Exercise 1 : Skim the following passage as quickly as possible and underline the sentence that gives the main point of each paragraph.. Time limit: 2 minutes LIBRARIES.[r]
(1)STRATEGIES FOR READING COMPREHENSION 1.DEALING WITH UNFAMILIAR WORDS
Techniques for dealing with unknown vocabulary in reading texts: - Ignore them
- Look for the meaning given somewhere in the sentence or in the previous and following sentences - Guess their meaning from the context
Ignoring the unfamiliar words
For example, look at this exercise Read the paragraph about obesity and answer the questions Obesity is a medical disorder that affects approximately 20-30% of the population of the United States of America It is an excessive accumulation of body fat that results from the storage of excess food energy calories in the body’s fat cells
1 Most American people suffer from obesity True, False, or Not Given? This paragraph presents…
A some examples of obesity C a definition of obesity B the different types of obesity D the treatment of obesity
When reading this passage, a student may find many unknown words and underline them However, both questions can be answered without knowing the meaning of the italic words It is even unnecessary to know the meaning of the word “obesity”!
Looking for the meaning of unfamiliar words given somewhere in the sentence
Sometimes a sentence gives a definition of a new vocabulary item or information about it This information may be in parentheses ( ), after a dash (-), or after a comma (,)
Example: There were sixty-one identical cats in the classroom, each one exactly like the one on the board (What does identical mean? It means exactly alike)
Sometimes the meaning or a clue to the meaning of a new vocabulary item is in another sentence or sentence part
Example: A teacher from a Western country recently visited an elementary school in an Asian country In one class, she watched sixty young children (What is an elementary school? It’s a school for young children)
Guessing the meaning of unknown words from the context
If it seems necessary to understand the meaning of a particular unfamiliar word, you will have to guess You cannot look up every word you don’t know in a dictionary since it is boring and time-consuming, especially when you read long passages and more importantly, it is forbidden when you take a test! Now, let’s focus on how to use context to guess the meaning of a word
In ordinary reading, there are a number of clues that can help you to determine the meaning of an unknown word
* Synonyms:
The first state to institute compulsory education was Massachusetts, which made it mandatory for students to attend school twelve weeks a year
The word mandatory is a synonym of the word compulsory * Examples:
Many gardeners use some kind of mulch, such as chopped leaves, peat moss, grass clippings, pine needles, or wood chips, in order to stop the growth of weeds and hold in moisture
(2)* Contrast:
In the 1820s, the Southern states supported improvements in the national transportation system, but the Northern states balked
Since the Southern states supported the improvements, and since a word signalling contrast (but) is used, it is clear that the Northern states disagreed with the idea, and that the word balked must mean objected or refused
* General context:
In a desert, vegetation is so scanty as to be incapable of supporting any large human population As is generally known, deserts contain little vegetation, so clearly scanty must mean scare or barely sufficient
2 SKIMMING THE PASSAGE
Read the title, subtitles and subheadings to find out what the text is about
When you are skimming a passage for a general understanding, don’t try to understand every word Jump from paragraph to paragraph, finding the main point in each paragraph before moving on to the next paragraph, like jumping across stepping-stones in a river The main point of each paragraph is often, though certainly not always, the first sentence in each paragraph
When you are looking at sentences to understand the main points, try to find the main words in the sentence, namely the subject, the verb and the object of the main clause Try to ignore the other words, particularly the relative clauses and adverbial clauses
Example
Tea plants are grown on tea plantations, called gardens or estates, in areas that have a great amount of rainfall and rich loamy oil.
It is enough to understand that tea plants are grown on/in somewhere/somehow If you later find a question that relates to this sentence, you can come back and read it more intensively
When you have finished skimming the passage, skim the questions You need to know how many questions there are and approximately what the questions are about You can now practise skimming To encourage you to skim as quickly as possible, there is a suggested time limit
Exercise 1: Skim the passage quickly Read only the title, the first paragraph, the first sentence of the middle paragraphs, and the last paragraph Don’t worry about the words you don’t know Then complete the sentence below.
The main idea of this reading is _ 1. the high cost of a university education 2. how to pay for a university education 3. living on a student budget
Time limit: minutes A STUDENT BUDGET
College gives people the chance to learn and make friendships that will last a lifetime Many people in North America begin college at the age of eighteen Many students go to school and work part-time to help pay for their education
(3)Students need to spend their money carefully At Eastern Michigan University, advisors help students to plan and stick to a budget They suggest this: At the start of a school semester, write down your income, for example, money you will get from your family or a part-time job Then, list all of your expenses Put your expenses into two groups: those that change (food, phone, books, travel), and those that will stay the same (tuition, room and board) Add together all of your expenses Then, subtract these from your income Do you have enough money, or you need more?
Learning to stick to a budget is not always easy But for many, it is easier than borrowing money from family or friends in the middle of a semester
3 GETTING THE MAIN IDEAS
Exercise 1: Skim the following passage as quickly as possible and underline the sentence that gives the main point of each paragraph.
Time limit: minutes LIBRARIES
Libraries are quite difficult to define If you ask most people to define a library, they will probably say that it is a building with a lot of books Strictly speaking, a library does not have to be a building: it can be a room, or indeed any area where material is kept Equally, a library is not merely a collection of books: there are journals, newspapers, CD-ROMs, microfilm, audio-visual materials and so on So, to be more accurate we can say that a library is a collection of information or material
Libraries are organized in three ways Most libraries will use one or more of the three main classification systems that have been developed to detail the material in the collection They are referred to as the Dewey Decimal System, the Universal Decimal Classification and the Library of Congress System
Nowadays libraries are under threat for a number of reasons The primary challenge, as never before, is funding Hardware and personnel costs increase each time technology expands Equally, there are challenges in the skills needed by users and resource professionals
It is difficult to predict the future of libraries Our basic concept of libraries will almost certainly, it would appear, change dramatically in that we will not think of them (and access them) as physical places, which is the prevailing concept at the moment But beyond that, it is difficult to predict both usage patterns and preferred systems of data recording and retrieval
UNDERSTANDING THE MAIN IDEAS In each paragraph of a passage there is often a summary sentence which contains the main idea of the paragraph
The other sentences in the paragraph expand, illustrate, and/ or explain the main idea
The summary sentence is frequently thought not always the first or the second sentence of the paragraph
(4)4.SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS
Exercise 1: Read the questions below Then scan (don’t read) the following paragraph to find the answers QUESTIONS
1 What city is this paragraph about? _ What is the population of the city? _ Is there information about the food in this country? YES NO Is there information about the schools in this country? YES NO
Time limit: minute TAIPEI
Taipei is a lively and expensive city, and it lets you know it About 6,000,000 people live in and around the capital of Taiwan and it is a hotbed of renao, or liveliness Apartments are almost impossible to buy in Taipei and the government is encouraging businesses to locate in other parts of the country Taipei may not be a relaxing place but the food is excellent, the people are friendly, and there are some wonderful things to see, like the Grand Hotel
Exercise 2: Scan the passage about libraries Which sentence contains the information you need to answer the questions below? Write the number of the sentence from the passage next to each question.
Time limit: minutes
(1) Libraries are quite difficult to define (2) If you ask most people to define a library, they will probably say that it is a building with a lot of books (3) Strictly speaking, a library does not have to be a building: it can be a room, or indeed any area where material is kept (4) Equally, a library is not merely a collection of books: there are journals, newspapers, CD-ROMs, microfilm, audio-visual materials and so on (5) So, to be more accurate we can say that a library is a collection of information or material
(6) Libraries are organized in three ways (7) Most libraries will use one or more of the three main classification systems that have been developed to detail the material in the collection (8) They are referred to as the Dewey Decimal System, the Universal Decimal Classification and the Library of Congress System
(9) Nowadays libraries are under threat for a number of reasons (10) The primary challenge, as never before, is funding (11) Hardware and personnel costs increase each time technology expands (12) Equally, there are challenges in the skills needed by users and resource professionals
TACTICS FOR DOING SHORT-ANSWER QUESTIONS
Read the instructions carefully.
Underline or highlight the key words in each question and decide what kind of information you need to look for.
Start with the first question and read the passage quickly to see if you can find words that are the same as the key words or have a similar meaning
Read around these words to find the answer.
(5)(13) It is difficult to predict the future of libraries (14) Our basic concept of libraries will almost certainly, it would appear, change dramatically in that we will not think of them (and access them) as physical places, which is the prevailing concept at the moment (15) But beyond that, it is difficult to predict both usage patterns and preferred systems of data recording and retrieval
1 What kinds of materials does a library collect? 2 What is the most accurate way to define ‘library’? 3 What is the main problem that libraries are facing? _ 4 What aspect of libraries is sure to change? _ 5.MULTIPLE CHOICE
Exercise 1: Look through the questions below, scan the passage and then choose the best answers Time limit: minutes
The first black literature in America was not written but was preserved in an oral tradition, in a rich body of folklore, songs and stories, many from African origins There are humorous tales, Biblical stories, animal stories, and stories of natural phenomena, of good and bad people, and of the wise and foolish Many reflect how African Americans viewed themselves and their lives The lyrics of blues, spirituals, and work songs speak of suffering and hope, joy and pain, loved ones, and religious faith, and are an integral part of the early literature of black people in America
The earliest existing written black literature was Lucy Terry’s poem “Bars Fight”, written in 1746 Other eighteenth-century black poets include Jupiter Hammon and George Moses Horton The first African American to publish a book in American was Phillis Wheatley Black poetry also flourished in the nineteenth-century, during which the writings of almost forty poets were printed, the most notable of whom was Paul Laurence Dunbar, the first black American to achieve national acclaim for his work Dunbar published eight volumes of poetry and eight novels and collections of stories
More than three dozen novels were written by blacks between 1853 and 1899, but autobiography dominated African-American literature in the nineteenth-century, as it had in the eighteenth In the twentieth century, however, fiction has presided, with Charles W Chestnutt, America’s first black man of letters, successfully bridging the two centuries He began publishing short fiction in the mid-1880s, wrote two books that appeared in 1899, and had three books published between 1900 and 1905 He was a pioneer of the “new literature” of the early 1900s, which aimed to persuade readers of the worth and equality of African Americans
1 Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as part of the oral tradition of African Americans?
A Humorous tales B Tales of adventure
C Biblical stories D Animal stories
2 According to the passage, the lyrics of blues and spirituals are often concerned with A the pain and joy in life B loved ones and animals
TACTICS FOR MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
Underline or highlight the key words in the question and the four questions. Quickly read the sentences that contain the main ideas in each paragraph of the passage.
(6)C religion and nature D wise and foolish people According to the passage, an important part of early African-American literature was
A Novels B short fiction stories
C Biographies D songs
4 According to the passage, when did the first written African-American literature appear?
A In the 1600s B In the 1700s
C In the 1800s D In the 1900s
5 According to the passage, who was the first African American to receive national recognition for his writing?
(A) Paul Dunbar B.George Horton C Lucy Terry D.Phillis Wheatley 6.REFERENCE
Successful reading means being able to see the relationship between different words, that is, being able to match information rather than understand isolated words
The most typical example of matching information is matching reference, that is, how one word refers to other words If you cannot understand all the references, you cannot understand the passage There are many types of reference
1 Pronouns: (e.g he, she, it, they, himself, herself, this, that, these, what, who, where…) Many people wrote to complain They particularly objected to…
We received about twenty calls a day These range from requests for… The hospital receives insufficient funding This is a major problem
He asked if I could lend him a torch Unfortunately, I didn’t have one 2 Auxiliary verbs: (e.g do/did, have/had, can/could, will/would…)
We all tell white lies occasionally Life would be difficult if we didn’t You need to pay the fee now If you can’t, please let us know
They asked me to help I said I would
3 there, then, so, such
At the beginning of the 19th century… Thing were very different then. You may experience symptoms of nausea Such symptoms are not uncommon 4 Parallel expressions
His follow mathematicians his colleagues
Feelings of anger and betrayal strong emotions 5 Articles
A survey… (first reference) the survey … (later reference)
How can you find the references? Reference words are in many cases pronouns such as “it”, “them”, “they”, or “this” When the reference word is a pronoun, look for a previous noun that might match the pronoun Make sure that they match in gender (male or female), number (singular and plural), and case (is the word a subject, an object or a possessive?) Replace the pronoun with this noun and check to see if the meaning is possible For example, in the sentences above, when ‘her’ is replaced with ‘Sandra’ the sentence makes sense Therefore ‘her’ refers to ‘Sandra’
Sandra’s closest friends are Amy and Lee They study with her at the university
Sometimes to understand a reading passage we need to work out the link between the ideas correctly This link is not always expressed by reference words but by elliptical devices Let’s have a look at the following example
The main purpose of a resume’ is to convince an employer to grant you