Book 6 Unit 3

dismissed, he pissed on the floor of his cell. From fright. Kindly take one of my cigarettes, sir. Do you not admire my new silver case, sir? Classy European style.\17 Several people laughed — at what, nobody seemed certain.

18 Francis was walking by the superintendent, talking garrulously: \with the utmost satisfactoriness. It was all finished — flick! like that. It is not always so — oah no! I have known cases where the doctor was obliged to go beneath the gallows and pull the prisoner's legs to ensure decease. Most disagreeable.\

19 \

20 \cage when we went to take him out. You will scarcely credit, sir, that it took six warders to dislodge him, three pulling at each leg.\

21 I found that I was laughing quite loudly. Everyone was laughing. Even the superintendent grinned in a tolerant way. \a bottle of whiskey in the car. We could do with it.\

22 We went through the big double gates of the prison into the road. \at his legs!\exclaimed a Burmese magistrate suddenly, and burst into a loud chuckling. We all began laughing again. At that moment Francis' anecdote seemed extraordinarily funny. We all had a drink together,

native and European alike, quite amicably. The dead man was a hundred yards away.

Words and Phrases

1. Hindu: a person who believes in and practices Hinduism, a religious tradition of Indian origin

2. the drop: the trapdoor on the gallows, the opening of which causes the prisoner to fall and

thus be hanged

Notes

1. a sodden morning of the rains: an extremely wet morning in the rainy season. In some parts

of the world rain only falls in certain seasons, as in India; this rain is referred to as rains.

2. condemned cells: a prison cell for someone who is going to be executed (British)

3. quick march: This is a military command to tell the soldiers to walk or march fast in an

orderly, neat and regular manner.

4. at the slope: Military (of a rifle) held with the barrel on the left shoulder and the butt in the

left hand

5. his feet printed themselves on the wet gravel: he left footprints behind on the wet gravel

6. all toiling away in solemn foolery: all these organs were functioning normally as usual but in

a silly way, for all their efforts would go to waste as their owner was to be hanged soon

Comprehension

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Book 6 Unit 3

I. Answer the following multiple-choice questions.

1. When he was taken out of the condemned cell, the prisoner appeared to be _________.

A. fearful B. resigned C. calm D. pitiable

2. When marching the prisoner to the gallows, the author was preoccupied with ________.

A. the man's manner of walking

B. the man's thoughts at that moment C. the impending execution D. the worth of human lives

3. After the man was hanged, all those present felt _____.

A. relieved B. sorrowful C. satisfied D. excited

4. We can infer from the passage that with regards to capital punishment ________.

A. Orwell adopted an indifferent attitude B. Orwell took the middle ground C. Orwell was supportive of it D. Orwell was opposed to it

Key: 1. B 2. D 3. A 4. D

II. Discuss the following questions.

1. How was the manner of the warders contrasted with that of the condemned prisoner before

the execution?

2. Why does Orwell describe vividly the prisoner's physique in para. 7, noting even the minute

fact that \3. How did the atmosphere change after the hanging?

4. In which paragraphs is Orwell's attitude towards capital punishment suggested?

5. What is your view on capital punishment? Do you think it should be upheld or abolished?

Key:

1. The warders appeared to be quite tense, gripping the prison by the arm and the shoulder to

make sure that he was right there; in contrast, the prisoner seemed calm and relaxed, unresisting with his arms limply in the ropes, and later walked quite steadily towards the gallows.

2. Orwell intends to imply that the prisoner, whose life would soon be terminated, was alive like

anyone else, and that he could reason as well as anyone else.

3. After the hanging everything seemed to return to normal: breakfast for the prisoners was

served, the warders cracked jokes to each other in a jolly manner, as if nothing special like cutting an energetic life short had happened. 4. In paragraphs 7 and 8. 5. Open to discussion.

IV. Paragraph Writing

Writing Technique

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Book 6 Unit 3

Body Paragraphs

Purpose of Body Paragraphs

The ideas, facts, details, and examples enclosed in the body paragraphs are designed to support and develop the central point stated in the opening. The body paragraphs in an essay may vary in number depending on the subject matter and the purpose for writing. While the body paragraphs relate directly to the thesis statement in the opening, each paragraph has its own main idea to highlight and information to support that main idea.

Strategies of Writing Body Paragraphs

Essays employ a number of rhetorical strategies, each of which describes a particular form of development or arrangement of ideas. Only rarely is any one of these strategies employed alone. Instead, they are almost always used in a combination suited to the subject matter — often along with one or another of the primary modes of discourse as well.

Remember, the aim of an essay is invariably a clear presentation or explanation of ideas. You may base your choice of a strategy or strategies upon several factors: your writing purpose, the central point of your essay, your intended audience, and your viewpoint as a writer.

Example

An essay of multiple paragraphs makes it possible for you to decide flexibly how to apply and blend strategies when you write an essay. For example, suppose you wanted to compare life in a large city with that in a small town. In only a single paragraph, you would have to focus on a few major similarities and differences and cover these briefly.

However, in an essay, you might even devote an entire body paragraph to similarities and another, differences. You might even devote a third to another strategy — drawing an analogy, for instance, or relating an anecdote.

Guidelines for Choosing Body Paragraph Strategies

When you write an essay, you can combine strategies to suit your purpose, content and audience. Use the following guidelines to choose a strategy or combination of strategies w

? Consider your writing purpose.

Certain strategies are especially appropriate for accomplishing particular purposes. For example, for informative or persuasive essays, facts and examples can support your ideas and a compare/contrast or cause/effect strategy can help explain them. For a descriptive essay, you will want to use description, perhaps in combination with

? Consider the complexity of your ideas and information and the knowledge level of

your audience.

Examples and definitions help to clarify difficult content. Classification, too, can make complicated content easier to follow. An analogy can be helpful as long as the analogy is

? Stay focused on your central point.

Strategies should help to convey the central point of an essay without distracting readers. For example, narration can effectively reveal aspects of someone's personality, if you

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Book 6 Unit 3

choose a relevant story or anecdote. However, if the central point of your essay is how kindhearted your cousin is, then, stories or anecdotes should reflect this trait. An anecdote that deals with, say, your cousin's love of music will blur the focus of your

? Put yourself in the reader's place.

If you are not sure whether the strategy or strategies you have chosen are the %use, try to view your content as a reader rather than as a writer. Suppose, for example, you are planning an essay to persuade readers that college courses should be graded on a pass/fail basis. What approach would be most likely to convince a reader? Facts and examples? An analogy? Some other strategy? Viewing matters from the reader's vantage point may help you choose your approach. ? Be flexible.

Make your writing richer and more expressive by experimenting with different strategies and different combinations of strategies. For example, in an informative essay about how exercise improves muscle tone even in elderly people, you might use narration to tell about a specific elderly person's improved strength after beginning an exercise program.

Coherence in Body Paragraphs

Coherence in an essay can be created by carefully organizing main ideas and supporting information in the body paragraphs. Methods of organization include chronological order, spatial order, and order of importance or interest. You can also create coherence in an essay by using transitions to join ideas and information to create a smooth flow.

Exercise

Read the essay and write out: the thesis statement in the opening as well as the main idea and supporting information in each of the body paragraphs:

Learning on the Job

When I went to work part-time for Carlton's Construction Concepts, I expected to learn about home renovation, but the job also taught me a great deal about myself. Carlton's is a six-person construction company that specialized in renovating older houses. During a particularly busy time, Carlton's was looking for an extra pair of hands. This job offered more money than anything else available to me at the time. Even though I had limited experience, I had no trouble getting the job. William Carlton, the company's owner, is my uncle.

At first, I thought my education would be limited to carpentry and related matters. Indeed, my co-workers taught me how to put in insulation, how to attach sheetrock, how to install windows and doors, and how to use tools that I'd never known existed. I also furthered my education by watching electricians run wires, plumbers join pipes, and masons build brick steps.

Several months of construction work caused me to realize something unexpected about myself: I liked doing hands-on physical labor. Before coming to Carlton's, I'd always assumed that my ultimate employment destination would be a chair behind a desk, not a ladder against a beam. Who'd have thought that pounding nails and sawing wood would have made me this happy?

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Book 6 Unit 3

I learned something else about myself too, something probably even more important. I loved being part of a \Before working with Carlton's crew, every job I'd ever held required essentially an independent effort. For example, I'd worked as a department store salesperson, as a cashier in a coffee shop, and as a driver for a delivery service. Doing home construction day after day with six other people made me feel more personally involved in my work than ever before. I also felt as though my contribution to the team effort really mattered, a feeling that had been missing from my previous jobs.

It's funny how some of life's most meaningful lessons occur so unexpectedly. I'm truly grateful to my uncle for providing a learning experience that's proved more significant than either of us could have imagined．

Key:

Opening (para. 1) Thesis statement: I expected to learn about home renovation, but the job also taught me a great deal about myself. Para. 2 Main idea: I learned more than carpentry on the job. Supporting information: I learned from many co-workers, including electricians, plumbers, etc. Para. 3 Main idea: I realized something important about myself. Supporting information: Doing hands-on physical labor made me happy. Para. 4 Main idea: I learned to work on a team. Supporting information: Working independently and working on a team gave me different feelings, and the latter was better.

Writing Practice

Write an essay of about 300 words on \clearly in your opening and develop your body paragraphs around those reasons.

Hints:

To address the title question, you need to come up with short answers as the thesis statement in the opening. Consider using words or phrases instead of long sentences. For example, \protect animals for ecological, economic, and emotional reasons\

Then create your body paragraphs as more elaborate answers. In the above example, you need to write three body paragraphs to explain what \mean. Employ concrete examples to support your arguments.

V. Comprehensive Exercises

Listening Audio Clip

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