Paraphrasing Practice

1.  In this short excerpt from David Crystal’s English as a Global Language, take note of the way that power relationships rather than the number of speakers influenced Latin   language use.

“Latin became an international language throughout the Roman Empire, but this was not because the Romans were more numerous than the peoples they subjugated. They were simply more powerful.”

Your paraphrase

Crystal (1997)  suggest that due to the dominating power of the Romans, Latin became the international language of the Roman Empire. Population of the Romans was not the main reason.                                                 

2.  As you paraphrase the following paragraph, present the “expected” general features of the nuclear reactors from Declan Butler’s “Nuclear power’s new dawn,” taken from Nature, 20 May, 2004 (Vol. 429, p. 238).

“These new reactors would all operate at high temperatures, improving their efficiency.  And they would include simplified safety features that do not rely on sophisticated backup systems or experienced operators — all are, in principle, ‘meltdown proof’ and can cool themselves down in the event of an accident with minimal, if any, human intervention. . . . Experts agree that reactors will need to be a lot cheaper to run. And to sway a nuclear-averse public, the next generation of reactors will need to produce much less radioactive waste at terrorist-proof facilities.”

 

Your paraphrase

According to Declan (2004), the new reactors can operate at high temperatures  at a better efficiency level. They include safety measures which require minimal human intervention in the case of emergency. These reactors need to be environmental friendly producing lesser radioactive waste as agreed by the experts.