COMPREHENSION:
SHORT MODEL ANSWERS FOR CHOOSING BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF TEXT
EXAMPLE 1.
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Text a
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Text b
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The Titanic was a huge ship. 1,513 lives were lot
when it hit an iceberg during its first voyage in April 1912. The sea was
very cold. Men, women, children and babies drowned in the icy waters.
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You would have to have been very brave not to be
really scared. It was dark and everyone was screaming and panicking. So many
people just jumped into the icy water. The yelling. The shouting. It must have
been awful.... terrible!
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If one text (a) consists of a number of
verifiable facts, such as numbers, names of places, while the other text (b)
consists more of a description enhanced by exclamation marks and questions to
the reader, you could say
I choose (a) over (b) because it consists of facts that could be checked for its
authenticity, and that would add to my personal KNOWLEDGE, that I could
actually use scientifically.
OR:
I choose (b) because I want to write movie
scripts one day. For that, I would need
to gather information about the emotional experiences of those who were on the boat.
OR: I choose (b), because I am going to be an actor/ actress and actors have to focus on emotions. Movies do not always stick to facts anyway.
EXAMPLE
TWO. __________________________________________________________________________
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TEXT a
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Text b
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Once the tuna are excited into a frenzy by the baitfish, they try to
swallow everything they can – including the hooks. When the fish are hooked,
they are hauled
overboard.
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When the tuna have started eating the baitfish, they
will swallow anything in the water, including the hooks. When the fish have
eaten the hook they are pulled into the boat.
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If one text (a)
uses detailed descriptions with lots of adjectives that could or could not be
appropriate, while the other text (b) uses straight forward words, you could
say:
I choose a, because the descriptions add to the emotional experience (inherent
in expressions such as “excited into a frenzy” and “hauled”) of those involved.
OR:
I choose b, because I would rather focus just on the essentials of what
is taking place and stick to a clear expression without any emotional overload.
