INTRODUCTION TO COMPREHENSION 1

Transcription

1 Secondary 1 Term 1 Lesson 5 Introduction to Comprehension 1 This is just the first of a series of worksheets to expose students to the techniques used in tackling comprehension. INTRODUCTION TO COMPREHENSION 1 (A) INTRODUCTION Over the next few weeks, we will learn how to understand comprehension passages and answer comprehension questions. Thus far, you have learnt how to write better narrative essays (i.e. stories) that can meet the standard in secondary schools. One thing we have emphasised repeatedly is the need to show, not tell, the story and characters to your reader. Now, we should also consider the reverse. How can we become better readers of any book or comprehension passage? This is important because the comprehension passages you will encounter from now on will also show, not tell and so they will be harder to understand. In other words, you will be studying writers who will use unusual descriptions to spice up their writing. To understand what they mean, you need to first know whether the writer is using words literally or figuratively. Step 1: Literal or Figurative Language? When reading any comprehension passage, you should first be able to identify if the writer is using literal or figurative language. Literal: Words function exactly as defined. E.g. It was raining heavily. Figurative: You must figure out what the word means. E.g. It was raining cats and dogs. The form of language used in secondary school passages is more challenging. Therefore, our worksheets are specially designed to enable a smooth transition. Explanation: This does not mean that cats and dogs were falling from the sky. Rather, it means that it was raining very heavily. -1-

2 Take a quick moment to identify whether each example uses literal or figurative language. Sentence Mr. Moriarty approached Sherlock, grinning menacingly. My love is like a red, red rose. A scream cut through the silence, jolting me into wakefulness. Susanna is a wonderful singer. Literal / Figurative As much as we would love to show you everything, we cannot be showing you the best. Do drop by any JustEdu centre to view the full set! Let us attempt an example now: The Queen is just a figurehead. figurehead: a carving set at the prow of an old-fashioned sailing ship Language device : Metaphor Actual meaning : Reasoning : -2-

3 (B) FIGURATIVE DEVICES You can better understand and answer questions on figurative language if you are familiar with (a) the different types of figurative devices and (b) how they are used. Generally, passages will include several figurative devices, with the more common ones being metaphors, similes, personifications, hyperboles and understatements. Below are the definitions and examples of these language devices: Terms Definition Example Metaphor It compares one object or idea to All the world is a stage. another, without using like or as, as if to equate the two objects He is a monkey. of comparison. Simile It compares one object or idea to another, using the words like or as to suggest they are alike. A comparison must be made. That alcoholic drinks like a fish. He is as strong as an ox. Do drop by our centre to view the full set of materials. -3-

4 How to identify the language device: A mind map is quickly absorbed by students, even for seemingly confusing concepts. ACTIVITY 1 Identify whether the technique used in each example is a simile, metaphor, hyperbole, understatement, or personification. Explain your answers. It is possible that more than one technique is used for each answer. Example: I could hear Korea calling my name. Technique used: Personification Rationale: This is personification because the country is portrayed as having, and using, a voice. Meaning: The author is drawn to Korea, possibly out of nostalgia. -4-

5 1. The swamp has mosquitoes so big we can pluck them up like fruits. 2. Jane is a pig when she eats; she gobbles up all the food that comes her way. 3. The breeze gently whispered in my ear and brushed my hair. 4. The lights, as enchanting as a spell, brought her closer to the edge of the platform. 5. Mount Everest is just a hill; anyone can handle it. 6. The river was as smooth as a skin, reflecting the morning sunlight with a million mirrors. -5-

6 Do drop by our centre to view the full set of materials. -6-

7 ACTIVITY 2 Read the following excerpts. Identify the required literary devices and answer the questions. Excerpt 1 The woman who owned the sweet shop was a horror. We hated her and had just cause for doing so. Her name was Mrs Pratchett. She was a small skinny old hag with a moustache on her upper lip and a mouth as sour as a green gooseberry. She never smiled. She never welcomed us when we went in, and the only times she spoke were when she said things like, I m watching your so keep your thieving fingers off them chocolates! Or I don t want you I m here just to look around! Identify the literary device used above. What does it mean? Adapted from Boy, Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl Simile: What does the phrase tell us about Mrs Pratchett's personality? Excerpt 2 There were precious few health laws in those days, and nobody, least of all Mrs Pratchett, ever thought of using a little shovel for getting out the sweets as they do today. The mere sight of her grimy right hand with its black fingernails digging an ounce of Chocolate Fudge out of a jar would have caused a starving tramp to go running from the shop, but not us. Sweets were our life-blood. We would have put up with far worse than that to get them. Identify the literary device used above. What does it mean? Adapted from Boy, Tales of Childhood by Roald Dahl Hyperbole: Meaning: What does the phrase tell you about the boys? -7-

8 Excerpt 3 My mother was convinced that I would be a child prodigy, one of the rare, startling creatures who sits down at the piano for the first time and discovers, in a few swift adjustments of fingers, how to make the piano sing. She had made some phone calls and found the ideal teacher to nurture such a prodigy: Madame Oblenka, a stern Russian woman of indeterminate age, whose tight bun and pursed lips were enough to intimidate a wild horse into submission. Madame Oblenka, who expected a little Mozart, was not overly delighted to find herself saddled with a little girl banging her fists on the keys. Identify the literary device used above. What does it mean? Adapted from My Musical Career by Helen Michaelson Hyperbole: Meaning: What does the phrase tell you of how the author views her piano teacher? Excerpt 4 In the Appalachian Mountains, where I grew up, stories come as easy as breathing. Maybe it s something in the water, or something that seeps out from those storied heights themselves, rough, jagged mountains that held our little town like a jewel in the palm of a giant hand. Yet I am more inclined to think it has to do with who your people are, and how you first hear language. In my own fortunate case, it was that slow, sweet Southern cadence I will always associate with stories; and all those first stories were told by people who loved me. Adapted from Everything Else Falls Away by Lee Smith Identify the literary devices used above. What does it mean? Simile: Personification: Meaning: What does the above paragraph tell you of Smith and her people? -8-

9 (C) EDITING Do drop by our centre to view the full set of materials. -9-

10 (D) SUPPLEMENTARY READING Additional reading is provided so that our students are exposed to current affairs. Fruit Juice often Laden with Sugar, Warns HPB (13/11/2014) If your shot at good health is a daily glass of fresh fruit juice, it might be time to change that habit. The Health Promotion Board (HPB) says that a glass of juice is not as healthy as you think, because it contains as much sugar as a sweetened drink. HPB chief executive officer Zee Yoong Kang said, Many people think juices are good for health and, yes, there are nutrients, but they should limit their intake to one glass a day. Dr Annie Ling, director of HPB's Obesity Prevention Division, said, In fact, fruit juices generally contain much higher sugar levels than sweetened drinks. She added that sugar levels in fruit juices vary, with higher sugar levels in more acidic fruit like apples and berries. Freshly squeezed juice contains 10 to 20 per cent less sugar than packaged drinks, which are reconstituted from concentrates. Said Dr Ling, We apply the same allowance for sugar sweetened drinks to fruit juices: no more than one glass a day. Singaporeans take an average of 11 teaspoons of sugar a day, with the top fifth hitting 18 teaspoons a day, HPB figures show. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends no more than 10 teaspoons of free sugar daily, or sugar added to foods by the manufacturer and those naturally present in honey, syrups and fruit juices. One in three people here takes more than that. Professor Jim Mann, of the WHO Nutrition Guidance Expert Advisory Group, said this does not include sugars in whole fruit and vegetables which digest more slowly and take longer to enter the blood stream. So eating the fruit is far better than drinking it as it gives you the nutrients without the sugar rush. Mr Zee said that two-thirds of sugar consumed here come from drinks, including fruit juices. This much sugar is detrimental to health and one reason for the ballooning obesity rate, he said, with the bulk of sugar coming as empty calories in drinks. This is because highly refined carbohydrates wear out the insulin-producing part of the pancreas. Also, Dr Ling explained, Insulin causes fat cells to go into storage overdrive leading to weight gain. Even the supposedly healthy yoghurt drinks have about five teaspoons of sugar in a 200g portion or just two spoons less than a 330g carbonated drink. Mr Zee hopes to reduce consumption of sugar here over time by persuading people to learn to enjoy less sweet drinks. He dismissed calls for a health tax on white sugar, which he says will not work as people will simply switch from one unhealthy food to another. Furthermore, such a tax will hit the poor hard. Instead, he wants to change their palate. People in Japan and Hong Kong take their drinks with less sugar than Singaporeans. Even jasmine tea, which is drunk with no sugar in Japan and 2½ teaspoons of sugar in Hong Kong, has four teaspoons of sugar when sold here. Source: The Straits Times Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Reproduced with permission. -10-