LESSON 9 REVISING FOR PAPER 1

COMPREHENSION, SUMMARY, AND LANGUAGE SKILLS (PAPER 1)

You are preparing to write a Comprehension and Language Exam.

Here are some TIPS that will help you with this exam.

A. READING SKILLS

TIPS

When you answer a comprehension exercise:

1. Read the text through once. Then read ALL the questions. Then read the text again.
Every time you do a comprehension, try to increase the SPEED at which you read, while
still making sure you UNDERSTAND what you read.

You should read the text twice, or more often, if you have time; this is important if the
text is a long passage, rather than a short passage or a cartoon.

Sometimes, you are given ten minutes reading time before you can start writing an
examination. Use the time well.

2. Look carefully at the mark allocation, and make sure you answer enough for the number
of marks.

3. Take GREAT CARE with multiple choice questions. They are often easier than they
appear. Always take a guess if you don't know the answer.

4. Answer comprehension exercises for practice. Work through past papers.

BUILDING VOCABULARY AND WORK ATTACK SKILLS

You might think it is a bit late for this, but every day can bring you a new word and you can
make sure that you learn and study a few new words every day between this day and the exam.

WHEN YOU FIND A NEW WORD

You need to be very aware of context clues. Words shift and change meaning; the context of the
moment determines the meaning of the moment.

1. Context is the major tool for students in vocabulary expansion. Sharpen your context
clue power.

2. Zero in on new words

3. The context must be broad, e.g., the page

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You will find clues in:
 punctuation
 word order
 idea order
 word groupings
 classes of words
 sentence structure
 paragraph structure
 signals in the possible intonation (the rising or falling pitch of the voice when
somebody says a word or syllable, or the rising and falling pattern of speech
generally)

1. Direct explanation clue

 Writers know they have used a word readers will not know. They may
provide an outright explanation.
 using the appositive construction (Αor≅ and commas, or commas alone)
 using an explanation (Αthat is≅)
 using an explanation placed at a distance

2. Experience clue

Using your own experience - either direct or indirect - to help you guess a word, or to
approximate a meaning.

3. Mood or tone clue

The author has set a mood; the meaning of the unknown word must harmonise with the
mood.

4. Explanation through example

Example can help illuminate the meaning.

5. Summary clue

Here the new word appears to wrap up the whole situation - the situation may be found
before or after the word.

6. Synonym, or restatement clue

Synonyms are seldom exact equivalents; precision requires a dictionary.

7. Comparison or contrast clue

8. Familiar expression or language experience clue

9. Words in a series clue

10. Inference clue

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 This is when you must guess from everything you have seen in the passage. This type
overlaps all the foregoing types except direct explanation.

When should you NOT rely on context clues?

1. when you have an unmissable clue - a direct explanation

2. when you have highly revealing clues and the meaning clicks with the rest of the passage.

3. when, in view of your purpose for reading the selection, you need only a general sense of
meaning.

DON=T RELY ON CONTEXT CLUES

1. When you require a precise meaning.

2. When the word is a key word, one crucial to your understanding and full comprehension
is important to you.

3. When the clues suggest several possibilities - and you don=t know which.

4. When you don=t know the nearby words.

5. When you have encountered the word a number of times, realise that it is a common,
useful one which you will meet again, and will want to master thoroughly for future
reading.

Don=t just slide over a new word; zero in, use context, use a dictionary.

You also need:

1. knowledge of frequently occurring prefixes, suffixes and roots

2. sensitivity to the word explosion; we have many new words as a result of social,
scientific and political changes

EXERCISE

In this exercise, you are given a short poem.

Question 1 tests your vocabulary. You need to look at the context of each word to help you
understand its meaning. Look words up if you do not understand them. Try to use these words
often so that you become comfortable with them and how to use them.

Question 2 tests the following reading skills:

o recognising contrasts
o understanding the result of an action
o understanding the effects of time on objects
o linking the title to the text

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In the language section, you practice the following skills:
o working with verbs and nouns
o using a verb correctly, depending on its meaning
o describing aspects of nature accurately

Now read the poem, and answer the questions.

LOVE IS BITTER Translated from Zulu

Age grips the body but the heart stays young,

The wooden bowl wears through with many meals,
No tree-trunk in its age can keep its bark,
No lover rests but* that his rival weeps. *
except

QUESTION 1 VOCABULARY SKILLS

1. Explain the meaning of the following words as they are used in the poem:
1.1 grip
1.2 bark
1.3 rival
1.4 weeps

QUESTION 2 READING SKILLS

2.1 Write down the words that contrast in line 1. Explain this contrast in your own words.
2.2 What has happened to the bowl (line 2)? Why?
2.3 What changes take place in the tree (line 3)? Why?
2.4 Why is the lover=s rival weeping (line 4)?
2.5 Explain why ΑLove is Bitter≅.

QUESTION 3 LANGUAGE SKILLS

3.1 VERBS

ΑGrip≅ is a verb. What sort of action does the word, Αgrip≅, convey? When might one Αgrip≅
something?

For each of the following verbs,

* say what sort of action it is
* give an example of a situation when you might use the verb
* write a sentence to illustrate how the verb is used

3.1.1 clutch
3.1.2 clasp
3.1.3 grasp
3.1.4 grab
3.1.5 seize

3.2 NOUNS

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ΑTree≅ is a noun; it ____________ an object. There are many kinds of trees e.g.,
oak jacaranda pine thorn mimosa syringa cyprus poplar cedar willow.

SUGGESTED ANSWERS

QUESTION 1 VOCABULARY SKILLS

Vocabulary is very important. Without a good vocabulary, you will not manage to read texts.
You need to work on your vocabulary every day. Ask yourself, “What am I doing to improve
my vocabulary today? This week?”

Here are some tips for answering the first task.

1.1 Αgrip≅here is a verb. It means to take firmly with the hand and maintain a hold on. Age
can take a firm hold on the body.
1.2 Αbark≅ is the outside >skin= of a tree
1.3 a Αrival≅ is a person who competes, a person who strives against another for victory
1.4 Αweeps≅ means cries

QUESTION 2 READING SKILLS

2.1 The key word here is “contrast”. What you must look for is words that have different
meanings. The words are Αage≅ and Αyoung≅, Αbody≅ and Αheart≅. A person=s body
grows old but the person=s feelings stay young and fresh. No matter how old the body,
the person still feels in the same way as he or she did when he or she was young.
2.2 This is simply a question that tests understanding.
The bowl has become so thin from all the times it has been scraped that there is a hole in
the wood.
2.3 The key word here is “changes”. You have to outline the changes and then explain why
they happen.
The tree grows older and its bark wears off and falls off.
2.4 This is simply a question that tests understanding.
There are two men competing for the same woman. Two men love the same woman.
One of these lovers Αrests≅ because he has won the woman. He has succeeded. This
means that the other man has lost, and so he Αweeps≅.

2.5 To explain why ΑLove is Bitter≅, you have to grasp the main idea of the poem, the
theme:

Love does not always lead to happiness. There are times when being in love means you
get hurt, and so ΑLove is Bitter≅.

QUESTION 3 LANGUAGE SKILLS

3.1 VERBS

ΑGrip≅ is a verb. ΑGrip≅ is to hold firmly. Give a suggestion of something that you can grip.
Can you grip someone=s hand? a school bag? a ball? What do you think?

In the next part of the question, you were asked to

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* say what sort of action it is. (I=ll help you with this.)
* give an example of a situation when you might use the verb (I=ll give you one example;
then you must find another example for yourself.)
* write a sentence to illustrate how the verb is used. (This you must do yourself.)

3.1.1 Αclutch≅ is a verb meaning to get hold of something, usually with the idea that it is
moving. A child may clutch at its mother=s hand or her skirt as she moves around the
kitchen.
3.1.2 Αclasp≅ is a verb meaning to take firmly with the hand and maintain a hold on, with the
idea of embracing something. You need the idea of covering something, for example,
clasping someone=s hand when your fingers go right round the other person=s hand.
3.1.3 Once again, Αgrasp≅ means to take firmly with the hand and maintain a hold on; when
you grasp, you take firmly and determinedly, and you don=t let go immediately. For
example, you can grasp a rope and then pull it, perhaps in a competition.
3.1.4 Αgrab≅ is a much quicker movement; it describes the act of catching, especially a sudden
taking and holding.
3.1.5 Αseize≅ is a verb meaning to take quick and forcible possession of, for example, you
might seize a cooldrink someone else is about to take.

3.2 NOUNS
You were asked to fill in the missing word in the sentence. Your sentence should read: ΑTree≅ is
a noun; it names an object.