2.1.Reference

Both in writing and speaking you often want to refer back to something that has already been mentioned. (Occasionally you may also want to point forwards to something you are going to mention.) There are various ways you can do this without repeating yourself. The words you use are not, strictly speaking, “linking words” but they function to make connections and to avoid repetition, sometimes of single words, sometimes of whole clauses.

1. One of the commonest ways of referring back (or forwards) to someone or something - whether in the same sentence or an earlier sentence - is by the use of PERSONAL PRONOUNS AND POSSESSIVE forms (e.g. '‘she”, “her”, “hers”, “it”, “they”, “them”, “their”).The PRONOUN ‘ONE’ can substitute for a singular count noun, and ‘ONES’ for a plural noun. ‘One’ can stand alone, but ‘ones’ needs another word or phrase to modify it. Notice that ‘one’ and ‘ones’ in contexts of this sort are primarily substi­tutes for other words, whereas ‘it’ and ‘them’ refer directly to things in the "real world”.

2. QUANTITY PRONOUNS AND DETERMINERS (e.g. ‘another’, ‘both’, 'neither’, ‘many’, and numbers) can substitute for noun groups referring to people or things. These words can be used without a following noun if the noun (or noun group) they refer to is mentioned elsewhere in the text, so this usage is in fact a form of ellipsis.

3. DEMONSTRATIVES (‘this’, ‘that’, ‘these’, ‘those’) with ellipsis of words that are present elsewhere in the text can also substitute in a more general way, but normally for things, not people. However, ‘those’ can sometimes refer to people, but only with a word or phrase added. This is still the case even if there is a noun or noun group to which the word refers

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back. Certain pronouns, notably this, that, and it, can be substituted for previous clauses or sections of text. The substitution is not necessarily word for word - we understand the meaning and adjust the words slightly.

4. So and not can refer back and substitute for clauses, particularly after re­porting verbs, and after expressions such as ‘I’m afraid’, ‘it appears’, and ‘it seems’.‘So’ and ‘not’ also substitute for clauses in the expressions ‘if so’, ‘if not’, and ‘even so’. ‘So’ and especially ‘not’, are also used as clause substitutes after ‘perhaps’, ‘probably’, ‘maybe’, and ‘possibly’. ‘So’ as a clause-substitute is sometimes used emphatically as the first word in a clause or sentence. This happens mainly with verbs of thinking and saying (i.e. reporting verbs). Clauses of this kind often suggest an element of doubt or disbelief about the truth of the previous clause.

5. A common way of referring back to another noun (or noun group) is to use A NOUN COMBINED WITH A DETERMINER such as ‘the’, ‘this’,, or ‘such’. Sometimes the same noun is repeated, but often a synonym (an­other word with roughly the same meaning) is used, or a more general word that includes the meaning of the other word. For example, the word ‘child’ can include the word ‘daughter’. Sometimes a word is used that belongs to the same area of meaning, based on our knowledge of the real world. For example, we know that if we combine mayonnaise and mashed potatoes the result is a mixture Combine the thick garlic mayonnaise with the mashed potatoes and spread this mixture on rounds of toasted French bread. Some very general nouns are regularly used to refer (back­wards or forwards), not only to other nouns, but also, for example, to sen­tences describing actions, events, ideas, or statements. Such NOUNS are not linking words in a strict grammatical sense; their use is primarily se­mantic, based on meaning, but when they are used in this general way they are usually used with a determiner such as ‘the’ or ‘this’. So, by indicating links, they help to bind sentences together into a text, something we under­stand as a piece of language, rather than a random collection of unrelated! sentences.

• thing can be substituted for a noun referring to an object. More impor­tantly, ‘thing’ can refer to something such as an idea, action, event, or situation.

• case refers to an event, situation, or circumstance.

• Way can refer to the means or method by which something is done.

• ‘such’ can combine with other words as part of a noun group to mean things, people, or actions ‘like that’, ‘of that sort’. Such (with or without an adjective) is used before singular and plural count nouns, and before un­count nouns. Such can also follow ‘all’, ‘any’, ‘many’, ‘no’, ‘one’ an ‘some’, occasionally without a following noun.

• act, action, activity, course (of action), move, process. An ‘act’ and an ‘action’ are similar, but if you describe something ajs an act, you are proba­bly seeing it as something single and complete, whereas action puts more emphasis on the purpose and the process. A course of action or a move usually refers to a planned action. To refer to a course on its own (i.e. with­out ‘of action’) is rarer and more formal in this sense. If you talk about (an) activity, you are stressing that a lot is happening, that the action is very ‘busy’. A process is a series of actions, or a continuing action.

• circumstance(s), context, position, situation, state of affairs, state. Sometimes you want to refer to events or other conditions in which some­thing else happens. These ‘background’ events or conditions can be re­ferred to by these various general nouns. With ‘circumstance’, the plural is far more common than the singular. State often refers to someone’s men­tal, physical, or emotional condition.

• result, development, effect, outcome are some of the nouns which can be used when various events or states are seen as the result of some other events or actions.

• episode, event, experience. Something that happens which is important or unusual can be referred to as an episode, an event, or an experience. An experience stresses the event from the point of view of the person or peo­ple involved. Occasionally, objects, rather than people, are considered to have had an ‘experience’. This usage is rather metaphorical, and is some­times intended to be humorous.

• manner, method, means, practice, system can refer to the way in which something is done. Method suggests that this particular way is intentional and deliberate; practice and system imply that it is regular or repeated.

• business can mean a happening of some kind. It sometimes suggests a complicated or difficult activity, a puzzling event, or a problem.

• You can refer back (or sometimes forwards) to a piece of text by classing the action or situation it describes as a definite fact or as something to be discussed (e.g. ‘fact’, ‘topic’) or perhaps as some kind of explanation for some other event or situation (e.g. ‘purpose’). If you describe some event or situation as a fact, you accept it as undoubtedly true. A factor is just one of the things or circumstances that could affect a situation.

• When the previous stretch of text describes ‘verbal action’, whether direct speech or not, you can refer to it using such nouns as ‘answer⁵, ‘excuse’, or ‘suggestion’, ‘promise, question, request, or reply’. If it is a ‘thinking action’, you can refer to it with a noun such as ‘belief', ‘idea’, view, view­point or ‘theory’,,

• attitude, doubt, fear, guess, hope, objection, wish describe personal at­titudes

• stuff is sometimes used to refer to remarks or ideas in a rather disapprov­ing way. This is an informal, mainly spoken usage.

Exercise 1. Explain what the underlined NOUNS refer to

1. The line of people waiting to be questioned pressed forward, as if by this ac­tion they could hasten the process.

1. this action

2. the process

2. People who organize their own disappearance may believe themselves to be acting rationally. Often the operation has been thoroughly planned and deep psychological problems that prompt such actions are well hidden.

1. the operation

2. such actions

3. As you release your breath, let your left leg hang further so as to stretch your stomach muscles. The same procedure should be repeated on the other leg three or four times. This action will help to strengthen the muscles.

4. It is very likely indeed that the child will pretend that his homework doesn’t have to be handed in for ages, and that he needn't do it until next week. The chances are that he will be saying this because he wants to watch a favourite TV programme, so look out for the situation.

5. "Ingrid appears in public, maybe has her meals in the hotel dining-rbom. That way we make them think her sister is still here in Stockholm. But she is riot." He cleared his throat and I guessed he was about to raise an awkward sub­ject. "But are we sure we can trust Ingrid?"

1. That way... b) an awkward subject

6) Environmental opposition delayed procedures for acquiring land, which (breed the railway authority to put large stretches of new line into tunnels. This in turn caused another problem. Entering a tunnel at high speed creates pressure pulses (that cause unpleasant sensations in passengers’ ears.

a) another problem

b) And what was the first problem?

1. Al the time the realization that his best friend had murdered three people didn't seem to bother Wolfe, but since then I had come to see that the whole business had really shaken him.

8) What we have here is a very neatly organized basic textbook for first-year mathematics students. If our students knew all of this stuff when they arrived, or even when they left, to be honest, I would be more than happy.

9) Mrs Williams was reading a magazine. Diana was busy talking to Stephen about something. The children were playing quietly in a comer. "A dreadful thing has happened,” said Sophie as soon as she was sure they could not be heard. "Your brother, my brother, I mean dear Philip, of course, has run away from school and declares he will go to sea with you.

10) Another theory could be that the wounds had been inflicted after death.

There wouldn't have been much bleeding in that case. I wondered how carefully the doctor had examined the body.

2. The nurses were all very nice and helpful and assumed that I knew nothing about what would be done. I’m glad they did. In this circumstance I am a patient, not a doctor.

Exercise 2. In each of the following pieces of text, choose the best word

from among the underlined alternatives, and say what it refers to.

4. Of course he'd been talking in his sleep and of course he'd not known what he was saying. But the fact that he'd said that name meant it must be in mind. Sometimes, when she reached this point, she was able to dismiss the whole epi­sode/event/happening as nonsense.

5. Hyperventilation, or overbreathing, is breathing in a rapid, shallow way us­ing the upper chest instead of the abdomen. Breathing in this man­ner/method/ means produces more oxygen than the body needs.

6. Pressure to get tough on international fossil thieves has grown steadily, along with the prices collectors pay for top-grade specimens. The fact/issue/topic has come to a head over a piece of moon rock now in the hands of a private collector in the US.

7. "Here's what to do. If the police ask you, just say you can't remember who bought you the drink. Say the place was full of rich tourists and it must have been one of them." This plan/theory/view seemed to please the boy, who grinned and said "Right. No problem."

8. Suppose you do have one hundred people who do like and approve of you. Are you happy? No, because you are worried that the one hundred and first per­son might not like you. This argument /belief/ criticism condemns you to never being able to enjoy the positive feelings of those who do like you fully.

9. I am sure that there is some way in which a couple who have been turned down for adoption can be given an adult explanation for the de­nial/excuse/refusal.

10. I am going to help your parents get you better. We won't let you get any more ill, nor let you die, and nor will we let you get overweight, which I know is another doubt/fear/objection you have.

Exercise 3. Here is a newspaper report about UFO and the possible exis­tence of aliens on other planets. The different linking and referring items are underlined, and notes follow. The paragraphs have been numbered for ease of reference and the comments are given in Russian.

CLOSE ENCOUNTERS AND CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE

1. Many scientists are perfectly happy with the idea that aliens exist in our gal­axy. But ask them if those same aliens have visited the Earth, and the question will be met with howls of derision.

2. The cartoon image of the Unidentified Flying Object debate has led to the emergence of a "politically correct" stance on the issue, adopted by virtually all scientists: UFOs are definitely not alien spaceships.

3. Few will risk their scientific reputations by publicly discussing the thousands of reports that flood in every year from apparently sane members of the public.

4. However, many privately admit that the standard of the UFO debate is little better than a bar-room slanging match, with "scientific" arguments against UFOs as fatuous as claims for them.

5 Standard put-downs include claiming that aliens would have better uses for the huge amounts of energy needed to cross interstellar space, and that — even travelling at the speed of light — it would take thousands of years to cross the galaxy. Both arguments presume to know the motivations and the technical and physical abilities of any supposed aliens.

6. Other sceptics insist that aliens would have no reason to visit the Earth, an ar­gument which ignores the somewhat disturbing fact that for the last 70 years radio transmissions announcing our existence have been streaming out from our planet into space — and have passed through hundreds of star systems on the way.

7. So what is the knock-out scientific argument that proves aliens have not visited us? "There isn't one. The fact is, we just don't know," says Professor Freeman Dyson, the distinguished British theoretical physicist at the Institute of Advanced Study at Princeton, New Jersey — and one of the few scientists happy to speak openly.

8 His reason for not investigating UFO reports is far more down to Earth. It's a terrible waste of time — a subject full of interesting stories that one can never check."

COMMENTS

Paragraph 1: "them" = их, многих ученых; "those same aliens" = существа, которые живут в нашей галактике; "the question" отсылает нас назад к целому предложению — вопросу "if those same aliens have visited the I tuth."

Paragraph 2: "a politically correct stance" отсылает нас вперед — к позиции ученых, что НЛО — не космические иноземные корабли; "the issue" = cпор о неопознанных летающих объектах, т.е. спор касается того, действительно ли НЛО существуют, а если это так, то что это такое.

Paragraph 3 "few" = некоторые (ученые),

Paragraph 4: "however" стоит здесь, так как существует противоречие с утверждением, сделанным в параграфе 3; "many" = многие (ученые) в противоположность "few" в параграфе 3; "privately" употребляется по контрасту с "publicly" в параграфе 3; "them" = НЛО.

Paragraph 5: "it" отсылает нас вперед к инфинитивной конструкции "to cross the galaxy"; "both arguments" отсылают нас назад к двум критическим

замечаниям, а именно, что инопланетяне могли бы с большей пользой употребить свою энергию, чем лететь на Землю, и что на это у них ушло бы тысячи лет.

Paragraph 6: "other sceptics” = другие люди, которые сомневаются, что НЛО — космические корабли инопланетян. Слово ’'sceptic" раньше не употреблялось, но "other" — слово, на которое ссылаются, и оно отсылает нас назад к критически настроенным людям параграфа 5; "an argument" = что у инопланетян не было причины посетить Землю,

Paragraph 7: "so" здесь показывает своего рода итог, результат того, что было сказано до этого; в этом случае оно вводит последний вопрос —- что является ошеломляющим аргументом, аргументом, который бы полно­стью уничтожил возможное существование НЛО? Ответом на это являет­ся "There isn't one" ("-one" = ошеломляющий аргумент).

Paragraph 8: "his" относится к профессору в параграфе 7; "it" = исследова­ние сообщений об НЛО; "a subject" относится к НЛО и к тому, существу­ют ли они.

Recognising “reference links” is very important for effective reading, i.e. understanding cohesion and coherence of the text.

Just to remind:

Coherence: a text or a piece of writing is coherent if it is clearly organized and has a logical sequence of ideas.

Cohesion: a paragraph or section of the text is cohesive if the sentences are well con­structed and well linked together, and there is no unnecessary repetition.

(Incidentally, both features are taken into consideration for successful performance in the CAE exam 1) in written work for Paper 2; 2) Paper 1, Part 2 - gapped texts; and 3) Paper 3, Parts 2 and 6 - structural cloze and discourse cloze).

Common reference links are:

First reference Later reference

e.g. a holidaymaker he/she/they

e.g. a new computer the computer

e.g. James Miles Mr Miles

5. g. One way of.. Another...

5. g. Mr and Mrs Lee the couple

‘‘New Technologies ” the company

h

people

uman beings

Exercise 1. Fill in the gaps with there or it

1. By the time I got home, it was nearly ten o’clock.

2. ‘Is your birthday today?’ ‘No, was last week.

3. Come here, Simon. someone here to see you. I think is your

friend, Rod.

4. wasn’t warm enough to go to the beach, so we went to the cinema.

5. wasn’t very much money left after I had paid for the shopping.

Exercise 2. Fill in the gaps with one or it Justify your choice.

1.	a: I need a loaf of bread.
	b: I’ll buy this afternoon.
2.	a: Is the phone ringing?
	b: I can’t hear
3.	a: Titanic is an amazing film.
	b: I know. I’ve seen twice.
4.	a: When was the last time you read a book?
	b: I haven’t read for months.
5.	a: Have you got a car?
	b: No, I can’t afford
6.	a: Do you like the new Rolling Stones CD?
	b: I haven’t heard yet.
7.	a: I need a dress for the party.
	b: I’ll lend you .

E

look at them?

_ day for ever, days.

xercise 3. Fill in the gaps with this, that, these or those.

1. What are you doing afternoon?

2. Who is man over there?

3. I’m really busy days.

4. Hello? is Emily. Can I speak to Joan?

5. In days, people didn’t have cars.

6. ‘Jim got married last week’. ‘s wonderful.

7. car over there belongs to the mayor.

8, people over there are waiting for the bus.

9. We’re moving house month.

10. diamond earrings here are priceless.

2. ‘I’ve got a new job!’ ‘ ’s wonderful news.

12. ‘Mum, my teacher, Miss Johns.

13. are my holiday photographs. Would you like to look at them?

14. ‘Hello, is Jane Black speaking’.

15. The day I got married was wonderful. I’ll remember day for ever.

16. I had a wonderful childhood. We did things differently in days.

Arranging jumbled texts

Exercise 1. Read the jumbled paragraphs about Kimora Lee Perkins and put them in the right order. The seven paragraphs in the text about Kimora are or­ganized as follows:

1. - an interesting introduction

2. - some background

3. - training

4. - details about the work

5. - characteristics of the job

6. - what she has done with her money 7-advice to others

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Mademoiselle Chanel

1. She owes her remarkable looks to a Korean mother and a black father. But when she was young, back home in St. Louis, Missouri, she cried when she looked in the mirror and saw how tall she was. ’I felt I was different from all the other kids my age,' she explains. Her mother Joanne Perkins, 34, recalls, 'Kimora was a tormented child. It was almost impossible for her to relate to other girls of her age, and there was a lot of teasing. Growing up was a very painful experience for her.'

2. She is not only the youngest top model, she is also one of the richest. 'Mom looks after that,’ Kimora explains, 'I don't even have a credit card -I’m too young!¹

3. When she was 11, her mother took her to a local modelling school. She thought modelling would be an interesting job because then she would be with other tall girls. She began to like it very much, and had to learn how to walk and pose to show off the clothes to their best advantage.

4. 'People think it's a very easy job that anyone could do, but you need a lot of stam­ina,' Kimora says. 'Once, in London, we had to take photos in the street all through the night, and then I had to go to my tutor for school lessons at 9,00 am before taking the daytime photos at 1.00pm.’

5. SHE'S 14, American, and speaks no French at all. But six-foot-tall Kimora Lee Perkins is hot news in Paris. She has become the top model at the Parisian fashion house of Chanel.

6. What advice does she have for others? ’You should go to a good modelling school, and you have to be prepared to work really hard and give your whole life to model­ling.’

7. Chanel chose her because ’she has the look of the 90s’, and now she spends eight to ten hours a day modelling their latest fashions in various parts of the world. 'I have to try really hard to keep looking good for the cameras,’ she said.

Exercise 2. Here are two newspaper stories, which have been mixed up. Look at the headlines, read the paragraphs and decide which paragraph goes with which story. Then put them in the right order.