ILS1: Introduction to textual analysis Seminar 8 December 14, 2018
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Activity 1 TEXT 1 In one of Stephen King’s greatest works, 11/22/63, a young man named Jake discovers a portal in a diner’s pantry which leads back to 1958. After a few visits and some experiments, Jake deduces that altering history is possible. However long he stays in the past, only two minutes go by in the present. He decides to live in the past until 1963 so he can prevent the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, believing that this change will greatly benefit humanity. After years of stalking Lee Harvey Oswald, Jake manages to prevent him from shooting Kennedy. Upon returning to the present, he expects to find the world improved as a result. Instead, the opposite has happened. Earthquakes occur everywhere, his old home is in ruins, and nuclear war has destroyed much of the world. (As King wrote in an article for Marvel Spotlight, “Not good to fool with Father Time.”) Distraught, Jake returns to 1958 once again and resets history. In addition to being a masterful work of speculative fiction, 11/22/63 is a classic example of how everything in the world is connected together. 2
TEXT 2 The butterfly effect is the idea that small things can have non-linear impacts on a complex system. The concept is imagined with a butterfly flapping its wings and causing a typhoon. Of course, a single act like the butterfly flapping its wings cannot cause a typhoon. Small events can, however, serve as catalysts that act on starting conditions. And as John Gribbin writes in his cult-classic work Deep Simplicity, “some systems … are very sensitive to their starting conditions, so that a tiny difference in the initial ‘push’ you give them causes a big difference in where they end up, and there is feedback, so that what a system does affects its own behavior.” 3
TEXT 3 One in five teenagers in America can’t hear rustles or whispers, according to a study published in August in The Journal of the American Medical Association. These teenagers exhibit what’s known as slight hearing loss, which means they often can’t make out consonants like T’s or K’s, or the plinking of raindrops. The word “talk” can sound like “aw.” The number of teenagers with hearing loss — from slight to severe — has jumped 33 percent since 1994. Given the current ubiquity of personal media players — the iPod appeared almost a decade ago — many researchers attribute this widespread hearing loss to exposure to sound played loudly and regularly through headphones. (Earbuds, in particular, don’t cancel as much noise from outside as do headphones that rest on or around the ear, so earbud users typically listen at higher volume to drown out interference.) Indeed, the August report reinforces the findings of a 2008 European study of people who habitually blast MP3 players, including iPods and smartphones. According to that report, headphone users who listen to music at high volumes for more than an hour a day risk permanent hearing loss after five years.
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TEXT 4 Loud music at restaurants may be hurting your waistline along with your ears. A new study from the Association of Consumer Research shows that diners who are subjected to loud ambient music are more likely to order high-calorie foods. Ambient music playing at a high volume at restaurants can create an exciting atmosphere and a quickened heart rate in customers. People with higher levels of excitement are more likely to order fatty foods, because sweet and fatty foods reduce high levels of energy, according to the study. “Moreover, when emotionally charged up or upset, internal restraints and self-control break down, leading to greater eating of unhealthy foods,� the study says. Researchers noted the differences in food orders when the music volume was raised from 55 decibels to 70 decibels. Customers were 20 percent more likely to order fatty foods with the louder music.
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Activity 2 1. Alien abductions must take place because no one has found any evidence to disprove the eye-witness accounts. (C) a. Slippery slope b. Relativism c. Burden of Proof
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2. We should not allow legislation to ban tobacco. After all, tobacco has been sold for 200 years in America. So, we have no reason to ban it now. (B) a. Non Sequitur b. Bandwagon c. Absolutism
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3. Bicycles are a means of transportation, and we all know that transportation is vital to American commerce. If we get rid of all the current bike lanes, there will be less bikes, hence less transportation. Getting rid of bicycle lanes would cripple American trade entirely. (A and B are both correct here) a. Non Sequitur b. Slippery Slope c. Post hoc ergo propter hoc 8
4. You will get pregnant if you kiss a boy. I've seen Sally kiss boys three times, and now she is pregnant. (A) a. Post hoc ergo propter hoc b. Genetic Fallacy c. Burden of Proof
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5. Friedrich Nietzche's attack on social welfare should not be taken seriously. He is said to have been a degenerate and it is a fact that he went insane. (B) a. Genetic Fallacy b. Ad hominem c. Begging the claim
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6. We must put God back in our schools, or else American society will degenerate. (B) a. Bandwagon b. Either/or c. Red Herring
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7. He is using unfair arguments because none of his arguments are equitable. Because they are not equitable, they are not just, and hence, unfair. (B) a. Hasty generalization b. Begging the claim c. Relativism
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8. Bob True is the best qualified candidate for tax assessor. I've known him eight years and he is an honorable man, a devout individual, and an outstanding father. (C) a. Cherry picking b. Straw man c. Non Sequitur 13
Activity 3 Passive Voice Passive Tense Form (verb to paint) • • • • • • • • • •
Present simple ...is/are painted Present continuous ...is/are being painted Present perfect ...has/have been painted Past simple ...was/were painted Past continuous ...was/were being painted Past perfect ...had been painted Future simple ..will be painted Future with going to ...is/are going to be painted Future perfect ...will have been painted Modals example should/must etc. – (present) ...must be painted – (past) ...should have been painted 14
Text 1 Marvin Marton's new play has been greeted with enthusiasm by the critics. It is regarded as his most mature work. It was written after human behavior had been studied by Morton for a cinsiderable time. On the opening night, Morton was called onto the stage and applauded to loudly by the audience. The play is being staged at the Apollo Theatre where thousands of people are expected to see it. Morton has been asked to write a script for a film based on the play. It remains to be seen whether the proposal will be seriously considered by Morton. 15
Text 2 A UFO was seen in the sky above London last night. It was reported to the police. A helicopter was sent by the army so that the UFO is looked at more closely. The helicopter was shot down and both men in it were killed by the UFO. Photographs of the UFO have been given to the police. They are being researched by UFO experts, as we speak.
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Text 3 After 20 years of civil war, Beirut is being rebuilt by the Lebanese government. New offices and hotels will be constructed. Beirut airport also must be expaned by the authorities. Luckily, archaeological sites were not destroyed by bombing. By the year 2000, most of the work will have been completed by the building companies. Many tourists will be attracted in the future by Lebanon's new look. This Middle Eastern paradise has already been visited by a few tourist groups. 17