Love is a Fallacy
Max Shulman
EXERCISES
I. Write a short note on: Ruskin. [SRB]
1. Oxford Companion to English Literature 2. any book on the history of English literature 3. any standard encyclopedia II. Questions on content:
1. What does the writer say about his own essay? Is he serious in his remarks? 2. What, according to the writer, is the purpose of this essay? Do you agree? 3. Why does the narrator consider Petey Burch dumb as an ox? 4. Why does the narrator teach Polly Espy logic? Did he succeed?
5. Define and give an example of each of the logical fallacies discussed in this essay. Ⅲ. Questions on appreciation:
1. Comment on the title of this essay. Is it humorous?
2. Can you find any evidence to support the view that the writer is satirizing a bright but self-satisfied young man?
3. What is the purpose of this essay or story? What method does the writer employ? 4. Comment on the language used by Polly. What effect does her language create? 5. Why does the narrator argue that “the things you learn in school don’t have anything to do with life”? (para. 145)
6. What is the topic sentence of paragraph 50? How does the writer develop the idea
expressed in the topic sentence?
7. Why does the narrator refer to Pygmalion and Frankenstein? Are these allusions chosen aptly?
8. In what sense is the conclusion ironic?
IV. Analyze the logical fallacy in each of the following statements: 1. Watching television is a waste of time.
2. In the last month, fourteen students have been arrested in California for using drugs. That state is obviously filled with young addicts.
3. All his life he has read comic books. Is it any wonder he’s a juvenile delinquent? 4. If I had studied harder, I would definitely have passed that test.
5. Religion obviously weakens the political strength of a country. After all, Rome fell after the introduction of Christianity.
6. It’s true that this boy killed four people. Yet think of the poverty and misery he was raised in: his parents neglected him, and he never had enough to eat. 7.Teachers in capitalist countries are out for all the money they can get.
8. Everybody in a capitalist country is basically dishonest. Look at all the politicians who are arrested every year for taking bribes and misusing public funds. V. Translate paras 145--154 into Chinese.
Ⅵ. Look up the dictionary and explain the meaning of the italicized words” 1. that logic, far from being a dry, pedantic discipline (para 3) 2. my brain was as powerful as a dynamo (para 4) 3. pausing in my flight (para 8)
4. when the Charleston came back (para 11)
5. They shed. (para 16)
6. Don’t you want to be in the swim? (para 17) 7. I would be out in practice (para 24)
8. She was not yet of pin-up proportions (para 25) 9. She already had the makings. (para 25)
10. She had an erectness of carriage, an ease of bearing (para 26) 11. are you going steady (para 30)
12. I deposited her at the girls’ dormitory (para 97) 13. lawyers have briefs to guide them (para 105) 14. hammering away without let-up (para 123)
Ⅶ. Explain how the meaning of the following sentences is affected when the italicized words are replaced with the words in brackets. Pay attention to the shades of meaning of the words:
1. Fads, I submit, are the very negation of reason. (fashions)
2. “Can you mean,” I said incredulously, “that people ... again?” (incredibly) 3. he said passionately. (eagerly)
4. She was, to be sure, a girl who excited the emotions (feelings)
5. I threw open the suitcase and revealed the huge, hairy, gamy object (showed) 6. I was tempted to give her back to Petey. (inclined) 7. I hid my exasperation. (disappointment)
8. I said, patting her hand in a tolerant manner (indulgent) 9. I chuckled with somewhat less amusement. (merriment) 10. I will languish. (suffer a lot)
Ⅷ. Discriminate the following groups of synonyms: 1. keen, calculating, perspicacious, acute, astute 2. intelligent, bright, brilliant, clever, smart
IX . Study the suffixes in the following nouns and give at least 5 examples of each: 1. analogy 4. fallacy, idiocy 2. appendicitis 5. tactics 3. chemist, faddist 6. venture [SRB]
1. Walker’s Rhyming Dictionary 2. any book on lexicology or word building
X . The narrator in this essay has a style all his own. In part, it is characterized by many figures of speech. Mention examples of the following: simile, metaphor, hyperbole, metonomy, antithesis. Comment on the figures that are used effectively. Ⅺ. The style is also characterized in part by inverted sentence order. Point out the places where inversion occurs and explain the reason for the inversion.
Ⅻ. One of the ways to achieve emphasis is to change the normal order of a sentence. Rewrite the following sentences by inverting sentence part: 1. I don’t want sympathy!
2. He would not yield, though death threatened him. 3. You mustn’t miss that trip to Niagara. 4. The boy came down on his head.
5. The medical records and conduct sheets were piled on the desk in front of him. 6. The last story is completely different.
7. A man dressed in a black gown walked in. 8. He who is devoted to a just cause lives without fear.
ⅩⅢ.Pick out some of the colloquialisms and slangs used in the text.
ⅩⅣ.Read the following passage and explain what method is used to develop the main idea.
A hospital usually employs five different kinds of nurses according to their degrees and the amount of training they have had.
At the highest level are the registered nurses with college degrees. This may be a doctorate, master, or bachelor of science degree. A degree is a prerequisite if a person desires a supervisory job or wants to teach in a school of nursing. Naturally, these jobs are the highest paid and carry the greatest responsibility.
Next are the registered nurses with an associate degree (two years of college). This is particularly suited to a person who is not quite sure about going to college. It leaves the door open to further learning and at the same time enables the person to work as an R.N. Associate degree programs are rather new and have been instituted to help relieve the crucial need for qualified nurses.
Third is the three-year diploma from a school of nursing. Upon graduation, nurses are entitled to take a state board examination. There is no degree given, however, other than R. N. These schools are rapidly disappearing from many areas as the cost of maintaining them is high, and also because state requirements insist on more attention to theory and more closely supervised clinical experience.
Licensed practical nurses have only recently become important. They usually take a twelve month course followed by a written examination required by the state before