VB036
Ambiguous sentences
1) Creating ambiguous sentences is a common problem. Look at the following examples, identify the
issue and try to correct it.
I've killed multiple bees with scissors by cutting them in half while flying.
I saw her duck.
The landlord painted all the walls with cracks.
Republicans Grill IRS Chief Over Lost Emails. (a newspaper headline)
Look at the dock with one eye.
Police help dog bite victim.
Book stays in London.
Free whales.
2) Look at the following sentences. How many possible meanings does it have?
I saw a man on a hill with a telescope.
3) Look at the following sentences. Decide whether they are ambiguous or unambiguous and rewrite
them if necessary.
a) The rock band waved to the people in the audience. They were smiling, pleased and happy.
b) The student put her hand up to answer. She was correct, so the teacher said ‘well done’.
c) A doctor and a nurse helped to save a dying man. The man thanked her afterwards for
reading to him.
d) Some British and French students took part in a foreign exchange. They didn’t like the food
though.
e) Alice asked Amy to play a piano duet with her. Amy had to leave early though to go
swimming.
VB036
Understanding texts:
1) Below are the first five paragraphs from a text titled “OSI Reference Model: The Driving Force
behind Network Communications.” Try to put the paragraphs into their correct order.
A simple way to understand the OSI reference model is to think of it as an elevator. On the sending
end, data enters at the top floor (the application layer) and travels to the bottom floor (the physical
layer). Each layer communicates with the layers immediately above and below it. When a layer
receives data, it performs specific functions, adds control information to the data, and passes it to
the next layer. The control information contains error-checking, routing, and other information
needed to ensure proper transmission along the network.
The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model, a communications standard developed by
the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), offers an answer. The OSI reference model
describes the flow of data in a network through seven layers, from the user’s application to the
physical transmission media.
The presentation layer translates the converted message data into a language the receiving
computer can process (from ASCII to EBCDIC, for example) and also may compress or encrypt the
data. Finally, the layer attaches another header specifying the language, compression, and
encryption schemes.
Every message sent over a network – even the simplest e-mail message – must be divided into
discrete packages of data and routed via transmission media such as telephone lines. While traveling
from the sending computer to the receiving computer, each data package can take a different path
over the network. How do these messages get to their destination, intact and accurate?
The top layer, the application layer, serves as the interface between the user and the network. Using
application software, such as an e-mail program, a user can type a message and specify a recipient.
The application then prepares the message for delivery by converting the message data into bits and
attaching a header identifying the sending and receiving computers.
2) Look at the text. Why are the paragraphs ordered in such a way? Look for words or phrases that
help connecting one paragraph to another one and highlight them.