Name _______________________

 

The exam covers Chapter 6 of the textbook and the two documents on ambiguity that are posted on BB.

 

 

EXAMPLES. Before answering the exam questions, read through this "Examples" Section. It shows you what you have to do on the exam.

 

Directions: Each sentence or passage below is ambiguous: it has two distinct meanings. Type on the answer sheet two complete sentences that express these distinct meanings (= a and b) of the original sentence. (This process is disambiguation.) Make sure the sentences you use as your answers are sufficiently distinct from each other and do not repeat the ambiguity exhibited by the original sentence.

 

EX1: "Go quickly and tell his family that he and his friend are risen from the dead and they must hide."

 

1. Tell his family that they (his family) must hide from those "risen from the dead" (he & his friend).
2. Tell his family that "he and his friend," the ones who have risen, are the ones who must hide.

 

EX2: "The children told the police that their teacher had committed horrible acts. That was unfair."

 

1. It was unfair that the teacher did those horrible things.
2. It was unfair that the children told the police that the teacher did the acts (they were lying).

 

 

NOW the exam. Each question is worth four points. So, each disambiguating sentence is worth 2 points.

 

Directions: Each sentence or passage below is ambiguous: it has two distinct meanings. Type on the answer sheet two complete sentences that express these distinct meanings (= a and b) of the original sentence. (This process is disambiguation.) Make sure the sentences you use as your answers are sufficiently distinct from each other and do not repeat the ambiguity exhibited by the original sentence.

(The sources of the sentences are totally irrelevant.)

 

 

1. [Saul Bellow] "As we walked, I held his old skinny arm by the elbow, where the ulna and the radius bones intimately meet each other, promising to keep in touch."

 

1. I promised that I would keep in touch as we were walking.

 

1. I promised that I would not let go of his old skinny arm by the elbow.

 

 

2. [House] "The doctor asked her how often she picked her nose during her appointment."

 

1. The doctor wanted to know how many times she picked her nose during the period of her appointment.

 

1. The doctor asked her during her appointment the number of times she picked her nose generally.

 

3. [The New Yorker] "Narcolepsy may be more prevalent in college students than thought."

 

1. Most people don’t know that Narcolepsy is more prevalent in college students.

 

1. Compared to thoughts, Narcolepsy is more prevalent amongst college students.

 

 

4. [A parody of The Wizard of Oz] "Only bad witches go to hell."

 

1. All bad witches go to hell but the good ones do not.

 

1. Hell is a place for bad witches, no other people can go to hell.

 

 

5. [Noam Chomsky] "I love ambiguity more than most linguists."

 

1. Most linguistics don’t love ambiguity.

 

1. I (Noam Chomsky) prefer ambiguity to linguistics.