You will also need practice with strategies which will help you to complete the task quickly and accurately in the time limit set.

Transcription

1 Unit 4 reading The reading comprehension passages on the ECPE are about 250 words in length and cover a wide range of topics. Each passage is followed by five multiple-choice questions. In order to answer the questions, you must be able to: Understand the controlling idea of each paragraph. Identify the examples or explanations used by the author to support the main ideas. Establish the author s purpose. You will also need practice with strategies which will help you to complete the task quickly and accurately in the time limit set. The activities in this unit will help you to: Identify the main points in a text. Establish the purpose of the passage. Aims to identify the main idea to establish the purpose of the passage READING 1 ACTIVITY 1 Ask students opinions on hypnosis Is it possible for everyone to be affected by hypnosis? What can hypnosis be used for? Do you think hypnosis can be dangerous? Ask students to read the whole passage and decide what the writer s opinion on hypnosis is. Ask the students to identify the sentence or sentences which clearly indicate the writer s point of view. Read the following text and then choose, from the options below, the main idea of each paragraph. Most beliefs that people have with regards to hypnosis are generally inaccurate. Associating it with swinging gold watches, eccentric psychologists and stage magicians, the lay person thinks that a hypnotized individual first enters a trance-like state and subsequently becomes susceptible to all sorts of suggestions including those that lead to humiliating behavior. However, no one can be made to believe that he or she has an entirely different identity while hypnotized. Nor can a person be made to perform acts he or she considers grossly indecent, such as undressing in public. 34

2 unit 4 reading 35 This is not to say that hypnosis does not have an effect on people, since most people can be hypnotized. Hypnosis is induced when an operator, or hypnotist, has a subject perform a certain mechanical task while continually repeating a monotonous command or statement. The aim of the operator is to make the subject withdraw from the external world, and to enter a state between wakefulness and sleep. When in such a state, the subject is supposed to be better able to come into contact with his or her subconscious self, and thus becomes more aware of emotions, fears and inhibitions. For this reason, hypnosis is extensively used to treat behavioral problems and anxiety resulting from phobias. It has even been successfully implemented to treat smoking, alcoholism and some forms of drug addiction. Hypnosis, however, does have its critics, who claim that subjects often think they have «discovered» experiences in their subconsciousness that may have never happened, discoveries that result in unnecessary turmoil for the family and loved-ones, not to mention the subjects themselves. In one recent case, a Los Angeles woman under the care of a therapist who used hypnosis became convinced that she had been abused by her father when she was extremely young, but had repressed these memories because they were so terrible. So convinced was she of his cruelty that she actually filed a suit against her father, who was found innocent. Such hypnotically induced memories are cited as reasons why hypnosis should be used with the greatest of care. Paragraph One A. People under hypnosis behave badly. B. What people believe hypnosis to be. C. Hypnotists are eccentric psychologists and magicians. D. Hypnotists are generally inaccurate. Paragraph Two A. Hypnosis helps people with emotional problems. B. The subject of hypnosis goes into a deep sleep. C. An explanation of hypnosis. D. Hypnosis is a mechanical task. Paragraph Three A. The potential dangers of hypnosis. B. A court case. C. The Los Angeles woman incident. D. Hypnosis activates a subject s subconscious.

3 36 build up your proficiency ACTIVITY 2 Discuss with your partner which of the sentences or parts of sentences helped you to identify the main points of each paragraph. Provide an explanation for your answer. Paragraph 1 A. Most beliefs that people have with regards to hypnosis... Yes/No B....the lay person thinks that a hypnotized person... Yes/No C. However, no one can be made to believe that he or she has an entirely... Yes/No Paragraph 2 D. Hypnosis is induced when... Yes/No E. The aim of the operator is to... Yes/No F....and thus becomes more aware of emotions Yes/No Paragraph 3 G. In one recent case, a Los Angeles woman... Yes/No H. Hypnosis, however, does have its critics... Yes/No I....why hypnosis should be used with the greatest of care Yes/No Reading 2 ACTIVITY 1 Ask students to identify the topic of the passage from the picture. Students read the passage once and confirm the topic. Students then read the whole passage carefully and in pairs identify the main idea for each paragraph. Main ideas: Paragraph one: Misconceptions about when books were first created. Paragraph two: How writings were recorded before books were invented. Paragraph three: The role of the book at the beginning of Christianity. Read the text once and discuss the main idea of each paragraph with your partner. Many sources credit Gutenberg with producing the first true book, but this greatest of fallacies causes one to overlook the fact that books had existed for hundreds of years before Gutenberg. In all fairness, Gutenberg is not responsible for creating this misconception, since he was only looking for a way to create books in a more efficient manner. He did not even attempt to write them himself. What Gutenberg s press produced in the fifteenth century differed negligibly from what monastic scribes had been systematically producing since the fifth century. More precisely, the book, more or less as it is in its current form, was initially invented around the first century CE (Common Era) and was originally known as the codex, which had no name.

4 unit 4 reading 37 Before books were invented, all writing was done on papyrus rolls, which had a great many disadvantages. The papyrus rolls had highly decorative borders designed by monks. For one thing, one could only write on one surface of the papyrus, since the other surface was extremely coarse. Papyrus rolls were typically about ten meters in length and about twenty centimeters wide, which made them quite cumbersome because one had to unroll one side and roll up the other while reading. They were extremely attractive objects and very rare. Papyrus rolls were also difficult to carry and store, which meant that few people could possess a wide collection, and were extremely flammable, which may explain why the Library of Alexandria, stocked as it was with thousands of rolls, burned down so rapidly. The replacement of the roll with the codex, or book, seems to coincide with the advent of the spread of Christianity. Although most secular and pagan works dated before 400 CE that have survived are on rolls, the majority of early Christian works from this time are in the form of the codex. In addition, all surviving early Christian works from the second century CE are codices, including the earliest copies of the New Testament, which has never appeared in the form of a roll. The secular and pagan works were exactly the same. One reason for this may be the fact that pagan writings were on rolls, whereas the early Christians wanted to promote the teachings of Christ in a different format, to emphasize the new beginning that Christianity heralded. ACTIVITY 2 This activity gives the students a sense of how the topic is developed in the passage. Some parts of the text do not make sense because some sentences and clauses are unrelated to the main ideas expressed in the text. Explain which of the following ideas are irrelevant and why. 1. In all fairness, Gutenberg is not responsible for creating this misconception... Yes/No 2. He did not even attempt to write them himself. Yes/No 3....which had no name. Yes/No 4. The papyrus rolls had highly decorative borders designed by monks. Yes/No 5....which made them quite cumbersome because one had to unroll one side and roll up the other while reading. Yes/No 6. They were extremely attractive objects and very rare. Yes/No 7. Although most secular and pagan works dated before 400 CE that have survived are on rolls... Yes/No 8. The secular and pagan works were exactly the same. Yes/No ACTIVITY 3 Many of the texts in the examination refer to specific times of events. It is important to understand the chronological order of events as sometimes this relates to important information in the text. Answer the following questions to see how well you understand the course of events in Reading comprehension Were there books in the fourteenth century? Yes/No 2. Did Gutenberg produce a printing press in the fifth century? Yes/No 3. Was the first book invented before CE (common era)? Yes/No 4. Was the New Testament available in the second century CE? Yes/No 5. Did all writing on Papyrus rolls disappear by 400 CE? Yes/No

5 38 build up your proficiency Examination Practice Try and complete the following reading comprehension in 10 minutes. Reminders [ On your first reading check the main idea of each paragraph. [ Think about the purpose of the article. [ Check for any main events reported and when they happened. A series of deadly avalanches in the French and Austrian Alps in the late winter of 1999 tragically proved how difficult they can be to predict and prevent. One of the greatest hazards facing winter sports enthusiasts and nature lovers are avalanches. They kill scores of people a year, particularly in the Alps and Rocky Mountains, and cause millions of dollars worth of property damage. Ironically, many victims trigger the avalanches that bury them. It is pointless to avoid areas where avalanches are likely since, according to one rule of thumb, if a slope is appropriate for skiing it is also avalanche-prone. Avalanches basically occur when there is a sufficient amount of snow, a slope of between 35 to 45 degrees and instability within the snow pack. Although a variety of factors can cause such instability, the snow pack can become unstable when there is a particularly heavy snowfall followed by an increase in temperature. Although mountainside vegetation and forests can diminish their velocity, some avalanches are so powerful, such as the ones that swept through the Austrian villages of Galtur and Valzur in February of 1999, that they can uproot trees, overturn heavy vehicles and flatten houses. Of the two types of avalanches loose snow and slab avalanches the latter is the most catastrophic. Loose snow avalanches tend to be minor and, since they are relatively easy to predict, they can be avoided. In fact, one common practice implemented by ski resort operators is to provoke loose-snow avalanches by setting off explosions, rendering mountainsides safe for skiers. Slab avalanches, however, are much more difficult to predict. They tend to occur when a layer of snow freezes into a cohesive slab and then, under stress of its own weight, breaks from the layer below it. This layer slides down a mountain or hill as a massive block of snow and ice that, gathering momentum in its descent, can reach speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour. Unfortunately, individuals caught in the path of a slab avalanche stand little chance of survival. 1. The purpose of this article is to... A. report the recent avalanches in the Alps. B. warn skiers about the dangers of avalanches. C. inform readers of the causes and effects of avalanches. D. describe the damage caused by avalanches. 2. According to the passage what is true about skiers? They... A. can cause avalanches. B. avoid avalanche-prone slopes. C. can predict avalanches. D. obey the rules on the slope. 3. One of the factors that causes avalanches is... A. a lack of trees. B. a change in temperature. C. a snow pack. D. uprooted trees. 4. Many ski resort operators... A. rarely set off explosions. B. predict all types of avalanches. C. prevent loose-snow. D. take precautions to prevent avalanche disasters. 5. Slab-avalanches can be categorized as being... A. fatal to skiers. B. slow moving. C. highly predictable. D. multi-layered.