Chapter Six: Inferences Many important ideas in reading are not stated directly. Discovering these ideas is called making inferences or drawing conclusions.

A. The dog requires more than one leash to keep it securely tied to the parking meter. B. The dog has eaten the other dogs tied up to the parking meter. Which inference is more logically based on the information suggested by the cartoon? INFERENCES

C. The dog is ordinarily a friendly dog. D. The dog is waiting for its owner to return. Which inference is more logically based on the information suggested by the cartoon? INFERENCES

Which inference is more logically based on the information provided? Mark Twain said: When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years. B. Even old people are capable of learning a great deal. A. Teenagers tend to think that they know it all and that adults do not. INFERENCES IN READING Inferences in Short Passages

Mark Twain said: When I was a boy of 14, my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around. But when I got to be 21, I was astonished at how much the old man had learned in seven years. INFERENCES IN READING Inferences in Short Passages C. The older fathers get, the less foolish they become. D. As a young person matures, he learns to respect the knowledge of adults. Which inference is more logically based on the information provided?

Lets suppose that you have a ticket to fly to some exotic destination. There will be 200 passengers plus crew on board your plane. You are excited about your trip, but on the way to the airport, the radio program you are listening to is interrupted by an announcement that five U.S. jets will be hijacked that day. All will crashand all passengers and crew will die. There is no doubt that five planes will go down, that 1,000 terrified passengers and crew will plunge to their deaths. The reporter adds that the airlines have decided to stay open for business. Do you still fly? After all, the chances are good that yours will not be one of the five planes. My best guess is that you turn around and go home, that U.S. airports will be eerily silent that day. Nicotinewith its progressive emphysema and several types of cancerkills about 400,000 Americans each year. This is the equivalent of five fully loaded, 200-passenger jets with full crews crashing each and every dayleaving no survivors. Who in their right mind would take the risk that their plane will not be among those that crashed? Yet that is the risk that smokers take. INFERENCES IN READING Which inference is more firmly based on the information in the passage? A. The author implies that many Americans dont like to think about the harmful effects of smoking. B. The author implies that chances are good that fewer Americans will smoke in the future. Inferences in Paragraphs

Lets suppose that you have a ticket to fly to some exotic destination. There will be 200 passengers plus crew on board your plane. You are excited about your trip, but on the way to the airport, the radio program you are listening to is interrupted by an announcement that five U.S. jets will be hijacked that day. All will crashand all passengers and crew will die. There is no doubt that five planes will go down, that 1,000 terrified passengers and crew will plunge to their deaths. The reporter adds that the airlines have decided to stay open for business. Do you still fly? After all, the chances are good that yours will not be one of the five planes. My best guess is that you turn around and go home, that U.S. airports will be eerily silent that day. Nicotinewith its progressive emphysema and several types of cancerkills about 400,000 Americans each year. This is the equivalent of five fully loaded, 200-passenger jets with full crews crashing each and every dayleaving no survivors. Who in their right mind would take the risk that their plane will not be among those that crashed? Yet that is the risk that smokers take. INFERENCES IN READING Which inference is more firmly based on the information in the passage? C. The author suggests that too many people risk their lives by smoking. D. The author suggests that people would be willing to take their chances on a plane crash if the odds are in their favor. Inferences in Paragraphs

Lets suppose that you have a ticket to fly to some exotic destination. There will be 200 passengers plus crew on board your plane. You are excited about your trip, but on the way to the airport, the radio program you are listening to is interrupted by an announcement that five U.S. jets will be hijacked that day. All will crashand all passengers and crew will die. There is no doubt that five planes will go down, that 1,000 terrified passengers and crew will plunge to their deaths. The reporter adds that the airlines have decided to stay open for business. Do you still fly? After all, the chances are good that yours will not be one of the five planes. My best guess is that you turn around and go home, that U.S. airports will be eerily silent that day. Nicotinewith its progressive emphysema and several types of cancerkills about 400,000 Americans each year. This is the equivalent of five fully loaded, 200-passenger jets with full crews crashing each and every dayleaving no survivors. Who in their right mind would take the risk that their plane will not be among those that crashed? Yet that is the risk that smokers take. INFERENCES IN READING Which inference is more firmly based on the information in the passage? E. This excerpt is probably from a business textbook. F. This excerpt is probably from a textbook that deals with social problems. Inferences in Paragraphs

INFERENCES IN READING Guidelines for Making Inferences in Reading 1 Never lose sight of available information. As much as possible, base your inferences on facts. 2Use your background information and experience to help you in making inferences. The more you know about a subject, the better your inferences are likely to be. 3 Consider the alternatives. Dont simply accept the first inference that comes to mind.

INFERENCES IN LITERATURE Inferences are very important in reading literature. A nonfiction writer might write: It would be really hard to feel what others feel. Its better not to know. In the novel Middlemarch, the respected English novelist George Eliot writes this: If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrels heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence. As it is, we walk about well wadded with stupidity. Writers of factual material directly state much of what they mean. Writers of fiction show what they mean.

INFERENCES IN LITERATURE Creative writers often use comparisons known as figures of speech to imply their meanings. The two most common figures of speech are similes and metaphors. A Note on Figures of Speech

Simile a comparison introduced with like, as, or as if. In the cartoon, Snoopy writes about a pair of beautiful eyes that they are like two supper dishes. (The joke, of course, is that the comparison is hardly a flattering one.) INFERENCES IN LITERATURE A Note on Figures of Speech PEANUTS: © United Feature Syndicate, Inc.

In the quotation from Middlemarch, George Eliot uses two similes. INFERENCES IN LITERATURE A Note on Figures of Speech If we had a keen vision and feeling of all ordinary human life, it would be like hearing the grass grow and the squirrels heart beat, and we should die of that roar which lies on the other side of silence. Abandoned houses lined the city street like tombstones. The look the hostess gave me was as welcoming as a glass of ice water in my face. The used car salesman attached himself to prospective customers like Velcro. Other Examples of Similes

Metaphor an implied comparison, with like, as, or as if omitted. The 23rd Psalm in the Bible is the source of some of the worlds best-known metaphors, including The Lord is my shepherd. The comparison suggests that God is like a shepherd who looks after his sheep. INFERENCES IN LITERATURE A Note on Figures of Speech

The candidate waded into a sea of people to shake hands. The movie was a bomb. Her disapproval was an ice pick to my heart. The algebra problems were a forest of tiny enemies, jeering at me from the page. Other Examples of Metaphors INFERENCES IN LITERATURE A Note on Figures of Speech

Just as pictures and reading material require inferences, so do tables and graphs. To infer the ideas presented in tables and graphs, you must consider all the information presented. INFERENCES IN TABLES AND GRAPHS

1Read the title.What is the title of this graph? Steps in Reading a Table or Graph

INFERENCES IN TABLES AND GRAPHS 2 Check the source.What is the source of this graph? Steps in Reading a Table or Graph

INFERENCES IN TABLES AND GRAPHS Which inference is more logically based on the graph? A. Our deepest sleep occurs early in the sleep cycle. B. Our REM (rapid eye movement) sleep occurs at about the same time as our deepest sleep.

INFERENCES IN TABLES AND GRAPHS Which inference is more logically based on the graph? D. Our body activity is slowest during the deepest part of our sleep. C. We spend over half of our sleep time in REM sleep.

INFERENCES IN TABLES AND GRAPHS Which inference is more logically based on the graph? F. For the most part, we stay in one stage of sleep during the sleep cycle. E. It takes less than an hour to reach the deepest level of sleep.

CHAPTER REVIEW In this chapter, you learned the following: Many important ideas in reading are not stated directly, but must be inferred. To make inferences about implied ideas, use the information provided as well as your own experience and logic. Inferences are also a key part of reading literature and such visual material as cartoons, tables, and graphs.