reading comprehension

Reading for Comprehension Practice

Posted on May 23, 2023June 17, 2023 by Ms. Elle

Reading is one of the best ways to acquire new vocabulary and learn grammar structures.

When reading, it engages the imagination. It is like having motion pictures in your mind. With this, details are printed deeply in memory that retention and recall may be long term, and comprehension may be achieved. Frequent and thorough reading are best in attaining overall linguistic competence. However, quick reading is necessary as tests and exams are time restrained.

Reading for Comprehension Techniques

Quickly SKIM for NOUNS, VERBS, and ADJECTIVES
- use this when you are reading for gist
SCAN for details like NAMES, DATES, DAYS, NUMBERS, etc…
- use this when you are reading for details

Two reading skills related to quick reading are skimming and scanning.

Skimming is a reading technique used when you want to quickly get the gist or idea of a text, thus reading for gist. Skimming refers to a quick browse of the entire text, paying more attention to the content words – like nouns, verbs, and adjectives, as they provide meaning. In this manner, you are able to get the ideas or messages the writer is trying to convey quickly.

Example: Rescue teams were slow to respond and poorly equipped.

Scanning is another technique related to quick reading. It is used when reading for details. Here, readers scan the text for more specific information such as, names, time, date, day, percent, and other specific data in the text.

Example:

On 15 November 2022, the world’s population reached 8 billion people, a milestone in human development. While it took the global population 12 years to grow from 7 to 8 billion, it will take approximately 15 years—until 2037— for it to reach 9 billion, a sign that the overall growth rate of the global population is slowing.

Reading for Overall Linguistic Competence Techniques

Read frequently
Pay attention to new words and grammar structures
Immediately use new words in a sentence or in conversation
Test your comprehension by answering guide questions if available

READING EXERCISES: Click the link below. Read the texts and answer the guide questions after.

Past stories
Announcements
Article 1 – Mobile Phones
Article 2 – Vaccination

RELATED POSTS

Vaccination

Posted on May 18, 2022May 23, 2023 by Ms. Elle

Getting a vaccination could soon be as simple as eating a potato. Researchers at the University of Maryland, led by Dr. Carol Tacket, are developing edible vaccines that could grant immunity against some diseases.

To be inoculated against a virus, bacterium, or toxin, the antibodies of our immune systems must be exposed to the illness-bearing agent, or pathogen. Vaccines work by exposing the body to pathogens that have been killed or disarmed. Once sensitized, antibodies can mobilize rapidly against familiar enemies by binding to them and preventing their growth and activity.

Most vaccines are delivered in shots or pills, but the new one will be incorporated in raw potatoes. The potatoes have been genetically engineered to produce the key piece of an E.coli toxin that causes acute diarrhea. As the spuds move through the intestinal system and are digested, the toxin fragment is released and exposed to the immune system, which then generates antibodies against the toxin.

Dr. Tacket’s group is waiting for approval from the FDA to test the potato vaccine on humans; it has already been tested successfully in mice. The next step would be to genetically modify bananas to carry vaccines, because raw bananas taste better than raw potatoes.

The potential for edible vaccines is tremendous, especially in developing countries. Whereas current vaccines are expensive to produce, store, transport, and administer, an edible vaccine could be grown where it is needed in the quantity desired, and requires considerably less medical expertise to use.

EXERCISE 1: Below are list of vocabulary from the reading article. Complete the table by providing the definition and sample sentence for each of the given vocabulary. You may download, link below.

vocabulary	meaning	sample sentence
edible	fit to be eaten as food	Fruits found in the forest may not be edible.
grant (verb)	to give	Their request for monetary allowance was granted.
immunity	the condition that permits either natural or acquired resistance to disease	Vaccines help the body build immunity to diseases.
disease
inoculate
toxin
antibody
immune system
expose
pathogen
genetically engineered
generates
potential
tremendous
current
administer
quantity
desire

vocabulary table Download

EXERCISE 2: Reading Comprehension Questions

Download questions to test your reading comprehension.

Questions-article-4 Download WORD file

Questions-article-4 PDF

EXERCISE 3: Write a short essay on any of the following topics.

How a CoViD-19 vaccine works?
Benefits of CoViD-19 vaccine
Advantages of a vaccinated person over unvaccinated individual
Importance of vaccination
How are CoViD-19 vaccines administered?

Related Posts

Mobile Phones

Posted on May 18, 2022May 23, 2023 by Ms. Elle

Just a few minutes’ chatting on a mobile phone reduces the brain functions of children for almost an hour, according to new Spanish test results quoted in Norwegian media.

The tests, conducted by the German investigator Michael Klieeisen at the Spanish Neuro Diagnostic Research Institute in Marbella, are the first to show how children’s brains react to the use of mobile phones. With the help of a scanner, Klieeisen was able to create pictures of how the brains of an 11-year-old boy and a 13-year-old girl reacted while they used a mobile phone. The results were compared with similar tests using adult subjects.

The tests showed that the brain activity of the child subjects was reduced significantly, especially on the side where the mobile phone was held, a few minutes after the call was begun, the report said. Also, brain activity was lower than normal in large sections of the brain for 50 minutes after the end of the call, the test results showed.

“My advice to all parents is not to allow children to use mobile phones.” Klieeisen was quoted by Aftenposten as saying. “Not only are electrical activities affected, but also bio chemical processes. We do not know if it is dangerous, but we do know that children’s brains, which are not fully developed, are more vulnerable than adult brains are,” the researcher added.

Researchers in Britain confirm the Spanish results, and Norwegian and Swedish experts are also studying the health risk posed by mobile phones.

Reading Comprehension Questions

Questions-article-2 Download

MORE HERE

Past Stories

Posted on March 14, 2022May 23, 2023 by Ms. Elle

Dear Diary

Story by Mitchelle Juaban

Dear Diary, I ran into the kindest person in the world yesterday. I didn’t see him coming as I walked hurriedly into the university canteen. I bumped unto him and hit my face hard unto his chest. I felt dizzy for a while, and as I looked up to see who it was I saw his handsome face staring back at me. I blushed! He then asked me if I was alright to which I timidly answered yes. It was then I realized that he was actually holding me on both arms. Oh my gosh, I blushed some more. I didn’t know what to do! I was frozen. I just stared at him with my mouth opened for what felt like eternity. After a while, he asked if there was something wrong. “Oh. I’m so sorry. But… but I think I got your shirt stained with my lipstick” I explained hurriedly. He let go of me, and intently glanced at the lipstick stain on his shirt.

I was nervous. A lot of things were running in my mind at that time. “Will he get angry? Should I ask him to take his shirt off, so I could wash it? Oh no I should not say that. Does he think I’m crazy? Will he ever talk to me again?” ……Then I heard him say, “Not a big deal. Anyway, I like the way it looks on my shirt.”

Guide Questions

Where did the story happened?
How was the narrator of the story and the handsome guy related?
How did the narrator of the story feel about the handsome guy?
What was on the handsome guy’s shirt?
How did the handsome guy feel about the narrator of the story? Give your reason(s)

Download these stories

The Best Hamburger of My Life

When I was thirteen years old, I had a great surprise at the Grand Hotel in Toronto. My favorite soccer team was visiting from Mexico, so I went to the hotel to get autographs from some of the players. When I got there, I waited outside for a long time because I was very nervous. Finally, I told my legs to start moving, and I went up to my favorite striker, Sergio Verdirame, and asked for his autograph. My voice was trembling, but I controlled it. He stopped to listen to me, and then an amazing thing happened. He invited me to his table for dinner. I could not believe it! Suddenly I was sitting across the table from Sergio Verdirame! I ordered a big hamburger with everything on it except onions. When the food came, my hands were shaking, and I could not eat or talk. After a while, I took a deep breath and said to myself, “Hey, this happens just once in your life.” I got rid of my nerves and started talking with the team and enjoying my hamburger. They were really great guys, and we had a good time laughing and joking together. That was the most delicious hamburger I ever ate in my life because I was eating it with my idol.

Guide Questions

How old was the person narrating this story?
Who was the person’s favorite soccer player?
Who did the person eat with in the restaurant?
What did he have for dinner?
What vegetable he didn’t eat with it?
How did the person get rid of his/her nerves?
Decide if the person narrating the story is a female or a male. Give your reason(s).

DOWNLOAD THE PAST STORIES HERE

The Hero

**Story by Betty Erickson

After a week of rain, the sun came out. Nick ran out to play. He found a puddle full of tadpoles under his swing.

Day after day, Nick watched the tadpoles. They grew legs. Their tails got shorter. Nick was afraid that the puddle would dry up before the tadpoles turned into toads. So he scooped the tadpoles into an old watering can.

Two weeks later, Nick watched a tiny toad come out of the spout. It jumped into the grass. Then two more toads came out of the spout. At last Nick counted six happy toads hopping in the grass. Nick felt like a hero. He had saved a whole puddle of toads!

Guide Questions