Reading Activity

1) For each of the following sentences, write one or two synonyms for the underlined word. After doing that, explain why you think the author used her word rather than the synonyms.

“But for a country so huge and ethnically diverse, I’m surprised by the media’s disinterest in international events.” (paragraph 5)

disinterest -- not interested, lack of attention; By selecting "disinterested" rather than "lack of attention," the author is trying to make her audience feel that the lack of coverage of Pearse's flight is a deliberate act by the media; they are purposely ignoring the event, rather than just being too busy to cover it.

“He was ostracized by local farmers for having crazy hair and being more interested in flying than in raising cows. By the end of his life he was so disheartened that he gave up inventing and died penniless and alone.” (paragraph 8)

ostracized – ignored, considered weird; “Ostracized” has a very negative connotation or feeling. A person can be ignored by accident or without malice, but “ostracized” emphasizes that Pearse was deliberately and perhaps maliciously set apart from his community. The author is trying to gain her readers’ sympathy for Pearse.

disheartened – sad, depressed; This is another attempt by the author to make her audience feel sorry for her great-great uncle because “disheartened” sounds more severe than the other synonyms, almost like someone took his heart away from him.

2) In the following sentence (from the second paragraph), which information do you notice most?

“It was March 31, 1903, historians and witnesses say, eight months before the Wright brothers flew.”

What if the sentence read, “Historians and witnesses say it was March 31, 1903, eight months before the Wright brothers flew”?

Is there a difference in meaning between these two sentences? Is there a difference in the reader’s focus? Why did the author choose to use the first one?

Placement of phrases in a sentence can emphasize (or de-emphasize) the information contained in those phrases. In the first sentence, most readers notice the date because it is the first important piece of information given. However, in the second sentence they notice the historians and witnesses providing evidence of the flight. In this article, the author’s purpose is not to prove to her audience that Pearse’s flight happened; she is assuming you will believe that part and does not need to emphasize that it was documented. Instead, she is focusing the audience's attention on the date to emphasize that his flight occurred before the Wright brothers' flight and is therefore worthy of media attention.