Reading Skills Understanding Implied Meanings The skill of

Reading Skills Understanding Implied Meanings

The skill of inferring • In order to understand the implied meanings in the reading passage, you may need to have the skill of inferring • Implied – hidden, hide from the surface • Inferring – to find out the actual (real) meanings by making use of different information

Clues and inference • The information you get from the passage is called “clues” • The conclusion that you have is called the “inference” Please take out the worksheets that I have given to you last time.

One-way Conversation Things you want to find out Alex’s opinion of her friend’s holiday destination Alex’s opinion of her friend’s dog Clues Inference You have to collect water from a well and there’s no electricity so it’s dark at night. You’ll have to get used to not having a shower… Primitive (not modern) Walk your dog? I think he needs it! It’s all those biscuits you keep giving him. Fat and unhealthy

Understanding Implied meanings When you try to understand implied meaning, you should pay attention to: 1. Main adjective or verb (p. 65) 2. Writer’s opinions/attitudes (p. 66) 3. Tone of any speaker (p. 66)

Past paper – Reading comprehension • Two questions from HKCEE 2005 Eng. (Syl. b) are selected for you. • They involve the skill of inferring • Please do the question from Passage A first. Then tell me what the clue(s) is/are. • Do not start doing the one in passage B!

Passage A – Q. 2 • • • Newly-born baby : baby under the age of 1 Patiently (adverb of patient): to wait quietly for a long time Brick : • • Separate : to divide, not allowing two persons to touch each other Hard : difficult Vague : not clear Perhaps : maybe Faint : soft Gurgling : a sound made in the throat Mumble : speak quietly Take steps : walk

Passage A – Q. 2) The mother’s work was ‘heart-breaking’ because the writer …… A. did not respond very much B. gave her help C. could not understand what she was doing D. needed her help all the time • • What is/are the clues? “for often all she got from me in return was a vague smile and perhaps a faint gurgling sound.

Examination Report • Only 29% of all candidates answered Q. 2 correctly • This item was intended to test candidates’ ability to decipher the reason the writer provides for an initial comment that the mother’s work was ‘heart-breaking’… The reason given for it being ‘heart-breaking’ is that often his only response was ‘a vague smile’ and ‘a faint gurgling sound’ i. e. that response was minimal…

Passage B – Q. 25 • Q. 25) According to the last paragraph, the benefits of not making children do too many extra-curricular activities are …… 1. children are more relaxed 2. children can have more quality time with their parents 3. children can learn how to entertain themselves 4. children will never be bored A. B. C. D. 1, 2, 3 1, 4 2, 3, 4 1, 2, 3, 4 • What are the clues? • Rosenfield says the efforts are justified by the rewards: happier, less-stressed kids, and more meaningful family time. “Parents worry about kids’ boredom, so they schedule their lives to keep them busy, ” he says. “But empty hours teach children how to create their own happiness. ”

Activity 1 (p. 66) • Bullying : to frighten or hurt others • Victim : When you bully student A, student A is the victim • Entirely : totally, completely • Frowned : moving your eyebrows together • Solution : the way to solve the problems

Activity 2 (p. 67) • Recent : short time ago • Survey : a set of questions to find out something • Cane : a stick used by teachers to punish students • Situation : condition • Standard : quality, level, requirement • Discipline : the control of one’s behavior • Oppose : not support ---------------------------------------------------- • Invite : ask someone to do something • Nicotine : 尼古丁 • Cigarette : the thing people smoke • Advertisement : pictures, videos, words, etc that attract people to buy a product • Addicted : cannot stop doing something

Challenge (not really) HKALE - Use of English 2004 • Roses from Ecuador, in South America, are as big and red as the human heart. In just five years, they have become the new status flower in the United States, thanks to the volcanic soil, perfect temperatures and abundant sunlight that help generate US$240 million a year and tens of thousands of jobs in a once impoverished region north of the capital Quito. This Valentine’s Day, thousands of American florists and catalogues are advertising the roses of this fertile valley. The Calyx & Corolla company, for example, bills it as a place ‘where Andean mists and equatorial sun conspire to produce roses that quickly burst into extravagant bloom’. • • • Q. 2) In paragraph 1, the writer seeks to create an image of flower farming in Ecuador which is …… A. positive B. exaggerated C. disturbing D. improbable