Reading Comprehension Skills (first Certificate)

Objective: to start practicing techniques that help students develop reading comprehension skills. Skills: Analyze – Classify - Replace Departamento de Idiomas Sub sector Inglés Profesor: Viviana Paz / Jaume Vizcarro 4º Año Medio

Fi rst C er tif icate in Engl is h 1. READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS 1.1 Dealing with difficult words: When you are reading a text without the help of a dictionary and there is a word which you don’t know, you may carry out the following techniques: · look at the function of the word in the sentence · look at the context of the word in the sentence and the text. Let’s put into practice these suggestions. What function does the word have in the sentences – what work is it doing? Is it a noun, an adjective, a verb or an adverb? Identify the nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs.

Daniel quickly put the old sepia photograph in the drawer

Exercises A 1- 4: to practice identifying some different sort of nouns, adjectives, verbs and adverbs. Exercise A 1 a. Put each of these NOUNS into two correct columns in the table below. First decide if you can or can’t see each on and then decide if you can or can’t count each one. Luggage suitcase happiness problem firefighter furniture finger plastic love family flower water Cow blackbird back factory beef advice Pencil wool musician Marxism steel beetle Oxygen

1 Can see

2 Can’t see

3 Can count

4 Can’t count

b. Now put each NOUN into one of the categories below. Collective word Person Thing Animal/Insect/Bird Plant Part of person Building Liquid/gas Other material Food Abstract idea

Exercise A 2 a. Put the ADJECTIVES below into one of these different categories. new

attractive careless long lovely little square Impatient clever cream artificial former unimaginative Age/ Time Colour Material Positive Shape Origin Size Negative

round

green

generous stupid last wooden exciting satisfied destructive oval priceless

Chinese dark elderly silk wide

glass

Exercise A 3 Verbs can work: -

with a direct object without a direct object with or without a direct object

James cuts the bread Please sit down Can you sing this song? I can’t sing very well

a. Put the VERBS in one correct column in the table below. If you’re not sure, try adding it after the verb and decide it it sounds right. Cut

sit

carry Read ring

sing fly discuss

1 Usually with direct object

know find eat surprise lie

2 Usually without direct object

smile

hit eat talk

sleep laugh

3 With or without direct object

Exercise A 4 a. Put the ADVERBS below into one of these different groups. tidily forwards fortunately soon yesterday HOW?

often away late carefully backwards here well fast recently outside badly finally upstairs WHERE?

WHEN?

Exercises A 1- 4: Decide the function of words in sentences. Exercise A 5 a. Look at these sentences, and decide whether the words in bold are working as nouns, verbs, adjectives or adverbs. 1. Who is going to head the government enquiry? Verb 2. You can buy souvenir walking sticks in the village shop. _______ 3. A lot of factory workers will probably lose their jobs. _______ 4. As a child Tanya had so many dislikes that I never knew what to give her to eat. _____ 5. I love that bit in the film where Kevin hands the teacher a dead a rat. ______ 6. When Camila left him to return to Finland, Spencer felt very lonely. ______ 7. If we’re going there on Saturday, we’d better book first. ________ 8. Clive originally met his wife in a shoe shop. ______ 9. Although it was very cold, we stood on the platform as the waiting room was so dirty. _______.

Key Answers Exercise A 1

A: Can see : luggage suitcase firefighter furniture finger plastic family flower water cow blackbird back factory beef pencil wool musician steel beetle Can’t see: happiness problem love advice Marxism oxygen Can count: suitcase problem firefighter finger family flower cow blackbird back factory pencil musician beetle Can’t count: luggage happiness furniture plastic love water beef advice wool Marxism steel oxygen

B: Collective word: luggage family furniture Person: musician Thing: suitcase pencil Animal/Insect/Bird: blackbird beetle cow Plant: flower Part of person: back finger Building: factory Liquid/gas: oxygen water Other material: plastic wool steel Food: beef Abstract idea: happiness love problem advice Marxism

Exercise A 2

A: Age/ Time: new last elderly former Colour: green dark cream Material: glass wooden silk Positive: attractive generous lovely exciting clever satisfied priceless Shape: round long square oval Origin: Chinese artificial Negative: careless stupid impatient destructive unimaginative Size: little wide Exercise A 3

A: Usually with direct object: cut know hit carry find discuss surprise Usually without direct object: smile sleep laugh lie talk With or without direct object: fly eat read ring

Exercise A 4

A: HOW: carefully fortunately well fast badly WHERE: away backwards here outside upstairs WHEN: late son recently yesterday finally

Exercise A 5

A: 2 adjective 3 noun 4 noun 5 verb 6 adverb 7 verb 8 adjective 9 adjective