Exercises for effective sentences

I. Read the following and say what kind of sentence each is.

1. It is a pleasure to read good books.

2. She missed the step and sprained her ankle.

3. Badly frightened by the explosion the boy rushed out of the laboratory.

4. The Wangs must have gone away for the summer holidays, for we have not seen them for two or three weeks.

5. There were the translators in their booths, and the girl secretaries at the doors, and reporters grumbling and scribbling in their seats.

6. Our friends, who had started before us, promised that they would meet us, but when we arrived at the bus stop, they were nowhere to been seen.

7. The new thing that happened to me in the town was that I was thrown into experiences that finally seemed to cut my ties to the walled-world of my childhood.

8. In the speeches of politicians toward the close of 1919 and the spring of 1920, there was an increasing recognition of the fact that what is called the capitalist system—the private ownership system that is, in which private profit is the working incentive—was on trial.

9. It will not be done by the Government; it cannot be done by Parliament.

10. There are still two widely different methods of getting what you want. One is to make yourself so useful that others are glad to pay you, or give you what you want, in return for your service or your product; the other is to make yourself so dangerous that others will be afraid to refuse what you demand. The one appeals to good will; the other to fear. The one is contractive; the other is destructive. The one is the method of civilized men; the one is the method of savages.

II. Revive the following sentences

1. Mr. Wang, a man trusted by his leaders and all his

fellow workers, known as an expert in computer programming.

2. Flying from Beijing to London three days ago and

back Beijing yesterday, jet lag is troubling him. 3. When the meeting between the director of our

company and the representative of the American

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company came to an end, he expressed satisfaction with the result.

4. He had a long talk with the visiting delegation, he

mentioned all the problems that remained to be solved, how ever, no agreement was reached in the end.

5. They had a long discussion, nevertheless, they

came to no conclusion.

6. While he was in Shanghai, he has visited the

newly developed area in Pudong, and is deeply impressed by the prosperity he has seen.

7. This grammar book is a better one as far as I

know.

8. She hurried back because she didn’t know that the

meeting was put off.

9. I entered here office and found she talked with two

guests.

10. there are more books in their library that my

school.

11. the old man who had taught at the school for 40

years and was given a medal of honor for his devotion to the cause of education before he retired.

12. This morning the president and a group of students

were talking and ten minutes later they left.

13. Going to the library to borrow the novel, no copy

was available.

14. A number of spelling mistakes was found in his

composition.

15. I was terribly busy yesterday, therefore, I had to

leave some work for today.

16. Everyone of the students, including myself, have

bought this dictionary.

17. Physics are fascinating but difficult.

18. The president together with several assistants are

here.

19. She put all her reference books into a box, which

she would use after taking the new job.

20. Fifty dollars seem too much for this sweater. III. Improve the following sentences, pay attention to unity and coherence.

1. Shakespeare was one of the greatest dramatists. 2. He said he would take the exam and pass it, but he

was not certain of it.

3. He read the magazine in the reading room, which

contained a lot of latest information about computer science.

4. It snowed heavily at 8 o’clock.

5. Such comments neither add nor detract from his

fame.

6. I was willing to buy the suit at that price and my

billfold did not allow me to buy it.

7. Many people believe that one should eat garlic

everyday to prevent diseases in that region. 8. The earthquake only damaged a few houses.

9. He loves so much to work that he even works

during his vacation.

10. One student said that such a discussion was not

helpful in class.

11. At the picnic Helen served salad to hungry guests

on paper plates.

12. Languages were not d\\invented; it grew with

people’s need for expression.

13. Mary called Beth every day when she was in

hospital.

14. Instead of taking physics, chemistry was chosen

by most students in the class.

15. After listening to the speakers inspiring speech,

many questions were raised.

16. Although only a small boy, his father wanted him

to do a man’s work on the farm.

17. When describing your tour in the three counties,

slides may be helpful.

18. He was so tired that we saw him asleep at eight in

the morning.

19. The landslide destroyed several houses and five

people were killed by it.

20. The singing in the film is good and the actors act

wonderfully well.

21. What do the rich know about poverty and those

who are hungry?

22. What one knows is more important than the

wealth one has.

IV. Improve the following sentences, paying attention to conciseness and emphasis.

1. In the early part of December, there was a heavy

snow in this area, and it snowed for three days without letup.

2. Students who are in their fourth year at the

university go to visit the library to look for material and reference books useful for the writing of their graduation papers.

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3. Early in the morning there was a fog which

covered all things in the whole city and people who were driving were careful and they had to drive every slowly.

4. He has tasted the wines produced in different

places and he says the red wine made in Beijing is the best.

5. In fact, he is usually realistic and sometimes he is

also quite romantic.

6. Each time there was a knock at the door, he was

nervous, for he feared that someone may come and bring him more bad news.

7. When you read the beginning of the book, you

ca\\not understand the meaning of the title. You will understand it when you come to the end of the book.

8. China has a population of 1.3 billion. She must do

much to limit the growth of population.

9. Some people like to say “That’s neat” when they

mean to say “That’s good.” It is a slang expression.

10. She enjoys talking with friends and is never tried

when she is chatting with her good friends.

11. The referee raised his right hand in which he was

holding a yellow card.

12. Moral integrity is more important than life,

position, or wealth, according to Confucius.

13. Altogether 12 novels were written by this famous

novelist during his lifetime.

14. Such a new view on the working of the universe

could only have been put forward by a scientist like him.

15. Rich people in the West usually ask lawyers for

help whenever they get into trouble with other people.

16. Meaningful content is the most important quality

of a composition, above all.

17. These children are busy playing with toys. They

have little time for studies.

18. She does not care too much about prices; she

thinks the quality of things is more important. 19. In the evenings television is watched by almost all

people in this village.

20. The Government praises itself in every possible

way, but the Opposition says ugly things about it whenever possible.