed a U.S. government explorer. He chose the name painted to describe the place. 10. Navajo and Hopi reservations are part of the Painted Desert. The Navajo use the colorful sands to make ceremonial paintings. Language and Sentence Skills Practice 413
for CHAPTER 18: WRITING EFFECTIVE pages 428=29 Revising Stringy Sentences EXERCISE A Some of the following sentences are stringy and need to be improved. Use proofreading symbols to revise any stringy sentences. If the sentence is effective and does not need to be improved, write C on the line provided. When Example 1. Flashes of lightning streak across the sky, and they light up the night, and many people are fascinated. 1. Lightning is one of the most beautiful and spectacular events in nature. 2. Lightning may be beautiful, but it can also be deadly, and lightning kills about one hundred Americans every year. 3. Benjamin Franklin used a kite to help prove that lightning was made of electricity, but his experiment was very dangerous, and Franklin was lucky that he was not killed. 4. The safest place to be during an electrical storm is inside a building, or you can also take shelter inside a car, but be careful not to touch any of the metal parts. 5. Lightning can travel through telephone lines, and lightning can strike people through the phone, and because of this you should not use a telephone during a thunderstorm. 6. Lightning often strikes water, and it is dangerous to be in a pool during a thunderstorm, and that is why lifeguards clear the pool when they see lightning. 7. Since lightning usually strikes the tallest object in an area, it is dangerous to stand in an open field, on top of a hill, or on a beach during a thunderstorm. 8. Standing under a tall tree during a thunderstorm is not a good idea, and lightning can strike the tree, and then it can jump from the tree to nearby objects. 9. Lightning rods, tall metal poles, are placed atop buildings to protect them from lightning. 10. Lightning rods attract lightning, and lightning rods bring it away from buildings, and they direct it safely to the ground through cables or wires. Language and Sentence Skills Practice 421
for CHAPTER 18: WRITING EFFECTIVE page 430 Revising Wordy Sentences EXERCISE A Some of the following sentences are wordy and need improvement. Decide which sentences are wordy and revise them using proofreading symbols. You can (1) replace a phrase with one word, (2) take out who is or which is, or (3) take out a whole group of unnecessary words. If a sentence is effective as it is, write C on the line provided. Example 1. Place a new toy in front of a baby and see what happens, watching what the baby it does with the new toy. 1. Being very curious, the baby will use all five of its senses to explore the new toy. 2. Our ancestors probably explored the world in much the same way, which is to say, using their senses to gain knowledge about their environment. 3. However, as far as learning about the moon was concerned, the moon was too far away for people to explore with any sense except sight. 4. Because of the fact that the moon changed, it was a natural subject for stories. 5. The Greeks and Romans thought that the moon was a goddess with three faces. 6. Early scientists offered a variety of explanations about life on the moon, and in fact, one scientist wrote that he believed the craters were built by moon creatures. 7. In 1609, Galileo, who was an Italian astronomer, became the first person to study the moon with a telescope. 8. Some people who were writers imagined traveling to the moon by using antigravity devices or huge cannons to propel them. 9. The first moon landing, which took place in 1969, provided scientists with new information about the moon. 10. The astronauts brought back samples of rocks from the moon, proving completely and beyond a shadow of a doubt that the moon is not made of cheese. Language and Sentence Skills Practice 423