PARAPHRASING WHAT YOU HAVE HEARD

As a student, you will often need to paraphrase information that you have heard or read. That is, you will need to express the same ideas in your own words. When you paraphrase, you are showing that you understand and can remember what you heard or read.

1 Read the following paraphrase before you listen to the interview with Carlos. Think about what kind of information might belong in the blanks.

Carlos grew up in a

household. His parents moved from Puerto Rico to the United

Slates when he was ___ , but his mother left

his father shortly afterwards. His mother was a garment worker,

and garment work is ____________________ Sometimes she

needed to work a lot and left the children alone. When Carlos was

older, he used to____________________ with ___

after school until his mother got

home from work.

Carlos’ mother taught him two important lessons about life: to

take________________________________________ and to get

an education. As a child, he learned to_____________________ ,

____________________ ,____________________ , and run

errands. He also studied _ at home with

his mother.

Carlos thinks that it is important for children to have someone

in the family who is a kind of____________________ in their

lives. He thinks children are also influenced by people outside the family. For example, he met a lot of good

when he was growing up who taught him many positive lessons.

2

Now listen to the interview with Carlos. Try to listen for the information that you need to complete the paraphrase in step 1 and write it in the blanks. You may use more than one word in some blanks.

3 Compare your paraphrase with a partner. They do not have to be exactly Lhe. same.

AFTER THE INTERVIEWS

THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT THE TOPIC

You will not always agree with what you read or hear. Make it a habit to evaluate what other people say and compare it with your own knowledge and experiences.

Are the ways in which Robert and Carlos were raised similar to the ways you were raised, or are they different? Check (✓) the appropriate column. Then compare your answers with a partner.

Read the list in the left column. It shows changes that have taken place in the American family during the past century.

Work with a partner. Fill in the chart with as many positive and negative consequences of the changes in the family as you can think of. In your opinion, are these changes in the family harmful to society, or not?