Student Center | Instructor Center | Information Center | Home

	Guide to Electronic Research
	Guide to Avoiding Plagiarism
	Using the Internet
	Study Skills Primer
	Summarizing and Paraphrasing
	Career Considerations


	Understanding Word Parts
	Using the Dictionary
	Word Pronunciation
	Spelling Improvement
	Vocabulary Development
	Definitions and Examples
	Enumerations
	Signal Words
	Main Idea
	Summarizing
	Understand Graphs and Tables
	Skim Reading
	Rapid Reading Passage

	Feedback Help Center

Reading and Study Skills, 7/e

John Langan

More Mastery Tests

Summarizing

Part A: Choose the letter of the title and then of the sentence that best summarizes each of the following three selections. Remember that the title and sentence should be as specific and descriptive as possible and at the same time account for all the material in the selection.

Suppose a friend of yours has the habit of wearing absolutely atrocious clothes. You decide to go on a campaign to help reform his taste. How do you go about it? Your friend has just one outfit in which he looks great-but which he rarely wears. Every time he wears a shirt the same color as the one you like, you compliment him, and perhaps you also mention the shirt you're trying to "promote." After that shirt appears more frequently for a while, you "reinforce" only it-not the less attractive ones of the same color. At the same time, you try to suggest that your favorite shirt looks so good on him that he really should get more like it. And when he does, you compliment him on the new outfits. Gradually, you are "shaping his behavior," though you might not call it that.


1	Which would be an accurate title for this selection?

		A)	Helping a Friend
		B)	Shaping Behavior through Reinforcement
		C)	Differences in Taste

2	Which sentence best summarizes the selection?

		A)	If a friend wears atrocious clothing, you should try to improve his taste.
		B)	Through a careful program of compliments, you can shape someone's behavior.
		C)	When friends wear attractive clothing, you should compliment them.

Between 1862 and 1871, politics in New York City was controlled by a political machine called Tammany Hall, led by William Marcy Tweed. "Boss" Tweed and his henchmen bilked the city out of millions of dollars. They usually sold contracts for city work to corrupt companies. These companies would overcharge the city government for the job and "kick back" a fee to the political machine. Once, one of Tweed's friends billed the city for $179,729.60 for three tables and forty chairs. Of course, the Tweed Ring received a good share of that money. Gradually, the press began to take notice. Especially damaging to Tweed were the political cartoons by Thomas Nast. Nast drew cartoons showing Tweed and his men as vultures preying on the body of New York. Tweed's Ring eventually collapsed, and Tweed died in jail while awaiting trial.


3	Which would be an accurate title for this selection?

		A)	Political Corruption
		B)	Thomas Nast
		C)	Boss Tweed and Tammany Hall

4	Which sentence best summarizes the selection?

		A)	Tammany Hall, a corrupt nineteenth-century New York City political machine led by "Boss" Tweed, was defeated by the press.
		B)	Tammany Hall was led by "Boss" Tweed, who cheated New York City out of millions of dollars.
		C)	The cartoonist Thomas Nast depicted "Boss" Tweed and his men as vultures preying on the body of New York City.

The Leboyer method of childbirth seeks to protect a newborn's delicate senses from the shock of bright lights, harsh sounds, and rough handling. After the baby's head has begun to emerge, lights are dimmed and the delivery room is quieted. The baby is not held by the ankles and slapped to encourage the first breath; Leboyer states that since the fetus's spinal column has never been in a straight position, this kind of handling is a severe shock to the infant. Instead, the baby, with the umbilical cord still attached, is gently placed on the mother's abdomen until breathing begins naturally. At this point, the baby is rinsed in a tepid bath, rather than weighed on a cold scale. Babies born this way are usually relaxed and smiling, not tense and screaming. Some studies of Leboyer babies and standard-delivery babies have shown that Leboyer children are slightly more physically advanced and quicker to learn. Parents of Leboyer children, in general, saw the birth as a positive, exhilarating experience.


5	Which would be an accurate title for this selection?

		A)	Types of Delivery Rooms
		B)	A Baby's First Moments
		C)	The Leboyer Method

6	Which sentence best summarizes the selection?

		A)	The usual method of childbirth subjects newborns to bright lights, harsh sounds, and rough handling.
		B)	In the Leboyer method of childbirth, a newborn's first breath is never encouraged by the common process of holding the infant by the ankles and slapping it.
		C)	The Leboyer method of childbirth, designed to protect a newborn's delicate senses from the shock of standard deliveries, has positive effects.

Part B: Choose the letter of the title that best summarizes each of the following two selections. Then write a one-sentence summary of each. If there is a summary sentence in a paragraph, you may use it; one paragraph has such a sentence.

We are all familiar with a slogan spoken by a stern bear in a forest ranger's hat: "Only you can prevent forest fires!" For many years, an extensive advertising campaign has been conducted, using symbols like Smokey the Bear and Woodsy Owl, to warn the public about the dangers of forest fires. We are told that forest fires are ugly, destructive, and dangerous. However, despite the advertising campaigns, forest fires are actually beneficial to forest ecologies. First of all, they clear out underbrush and debris on the forest floor. The fire consumes this unnecessary material, and the larger, more resistant trees are spared. Without regular, small forest fires, the dry tinder of brush and fallen limbs on the forest floor builds to a high level. Then, if a fire starts, it will be intense enough to destroy every tree, large and small. Forest fires also eliminate undesirable species of trees that take root in the forest from wind-borne seeds. Some special forests are actually dependent on fire to exist. In New Jersey's Pine Barrens, seeds are liberated from tightly closed pine cones by the intense heat of a fire. The cones pop open as the fire passes, and a new generation of trees begins.


7	Which would be an accurate title for this selection?

		A)	Advertising Campaigns and Forest Fires
		B)	Dangers of Forest Fires
		C)	Benefits of Forest Fires

8	Summary sentence:

The large, gleaming refrigerator is the focal point of most American kitchens. It holds enough food to last many days, and even for months in the freezer. It is cold enough to preserve that food well. It can provide ice cubes, ice chips, and ice water. Its advantages are clear. But that big refrigerator has its drawbacks as well. First of all, a large refrigerator encourages the hoarding of food and leads to obesity and other eating problems. Also, it has destroyed the pleasant custom, still common in Europe, of going to market each day. Picking out one's fresh produce daily while chatting with friends and neighbors is no longer a part of our lives. In addition, people's desire to buy huge amounts of groceries just a few times a month has encouraged the growth of supermarkets and destroyed local grocery stores. Other victims of the giant refrigerator have been small local farmers, who can't compete against the mega-producers favored by the supermarkets.


9	Which would be an accurate title for this selection?

		A)	The Modern Refrigerator: Pluses and Minuses
		B)	The Advantages of the Modern Refrigerator
		C)	Victims of the Modern Refrigerator

10	Summary sentence:

2002 McGraw-Hill Higher Education
Any use is subject to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
McGraw-Hill Higher Education is one of the many fine businesses of The McGraw-Hill Companies.