ENGLISH READING COMPREHENSION IN VIRTUAL MODALITY

COURSE 2
Final Exam

By: Susana Bedoya Bedoya

Purpose
To assess student’s achievement regarding his/her development of
autonomous reading comprehension skills as a research tool in English.
1. Descriptive text of Unit 1 - While Online Reading C

Water pollution — overview

Water is a key resource for our quality of life, the things we grow and
produce. It also provides natural habitats and eco-systems for Europe’s
plant and animal species.

Access to clean water for drinking and sanitary purposes is a

precondition for human health and well-being. Most people in
Europe have access to drinking water of good quality. However, in
some parts the quality still frequently does not meet basic biological
and chemical standards. Clean unpolluted water is also essential for our
ecosystems. Plants and animals in lakes, rivers and seas react to changes
in their environment caused by changes in chemical water quality and
physical disturbance of their habitat. Changes in species composition of
organism groups like phytoplankton, algae, macrophytes, bottom-
dwelling animals and fish can be caused by changes in the climate. They
can also indicate changes in water quality caused by eutrophication,
organic pollution, hazardous substances or oil. Changes in habitats can
result from the physical disturbance through damming, channelisation
and dredging of rivers, construction of reservoirs, sand and gravel
extraction in coastal waters, bottom trawling by fishing vessels etc.

Almost all human activities can and do impact adversely upon the
water. Water quality is influenced by both direct point source and
diffuse pollution which come from urban and rural populations,
 industrial emissions and farming. Diffuse pollution from farming
and point source pollution from sewage treatment and industrial
discharge are principal sources. For agriculture, the key pollutants
include nutrients, pesticides, sediment and faecal microbes. Oxygen
consuming substances and hazardous chemicals are more associated with
point source discharges.

The diagram illustrates the many sources of nitrogen pollution in water.

Generally, a distinction can be made between:

• point sources, such as discharges from urban wastewater, industry and

fish farms;
• diffuse sources, such as background losses (e.g. forests), losses from
agriculture, losses from scattered dwellings and atmospheric deposition
on water bodies (e.g. marine areas or lakes).
a. Make a list of 10 key descriptive words found in the text along with: (1)
their meaning in context and (2) their corresponding definitions in
English
1) their meaning in context:
1. water: essential liquid that fulfills agriculture functions among others
2. Drinking: That it is not contaminated
3. human well-being: according to the context is the quality of essential
services as human vital for life
4. industrial emissions: according to the context favors water pollution
5. direct source: according to the context is the pollution coming from the
homes
6. agriculture: according to the context is another factor that favors water
pollution
7. Chemical products: a factor that changes the quality of water and does
not favor its consumption according to the text
8. Quality: have water in decent conditions for all communities
9. pesticides: according to the context it comes from agriculture and pollutes
the water
10.oil: according to the context is a factor of industries that highly pollutes
water
(2) their corresponding definitions
1. water: a colourless, transparent, odourless liquid that forms the seas,
lakes, rivers, and rain and is the basis of the fluids of living organisms.
2. Drinking: to take liquid into the body through the mouth
3. human well-being: is a broad concept, one that includes many aspects of
our everyday lives. It encompasses material well-being, relationships with
family and friends, and emotional and physical health
4. industrial emissions: Gas-borne pollutants discharged into the
atmosphere from smokestacks of industrial plants.
5. direct source:in other disciplines, surveys and interviews, or research into
written and oral records of events provide direct access to information
6. agriculture: the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of
the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food,
wool, and other products.
7. Chemical products: is a substance that is formed as the result of a
chemical reaction
8. Quality: the standard of something as measured against other things of a
similar kind; the degree of excellence of something.
9. pesticides: a substance used for destroying insects or other organisms
harmful to cultivated plants or to animals.
10. oil: a viscous liquid derived from petroleum, especially for use as a fuel
or lubricant.

b. Point out two ideas expressing processes described in the text.

1. Most people in Europe have access to drinking water of good quality.
However, in some parts the quality still frequently does not meet basic
biological and chemical standards.
2. Almost all human activities can and do impact adversely upon the water.
Water quality is influenced by both direct point source and diffuse pollution
which come from urban and rural populations, industrial emissions and farming.
Diffuse pollution from farming and point source pollution from sewage
treatment and industrial discharge are principal sources.

c. Point out two paragraphs of the text in which the author expresses facts
and opinions. Underline the corresponding ideas.

1. Access to clean water for drinking and sanitary purposes is a precondition for
human health and well-being.
2. Diffuse pollution from farming and point source pollution from sewage
treatment and industrial discharge are principal sources. For agriculture, the key
pollutants include nutrients, pesticides, sediment and faecal microbes.

2) . ARGUMETATIVE TEXT: THEMATIC UNIT 2 - ONLINE READING SUBTASK:

B

Diet and weight control

Aim for a healthy lifestyle by making positive choices and controlling your
health. Observe all areas of well-being and don't just focus on weight. Feel good
about yourself for making small changes; These can lead to great
improvements.
A good way to achieve and maintain a healthy weight is to make small changes
in your daily routine that lead to a healthier lifestyle. Being overweight or obese
increases the risk of high blood pressure, muscle, bone and respiratory disorders
and chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some
types of cancer, and reduces life expectancy. Being underweight also carries
health risks.
Healthy nutrition
Eating a balanced and nutritious diet and being physically active is the best way
to stay healthy and help reduce the risk of disease. To maintain a stable weight,
your energy consumption (kilojoules) must be equal to the energy you use. If
you use more energy than you consume, you will lose weight. On the other
hand, if you eat more than you use, you will gain weight.
The sensible answer to lose excess body fat is to make small healthy changes in
your eating and exercise habits. These changes should be things that you can
maintain as part of your lifestyle, that way you will lose weight and not recover.

A) a.Point out the main parts of the argumentative text.:

 Introduction: A good way to achieve and maintain a healthy weight is to
make small changes in your daily routine that lead to a healthier lifestyle.
 conclusion: These changes should be things that you can maintain as part
of your lifestyle, that way you will lose weight and not recover.
 intention: to convince about the importance of leading a healthy life in
terms of truly important changes for our health.

B) Infer the author’s thesis:

Aim for a healthy lifestyle by doing positive actions and controlling your health.
Observe all areas of well-being and don't just focus on weight.
C) Point out three arguments that support the thesi:
 Feel good about yourself for making small changes; these can lead to
great improvements
 Being overweight or obese increases the risk of high blood pressure,
muscle, bone and respiratory disorders and chronic diseases, such as type
2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke and some types of cancer, and reduces
life expectancy.
 If you use more energy than you consume, you will lose weight. On
the other hand, if you eat more than you use, you will gain weight.

3). Abstract: Unit 3 - While Online Reading C

Remember Your Chemistry Classes?

An international team of researchers recently reported creation of a new

element that is 40 percent heavier than lead.
The researchers successfully developed what they are calling Element Number
117 at a laboratory in Germany. It is identified by that number because its
nucleus contains that same number of particles --called protons. Element
Number 117 has a temporary name -- ununseptium.

If you remember your chemistry classes in school, you will recall that about
90 elements in the Periodic Table are found in nature. But others that were
created in laboratories appear only in very small amounts.

The Periodic Table lines up -- or organizes -- chemical elements in order of

atomic number. The elements made in laboratories -- such as 117 -- are
extremely unstable. They last only minutes before breaking down into long-
lasting elements.

Creation of new elements helps scientists better-understand the chemistry and

physics of atoms. But such production may also lead to the discovery of new
technologies.

Russian and other scientists had reported the creation of Element 117 in 2010.
But the group that confirms new elements requires at least two successful
independent experiments to confirm their existence. That group -- the
International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry -- will give the element a
permanent name.

A report on the new element appears in the journal Physical Review Letters.

A. Point out its main parts.

 The periodic table aligns or organizes chemical elements in order of

atomic number

 The creation of new elements helps scientists better understand the

chemistry and physics of atoms.

 Around 90 elements in the Periodic Table are found in nature.

 B. Infer the author’s intention and point out two ideas that
support your inference.

 The author's intention is to talk about science and

technology the way it influences and has influenced around
new creations inventions made by researchers, his
arguments are:

 The researchers successfully developed what they call

Element Number 117 in a laboratory in Germany.

 The creation of new elements helps scientists better

understand the chemistry and physics of atoms. But such
production can also lead to the discovery of new
technologies.

C. Infer the author’s tone and point out two ideas that support
your inference:

 Apparently he uses an explanatory tone, understandably he does it very

closely with the reader, perhaps to better explain his reason, the
arguments are:

 If you remember your chemistry classes at school, you will remember

that about 90 elements in the Periodic Table are found In nature.

 But the group that confirms new elements requires at least two
successful independent experiments to confirm its existence.

Final Grade: 4.6