Quickway 3 Listening for Second Year Classes

Unit Two

"I Thought my race was Invisible"

or click here to download the audio file:

Read this article about the indigenous europeans and the immigrants and watch this video :

This is a documentary film where I attempt to explore the limits of tolerance in present day Europe. It deals with the relationship between indigenous Europeans and the newcomers. The subject is vast and extremely controversial, therefore I have decided to present it as an example of French citizens of African, Arab and Afro-Caribbean origin who have recently migrated to London and settled down there. Among the people whom I interviewed in Paris are: an official of the townhall of the suburbs where the riots of November 2005 started, an actor of Algerian origin, a woman writer of Kabyle ancestry. I have tried to explore the differences between French and British models for integration of foreigners unfortunately both were proven faulty. The backgrounds of the interviews are scenes of contemporary Paris which are often interrupted by riots and demonstrations. I was a victim of the riots and it took me six painful months to recover. I’m an immigrant and a member of the ethnic and religious minority and I made a double effort not to offend anybody’s’ religious sensitivities and to make a work of art which is positive and acceptable to the general public. The issues this film deals with are enormously important for present day Europeans and new immigrants and will not go away for many years. It was a surprise for me to see how recent suburban riots in France have hardened the attitude towards people of foreign ethnic origin. The sentence I heard many times was ‘Who gives them the right to burn our cities?” I immigrated to Denmark in 1971 and it was the most tolerant country in the world. I have married a Dutch-Moroccan wife from Amsterdam in 1979 and we were greeted on streets with smiles and friendly words. In 2006 these two countries, which I know well and of which languages I speak, became most vocal on issues of immigration and relationship with people of foreign culture especially Muslims. I think that it is a healthy sign of courage to discuss a subject otherwise considered a taboo.

Janus Avivson

Quickway 3 Unit 2 Writing

The Supporting Details

What are the supporting details?
They come after the topic sentence, making up the body of a paragraph.
What do they do?
They give details to develop and support the main idea of the paragraph.
How do I write them?

You should give supporting facts, details, and examples.

The Closing Sentence

What is the closing sentence?
The closing sentence is the last sentence in a paragraph.
What does it do?
It restates the main idea of your paragraph.
How do I write one?
Restate the main idea of the paragraph using different words.

Example:

There are three reasons why our school Qadi Ayad is considered one of the best high schools in Tetuan. First, Qadi Ayad has a highly qualified faculty. All the teachers have a long experience, rich background knowledge and highly professional skills. Second, Qadi Ayad has a high standard of education. Students obtain high scores in regional and national exams and are encouraged to continue studying at university. Finally, Qadi Ayad’s administration, faculty and parents all contribute to develop a social and academic climate which gives its students a strong sense of belonging and pride. As a result, a lot of students prefer to come to Qadi Ayad to continue their high school studies.

Quickway 3 Unit 2 Writing

The Supporting Sentences

Consider this short paragraph:

My hometown, Kingston, is famous for several amazing natural features. First, it is noted for the Princeton River, which is very wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side of the town is Queenston Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep.

When you read this topic sentence:

My hometown Kingston, is famous for several amazing natural features.

A question comes to your mind:
What are the natural features that make Kingston famous?
You then expect that the rest of the paragraph will give an answer to this question.
Now look at the sentences after the topic sentence.

First, it is noted for the Princeton River, which is very wide and beautiful.

It gives an answer to this question. That is, the second sentence gives some explanation for the fact that Kingston is a famous town. Similarly, we can see that the third sentence also gives some explanation for the fact that Kingston is famous by giving another example of an "amazing natural feature," in this case, Queenston Hill.

The second and third sentences are called supporting details. They are called "supporting" because they "support," or explain, the idea expressed in the topic sentence. Of course, paragraphs in English often have more than two supporting ideas. The paragraph above is actually a very short paragraph. At minimum, you should have at least five sentences in your paragraph. Here we can see our paragraph about Kingston with a few more supporting sentences:

My hometown Kingston is famous for several amazing natural features. First, it is noted for the Princeton River, which is very wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side of the town is Queenston Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep. The third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree. This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred years old.

The Concluding Sentence

It is usually a sentence at the end of the paragraph which summarizes the information that has been presented. You can think of a concluding sentence as a sort of topic sentence in reverse.
The topic sentence and concluding sentence hold the supporting sentences in the paragraph. Look at the concluding sentence in our paragraph about Kingston:

My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features. First, it is noted for the Princeton River, which is very wide and beautiful. Also, on the other side of the town is Queenston Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep. The third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree. This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred years old. These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place.

The concluding sentence,

These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place,

summarizes the information in the paragraph. It is similar to, but not exactly the same as, the topic sentence.

Details in Paragraphs

Whenever possible, you should include enough details in your paragraph to help your reader understand exactly what you are writing about. In the paragraph about Kingston, three natural landmarks are mentioned, but we do not know very much about them. For example, we could add a sentence or two about Princeton river concerning HOW wide it is or WHY it is beautiful.

Consider this revision:

My hometown is famous for several amazing natural features. First, it is noted for the Princeton River, which is very wide and beautiful. On either side of this river, which is 175 feet wide, are many willow trees which have long branches that can move gracefully in the wind. In autumn the leaves of these trees fall and cover the riverbanks like golden snow. Also, on the other side of the town is Queenston Hill, which is unusual because it is very steep. Even though it is steep, climbing this hill is not dangerous; some firm rocks along the sides can be used as stairs. There are no trees around this hill, so it stands clearly against the sky and can be seen from many miles away. The third amazing feature is the Big Old Tree. This tree stands two hundred feet tall and is probably about six hundred years old. These three landmarks are truly amazing and make my hometown a famous place.

We can also add more details to the paragraph to describe the third natural feature of the area, the Big Old Tree.