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Because it was a while before they
produced it themselves, American colonists were dependent upon England
for their tea. The first tea shrub
was planted in the early nineteenth century. In 1848 more extensive experiments
with tea production were carried out, and ten years later,
plans were made to distribute tea seed throughout the South. These experiments,
however, were cut short by the Civil War and it was not until
1880 that the United States Department
of Agriculture resumed tea production. In 1890 Charles U. Shepard of Summerville,
South Carolina, devoted his private fortune to growing tea, and by
1890 he had planted sixty acres and harvested 5,000 pounds of
tea.
Type of transition: time-sequenceMain Idea: It took a while for Americans to stop being dependent on England for tea.
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There are three basic stages involved
in the development of identical twins. Their growth begins when
the father's sperm pierces the egg of the mother. The fertilized egg then
splits and divides into equal halves, each half receiving exactly the same
number of chromosomes and genes. The halves of the egg then
develop into two babies who are of the same sex and who are identical in
all hereditary traits such as hair color and eye color.
Type of transition: enumeration -
It would seem in retrospect that the prohibition laws of the 1920s actually
helped encourage, rather than hinder, illegal activity. Citizens in every
section of the country showed nothing but contempt for the laws and any
attempt at law enforcement was met with indifference or hostility. Probably
the worst result of the laws was that
the control of the liquor distribution fell into the hands of organized
crime, leading to increased criminal
violence throughout the country. Rather than decreasing crime, the prohibition
laws actually helped to increase it.
Type of transition: cause and effect -
Political coverage in both the broadcast and print media is shaped by their
need to attract consumers in order to make a profit; however, the two media
differ in ways that are worth mentioning.
Although both are profit-making enterprises, the lion's share of profit in radio and television comes from entertainment programming. Newspapers, on the other hand, make more money on the news. For newspapers, public events are the first priority. To be sure, they do feel pressure to increase sales by being as entertaining and attractive as possible, and that pressure results in sections devoted to sports, comics, human interest, family living, and so forth. Nonetheless, a central purpose of the newspaper remains the news. And, compared with television, newspapers provide far more depth of coverage and report on a broader spectrum or events and people.
By its very nature as a visual, time-limited medium, television news places a high premium on short stories that permit attractive and dramatic pictures. Thus, a story about a candidate in a parade, surrounded by cheering crowds, is more likely to be broadcast than is a story with "talking heads" discussing some policy option at length. Airtime is very short (about twenty-two minutes per half-hour) and very expensive.
By contrast, newspapers have fewer restrictions on content. Their readers can dwell at greater length on a story or reread parts of it or browse and skip around if they wish. This permits the daily newspaper to provide a more detailed account of a larger number of stories than can be covered in a half-hour TV news show.
Type of transition: compare/contrast -
The Africanized or so-called killer bees have finally entered the United
States, and their arrival has aroused intense speculation and fear. Yet
some of that anxiety may prove to be unfounded. In some ways the African
bees resemble ordinary honeybees. For example, the venom of the African
bee is no more toxic than the honeybee's.
In fact, it is actually less toxic than
that of the ordinary American wasp. What does distinguish the African bee
from the honeybee is the African bee's determined defense of territory.
If disturbed by an intruder, the African bees will mount a frenzied attack
and pursue the person who disturbed their nest. Although
honeybees also pursue intruders, they quickly give up. Clearly the African
bees can be dangerous if disturbed, but it is unlikely that many people
are going to approach their nest. Thus their danger can, for the most part,
be avoided.
Type of transition: compare/contrast -
There was a time, not too many years ago, when people believed that the
problem of food shortages could be readily solved by cultivating the world's
jungles. In Brazil an agricultural colony was organized with precisely
this objective since the Amazon Basin
seemed the perfect site for cultivation. But to the surprise of many, the
project failed and failed badly. However, in retrospect, several major
causes of that failure can readily be identified.
The first and most fundamental cause was the tropical soil itself. Surprisingly the soil is poor in nutrients, and the frequent torrential rains that come do not help it. Decaying foliage, which could contribute to the soil, washes away with the heavy rains before it can enrich the earth.
Then, too, there is the problem of how quickly the jungle grows. Workers on the project claimed they would clear a space for planting one day and return the next and find it overgrown. The jungle seemed too powerful for the puny efforts of human beings to make a lasting imprint.
Yet another cause was the relationship between the sunlight and the soil. In many areas when the soil is exposed to sunlight, it hardens and turns unto laterite, a red, rock-like substance containing high concentrations of aluminum and iron. Beautiful to look at, laterite is all but impossible to till.
Type of transition: cause and effect -
No one would deny that several events led up to
America's rebellion against British domination. However, it is certain
that the Coercive Acts were an important contributing
factor. Designed to punish the Americans for the Boston Tea
Party, the acts treated Bostonians with great severity. The Port of Boston
was closed until the teas that had been destroyed was paid for and Massachusetts'
colonial charter was revoked. In addition,
any English officials indicted for capital offenses could no longer be
locally elected; instead, they had to be appointed by the King. Perhaps
most offensive to the Americans was the new quartering act. It specified
that the British troops could be housed in a public inns or empty home
without the owner's permission. Not surprisingly, the Coercive Acts earned
a nickname; the colonists called them the Intolerable Acts.
Type of transition: cause and effect -
It is not at all uncommon for new discoveries or inventions to be treated
with skepticism or doubt. When, for example,
two unknown young men, Wilbur and Orville Wright, announced that they had
succeeded in building a flying machine, the public paid little attention.
In 1903, the Wrights' flying machine stayed aloft for 59 seconds and traveled
852 feet. Nevertheless, response to the invention was lukewarm at best.
In fact, the army, to whom the machine had been offered, initially showed
little to no interest and officials refused to see a test flight until
1908. When that flight succeeded, the Wrights' spectacular achievement
was finally recognized and they were allowed to manufacture airplanes under
their own patent. Oddly enough, however, the Wrights were never accorded
the recognition in their own country that they received in Europe. Long
after the brothers had achieved an international reputation, American papers
still tended to play down their achievements.
Type of transition: example -
The elderly in America will no longer let themselves be ignored. As older
Americans have become a larger percentage of America's total population,
they have become increasingly aggressive in demanding their rights. The
American Association of Retired Persons and the National Council of Senior
Citizens have influenced the passage of laws against discrimination in
employment on the basis of age. They have also
influenced laws providing better health, housing, social security and other
benefits for older people. In addition,
the Gray Panthers, led by Maggie Kuhn, are a smaller but militant organization
that helps fight for the passage of these laws. And,
in Congress, Claude Pepper of Florida was successful in securing passage
of laws prohibiting mandatory retirement before age seventy in private
employment or at any required age level in federal employment. (Adapted
from Harris, American Democracy, p. 175)
Type of transition: continuation -
As early as 1908, Thomas Edison shot a picture of Frankenstein, and a film
about a manmade monster (The Golem) appeared prior to World War
I. Throughout the twenties, a number of German directors produced some
classic horror films. By 1930, the German horror film was in decline, and
Hollywood producers discovered that the public would pay to be frightened.
In 1930, Tod Browning directed Dracula, a box office blockbuster.
Thus, the history of horror films is
almost as long as the history of film itself.
Type of transition: summation
Main Idea: There are three stages in the development of identical
twins.
Main idea: Prohibition encouraged illegal activity.
Main Idea: Political coverage in both the broadcast and print
media is shaped by their need to attract consumers in order to make a profit;
however, the two media differ in ways that are worth mentioning.
Main Idea: The fear of African bees may be exaggerated; they
actually resemble honeybees and are not as dangerous as previously thought.
Main Idea: There are several major causes of the failure
to cultivate the Amazon Basin.
Main Idea: The Coercive Acts, meant to punish rebels for
the Boston Tea Party, actually contributed to the American Revolution.
Main Idea: When the Wright brothers announced that they had
succeeded in building a flying machine offers an example of the public
treating new inventions with skepticism.
Main Idea: As elderly Americans have increased in population,
they have become more ready to demand their rights openly.
Main Idea: The history of horror films is almost as long as the history of film itself.
(Source: Reading for Results, 5th edition,
by Larraine E. Fleming. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1993)
