METU/SFL Fall 2024

DBE
RHO 13
301 GROUP
Making Inferences and Drawing Conclusions
Connotations
(Student’s Copy)
Objectives: Students will have practiced
1. making simple inferences based on information given in a text
2. inferring meaning in a text to answer specific questions
MAKING INFERENCES AND DRAWING CONCLUSIONS
STUDY THE SKILL
Writers do not always state their ideas, attitudes or feelings directly. Instead, they choose certain words
and phrases loaded with meaning. Understanding this hidden or implied information in a text requires
critical reading as well as a good knowledge of vocabulary. To draw your own conclusions, you need to be
able to read between the lines and notice the writer’s choice of words and phrases. Also, you need to be
careful about the extra meanings of the words (connotations) in addition to dictionary meanings
(denotations). The following are a number of examples to help you become more aware of the writer’s
choices:

 Words like luckily, unfortunately, obviously, surprisingly, regrettably can tell you about the
writer’s feelings about the topic.
a) Luckily, I got home before my parents went to bed. (I had lost my keys and I did not want to wake
them up.)
b) Unfortunately, I got home before my parents went to bed. (They were angry with me because I
was late.)

 Words like certainly, obviously, naturally, probably, likely and unlikely can indicate the level of
certainty.
a) The number of traffic accidents will certainly decrease with new laws. (I am sure they will!)
b) It is unlikely that the number of traffic accidents will decrease with new laws. (I don’t think
they ever will!)

 Words like just, only, even, almost and about added to comment on objective facts can change the
message completely.

a) It was a difficult exam. Only 50% of the students passed. (Usually a greater percent passes.)
b) It was an easy exam. About 50% of the students passed. (Usually a greater percent fails.)

 Words with stronger or additional meaning instead of neutral ones can add value to the ideas.
a) It was a good trip. (There were no problems.)
b) It was a fantastic trip. (I enjoyed myself so much, I’ll never forget it!)

c) Her mother was a fine lady with a kind heart. (I adored her!)
d) Her mother was a helpful person. (She was all right...)

a) The Prime Minister’s speech was interesting. (But there was nothing extraordinary.)
b) The Prime Minister’s speech was provocative. (It was really stimulating and started a nation- wide
discussion!)

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PRACTICE THE SKILL

Read the following short texts and choose the ideas that you think are possible inferences or
conclusions.

From a gang member and murderer to the best-selling author of books: prison has changed Stanley
Williams a lot.

1. a) Stanley Williams went to prison because he was a criminal.

b) He started writing books before he went to prison.
c) He likes being in prison.
d) All gang members and murderers can be good writers.
e) He writes about his life in his books.
f) His books are interesting.

Child guerrillas of the African country Sierra Leone learn to use guns at the age of 7 or 8. They know
everything about the war. It is a pity that they have to see people killing each other and perhaps they
have to kill, too.

2. a) There is a war in Sierra Leone.

b) It is good for children to learn about the war.
c) Children have to do military service in Sierra Leone.
d) The guerrillas in Sierra Leone use children in the war.
e) They teach children how to use guns at schools in Sierra Leone.
f) It is wrong to make children fight.
g) Children in Sierra Leone kill because they want to.

Animals protect themselves from their enemies in interesting ways. Stronger ones fight, some run
away fast, others change color and ‘camouflage’ themselves. A species of rabbit, the snowshoe hare,
for example, is brown in summer and turns white in winter.

3. a) Rabbits are colorful animals.

b) The white color of the snowshoe hare serves as ‘camouflage’ in snow.
c) Strong animals never run away.
d) Each animal uses its own strategy to stay alive.
e) If an animal has the same color as its environment, it can stay alive more easily.

Read the text and choose the alternative which states a possible inference or conclusion.
Unfortunately, bats have always been a source of fear for humans. There have been people who
thought that bats were dirty and evil. There have also been many untrue stories of bats turning into
humans or vampires like Count Dracula. This is perhaps because bats live in barns, attics, and caves.
They like any place that is cold and dark, and most bats fly at night. Actually, bats are wonderful
creatures, the only mammals which can truly fly. A bat's body is made for flight, with its large chest
and thin but powerful wings. Bats listen to echoes to find and hunt for their food, i.e., insects. Some
species also eat fruit.

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4. a. The writer agrees with people who think that bats are dirty and evil.
b. The writer thinks bats are interesting animals with special characteristics.

5. a. Count Dracula was an imaginary character.

b. Count Dracula was a bat.

6. a. People may fear any creature which flies.

b. People may fear creatures which live in the dark.

7. a. Bats are harmless because they eat insects and fruit.

b. Bats are dirty and dangerous because of their hunting habits.

CONNOTATIONS

Connotations refer to the ideas or feelings expressed in words. These neutral, positive or negative
extra meanings are often not part of the dictionary definition. If you are unaware of the connotations
of words, you cannot fully understand what you are reading or you may misunderstand the ideas.
Knowing the connotations of words will help you understand indirectly stated ideas, make inferences
or draw conclusions and determine the author’s attitude.

Example: Compare the meanings of the same word in the following sentences:

1. The family has three homes -- an apartment in New York, a country house in Pine Plains and a beach
house in the Hamptons. (a place in which people live)
2. Our new house doesn't feel like a home yet. (a place in which people live and which suggests
pleasant feelings like love, comfort and safety)

Compare the different feelings expressed by words that have similar meanings:

1. a) The newspaper reporter rushed to the scene of the accident to interview the victims. (neutral)
b) He was a real news-hawk. No event could escape his attention. (strong)

2. a) The perfume of the roses filled the room. (strong)

b) The smell of freshly cooked vegetables filled the room. (neutral)

Study the following short paragraph and mark the choices to express his
feelings. Focus on the writer’s choice of words:
While working on a machine in a sericulture* unit, a little girl was severely injured
in the head in Pakistan. The little girl is just one of hundreds of thousands of unlucky
children employed in this industry in the country. The profit-hungry owners of
sericulture units prefer children to adults for the work, as children occupy less space
to work in. Imagine a narrow matchbox-like space where the child worker is made to
stand with her back to the wall with the machine in front of her. It is as if she were
standing in a narrow cage. Secondly, children are preferred because they neither ask for a lot of money nor
complain, even when they suffer from illnesses like asthma, malnutrition and anemia as a result of the
conditions they work in...

(*sericulture: raising silkworms to obtain raw silk)

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 The writer __________________________________________________________________.

a) does not criticize what the owners of sericulture units do

b) feels sorry for the children who work in sericulture units
c) blames the owners of the sericulture industry
d) thinks the children are made to work in inhuman conditions
e) approves of the reasons for making children work in the sericulture industry
f) is angry with the children because they do not ask for more money

The writer’s use of words or word groups like “severely injured in the head, just one of hundreds of
thousands of unlucky children, the profit-hungry owners of sericulture units, a narrow matchbox-like
space, as if she were standing in a narrow cage, suffer from illnesses like asthma, malnutrition and
anemia” help us decide that choices b), c) and d) express his attitude.

I. Read the following sentences and match them with the meanings expressed by the underlined
words.
___ 1. My sister had her second baby last week.
___ 2. Don’t be such a baby!
___ 3. I love you, baby!
___ 4. I don’t know much about the project. It’s Peter’s baby!

a) a very young human being

b) affection for a wife, husband or lover
c) special interest in and responsibility for something
d) criticism of someone who is behaving childishly and immaturely

___ 5. We've had no news of them since they left for Australia.
___ 6. I've got news for him, if he thinks he can carry on living here without paying the rent.
___ 7. I like to watch the early evening news when I get home from work every day.

e) an unpleasant surprise
f) information about recent events
g) a radio or TV program consisting of reports

II. Compare the following sentences and choose the one that expresses a stronger meaning.
1. a. I have some juicy gossip for you.
b. I have some interesting news for you.
2. a. The housewife closed the door in the salesman’s face.
b. The angry housewife slammed the door in the salesman’s face.
3. a. Her friend’s sudden death surprised her.
b. Her friend’s sudden death shocked her.
4. a. The old man impatiently told his son to leave the room.
b. The old man asked his son to leave the room.
5. a. The door led into a dirty room full of rubbish.
b. The door led into a filthy room full of rubbish.
6. a. She shouldn’t diet. She is much too skinny.
b. She shouldn’t diet. She is thin enough.
7. a. The bookcase my grandmother gave me is an antique.
b. The bookcase my grandmother gave me is old.

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8. a. He was a bit drunk at the time so he doesn’t remember much.
b. He was pie-eyed at the time so he doesn’t remember what happened.

III. Read the following short text and underline the words which help you to understand the writer’s
attitude and feelings. Then answer the questions.

(1) Did you know that March 9, 2001, was declared ‘the Night of the Women’ in Bogota, the capital of the
South American country Colombia? It was the first time and a welcome break for most Bogotan women
who suffer from violence in the home. That night, all the city's men were ordered to stay indoors and
leave the city free for the women. Did the women have a good time? It was real fun, from all accounts,
and a carnival atmosphere all the way! The women went to concerts, poetry readings and cycle rides,
while 1,500 policewomen patrolled the streets. The men were told to stay at home and watch the
children while the women sang and danced on the streets. Of course, there were some men who tried to
break the law, but the women would not allow it. They showered the men with flour and water and
shouted, "Go home, there's housework to do."

(2) While the idea may seem strange to many people in Bogota, it has great importance because violence
is very high in the Colombian capital. This violence is not limited to political conflict or crime. It has a lot
to do with the attitudes that men have toward women in that society.

1. Does the writer approve or disapprove of ‘the Night of the Women’?

__________________________________________________________________________

2. The tone of Paragraph 1 can best be described as ____________.

a) formal b) humorous c) emotional d) critical

3. The tone of Paragraph 2 can best be described as ____________.

a) informal b) pessimistic c) serious d) surprising
4. Whose side is the writer on, the men’s or the women’s?
__________________________________________________________________________

READING 1: WHERE DID JAZZ ORIGINATE?

(1) One has just to blow a few notes on a sax and your feet start tapping to the rhythm and your body
starts swaying to the music. That's jazz for you! Ragtime, be-bop, cool, blues -- the very names make your
fingers snap and do a step, no?

(2) Jazz has often been called the only art form to originate in the United States, but even this is not true.
Jazz is a kind of music that was sung or played by the African slaves on the plantations of America’s Old
South. In the 1700s, Africans were taken from their villages, brought to the faraway Americas in chains
and sold as slaves to work on large plantations. In most places, slaves were not allowed to speak to each
other while working and in time, singing became the safest and the only way they could communicate. In
addition to work songs, slaves also sang “spirituals” (religious songs). After a day's exhausting labor, these
people would gather together and sing to overcome their sorrow and also to teach their children about
their roots, that is, the land and culture which only survived for them in their memories now. Jazz music in
the 1800s thus grew from a combination of African folk music and dance rhythms. Early jazz music was a

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soulful and heart-breaking composition with simple and repeated harmonies performed by black
musicians who had little or no formal training in Western music.

(3) In the 1850s, jazz grew in popularity, and its sound was influenced by white musicians with formal
Western training and classical backgrounds. Many different forms of musical notes from various European
cultures flowed across the new continent during the late 1800s. French quadrilles, Spanish flamenco, Irish
jigs, German waltzes and many other musical traditions were all part of the cultural baggage that
immigrants brought from their countries to America, the land that was the melting pot of cultures.
Therefore, apart from the musical beginnings in Africa, European influence and instruments like the
clarinet and the saxophone changed the way jazz was being played.

(4) The early 1890s was marked by the blues, which emerged from the same traditions as jazz: African-
American work songs and spirituals. In performing the blues, the singers used the power of their voices to
express their feelings. In the late 1890s, a musical style called Ragtime evolved from jazz. Ragtime, which
combined European compositional styles with the rhythmic and melodic music of the black community,
quickly spread to all parts of the country. This new music style emphasized formal composition and was
played on the piano. However, it was totally different from the piano concertos associated with Western
classical music. It was dynamic, vigorous, stirring and passionate. Naturally, people were crazy about it.

(5) Then, in the 1900s, came a fuller jazz, developed and refined by African-Americans, who merged
French, Spanish and other European traditions with the Blues, Ragtime, band music and many other
elements to create a new style. Today, this type of jazz is sometimes referred to as classic jazz or traditional
jazz.

(6) From bands playing on boats on the Mississippi River, jazz was gradually spread all over the country.
As African-Americans migrated north, they brought jazz and the blues with them. Young Americans, who
had been disheartened by the pointlessness of the First World War, began to rebel against the old-
fashioned attitudes of their parents, and listening to jazz and the blues became part of their rebellion. The
first jazz recording was made in 1917, and in the 1920s jazz records were the hottest sellers on the
market. People were buying jazz records faster than they could be recorded, and they were also tuning in
to radio stations playing Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith more than ever. Today, all over the world,
people appreciate jazz as an important art form, and, with variations in style and music, musicians are
making major contributions to it.

1A. Find and underline word groups in the text which mean basically the same as the following and talk
about the difference between them.

1. play the saxophone (Paragraph 1)

2. you start dancing (Paragraph 1)
3. after working hard all day (Paragraph 2)
4. to forget their unhappiness (Paragraph 2)
5. early jazz, a style used to express emotions (Paragraph 2)
6. different kinds of music became known across America (Paragraph 3)
7. the country in which different cultures exist together (Paragraph 3)
8. the new music was energetic and lively (Paragraph 4)
9. people liked it very much (Paragraph 4)
10. young Americans, who had lost hope (Paragraph 6)
11. jazz records sold a lot (Paragraph6)
12. they were listening to radio stations (Paragraph 6)

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 Read, Understand and Answer

1B. Read the text and choose the statements which are possible inferences. Support your answers using
the ideas in the text.

1. The writer of the text is a jazz fan.

2. The Americans are not creative.
3. Music is a means of communication.
4. The slaves did not have the chance to obtain formal musical education.
5. People express their feelings through music.
6. Uneducated black musicians had a better style than trained Western ones.
7. People have been attracted to alternatives outside the classical tradition.
8. Piano concertos of Western classical music lost their popularity because of Ragtime.
9. Riverboats on the Mississippi had entertainment for the passengers.
10. All young people are rebellious.
11. Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith were two well-known jazz performers.
12. According to the writer, Western influence on jazz has not been positive.

READING 2. Read the text below, and answer the questions that follow.

1. In cities around the world, tiny living spaces are becoming increasingly common. An estimated 200,000
people in Hong Kong, for example, live in what are called “coffin homes.” One can be so small that a person
cannot even fully stretch out their legs. For the British press, such places seem exotic and faraway, but in the
UK too, tiny living spaces are on the rise – in their own British style. Over the past 20 years, the average
private renter in Britain has seen his or her individual living space decrease from 31m 2 in 1996 to 25m2, as
more and more people are forced to reside in shared accommodation.

____________

2. As advanced economies have become centered around urban growth, the supply of houses has been
insufficient and the price of land has increased rapidly. Consequently, renters and new home-owners have
been forced to occupy much smaller and more expensive spaces. On the other hand, the existing home-
owners’ housing wealth has grown and their living spaces have expanded. In the UK, this has resulted in
increased living-space inequality. Research shows that these trends have significant effects on people’s
personal and social wellbeing. On an individual level, people’s expectations of how much living space they
find adequate are not innate. Instead, they are formed by the space people are used to and the living space
of those around them. On a societal level, spatial inequality is a product of socioeconomic disadvantage.

____________

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3. There is no universal agreement on the relationship between the size of living space and wellbeing. Different
individuals and societies perceive and use living space in different ways. This can lead to differing opinions
particularly when members of different cultures coexist as in the case of America. In a study published in the
early 1990s, the ethnographer Ellen Pader recorded one Mexican-American saying, “I see so many Americans
living on their own and I think how lonely they must be.” What one culture views as pitiful may be considered
comfortably spacious by another. Due to this diversity in perspectives and lifestyles, the impact of living
space on individuals varies significantly.

____________

4. Houses are what economists call “positional goods”: they determine our social position by effectively
revealing our wealth and tastes. Even if a person’s living space is large enough to meet this person’s basic
needs, he or she may still feel shame (or the opposite feeling of pride) if it is smaller (or larger) than that of
their neighbors, friends or family. Social comparison plays a big role. One new small-home owner who was
interviewed for a recent study on housing expectations in the UK said that she felt judged by people for
choosing to remain in her one-bedroom flat. “It was very hard to separate society’s and friends’ views about
where people should live and what really shows achievement and success,” she said. One-third of the people
surveyed for a 2005 study by US economists Sara J Solnick and David Hemenway said that they would prefer
to have a smaller house in theory, so long as it was bigger than everyone else’s. Similarly, there is evidence,
also from the US, that an individual’s living space expectations are particularly affected by the size of the
largest houses in the local area. When these increase in size, the housing satisfaction of nearby residents
decreases.

____________

5. Living space inequality can also disadvantage people who don’t have much space in more physical and
measurable ways. The education system in Britain indirectly expects that all households will have enough
living space for children to do their homework in peace and quiet. Therefore, children in households that are
unable to fulfil these standards tend to face worse educational results. Also, by making us more dependent
on our homes, the pandemic increased the disadvantage related to having little living space. Participants in a
recent study on how the pandemic has changed the way we use rooms in our homes spoke about how
working from home – and over Zoom – forced them to admit to colleagues that they didn’t have a spare one
to reserve to work-related activities.

_____F______

6. Increasing average levels of living space by building more homes where they are needed would certainly help
alleviate some of the more noticeable negative effects of living in tiny living spaces. However, there is an
increasingly serious problem that needs a solution: we have to tackle the growing inequality of living space
through collecting a fair amount of tax from people who have a large housing wealth. In addition, we have to
build more social housing. Otherwise; relatively space-poor households will continue to feel ashamed,
embarrassed, and unable to get out of their low social status.

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A. What do the following refer to?
1. one (para 1): _______________________________________________________________________
2. this (para 3): (The fact) that ___________________________________________________________
3. these (para 4): ______________________________________________________________________

B. Find words in the text that mean the following. Do NOT change the form of the words. WRITE ONE
WORD ONLY.

1. coming from birth, natural (adj.) (para 2) : _______________________

2. make it easier to deal with (v.) (para 6) : _______________________

C. Match the subheadings below to the paragraphs 2-6 in the text. Para. 6 has been matched with its
subheading as an example. There is one extra subheading.

Para 2: ___________ A. Relationship between social status and the size of living space

Para 3: ___________ B. Increase in living space inequality between new and old home-owners

Para 4: ___________ C. The effects of space inequality on the performance at school and work

Para 5: _________ D. Variety in cultural perceptions of living space

E. Advantages of having a larger house

Para 6: _____F_____
F. Solutions to the problem of tiny living spaces

D. Answer the following questions according to the information in the text.

1. According to para. 1, which one is TRUE about the housing trend in Britain?

a) People’s individual living spaces have become smaller.

b) Hong Kong-style “coffin-homes” are increasing in number.
c) People continue to live alone even if it is more expensive.

2. According to para. 2, which TWO groups experience the negative effects of the conditions in the supply of
houses?

a) _______________________________________________________
b) _______________________________________________________

3. Which of the following can be inferred from para 2?

a) The inequality between renters and existing house-owners is innate.

b) The size of others’ houses affects an individual’s understanding of ‘enough space’.
c) People’s personal and social wellbeing results from prioritized urban growth.

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4. In para. 3, what do the recorded words of a Mexican immigrant show about living space?

a) Cultures have different understanding of living space and its acceptable size.
b) Immigrants in the US have to share their already small living space.
c) Some groups still have the socioeconomic disadvantage of small living spaces.

5. What can be understood from para. 4 about the housing expectations in the US?

a) In these advanced economies, people feel satisfied if their living spaces meet their basic needs.
b) People now prefer small houses in a good neighborhood even if the other houses in the local area are
bigger.
c)People are happy about the size of their houses when they are bigger than the houses in the neighborhood.

6. According to para. 5, British children who live in homes with limited space cannot ____________________
________________________________________.

7.Which of the following is TRUE according to para. 5?

a) The pandemic decreased living space of households in measurable ways.
b) People unhappily revealed they didn’t have a spare room for working from home.
c) British educators are aware that some students might have small living spaces.

8. What solutions does the writer offer for the problem of growing inequality of living space? Write TWO.

a) _____________________________________________________________
b) _____________________________________________________________

HOMEWORK

READING 3: MAKING MUSIC - HOW DID IT ALL START?

(1) Man has been quick to see the different uses of an object throughout history. Take the origins of
musical instruments, for example. They had nothing to do with music initially. You can find all of them in
the tools man used for everyday activities. They were just simple devices to satisfy his most basic need;
that is, the need to feed himself by hunting. Therefore, he created tools to facilitate the job. Later on, he
thought of using them to make music, which, throughout history, has been another basic need, although
perhaps in a different category than the former.

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 (2) Trace the harp and the trumpet back in history and you will see that they were tools used while
hunting. The idea of making a harp most probably started when someone noticed the twang made by a
bow and arrow. Similarly, seashells were simple devices for producing different sounds. Using them, the
hunter imitated the sound of the animal he was planning to catch and approached it easily or he scared
it away to catch it in an open area. He also needed to communicate with his fellow hunters. Then one day
somebody decided to use the shell as a musical instrument and that was it –- there was the trumpet!

(3) Imagine a pit, a deep hole in the ground, used as an animal trap. Then one day after a hunting party,
when the crowd finished eating, somebody took the hide of the animal and covered the pit with it,
fastening it to the ground at several places. Perhaps all he intended to do was to leave it there for some
time to let it dry; but it didn’t take long for this creative soul to learn that striking the hide rhythmically
could produce a certain string of sounds. Guess what happened afterwards! Soon others gathered around
him and started jumping in tune with the music. It seems this was the way our ancestors played one of the
earliest musical instruments, the drum, and this type of drum was called the earth drum.

(4) Our ancestors had other clever ways of making drums as well. Hollow tree trunks used as shelter by the
hunters gave them the idea, so they cut down a tree and scooped out the wood inside -- just like the man
at the ice cream shop takes out a scoop of ice cream from the container. Then they covered the hollow tree
trunk with animal skin, and hey presto! The forest came alive with the sound of the tree drum. The earliest
drums probably stood like trees and were played on one side. Some of the tree drums found in Africa and
Mexico are as high as three meters! How do you think they were able to play such high drums? Small,
portable drums made of wood are used even today. In some places, especially where there are plenty of
coconut and palm trees, people make drums from these trees. Part of the tree trunk is cut out, made
hollow from inside, and then covered with leather.

(5) Then came the mud or clay drums. Originally these were kitchen vessels like pots, pans and jars used
for storing, measuring and cooking grain. When our ancestors decided to use them as drums, they covered
them with animal hide and started their rhythms. One basic need was once again nicely tied to the other.
The drums were made in familiar shapes -- circular pots, shallow pans and long-necked jars. Our ancestors
liked mud because it was easier to make shapes out of it than out of wood. It was easier to use, but also
easy to break. Although mud and clay drums continued to be made, in time, humans started making metal
drums to overcome the problem.

2A. Choose the alternative that can replace the following words meaningfully in the text.

1. initially (para. 1)
a) completely b) especially c) in the meantime d) in the beginning

2. twang (para. 2)
a) sound b) shape c) function d) material

3. similarly (para. 2)
a) moreover b) however c) in the same way d) but

4. to approach (para. 2)
a) to make up b) to hold onto c) to depend on d) to go near

5. hide (para. 3)
a) flesh b) skin c) blood d) hair

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 6. to strike (para. 3)
a) to blow b) to force c) to beat d) to push

7. string (para. 3)
a) rope b) series c) wire d) orders

8. hollow (para. 4)
a) dense b) empty c) solid d) regular

9. to scoop out (para. 4)

a) to remove b) to slice c) to alter d) to process

10. vessel (para. 5)

a) substance b) product c) machine d) container

2B. Write what the following words refer to.

1. them (Paragraph 2): _________________________________________________________

2. this creative soul (Paragraph 3): ________________________________________________
3. these trees (Paragraph 4): ____________________________________________________
4. the other (Paragraph 5): _____________________________________________________

2C. Read the text and choose the alternative that best states the main idea.

1. The main idea of Paragraph 1 is that __________.

a) hunting was the most basic activity for early man
b) it is difficult to decide whether music has been a basic need of man
c) man used simple devices to find food for himself and to survive
d) musical instruments were once tools used in hunting
2. The main idea of Paragraph 2 is that __________.
a) a bow and arrow was one of the first weapons man used
b) some hunting tools gave man the idea for the harp and the trumpet
c) man used shells to communicate while hunting
d) early hunters were sensitive to sounds
3. The main idea of Paragraph 3 is that __________.
a) pits were used as animal traps in the distant past
b) animal skins were left to dry on the ground
c) the first drums originated from pits used as animal traps
d) the earth drums were so called because they were on the ground

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4. The main idea of Paragraph 4 is that __________.
a) tree trunks used as shelter by hunters were the first wood drums
b) the drums in Africa and Mexico were very high
c) our ancestors were similar to today’s ice-cream sellers in some ways
d) it was difficult to play tree drums
5. The main idea of Paragraph 5 is that __________.
a) man used mud or clay vessels for storing, measuring and cooking grain
b) mud or clay drums were easy to make
c) metal drums were made because mud or clay drums broke easily
d) mud or clay drums can be traced back to kitchen vessels

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