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Chapter One Education and Student Life

Objectives
Reading and Vocabulary-Building Strategies
Previewing vocabulary
Getting meaning from context
Identifying the main idea
Understanding reading structure
Reading and Vocabulary-Building Strategies
Organizing information: using a T-chart
Skimming for the topic and main idea
Understanding pronoun reference
In This Chapter
What can we learn about a culture from its educational system?
In the first reading, you will read about four countries and have a chance to compare
positive and negative aspects of those countries educational systems.
You will also discuss your own educational life.
In Part 2, you will read about how the student population has changed in the United
States and how this, as well as technology and studies about learning styles, have
changed classes and campuses.
In Part 3, you will learn strategies to help build your vocabulary and develop good study
skills.
Part I Education: A Reflection of Society
Topic of paragraph A:
Introduction: Education as a mirror of a culture.
Topic of paragraph B:
A country where equality and national unity are important.

Topic of paragraph C:
A country that places a lot of importance on education and makes students take difficult
exams.
Topic of paragraph D:
A country where social class is very important.
Topic of paragraph E:
A country that offers education to everyone but also has problems in its schools.
Topic of paragraph F:
Conclusion: Education as a reflection of society.
Part II Campus Life is Changing
Topic of Paragraph A:
Changes in U.S. college population
Main idea of paragraph A:
Traditional college students are being replaced by nontraditional students who have
different needs and expectations of colleges.
Topic of Paragraph B:
Learning styles of nontraditional students
Main idea of paragraph B:
Nontraditional students prefer the sensing style of learning, or getting experience first and
ideas later.
Topic of Paragraph C:
Learning styles of traditional students
Topic of Paragraph D:
Preference of college professors
Main idea of paragraph D:
Most college professors prefer the intuitive style, so nontraditional, or sensing students
are at a disadvantage.
Topic of Paragraph E:
Changes in interests of students
Main idea of paragraph E:
Students went from being politically active to being interested in making money, but now

they are a combination of the two.

Topic of Paragraph F:
Changes in technology on campus

Chapter 2 City Life

Objectives
Getting meaning from context
Identifying the man idea
Identifying supporting details
Understanding italics
Making inferences
Scanning
Understanding parts of speech
Looking up parts of speech
In this chapter
What do you think about big cities? In this chapter, you will read about some challenges
that big cities face.
In part 1, you will read about how one city in particular found some creative ways to deal
with garbage collection, transportation, social issues, and other urban problems.
A common problem that big cities face is air pollution, but as you will learn in part 2,
pollution is not limited to the outdoors.
There is also indoor pollution. Many things cause pollution in office buildings, schools,
and homes.
You will learn about and discuss things that we can do to address this problem.
Then part 3 introduces a variety of strategies and activities to help build vocabulary and
study skills.
Part I A City Thats Doing Something Right
A.
Theres good news and bad news about life in modern citiesfirst, the bad.
People who study population growth predict a nightmare by the year 2025: the global

population will be more than eight billion, and almost four billion of these people will be
living in cities in developing countries such as India and Nigeria.
Now the good news: in some cities, instead of worsening, urban life is actually getting
much better.
B. A City and Its Mayor
The city of Curitiba, Brazil, proves that its possible for even a city in a developing
country to offer a good life to its residents.
C. Garbage Collection
One creative solution is the method of garbage collectionCambio verde, or Green
Exchange. This does far more than clean the streets of trash.
D. Transportation
Curitiba needed a mass-transit system but couldnt afford an expensive subway. City
planners began, instead, with an unusual system of buses in the center lanes of five wide
major streets.
At each bus stop, there is a forty-foot-long glass tube. Passengers pay before they enter
the tube. Then they get on the bus subway stylethrough wide doors.
This allows people to get on and off the bus quickly and efficiently. People dont crowd
onto the bus; loading and unloading takes only 30 seconds.
This makes commuting more pleasant and also helps to solve the problem of air
pollution.
E. A Creative Social Program
At Fazenda da Solidaridade ( Solidarity Farm), the workers are not experienced farmers.
Instead, they are drug addicts and alcoholics who volunteer to spend up to nine months in
a program called Verde Saude ( Green Health).
F. The Environment
To make the environment both cleaner and more beautiful, Curitiba encourages green
space.
G. A Symbol of the Possible
Curitiba is truly, as Lewis Mumford once said of cities in general, a symbol of the

possible.
The main idea of the article:
The city of Curitiba, Brazil, proves that its possible for even a city in a developing
country to offer a good life to its residents.

Part II Sick-Building Syndrome

Topic of paragraph A:
Sick-Building Syndrome
Main idea of paragraph A
Some buildings create their own indoor air pollution.
Topic of paragraph B:
Indoor air pollution
Main idea of paragraph B
The air inside some buildings is full of pollutants.
Topic of paragraph C:
Types of indoor air pollution
Main idea of paragraph C
Many products give off chemicals we cant see but breathe in.
Topic of paragraph D:
How indoor air becomes polluted
Main idea of paragraph D
Some products release chemicals into the air and lack of ventilation makes the situation
more serious.
Topic of paragraph E:
Solutions to sick-building syndrome
Main idea of paragraph E
Experts must determine the cause and workers must remove it.
Topic of paragraph F:
Plants as a solution
Main idea of paragraph F
Some plants remove pollutants from the air.

Topic of paragraph G:
More research is necessary.
Main idea of paragraph G
Plants may offer an important pollution-control system for 21st century.