Paraphrase and Summary Practice

A summary does what?

• nothing

• tells an opinion

• makes an educated guess

• is a shorter way to explain a text with important information or key points

It started when they got to the bears. Peter felt tired and his stomach hurt. He dragged himself over to see the elephants, which were eating from a stack of hay. Normally, the elephants were his favorite. Without much interest, Peter followed his classmates to the camels, which were busy swatting flies with their tails. Peter knew he should be having fun at the zoo, but he just felt terrible and all he wanted to do was lie down and rest. Even the lions and tigers did not interest him now. 
The Summary of this passage is:

• Peter's favorite animals were the elephants.

• The camels were swatting flies with their tails.

•  It was really hot at the zoo.

• Peter didn't enjoy the zoo because he felt really bad.

Which of the following statements about SUMMARIZING is true?

• The Summary is a thought that is true but is not in the passage.

• The Summary is what the passage is mostly about.

•  The Summary is specific, detailed information contained in the passage.

• The Summary is always found in the first sentence of the passage.

Right now Jason was playing right field. He really wanted to play third base. Earlier this year, coach had put him in left field and second base in a game, but never at third base. Once in practice, coach let him play third base, but he kept missing ground balls. When he did stop one, he made a bad throw to first base. Maybe if he kept practicing, Jason would be good enough to play third base. That was his dream.
The Summary of this passage is:

• Jason really wanted to play third base.

• Jason was the best player on his team.

• Jason had trouble catching ground balls.

• Jason was too lazy to practice.

Does the meaning of the text change when you write an objective summary?

• No, it's shorter but has the same meaning.

• Yes, of course the meaning changes because someone else is writing it.

• It depends on the material and who originally wrote it. 

The storm that blew through Wichita, Kansas, last night dropped buckets of rain before turning more severe. Between 9 PM and 1 AM, Wichita Airport reported six inches of rain. Reports from residents in surrounding counties recorded the rainfall up as high as eight inches in the same time period. Reports of tornados were not correct. However, very strong winds were experienced all over the area.

Around 11 PM, some residents on the western edge of the city reported large hail. The hail was originally reported to be the size of dimes or nickels. Within an hour, reports were received describing hail the size of golf balls or tennis balls. Millions of dollars in damage are expected to be announced. This includes hundreds of thousands of dollars in losses at several local car dealerships.

• The severe storm last night in Wichita, Kansas, brought hail that caused millions of dollars in damage and reports of tornadoes that were not correct.

• Last night's severe storm caused millions of dollars in damage including hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage at local car dealerships.

• The severe storm that struck Wichita, Kansas, last night dropped between six and eight inches of rain and caused millions of dollars in damage.

• A severe storm in Wichita, Kansas, last night brought strong wind, rain, and hail that caused millions of dollars in damage.

What is the best summary of the following passage?

• The Elk River is a small river.

• The Elk River starts in the northern part of the state.

• The Elk River is very important to people and animals.

• People catch fish in the Elk River.

For the walls, Jenny thought she would use a bright yellow paint. She would pick a border that had mostly bright red and green colors, and maybe a little bit of blue. She already had found some curtains that were sky blue with streaks of red, blue and yellow that she thought would go great with the walls. And finally, she had picked a carpet that was mostly blue with specks of red and yellow. Jenny couldn't wait till she was done decorating her room. It was really going to look awesome.

The Summary of this passage is:

• Jenny likes bright colors.

• Jenny was going to paint her room.

• Jenny was picking out colors and materials to decorate her room.

• Yellow is a good color to paint your walls.

6. In paraphrasing, you place the paraphrased information within “quotation marks”

• True

• False

What is the best synonym for "paraphrase"?

• Restate

• Invent

• Copy