English Today

Approaching Exercise 1 of the IGCSE Reading & Writing Paper

   


What to expect:

Brochures, leaflets, notices, advertisements

How to approach:

1. Skim the text. Think of a skimming stone  and try to get the gist of the text.

2. Read the question carefully!

3. Ask yourselves what to expect for an answer : a number? a noun? an adjective?

4. Highlight or underline key words which help you look for the right answer.

5. Scan the text just like x-rays scan a suitcase at airports or your scanner scans an old photo. In other words, look for details by reading the text quickly.

6. For Exercise 1, you do not need to read through the text as if you were reading a book. Just skim and scan.

7. Complete sentences are not necessary. Sometiems one or two words are enough. But you must provide all the relevant information.

8. If the answer is a number...watch out! What kind of number is this?  Make sure you provide the unit measurement: am/pm for time, gr/kg/tons for quantity, mph / km for speed/ currency symbol for prices (€? $? £?) etc.

IGCSE Reading Practice - Answer Key

READING

Reference - Approaching IGCSE Reading

1. One afternoon in the last week of term, I saw three children from my son's school in tears being comforted by teachers. That morning, my 11-year-old had stomach pains and had been retching into a bowl. Talking to other mothers, I heard about other children with stomach-ache or difficulty sleeping the night before.

2. What caused so much distress? Sports day - not sports day at a highly-competitive independent school, but at a large village primary. For the children that can fly like the wind, it causes no problem. For those who are poorly coordinated, overweight, or just not good at sport, it is a nightmare. Even for those who enjoy running, but who fall half way down the track in front of the entire school and their parents, it can prove a disaster.

3. Why do we put our children through this annual torment? Some may say competition is character building, or it's taking part that's important - not the winning; or that it's a tradition of school life. I just felt immense pity for those children in tears or in pain.

4. Team games at the end of the "sports" produced some close races, enormous enthusiasm, lots of shouting and were fun to watch. More importantly, the children who were not so fast or so nimble at passing the ball were hidden a little from everyone's gaze. Some of them also had the thrill of being on the winning side.

5. I wish sports day could be abandoned and replaced with some other summer event. Perhaps an afternoon of team games, with a few races for those who want them, would be less stressful for the children and a lot more fun to watch.

Now try to answer these questions without looking back at the text if possible. Remember that complete sentences are not necessary but your answers must be accurate.

1. What symptoms do children who are afraid of sports day show?

Stomach pains, being sick, difficulty in sleeping

2. Where was the sports day held?

At a large village primary school

3. Why do some of the children who like running still find sports day traumatic?

Because they fall half way down the track in front of the whole school and their parents.

4. What does the writer feel for young children who are upset by sports day?

Immense pity

5. How did the children feel about the team games played after the race?

Very enthusiastic

6. What alternative to sports day does the writer suggest?

An afternoon of team games and a few races for those who want them.

Finding the main ideas

Match the following main ideas to the relevant paragraphs (1-5) of the article.

A. How team games produced a positive atmosphere on sports day. (Par. 4)

B. The reasons why sports days are still a part of school life. (Par. 3)

C. An alternative to the traditional sports day. (Par. 5)

D. The explanation for the children's illnesses and fears. (Par. 2)

E. The physical symptoms that fear of sports day produces. (Par 1)

SOURCE : Success International by Marian Barry - Georgian Press

IGCSE Reading - Practice

READING

Reference - Approaching IGCSE Reading

1. One afternoon in the last week of term, I saw three children from my son's school in tears being comforted by teachers. That morning, my 11-year-old had stomach pains and had been retching into a bowl. Talking to other mothers, I heard about other children with stomach-ache or difficulty sleeping the night before.

2. What caused so much distress? Sports day - not sports day at a highly-competitive independent school, but at a large village primary. For the children that can fly like the wind, it causes no problem. For those who are poorly coordinated, overweight, or just not good at sport, it is a nightmare. Even for those who enjoy running, but who fall half way down the track in front of the entire school and their parents, it can prove a disaster.

3. Why do we put our children through this annual torment? Some may say competition is character building, or it's taking part that's important - not the winning; or that it's a tradition of school life. I just felt immense pity for those children in tears or in pain.

4. Team games at the end of the "sports" produced some close races, enormous enthusiasm, lots of shouting and were fun to watch. More importantly, the children who were not so fast or so nimble at passing the ball were hidden a little from everyone's gaze. Some of them also had the thrill of being on the winning side.

5. I wish sports day could be abandoned and replaced with some other summer event. Perhaps an afternoon of team games, with a few races for those who want them, would be less stressful for the children and a lot more fun to watch.

Now try to answer these questions without looking back at the text if possible. Remember that complete sentences are not necessary but your answers must be accurate.

1. What symptoms do children who are afraid of sports day show?

2. Where was the sports day held?

3. Why do some of the children who like running still find sports day traumatic?

4. What does the writer feel for young children who are upset by sports day?

5. How did the children feel about the team games played after the race?

6. What alternative to sports day does the writer suggest?

Finding the main ideas

Match the following main ideas to the relevant paragraphs (1-5) of the article.

A. How team games produced a positive atmosphere on sports day.

B. The reasons why sports days are still a part of school life.

C. An alternative to the traditional sports day.

D. The explanation for the children's illnesses and fears.

E. The physical symptoms that fear of sports day produces.

SOURCE : Success International by Marian Barry - Georgian Press