The Whale
 
Whales are sea-living mammals. They therefore breathe air but cannot survive on land. Some species are very large indeed and the blue whale, which can exceed 30m in length, is the largest animal to have lived on earth. Superficially, the whale looks rather like a fish, but there are important differences in its external structure: its tail consists of a pair of broad, flat, horizontal paddles (the tail of a fish is vertical) and it has a single nostril on the top of its large, broad head. The skin is smooth and shiny and beneath it lies a layer of fat (the blubber). This is up to 30cm in thickness and serves to conserve heat and body fluids.
There are two main groups of whale — toothed and toothless. The former includes the dolphin, the porpoise and the killer and sperm whales; the latter the grey, humpback, right and blue whales. Some toothed species, like the killer, feed on other large mammals such as the porpoise, while others —e.g. the sperm whale —eat smaller forms of marine life. The mouth of the toothless whale is adapted to form a kind of sieve in which tiny marine animals are caught by a filtering process.
Most whales move about in schools. While swimming they take in air and dive vertically, sometimes to great depths. Large whales can stay under water for up to 20 minutes. They then surface and expel air from their lungs, making the characteristic spout, which is audible from some distance and can be seen largely because of the concentration of condensing water vapour in the expelled gases.
Different species of whale are distributed widely throughout the world, from the North Atlantic to the Antarctic, and they have been hunted by man for many centuries. The oil has been much prized for use in cosmetics, the manufacture of margarine, as a lubricant for delicate mechanisms and in the softening of leather. The meat is used for both human and animal consumption. Indeed, in Japan it has been a staple protein source for many centuries. Whale bone, in processed form, has commercial uses but its use as such to strengthen corsets has disappeared along with corsets as fashions have changed. There is one other curious product of the whale, ambergris. This is a wax-like secretion of the intestine, produced to deal with irritants, such as bones, which a toothed whale may swallow. It is sometimes found floating on the sea or lying on beaches in greyish or blackish lumps. It is used, in tiny quantities, in the manufacture of perfume, where it serves to fix and enhance the various scents employed.
The commercial value of the whale has led to drastic depletions of whale stocks and pressures of many kinds are making it very hard to achieve adequate protection for certain species.
                                                                     —Alex Adkins and Ian McKean
           
(1)       Which paragraph is developed by classification?
(2)       Which paragraph is developed by definition?
(3)       Which paragraph deals with man’s relations to whales?
(4)       Which paragraph explains the behaviour of whales?
(5)       Which method of the conclusion is used in the passage?
 

VI.   Writing assignments

 
        Exercise 2-1       Topic, purpose and topic sentence
        ______________________________________________________________
 
        A topic, the purpose for writing, and two optional topic sentences are given for each of the first three topics. Select the topic statement that best reflects the purpose for writing. (A type of paragraph organization that could be written for each is given in parentheses after the purpose.) For the latter three, write the purpose for writing and a topic sentence for each topic. And finally write a paragraph with at least 100 words on each topic.
 
        1.   Topic:           Sports
              Purpose:  To explain why jogging is good for people.                                                      (cause/effect)
      Topic sentence:   (a)  Jogging makes a person's heart stronger and helps him lose weight.
                                          (b)  Jogging is a popular sport that everyone can enjoy.
 
        2.   Topic:                        Music
                    Purpose:  To show why popular songs are so welcome to young people.
                                    (reason)
    Topic sentence:    (a)    Popular songs are composed by musicians and sung by singers young people admire.
                                          (b)    Popular songs are easily accepted by young people.
 
        3.   Topic:                        Over-population
                    Purpose:  To show how farming of chickens is helping solve the problem of food shortage.
                              (classification/division)
Topic sentence:    (a)    Chickens are being harvested by using several techniques.
                                          (b)    It takes about half a year to raise chickens.
 
       4.    Topic:    Transportation
              Purpose:    __________________________________________________
              Topic sentence:  ______________________________________________
 
*   5.    Topic:    Qualities
              Purpose:    __________________________________________________
              Topic sentence:   ____________________________________________
 
*     6.    Topic:    Hawaii
              Purpose:    __________________________________________________
              Topic sentence:      ____________________________________________