FURTHER PRACTICE + HOMEWORK

I. FURTHER PRACTICE
Ex1:
First of all, let’s practise skimming. When reading a text for the first time, you should skim over it to grasp
the main idea. In this example, read the highlighted text and quickly look over the rest of the text (you have
about 1-2 minutes):
Are electric cars really eco-friendly?
Electric-car drivers are saving the planet, right? Their vehicles produce none of the pollutants that
dinosaur-burning, fossil-fuel-powered machines do. That is the standard view, and governments around the
world provide incentives to encourage the uptake of this new technology.
That is why a Tesla owner got a rude shock when he went to import his vehicle into Singapore - the first
person to do so. The Tesla Model S is a 100% electric vehicle. It does not have an exhaust to emit from. So
what happened?
Instead of an expected rebate of around S$15,000 (US$10,800) he received a fine of the same amount for
being a gross polluter. The company commented the incident, “The Model S that our customer imported into
Singapore left our factory only two years ago with energy consumption rated at 181 Wh/km. This qualifies
as the cleanest possible category of car in Singapore and entitles the owner to an incentive rather than a
fine.”
The Singapore authorities calculated the ‘carbon cost’ of generating the electricity that will be used to
charge the car. This is the elephant in the trunk of electric vehicles. Where and how the power is produced is
not often considered, but perhaps it should be. Let’s move the elephant up to the passenger seat and address
it directly.
The authorities in Singapore apparently found the Tesla in question consumes 444 watt-hours of electricity
per km (Wh/km) in tests. Without wanting to get too maths-heavy, the number of 444Wh/km does seem high.
And as we still need power stations to produce such amount electric energy, the environmental impact is not
so small as it seemed to be.
But what about the bigger picture - should we be factoring in the emissions of power stations when working
out how green an electric car is? The logical answer is yes. Emissions shifted elsewhere are still emissions,
and CO2 impacts the global atmosphere wherever it is released.
After you’ve skimmed the text, you should get the general idea: one man imported an electric car to
Singapore and was fined for that, because the car was considered as a polluter. It turned out that electric cars
can also be dangerous for the environment, because electric energy used to charge them is produced at
power stations, which emit pollutants
1. What is the aim of this text?
A. To discourage people from visiting Singapore
B. To prove that electric cars are less eco-friendly than fossil-fuel-powered machines
C. To show that we need to count the emissions of power stations to see how green an electric car is.
2. When the owner of the electric car went to Singapore, he received
A. a rebate of around US$10,800
B. a fine of around US$10,800
C. a fine of around US$15,000
3. To prove that electric car was a gross polluter, the authorities in Singapore calculated
the ...................... of generating the electricity to charge the car.
Ex 2: Spend one minute skim reading the following passage to get a sense of the overall meaning.
What is the main topic?
A. new discoveries in chemistry
B. the discovery of ancient objects
C. how international scientific teams work
Ochre find reveals ancient knowledge of chemistry
The oldest ochre-processing toolkits and workshop ever found have been unearthed, indicating that as far
back as 100,000 years ago, humans had an understanding of chemistry.
South Africa’s Blombos Cave lies within a limestone cliff on the southern Cape coast, 300 km east of Cape
Town. It’s known for its 75,000-year-old rich deposits of artefacts such as beads, bone tools and ochre
engravings. Some engravings date as far back as 100,000 years.
Archaeologist Christopher S. Henshilwood from the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and
University of Bergen, Norway has been excavating at the site since 1992, and has reported the discovery of a
mixture, rich in ochre, stored in two abalone shells. It dates back to the Middle Stone Age 100,000 years
ago. Ochre is a term used to describe a piece of earth or rock containing red or yellow oxides or hydroxides
of iron. It can be used to make pigments, or paints, ranging from golden-yellow and light yellow-brown to a
rich red. Its use spans the history of humans-from those living more than 200,000 years ago, to modern
indigenous communities.
Made from an array of materials, this mixture, which could have functioned as wall, object and skin
decoration or skin protection (acting in a similar way to modern-day sunscreen), indicates the early
developments that occurred in the people who originally used the site.
“[Judging from] the complexity of the material that has been collected from different parts of the landscape
and brought to the site, they [the people] must have had an elementary knowledge of chemistry to be able to
combine these materials to produce this form. It’s not a straightforward process,” said Henshilwood.
Ex 3: Scan the passage below about vulnerable people in society (i.e.those people who are in more
danger of being harmed, physically or emotionally, than others). Then complete the table with notes.
Care for vulnerable people
State responsibility:

Support from the church:

[1] In all societies there are groups of people who are potentially vulnerable. These include children, older
people, people with disabilities, and the poor, for example. Whether they are supported and how they are
supported, however, varies from society to society and at different times in history.
[2] In some societies, the care of the vulnerable is seen as the responsibility of the family or the village. In
others, it is principally the responsibility of the state, through community provision. In Israeli kibbutzim*,
for example, the care of children is seen as the responsibility of the whole community, and not principally
the concern of the birth parents. In other societies the care of children is the prime responsibility of their
parents, and in some it is the responsibility of the extended family. Attitudes to the vulnerable vary. Those on
benefits may be seen as lazy scroungers or their situation may be seen as the result of poor parenting or the
inevitable consequence of economic changes. The response to their need will vary according to the dominant
attitudes in the society, the views and priorities of government, the wealth of the nation, and how that wealth
is distributed and managed.
[3] In England, the state has had some involvement in providing for the poor since Elizabethan times. The
1601 Poor Law allowed officials to collect money from each household in their parish and to distribute it to
the needy. However, it was thought that the poor only had themselves to blame. The political approach at the
time was informed by a view that the government should not interfere in the workings of the economy or in
the provision of welfare services. The church and other voluntary groups provided charitable support, but the
state ‘left well alone'. Not until the opening years of the twentieth century did the state begin to take a
proactive role in the care and welfare of its citizens.
Glossary:
kibbutzim: (singular: kibbutz) communal settlements, typically farms in Israel.
II. HOMEWORK
THE HISTORY OF UFOS
Unidentified Flying Object (or “UFO”) is a term commonly used to describe lights or
shapes in the sky. It was first coined by the United States Air Force in 1952 to describe
sightings of mysterious objects in the sky that could not be explained even after
careful investigation. Nowadays UFOs are spotted frequently, and feature in numerous
movies and TV shows. Another popular name for such an object is, “Flying Saucer,” in
reference to the round shape of many UFOs.

The first widely publicized UFO sighting was in 1947, by a pilot called Kenneth Arnold.
Following this event, public sightings of UFOs increased dramatically. Movies and TV
shows began featuring visitors from outer space, arriving on earth in flying saucers.
With the popularity of these images, many people claimed to have seen lights in the
sky. Some experts believe that people simply think they see UFOs because of the
influence of TV and movies.

However, experts estimate that as little as 5% of these sightings could be called

“unidentified.” Usually these lights are made by aircraft, satellites, or weather
balloons. Top secret air force activities during the Cold War may have been
responsible for many of the UFO sightings in America and Europe. Although not
actually aliens, the secretive nature of these flying objects is definitely unidentified.

Another popular idea concerning UFOs concerns the role of world governments.
Specifically, people believe that the US government has discovered alien life and
operates a “cover-up” to hide the truth from the public. The most widely believed
cover-up is that of the Roswell Incident. In July, 1947, a UFO supposedly landed in
Roswell, New Mexico, and was examined and hidden by government agents. There
have been many investigations into the Roswell Incident, however, these reports
always claim that no such event occurred.
QUESTIONS
1st Reading (Skimming): Read through the article and answer each of the following questions.
1. What is the purpose of this report? 2. Why are UFO sightings so controversial?
a) To describe the history of alien life. a) They have never been proved.
 b) To describe government cover-ups. b) There are many sightings.
c) To describe the history of UFO sightings. c) The government covers up sightings.
d) To describe UFOs in popular movies. d) There are very few UFO sightings.

2nd Reading (Scanning)

Read the text carefully and circle the best answer for each question about the reading passage.
1. Why is Kenneth Arnold famous among UFO believers?
A.He was at Roswell in 1947.
B. He found a UFO in 1952.
C. He saw a UFO in 1947.
D. He saw a UFO in 1952.
2. How do experts explain many UFO sightings?
A. There are many alien visitors to earth.
B. TV and movies make people believe they see UFOs.
C. Government cover-ups make people paranoid.
D. They have no idea why there are so many sightings.
3. What do many people believe happened at Roswell?
A. Famous movies were made.
B. Kenneth Arnold was born.
C. The first UFO sighting.
D. A UFO landed there.
4. Which of the following is true?
A. The first UFO was spotted in 1952.
B. The word “UFO” was first used in 1952.
C. The Roswell Incident occurred in 1952.
D. A UFO landed in America in 1952.
5. What influence did the Cold War have upon UFO sightings?
A. American pilots saw a UFO in the Cold War.
B. More UFO movies were made in the Cold War.
C. Lots of government cover-ups occurred.
D. Top secret air force activities caused more sightings.
State whether the following statements about the reading are true (T) or false (F) according to the
information in the passage.
6. Kenneth Arnold saw the first UFO
7. The Roswell Incident occurred in 1952.
8. Experts say many normal things account for UFO sightings.
9. Flying saucers are square-shaped