Effective Reading Reading skills for advanced students Đọc hiệu quả Kỹ năng đọc dành cho học sinh nâng cao

Effective Reading Reading skills for advanced students Đọc hiệu quả Kỹ năng đọc dành cho học sinh nâng cao another student, think of fivr things you can do to prevent *S Now read the passage and chcck whether the words you predicted in 1 actually appeared.. 2 N ow think of ten or so words tha

U nit 8 Burgled seven tim e s

) l ook at the title of the unit Think of ten to fifteen words w h ich you ir e likely to

find in the pnsaage

2 Working wit! another student, think of fivr things you can do to prevent

*S Now read the passage and chcck whether the words you predicted in 1 actually

appeared

Understanding text organlsat

S H E 'S veil known In fhe local

ftnss n^ercnants "Oh you «lnt

been done again *ave you?**

they cry as Fcl Watkins walks

I in be cause Intruders have

brokr.n Into her Ctapham fiat

seven times in the space of 16

months.

Du.-ing thU period, only one

to of the o'her 21 flats in her bloc*;

has been burgled; and the pr»*

visas, occupant of her flat lived

there for 40 years, without

being burned once.

«9 She has realised the place la

everything the burglars love,

U s on the grotfrd Hoof, set

back *cm the road, with a good

screen of tree* and bushes, and

to plenty of easy exits over walls

to common land and to U*e

railway line.

She decided to treat the ex­

perience as a lesson, to get the

a$ criiTie prevention officer round

and c*rry out the Im

pruvementr to *ecunty which

he sur^esled.

•That was my biggest,** she

x arid I har! a girl-friend living

here and between us we lost

every Wt of jewellery we had and three watrhes cameras and a cassette player

•Ttiere waa a phone call at half pest 11 at night It was my neighbour who said: There's something fiinny gi -ng on in your ttat, and all the lights are on.* I was really upreUhls Ume.

1 felt so helpless I Just burst Into tears That was the Hr*t Ume I'd cried about it all."

At this point she wrote to her

MP saying that she knew what she was doing trying to keep tnese people out of her hrmt and that she d like to ! now

«-hat he was doing He wrote back, blaming unemployment whicn Fei say* she "*ort of be*

ileves‘\

After the fourth break in the police, at their own expense, connected an alarm, which would ring at the pohce station but not In the flat

The crlire prevention ofneers had told Fel that there was no problemVlth the small window above the kitchen door, as It was less than nine Inches

L'rit S HurgteJ scren tiniest

•cross Dut three boys man­

aged to squeeze through

tt The police saw thrm but they

ran off down the railway line.

"Although nothing was

Ui<rn t V y turned the place

upMcU >i ah which happened

|Q In eat h c;*se cxccpt the sixth

and seventh." said Fel The

sixth time an attempt was

made the police charged a man

Fcl was a.sked by the police if

75 anyone bore her a grudge "I

had the feeling that everyone in

Clapham *as checking me

out," she said "But the poire

said that it didn'^work that

§0 wav They said It wasn’t natu­

ral’ to suffer like this, so they

thought it was a vendetta.’*

She discovered she wasn’t

the most burgled person local­

es ly that was a magistrate living

near Clapham Common who

has been burgled 18 times In

two years

(Jane Koheris in The Sldm hrd)

After the first few Incident*.

Fel admits that she war In a 90 terrible stale of shock, that her heart would be pounding every time she got back from the office, wondering what she’d And and that she slept very lightly

Now she manages to sleep but Is very Jumpy about walk­

ing around the local street*.

"That would have been a real 100 clean-up Job But the alarm went off as the burglars tried the sitting room They had piled everything up outside the kitchen door Including the hl-fl 105 with all It* wires cu t"

"A s I was coming back from work 1 saw a collection of neighbours outside my door and I instantly knew what had 110 happened There was silence as

I approached Then someone said ‘’You've been done again."

The following sentences have all been removed from the passage Decide where they should go

j ) The Arst break-in which was

Klao her flmt bun lory in 12

year* of llvlng.lii IxiiHlon hap­

pened only six weeks alter she

moved In.

h) In spite of all this, nine days

after the ftrst she suffered her

aecond burglary.

c) The third happened while Fel a

seen tary w?s staying with her

mothtr in Hampshire

J ) it was there In plenty of time for

the fifth break in wl.en It was

set o.l by the intruders

e\ Of the seventh land last so fart

Fel says’

I ’mi; X Urn J tn rti tw in

Chocking comprehension

I )codo whether the following statements arc true, faUe, or whether yottdon't

i) The luirgtars usually goi into I cl W atkins’ Hat by breaking a window,

I') There are ^uv burglaries in Clapham

c) I el NX ttkms has been very unh\ ky to be bu»glcd so often,

dj The H it is well-protected against burglaries because ol its location

t) S)>e torgm to ask a neighbour to keep an eye on the flat.

0 *Mo>t burelars arc unemployed

p; I he police paid for certain imptovcments to security in Pel’s flat,

h) She’s scared that she’ll he burgled while she’s at home

►I She lost most of her belongings in the sevemh burglary

Understanding complex sentences

t.i*>k at the following sentences and punctuate them Do not look back At the text.fct may help you to read them aloud

a) It’s on the ground floor set back from the road with a good screen of trees and

bushes and plenty of easy exits over walls to common land and to the railway line

b) The first break-in which was also her first burglary in 12 years of living in

London happened only six weeks after she moved in

I c) After the fourth break-in the police at their own expense connected an alarm *

which would ring at the police station but not in the flat,

d) After the first few incidents Fel admits that she was in a terrible state of shock that her heart would be pounding every time she got back from the office

wondering what she’d find and that she slept very lightly

Writing summaries

1 Look at the following document which is issued by the Metiopoliian Police, London Imagine you are a Critme Prevention Officer Write down five question* you would ask 5 householder ;Ji our his/her property if they ha i ask :d you for advice on how to beat the burglar

2 W ork in pairs Ask your partner the questions \ ju prepared about his or her house/flat, and answer questions ato^t yours

3 W rite a brief report giving your advice as Crime Prevention Officer on how yru would make your partner’s home more secure against burglary

When you Im v b il lock II! | Whin you move house

-first of m W V i I tacurlty lochs »o Ml floors •*“ *

wmiov^ and a a*«ety Cham on the frunf <*«*

Secondly i so Ihaml And u,o them every I * *

you go out even ,f it's only leu a short W *

II you have any lartdeis or tools don I I4*v#

•hum lying aboul in Ihe gaiden kx.k Ihfcm

away or at tcrost Wnmob»i*so •hem

Don't roly on'swtB' nf •’ secret' p i.y p s W * « > s

and valuable* * nine limns out of ten tn*y 3 ^

the hrst place a thief witl look.

Valuables need special

protection

Really valuable items, such as feweHery,

should ho giver’ six?c»a« prot«*ct«on -

prete'ably by Jeuv.ng thorn with your t)an* But

a small security sate, property ins«a»e<V

shouid protect you ®g*»nst all but the n*o«»

Oe'eimmeO fj.y la r l< K i i j o most

•o maintain an uf>;o-d” t« l«st o» vaumfcw# ano

their de so option-v In the ca se ol une • a

paintings c««amics or |ew#Mery co*Ouf

photoQ«ap*5 can sometimes be of a **» t"n ca

to the police sho-.id you be

enough to have them stolen Eniar the

such documents «n your hou** h' op

the ban* of w ih your insurance C o *P

(Metropolitan Police: Dint the Hurglar}

Wn*,« yOit *U#v* * *** fco** +***« * * *»

Mia*******4* '* 0* * ****** ‘* T '

**‘f ir 'w * h*va d^^r«i#fe * » v *vvtw i,„u w r<-** " * «'*"*» *•*» *'*' .

e n u « j ihai i» iahen in i*m? n o u M

c n ^ d fo a-u rly and that you plan lo b-’ »A»y (of »*of>9 "»«•** w thal vou* I * * " *» «ul iK _ C»» «> youf local p t'ica i a l i c • ” ? ' ’ ’ 7 ™ you arr go.no av-^y, Mafca a u 't >nat ^ no*

Utic i’ a» yo«f *paie fey a -d N >* y«* can Da contacted in ca*rf o« i-ooW*

r-,i rt-ialiy *ioiKlay i.ith, <vx «loave ta*^ O'

v j.u bias in ft** »w*va • ta“ a w»h you or

|<xfge thorn >*ifh I M b«#n*t

Further work

t ; rt.i,r ir i!iw licccM H ilivc?Fel\V aikin *, M enib*iiei> eiof

’

W ith y i t partner, make a t i « « t 1 ■ ■ f h b|eil1.

ht.rglarv Think of social, economic and political j ,\ twi*

D is c u « your view s w ith th«^rcst u i k y o0 co u ld m a k * • f.eke to

1 then present yo u r conclusions to (he rest of h r class.t : • ,■ "p' ' r * h , w , *,K , *

5 Unit 20 Save the jungle — save the w orld

-Predicting

1 Look at the title of the unit Discuss with another student what you might expcct

to find in the passage

2 N ow think of ten or so words that you might expect to find in this passage and write them down

3 Read the passage and check whether the words you prcdicttd in 2 appear or not

A The so-called Jungle of popular

imagination* (he tropical rain forest

belt stretching around our planet at

the Equator, has taken some GO

m illion years to evolve to its present

slate It is quite simply, the most

complex, most important ecosystem

on earth.

B Homo Falter, Man the Builder,

has tragically aKvnys seen the jungle

as something alien, on environment to

hi; vanquisheri, replaced with his own

constructions In the past twenty

years the rate of pillage has increased

f larmlngty and huge tracts of verdant,

beautiful forest— an irreplaceable

treasure house of living things— has

given way often, to wasteland The

evidence is that Man w ill redouble his

destructive efforts until the forest

’system* is smashed, and the jungle

w ill function no more.

C Many experts gloomily predict

that the tropical rain forests w ill

jn a lly vanish around the end of our

century W ill done 20fh century?

D What are the burning reaaons that drive men to destroy our monumental inheritance?

E Man seldom does anything for entirely rulional reasons; usually, the less rational his 'reasons' the more he defends them with short-term

economic arguments That is one of the modern lessons in ecology.

F ‘ M'e new I the lam l for people,'

runs the argument W ell, many people already inhabit the tropical forest bell There, native tribes have their own 'low-impact' life style, hunting, trapping, practising a little cultivation Perhaps not idyllic It la nevertheless a life style that floes not endanger the forest ecosystem.

G W e stress a liH le cultivation

because, paradoxically, the forest soil

is often infertile; trees and green plants thrive on the conpost of their fallen foliage, which is rapidly broken down and recycled as nutrient* So when the (uncle is cleared to plunt

r " - 6 Ihtit 10 Siite the jungle i<?» ^ ///<• w ot It” J

crops, there is no means of pulling

fortlhty htr.k into the soil Many

gdvorniiM'iits spend much time

'resettling* people in Hoforrslctl areas

pur! of so-called forward-looking

d**\ rlopment project** but the crop

yield is meagre, and brief: the soil

soon makes its point Erosion and

Hooding also tend to follow ,

deforestation

H * We nrnd the timber; wo need the

animals tor tood piths ami of course

- for sport/ continues the argument.

I Welt, the forests have always

been generous with their riches— so

far is tiiev are able They arc not

iimit levs They are b e in g exhausted

— at cvar-increasing speed—

and the habitats of innumerable

other species of both flora and fauna

arc destroyed us a side effect.

j Good husbandry— forest ecology,

wisdom in planning, less greed and

stupidity-'could keep Man and the

delicate rain forest relationship in

balance indefinitely This is our last

great store house our last

wonderland.

(W orld W ildlife Fund)

K Many of you w ill know— because*

von have already contributed to our efforts - that the World W ildlife Fundi

is currently supporting more than 10 important conservation projects In various rain forest areas alone The Fund s 'Save the Tiger' oppeal for

£400.000 roifed a magnificent

£560,000 and governments responded not only by establishing reserves but also controlling the tradei

in skins.

i

L Now we ask you to help u« fund our liiggcst-nver international pro|ectt:

a two-year appeal to raise nrtlllom.

The money w ill be used to sustain nation ii I |M*rVs ami reserve* within tin * • tropical rain forest twit, in coontrto*

around Ih i globe Rcsesrch, p lm n in ii , manpower equipm ent-all w ill Iw

bought from the money you art* ublu tt.jj > „ give If we cannot save the forests in

their original slate— and the axe thoi bulldo7j,«r, and the greater and los-ior bureaucrat with his deadly pen havm i already seen to that— we must save

enough to preserve them a* living burgeoning ecosystem#— the most remarkable o 8»fll|.

Extracting main Ideas

I Choose t^c statement which gives the most accurate summary pf the passage: «c gC a* awhole

a) The jungle could be saved if people take more care of it

b) M a n defends his reasons for destroying the jungle w.th short-term ccon«M,,Dholnic

c) The*tropical rain forests of the world are disappearing and the W orld

Wildlife Fund needs money to preserve them

d) Th e W orld W ildlife Fund is very successful with constr-arton projects

c) Deforestation of the jungle causes erosion *jid flooding « \

f ) The riches of the jungle are limited and are being exhausted through

greed and

stupidity-l i nt 2d i.jn :!/&stupidity-lt;• inngie — save the w orstupidity-ld 9"

2 According to the passage, the principal responsibility for the destruction of the

jungle lies with:

I

a) native tribes who live there

b) farmers who cultivate the land

c) the World W ildlife Fund

d) the authorities who claim they need the land and its resources

Note: two answers may be possible.

3 Look through the passage again and note down any suggestions it makes on how

to save the jungle

|V

1 A num ber o f d ifficult words and expressions are explained cither immediately

afterw ard s o r elsew here in the passage How are the following expressions -

ex p lain ed?

a) 'The so-called Jungle of popular imagination' (paragraph A)

b) ‘Homo Faber’ (paragraph B)

c) * “ low-impact" life style' (paragraph F) ,

d) ‘Good iiusbandry’ (paragraph J)

2 W hat typographical devices (e.g commas) arc used to indicate that these

expressions are bei.ng explained?

3 You may not understand the following words but they all have either a positive

or a negative sc'nse which you can guess from the context of the passage Put a +

or a - sign by each one according to its sense

a) ‘alien ’ (p aragrap h B ) e) ‘thrive’ (paragraph G)

b) ‘pillage’ (paragraph B) f) ‘meagre’ (paragraph G )

c) ‘gloomily’ (paragraph C) g) ‘burgeoning’ (paragraph L)

d) ‘monumental’ (paragraph D )

Linking ideas

1 W hat do the words in italics refer to?

a) ‘What are the burning reasons that drive men to destroy our monumental

inheritance?’ (paragraph D)

b) 'W e need the timber; wc need the anim als ’ (paragraph H )

c) 'This is our last great storehouse ’ (paragraph J)

o Vm ( 20 Stive (he /ungle - save ih t

o w

d) \ .you have already contributed to our efforts * (paragraph K)

e) ‘If w cannot save the forests in their original state (paragraph i )

•

2 Find the following sentences in the passage and answer the questions

a) the rate of pillage has increased alartningly ’ (paragraph B)

Why is it alarming?

b) ‘Ma,.v experts gloomily predict that ’ (paragraph C)

Why are the experts gloomy?

c) ‘Perhaps not id y llic (p a ra g ra p h F)

d) \ the soil soon makes its point.’ (paragraph G )

What point does the soil make?

e) * continues the argument.’ (paragraph H )

f) ‘ b o th f l o r a and fauna are destroyed as a side effect, (paragraph 1}

As a side effect of what?

g) ‘We must save enough to preserve them ’ (paragraph L)

Enough what?

Understanding writer’s style

W ork in groups of two or three

1 What dt>es the writer mean by writing ‘W ell done, 20th century! r

2 In other place', the writer uses extravagant and poetic language and tmagcfH * e» to

For example: ‘ .an iireplaceable treasure house of living things (p a ra g rja ^ a fta B)

* W rite down any other examples of this ‘high’-stylc

Why io you think the writer uses this style?

a) Because the sound of the words is pleasing v v

b) In ordc - to emphasise the message

c) Because the passage has been written in a hurry

Further work

1 Working it groups of two or three, prepare a similar document«ntitled eeiti,eh either

‘Save our st*as‘ y r ‘Save our countryside’ ' - * ’ ,

2 W rite down ten to fifteen words and expressions from thepassage.Ufcinggttg ng as ^ many of these as possible, write a paragraph or two describing the ir at t>t at toregion of natural beauty in your country

Understanding text organisation

*.

I to the passage opposite there are a number of sentences missing Read it through

•«d decide where the sentences below should go

•) But It Is Important lo make a distinction between calmly

relaxed and passively

lazy-b) Puritanical arguments about smoking and drinking have

little to support them

c) People who want a long life with an alert old age should

never retire

d) But In gaining success Individuals should not overstress

themselves

e) A sense of humour Impishness, a feeling that life Is fun

are strong weapons against ageing

f) Such activities as walking and gardening prolong life

spectacularly because they are non-lntensive' forms of

all-over bodily movement

g) That does not imply a harsh milltary-style masochism but

the ordering of life and the Imposition of a pattern on the

events of the day

0

2 In the passage there are a number of statements made by the writer concernin

w hat you have to do to live a long life These statements are sometimes modified

For example: paragraph 2

Some people arc naturally more physically active than others, and

arc at a considerable advantage providing their activities arc not

the result of stress

but If they take exorcise too seriously, it w ill work against them.

Re-rcad the passage and note down any other statements and counter

arguments Remember that some will be signalled by words such as hut, others

will not be signalled at all

Unit 23 H ow to lit* lo b * * h^ndlirtai I

to

For adults w ho remain vtvadously childlike In old age

there hns to be a sustained enthusiasm for some aspect of

life ( ! ) If they arc forcibly retired they should

immeise themselves In some new, absorbing activity.

Som e people are naturally more physically active than

others, and are at a considerable advantage providing

their activities are not the tesult of stress ( 2 ) The

more earnest ageing exercisers display a conscious or

unconscious anxiety about their health If they take

exercise too seriously it will w ork against them Older

individuals w ho take up intensive athletic activity are

usually people w ho fear declining health Yet it is crucial

that physical exercise - as w e grow past the young

sportsman stage - should be extensive rather than

/ntensivc and above all, Fun

A calm temperament favours longevity Those w ho are

sharply aggressive, emotionally explosive or naggingly

anxious are at a grave disadvantage ( 3 ) Relax­

ation does not contradict the idea o f passionate interest

Indeed, zest for living, eagerness to pursue chosen to

sub|ects are vital in long life.

Thinking about ‘the good old d ays’, complaining about

how the world is deteriorating, criticising the younger

generations, are sure signs o f an early funeral.

Being successful is a great life-stretcher and can even ts

override such life-shorteners as obesity and fondness for

drink ( 4 ) And success must always be measured t

in personal terms A hill-shepherd m ay feel just as

successful in his ow n w a y as a Nobel Laureate.

Long lived individuals seem to be more concerned with X

what they do than w h o they are They live outside

themselves rather than dwelling on their ow n personalities.

In personal nabits the long-lived are generally •moder­

ate Extremes o f diet are not com m on A mixed diet

seems to favour longevity ( 5 ) M any long-lived at

individuals enjoy nicotine and alcohol - in moderation.

Most long-lived people have a sense of self-discipline.

( 6 ) The m an w h o fives long because he walks a

mile a day does so because he does it everyd ay, as part o f

Over and over, during m y researches,.it emerged that

long life goes with a ' twinkle in the eye \ ( 7 ) The

sour-Taced puritan and the solem n bore soon begin to

lose ground, leaving their more am used contemporaries

to enjoy the la^t laugh.

Finally, nothing is to be gained by a head-in-the-sand

avoidance of the facts o f life and death The healthiest

solution is to accept that one's span on Earth is limited and

then to live every day, In the present, and to the full.

(Desmond Morris: T//* book of Ages)

Dealing with unfamiliar words

1 The words on the left may be unfamiliar to you Use the clues on the right to help

you understand what they mean Check your answers with another student

e) impishness (sentence e)< ^

^ “‘strong weapon against ageing*

r- , , , Ii fe-shortener’

ExarnpJt: c) ‘obesity <T

fondness for dirink’ i Obesity is a life-shortener and it’s like a fondness for drink It’s probably

something to do with a fondness for some other life-shortener e.g smoking or

eating too much food

Can you now guess the meaning of obesity?

Use the same techniques for any other words which you don’t know

Check your answers

•

2 The writer uses a number of images to describe particular characteristic! or 1

attitudes:

a) ‘an early funeral’ (line 23)

c) ‘a twinkle in the eye’ (line 41)

d) ‘the sour-faced puritan’ (lines 41—2)

e) ‘a head-in*the-sand avoidance’ (lines 45-6)

Choose their probable meanings from the list below

i) enthusiasm and youthful spirits vi) a good way of living longer

ii) a shortened life vii) ignorance and narrow*

iii) a refusal to face reality mindedness ’

iv) a love of alcohol and food viii) foodness for practical jokes

v) someone who is morally very strict* ix) shyness and nervousness ‘

I Z ^ Unit 23 How to live tc be a hundred d

Writing summaries

1 Make a list of things which the writer recommends as important for a long liife

Example: You should: have enthusiasm for some aspect of life

be physically active

2 Now think of examples of the kinds of things which the writer might

recommend you to do or not to do

Join the notes you made in 1 into connected sentences using phrases to signal

examples, such as for example, for instance, an example o f this is , such as*

Example: For instance, you should go walking and do gardening

Further work

1 Do you think your present life style will allow you to live a long life? In groups c a of

three or four discuss what you should change in your life styles in order to liv«

longer

2 It has been predicted that within the next 50 years, scientists w ill have produee?dd;d

a drug to prolong life up to 150 years or more W hat effects will this have on

society? Think about:

• ’ *

V - marriage and divorce - jobs

, - room to live - population

V

Imagine that the government is about to legalisethe use of this drug Prepare

your arguments for or against the proposed law, and present them to the othesr r students in 4 class debate

3 Choose ten to fifteen words and expressions from the passage and write a

paragraph describing eitheran old person you know orhow you expect to copxe epewith old aj;e

»

A ^

Predicting

1 Thi; pass s taken from O ar's Compau y by Pcumt Fleming, and w pail of his

a*count of a journey he made on the Trans-Sibet un Express in 1933 Before you

r ad it, write down t?n words which you e;#.pect to find in a passage about a train

y urticy.

Discuss your list of words wltli another student

? I * fact, ihe journey on the Trans-Siberian Express talccs sboiit eight days and the

ain if approaching its destination How c*o you jxpcct the writer to be feeling

nc this stage?

> T •: passage begins as the writer is suddenly woken up with a jolt and a crashing

imi>r N ow read on

/ vu up in my berth From the rack high alwve me my

I’trii icst *uiu:a&e9 metal-bound, was cannonaded tli wn,

<;ntdn;?3 m* with fearful force on either knee-cap I was

somehow not particularly surprised This is the snd '*1 the

uo;lda I thought* and in addition tlicj have br»ktn Imih s

mylegs J • ad a vague sens* of injustice

Ny Ifttle tvorld wa« tilted drunken ly The w»M(lt<w showed

meiiot fling except a lew square yards of goodish j*ta/Mg,o(

wti'rh it ol lived an oblique birdVeye view Lark* were

sinpi*)! somewhere It was s»ix orl<H*k I liejtan to dress I

n.iv i ’.It very much au»ioyed

To* I diiDOcd out ol the carriage inio «♦ relrtshingly

S|« aa tiiar •vcrhl and the annoyance passed The Train-

S»iJ?r aii Fx press si awled foolishly down the emhaiistncnl

T h in;i»l-van a>:«J the dining-car, w hich had ■jecn i r ront, is

lay on il r:» bides at the bottom B e h in d th em t.i# f.ve

s, headed by m y ow n, we i uisjMHcd in an it titles

w lu l* U r:*n *e I ess a?wl I cm grotesque inril )*>n ;ot t> ib e

laM, w liieh ha;l rem ain p rim ly, on the ia il* * illy , art Is

••out |he line the eisgiiM w hich had fiarted eon with w

th ru a*ti, was dug '*, "n o rtn i* o n to| tl*e cmt»^*tkn«e*H it

4 ~ Unit :*7 T h cTtans Siberian I'M

, irurulent and nanvluy !• *»»ki* was defiantly conscious

I, I U- lillU o ll »> im agine a o i r ir .ore o f railw ay

a„ i,k - ™ T h e W «ailit.' w » W » l - N o one w a , , l« m a

A n d the whole thing was done in ju st the rig.li* O iu ry L » n

w n w w h U « o l.K i.t c d steel and sp lin te.cd w oodwork

aiid m i f M arred de-|>l> with dem oniac forte, F o r once (he

T h e staff o f the train were scattered about the wreckage.

w riting contradictory re p o rt with » « " * ■ A

f a r m i n g G erm an consul and Ins fa n n y - the only other

t e i g n e J s on the train - had been i n l a s t ^ ach an J were

m m It lied T h e ir small daughter, aged six, was delighted

S E * w h o !" affair, which she regarded as havm g been ,

arranged specially for h er entertainm ent; I am afraid she

will grow up to expect too m uch from trains.

l i f t h a t ' been great fun: a com ical and violent clim ax to

J « r l ^ in iw d a m * * , «-> “ bf cn

a lc o M h c i loo lacking for my u s le i It w a , good >» 1“ * ■ * “

i n r t ' a liiilc ; knoll a n d n i c d i i a i e u p o n lh « U

Kxr> <-‘ s F o r m ore than a week she had bullied us She had

}-nocked us alH:ul w licn we tried to clean o u r leeth she had

j o K, , o o u elliows w hen we wrote, and when we read h e

m ade the p rin t dance tiresom ely b H o re o u r eye H e r

whistle had a 'b i.ia r ily curtailed o - r f r e n - d excurs.on o n

ih w • ^s’de platfor ns H e r windows we m ight not op en on

ar court of ihe dust, and when closed they had proved*

i n cn i'itl llOVS W l l h StOHCf • S I l C llttCl

r ^ r iK * * M ;i l ' u i r a c i r m 10 iniaii w p " *

ann yed us in a h u n d re d P u le ways: by pilhrtg tea in o u r

la p , by ru n n in g out o f butter, by regulating h er life in

accordance w h h Moscow time, n o w s ix h o u r, beh.m , the

sun S h t had l>etn o u r prison W e had not l.ked

(Peter Fleming: One's Company)

a D.d the words you predicted in 1 appear in the passage?

Hit 2 ? f l )>: T r tns-S ibtnatt E*press

f

Inferring

\X or I; in p.-iirs and disruss what ihc writer is implying by the following extracts from the passage

a) ’I had a vague sense of injustice.’ (line »)

b) ‘I now felt very much annoyed, (lines 10-11)

C) ,.* ? r oncc> l ^c Russians had car ic J something off.’ (line* 28—9)

.7 nc “ f o f the tram were writing contradictory reports.* (lines 30-li '

c I am ofra.d she will grow tip to c> pect too much from trains.’ (iines 36-7)

t) .a comical and violent climax to an interlude in which comedy and violence

i.nu uc<*n altogether too lacking for my tastes.’ (lines 38-40)

uealing with unfamiliar words

i

Ok >;e the best answer

a) W cannonaded down’ (line 2): (i) was broken down, (ii) had been th, >wn uovn^ »th great force, (ui> had fallen with a resounding crash

J n« i nmk about where the suitcase had been and what it was like

° Y, m '■ *sord" * (li) lay its side, (tii) lav upside down

U „e \\ h? had happened to the mad van and to the last sleeping car*

0) mR its wh,sllc’ iii) burnir,g vi»orousl” ruffi ^

i ! J l ! f : 1 * b? “ t the type of engine a train would have in 1933

d) splint-red (line 27): (i) burnt, (ii) broken into small picccs, (iii) cut

Cl w i s a w What n) i}il,t havc haPPc,1fd to <»»ytbing made of wood?

^.nr" a -hcd (line j4 ): (a) ungrateful, (ii) unfriendly, (iii) unhurt

r \ " ow the little girl was feeling at the time

r- J - mC 43,110 rU!’ doWn’ (ii) c,cfcftive (iii) first rate

g» bulhtfd ( me -14): (i) attached, (ii) tormented, (iii) amused

■I h c : Had the writer had a pleasant or an unpleasant journey?

Understanding writer’s style

1 One feature of :he writer’s style in this passage is the way in w ’-.i I, h< uses

certam w ords and expressions vhich turn the train into a livmg and r Uchiev its

For example: ‘It had a truculcn, ,d naughty look; it was defiantly conscious of

,ru •scretion.’ (lines 21-3)Cnn you find any Oliver examples of this feature?

Lin it 27 The Tram-Siberian Exprmtu

2 The writer also creates a humorous cffcct by using some elaborate expressions oh

constructions which could be expressed more simply

For example: \ the five sleeping-cars* were disposed in attitudes which

bec.ime less and less grotesque until you got to the last *

(lines 16-19)could be rewritten: The first sleeping-car was on its side, the last one on the rtitMs

and the others in a position in between

a) the engine which had parted company with the train (lines 20—1;

b) ‘Her whistle had arbitrarily cut talk'd our frenzied excursions on the waysiidde

p latform s.’ (lines 47-9)

c) ‘I ler windows had proved a perpetual attraction to small boys with

stones.’ (lines 49-51)

3 The following questions deal with some specific features of the writer’s style

a) W hat is the effect of the short sentences in lines 10-11?

b) W hy does the writer describe the Trans-Siberian Express as sprawl*ng

•foolishly’ down the embankment? (line 14)

c) W hy is the last sleeping-car described as remaining ‘primly’ on the rails?

d) Drury Lane is a street in the centre of London’s theatre district W h y uoes 1t ihe writer say ‘And the whole thing was done in just the right Drury Lane

manner ’? (lines 26-7)

e) What is the effect ‘There she lay, in the middle of a wide green

plain- the^iuift tTffrv, t|je I rgn#-Siierian Luxury Express.’? (lines 42-4)

W rite a paragraph or two describing what happened between the train crarstrashand the arrival in Manchuli

2 Look through this passage again and if you have read them, the pass:?ges in n in unu

25 and 26 Note down twenty or more words and expressions which you haiahave learnt Using as much of this new vocabulary as possible, write a paragraph h >h or two on u:ie of the following subjects:

/ - W hat is your favourite way to aavrl? Explain why

i D e s c r i b e a long distance journey you have made

- W hat is the host - anc S i worst - form o< transport in your town

Understanding text organisation

The six sections of this passage have been printed in the wrong order Read irthrough and put them in the right order

A And the players watched, too The game had stopped The

Mexican players kicked the turf, the Salvadorean team shouted

it the Suns

Please return the ball It was the announcer He was hoarse.

If the b all is not returned, the game w ill not continue s

This brought a greater shower of objects from the upper seals

• cups, cushions, more bottles The bottles broke with a

splashing sound on the concrete scats The Suns lower down

x'gqn throwing things back at their persecutors, and it was

mpossible to say where the ball had gone 10

The ball was not returned The annuunocr repeated his threat

B Soon, a bad kick landed the ball into tfit Shades This ball

*vas fought for and not thrown back, aji&pfic could see the ball

progressing through the section Thfc fcelf Was seldom visible,

Dut one could tell from the free-for-alls -"how here, now there - is vyhere ii was The Balconies poured water on the Shades, but

he ball was not surrendered And now it was the Suns’ turn to

sec the slightly better-off Salvadoreans in the Shades section

•behaving like swine The announcer made his threat: the game

would not resume until the ball was thrown back The threat 20

vvas ignored, and after a long «ne the ref walked onto the field

with a new ball

C # The players sat down on the field and did limbering-up

exercises until, ten minutes after the ball had disippcared from

he field, a new ball was thrown in The spectators cheered but, as ust as quickly, fell silent Mexico had scored another goal

•

D In all, five balls were lost this way I he fourth landed not far

from where I sat, and i could sec that real punches were being

Unit 10 An aw ay u-ivi

thrown, real blood spurting from Salvadorean noses, and Ihe

broken bodies and Ihe struggle for the bull made it a contest all 30

its own, more savage than the one on the field, played out with

Ihc* kind of mindless ferocity you read about in books on gory

medieval sports The announcer's warning was merely ritual

threat; Ihc police did not intervene - they stayed on the field

and let the spectators settle their own scores The players grew »

bored: they ran in place, they did push ups When play resumed

and Mexico gained possession of the ball it deftly moved down

ike field and invariably made a goal But this play, these goals -

they were no more than interludes in i* much bloodier sport

which, towards midnight (and the game was still not over!), was 40

varied by Suns throwing firecr.'ick,.,'S at each other and onto Ihe

field

E National anthems were played, amplified songs from

scratched records, and then the game began It was apparent

from the outset who would win Mexico was bigger, faster, and *t

seemed to follow a definite strategy; El Salvador had two

ball-hoggcrs, and the team was tiny and erratic The crowd

hissed the Mexicans nnd cheered El Salvador One of the

Salvadorean ball-hoggcrs went jinking down the field, shot and

missed The bi<ll went to the Mexicans, who tormented the so

Salvadoreans by passing it from man to man and then, fifteen

minutes into the game, the Mexicans scored The stadium was

silent as the Mexican players kissed one another

*

f Some minutes later the ball was kicked into the Shades

section It was thrown back into the field and the game was ss

resumed Then it was kicked into the Suns section The Suns

fought for it; one man gained possession, but he was pounced

upon and the ball shot up and ten Suns went tumbling after it A

Sun tried to run down the steps with it lie was caught and the

hall wrestled from him A fight began, and now there were t?

scores of Suns punching their way to the ball The Suns higher

up in the section threw bottles and cans and wadded paper on

the Suns who were fighting, and the shower of objects - meat

pics, bananas, hankies - continued to fall I he Shades, the

Balconies, the Anthill watched this struggle • '** •»

(Paul Theroux: The O ld Valagonian Express)

4

(An W An away win

_ 2-C>

Inferring

Deodc wluit evidence there is in the passage for the following statements

a) ~he match probably took place in El Salvador

b) he Shades, the Suns, the Balconies and the Anthill are the names given by the

vritcr for the different sections of rhc stadium

c) The Shades were more expensive seats than rhc Suns

d) After a while, the players simply waited calmly while the ball Was retrieved

f) as soon as a new ball was thrown in, the Mexicans scored a goal

I Aisw cr the following questions in note form

a) W ho was the match between?

Eian tp le: a) F.l Salvador and Mexico.

b) W ho was likely to win?

c) When did the Mexicans first score?

d) Then what happened when the ball was kicked into the Suns?

e) W hat did the players do?

f) H ow was the match restarted?

g) W hat happened then?

h) How many halls were lost in all?

i) W hat happened when the fourth ball was kicked into the Shades?

j) W har happened whenever the Mexicans gained possession of the ball?

k) W hat did (lie writer o»m idrr to he the re;d sport?

2 W ihout looking hack at the passage, use ynttr notes t<> write full answers to the

questions above

3 I k the sentences to write a summary ol the passage; it should be about

J2 )- l5 0 words lonf- It it is longer, re-write the sentences excluding any

imiccess.-try words «»r expressions Maki;snre von include ill the main points

■4 Reread the passage and check that you have included .ill the essential points

Further work

1 Work in groups of wo or three Make litt of 11 the ■ p o n ^ W y d U *

' l ' l ' „ n r r v or countries Find out when and where they w t tt first play** Tlwenchoose on o i them and prepare a short

don’t choose the same sport as other group* When everyone is reaay, c jruuur presentation to the rest of the class* ^_

2 In group* of two or three, d iscu ss w h ^ r it is the spectator or the sport itself which arouses this kind of violent reaction

S Us,ng as much of the new v L b u la r, a po»W « write a ahon paragraph

on one of the f o l l o w i n g subjects:

- C a n we afford th e‘Arts’ in present day society?

/ - Describe your favourite play or film

- 'Sport is the modern substitute for warfare Discuss

Predicting

T lv presage discusses the responsibilities of journalists in carrying out their

professional duties Before you read the passage, look at the title of this unit and

< I.su\ss with another student what you think it means Think about the following

j)* W h it ire the responsibilities of a journalist? Make a short list

b>) W m t do you think '(to) be human’ means?

c) Cai you think of any situations when the journalist might not be human?

Extracting main ideas

1 The title expresses the main idea of this passage Now read the passage and

decide'wine.; of the following sentences expresses the title in a more complete

way Discuss your answers with another student*

a) 'Journalists and T V people sometimes seem amazingly cold-blooded.’

(lines 13—17)

b) ‘Siould these journalists and photographers join in, or just stand back and

witch while people kill one another?’ (lines 29-31)

c) how w ill the world know, how should the world believe what atrocities

ar: committed?’ (lines 34-7)

1 * C I enjoins us to stay uncommitted and report the facts;

ard, if we have to have guidelines, that’s probably as good a one as any/

(Incs41—4)

2 1 he ttic asKs a question Which of the following sentences contains the writer’s

• reply

a) 'h y complaint against journalists is not that they behave badly in the

coirsc of duty, bur their inability to recoil into a human being when it’s over/

(liies 53-7)

b) 'T» stay out of the fight that is supposed to be our code ’ (lines 66-71)c) and when it comes to the crunch, we probably do better trying to stick to th;t, than rushing off on individual impulse.’ (lines 71—4)

d) ’Bit is there nor a point in any profession 1 think there is ’ (lines 75—a 1)

-Unit 11 SbotilJ the Pre:i hi htttmAn

A IF Y O U were asked who shut Lee I larvey

Oswald you would probably say Jack

Ruby Bui there's another possible

answer lo ihe question: the photographer

9 who shot those staggering pictures of

Ruby gunning him down And what has

teased my inind ever since is wondering

whether, if he had dropped his camera

and grabbed the gunman, we might, with

10 Oswald alive, know more than we will

now ever be able to find out about why

Kennedy died.

B Journalists and T V people, we know,

are sup|M>sed to record what goes on; but

19 in trying to get the best record they can,

they may sometimes seem amazingly

cold-blooded In the massacre that fol­

lowed the British quitting India, there

was a photographer who made a

sorrow-20 ing Indian family bury and rebury its dead

several times till he got a perfect shot A

BBC sound man held up a Nigerian

execution for half an hour while he

adjusted his sound equipment; you could

29 say it didn't make any difference to the

final outcome, but it doesn't make you

feel especially warm towards the man

conccrned.

C S h o u ld these journalists and

photogra-30 phers join in, or just stand back and watch

while people kill one another? It’s a tricky

ethical question, not just a matter of how

brave anyone is feeling at the time;

because without authentic pictures, how

38 will the world know, how should the

world believe what atrocities are com­

mitted? One dead photographer docs not

• do murh for the cau*c he cares about,

even if he did feel compelled to weigh in

40 and take sides.

O Our professional ethic enjoins us to stay

uncommitted and report the facts; and,

we have to have guidelines, that's prob­

ably as good a one as any Certainly some

49 of the seediest of journalists, whether

we’re talking about the Middle East or

Northern Ireland, are those who pile on

one set of adjectives— squalid, butcher-

ing, oppressive— for terrorism ot whose

aims they disapprove, and quite anotncr 94 set— committed, dedicated, idealistic—

for the same thing done by those they like.

But it leaves out a lot 'M y complaint E against journalists,' a friend of mine once said, 'is not that they behave badly in the SSS course of duty, but their inability to recoil into a human being when it’s over.* I have not forgotten an occasion over 2G years ago, when a birdinan was going to tump from a Press-filled Rapide lie got his fOOO Vcquipment tangled with the aeroplane in _ tome way, and plunged to his death As most of them watched in shocked horror, one newsman ran down the plane with th«*

words: 'M y God, what a story!' 609

To stay out of the fight, to write down FF what's going on, to treat equally with both sides, as a doctor will stitch up soldiers in either uniform or a lawyer argue 'or

either side— that is supposed to be our 770 code; and when it comes to the crunch,

we probably do better trying to stick to that, than rushing off on individual impulse.

But is there not a point in any profession C G T9 where you are forced back against the wall

as a human being, where a doctor should hand Jack the Ripper over u ihe police and a lawyer refuse to suppress the blood- j j

stained evidence that proves his client a • 80 torturer? I think there is, and I was heartened as well as relieved by one story told in Edward Behr's book, 'Anybody Here Been Raped & Speaks English?'

During the Algerian confusion, some i 99 Tunisian soldiers were preparing to shoot their prisoners ('what a story') One journalist, an Italian, walked over and just calmly stood in front of the wretched men, implying that if the soldiers shot 1 90 them, they would have to sKooi him too.

Finally some officets arrived and defused the explosive situation, and jus! a handful |

of the liv*.s that went up in that particular

A newshound may start out just 10 grt % i H

good story, but it is not impossible, all the r • same, for him to end as a man.

1 (Katharine Whitehorn in The Observer)