Comprehension: short answers

COMPREHENSION: 

SHORT MODEL ANSWERS FOR CHOOSING BETWEEN TWO DIFFERENT TYPES OF TEXT

EXAMPLE 1.

Text a	Text b
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.	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!

 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. __________________________________________________________________________

TEXT a	Text b
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.	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.

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.