Stormie and the Octopus Old Stormalong was sailing over the deepest part of the ocean when the
anchor was knocked loose and dropped to the bottom of the ocean. It caught on
something and yanked the ship to a stop. Stormie the Brave dove in to untangle
the anchor. Soon Stormie popped up and told his men to haul in the anchor. "An
old octopus was holding the anchor, and I had to arm wrestle him for it," he said.
"Then I tied all his arms and legs in knots."
Answer the questions about the text.
1. How do you know this text is a tall tale?

1. drag the central argument paine presents and its two claims to complete the chart. argument claims america may have flourished more had it not been under the power of any european country. america may have flourished under britain in the past, but there is no guarantee that it will continue to flourish in the future. america will continue to flourish as long as the essential food products it sells are bought and eaten in europe. the american colonies will no longer flourish when britain makes war against them. britain's king has shown himself to be prejudiced against the colonies, rather than wanting them to flourish.

2.select the sentence in this passage that can be classified as a false statement.

although few humans per year are attacked by polar bears, any individual attack can be terrifying and even fatal. the warming of arctic regions has allowed the intrusion of humans into the polar bears’ habitat, increasing the danger of harmful contacts. remaining alert and using precautions can humans avoid a negative encounter with a polar bear. traveling together and staying close to the group can humans avoid bear attacks. certain weapons, including nonlethal ones such as pepper spray, are effective against polar bears. once a bear has decided to attack, however, nothing can be done.

3.select the sentence in this passage that demonstrates the fallacy of making an extreme either-or claim.

the civil war was the bloodiest conflict in the history of the united states. more than 600,000 soldiers lost their lives. the fighting took place in many different cities and throughout the countryside. the wounded often suffered acute pain while in the field hospitals. they all should have asked for better care. william hammond, the surgeon general of the union army, created a new system of sanitary field care. if people do not accept hammond as the most important person from the civil war, they have no understanding of the war.

active voice: my father cut the tree.

passive voice: the tree was cut by my father.

active voice: people buy newspapers every day.

passive voice: newspapers are bought (by people) every day.

active voice: people have been using movies as political propaganda since world war ii.

passive voice: movies have been used as political propaganda since world war ii.

active voice: donna gave me my birthday present.

passive voice: i was given my birthday present (by donna). / my birthday present was given to me (by donna).

active voice: mom will leave the keys on the counter.

passive voice: the keys will be left (by mom) on the counter.

the words in parentheses are the agent of the passive voice and can be omitted when obvious, generic, or simply unnecessary.