Question

genre / text elements multiple central ideas directions: read this excerpt from an informational essay. then, answer the questions. if you had to guess where surfing as we know it first began, you might say hawaii - and you would be right. but you might be surprised by how long people have been practicing the sport. roughly 800 years ago, around 1200 a.d., hawaiian villagers and royalty alike rode the surf. hawaiian monarchs road a very heavy, large style of board called an olo, but the common people rode a smaller style of board called an alaia. this board was roughly 10 feet long and more agile than the olo, and surfers would stand up on it to ride the curling waves, very much the way modern surfers do. early european explorers who visited the islands wrote of the amazing skills of the hawaiian surfers and the beauty of the sport. historian andy martin even theorizes that these romantic accounts may have influenced thomas jefferson to include “the pursuit of happiness” as a basic right in the declaration of independence. historian peter westwick explains: “both the french and american revolutions occurred as these incredible literary images were coming back from explorers in the tropical pacific. the surfer on a tropical wave is the very antithesis of what we were doing in europe, which was perfecting the guillotine and better ways to kill each other. if you are sitting in europe or colonial america reading these travelers accounts coming back from the south pacific who are describing ‘the most supreme pleasure,’ it really might give you pause. it might make you think, ‘wow, these surfers have it right.’” 1. what central idea is conveyed in the first paragraph? 2. identify an interesting fact the writer uses to develop that central idea. 3. what surprising central idea is conveyed in paragraph 2? 4. does the quotation from peter westwick effectively support the central idea you identified in question 2? explain your response. 5. which organizational pattern does the writer mainly use in this passage: time order, comparison - and - contrast order, or cause - and - effect order? explain how you know.

Explanation:

1. The first - paragraph central idea is that surfing first began in Hawaii around 1200 A.D., with different types of boards used by different social classes. An interesting fact is that Hawaiian monarchs rode a heavy, large board called an 'olo' while common people rode a smaller, more agile 'alaia'.
2. The second - paragraph central idea is that the accounts of Hawaiian surfing by early European explorers may have influenced the concept of the pursuit of happiness in the Declaration of Independence.
3. The quotation from Peter Westwick effectively supports the central idea as it links the literary images from the tropics with the events in Europe during the time of revolutions, emphasizing the contrast and the possible influence.
4. The writer mainly uses a comparison - and - contrast order. The text compares the activities in the tropical Pacific (surfing) with those in Europe (revolutions and the guillotine), highlighting the differences between the two regions.

Answer:

1. Surfing first began in Hawaii around 1200 A.D. with different social classes using different boards.
2. Hawaiian monarchs rode an 'olo' and common people an 'alaia'.
3. Accounts of Hawaiian surfing may have influenced the Declaration of Independence's concept of the pursuit of happiness.
4. Yes, it links tropical images with European events, emphasizing contrast and possible influence.
5. Comparison - and - contrast order. Compares activities in tropical Pacific and Europe.