UNIT 2 
CONTENT COURSE
CONTENT COURSE
2.1 ANALYZING PARAGRAPHS FOR THE
MAIN IDEA AND ITS DEVELOPMENT
2.2 FINDING THE IMPLIED MAIN
IDEA OF A PARAGRAPH
2.3 GRAMMAR (PERFECT TENSES)
2.4 SKIMMING FOR THE GENERAL
IDEA
2.5 DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN
GENERAL AND SPECIFIC
STATEMENTS
2.6 SELECTING THE MAIN IDEA
DETAILS
2.7 GRAMMAR (CONDITIONALS)
EXERCISES
After reading each of the following paragraphs, select the option that best represents the topic of the paragraph.
Probably heard that older men die before older women virtually everywhere in the world. In the United States, women are expected to live an average of 80.4 years, while men live only 75.2 years.
Sociologists attribute many factors to this trend. For example, men have higher testosterone levels than women, which may make men more likely to abuse alcohol and tobacco, drive aggressively, and engage in other life-threatening behaviors. Men also choose riskier types of work and become involved in wartime aggression, which are connected to men’s decreased life expectancy. Studies also show that women are less likely to experience life-threatening illnesses and health problems than men are.
EXERCISES
In the past few years, social networking sites such as Myspace, Facebook, and Twitter have become hugely popular across all ages. Despite the opinions of some that young people are in danger of turning into crouching androids glued to their computers, research shows that the majority of friendships are still maintained offline.
Offline friendships are characterized by more interdependence, depth, understanding, and commitment, but online friendships can gain some of these qualities with time. Most online friends tend to be rather cautious about disclosing personal information. However, this does not apply to people with a negative view of themselves and others; they instead seem to share more information, possibly in an attempt to become more self-confident in their interactions. Interestingly, even in online friendships people seem to gain more satisfaction when befriending people of a similar age and place of residence.
