LENG1155 - Reading and Writing Book

2020-10
WEEK 1
UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 1

Being Super Busy May Be Good for Your
Brain
Objectives
- Can understand how a monolingual dictionary works to find the suitable meaning of a
word.
- Can scan a long text or a set of related texts in order to find specific information.
Before Reading
Discuss with a partner the following questions:
1. Are you a busy person? Are there any physical benefits of being busy?
2. Do you think people who are always busy tend to be more intelligent? Why?
Reading
Being Super Busy May Be Good for Your Brain

Does busyness boost cognition, or do people with better cognition tend
to keep busy?
By Brian Handwerk
1. Slammed. Swamped. Flat out. Buried.

No matter how it's said, the refrain is all too
familiar—people are just too busy. But there's
good news for the harried and hectic, new
research shows that busy lifestyles may be
good for your brain.
2. “There hasn't been much scientific
research on busyness itself, although it's
something that we talk about so often,”
explains Sara Festini, a cognitive
neuroscientist at the University of Texas at Dallas Center for Vital Longevity, a co-author of the
new research published this week in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience. “So we wanted to look
at the relationship of a generally very busy lifestyle to cognition.”
3. Festini and colleagues found that middle-aged and older Americans who keep
themselves busy test better across a whole range of different cognitive functions like brain
processing speeds, reasoning and vocabulary. The memory of specific events from the past,
or episodic memory, is especially enhanced among busy people, they report.
4. Psychologist Brent Small, director of the University of South Florida's School of Aging
Studies, said the results are “in line with a large body of research suggesting that older adults
who are actively engaged in cognitive, stimulating activities are more likely to perform better on
standard cognitive tasks.”
5. “This paper extends that work by examining the concept of busyness,” adds Small, who
wasn't involved in the new research.
6. But the strong correlation shown between busyness and brain function also raises an
intriguing chicken-and-egg question: Does busyness boost the brain, or might people with
better cognitive powers be more likely to keep themselves busy?

7. Festini and colleagues tested 330 people, healthy individuals aged 50 to 89 who were
participating in an ongoing, comprehensive study of age-related changes in brain function
called the Dallas Lifespan Brain Study. They first measured participants' busyness with a
survey asking questions about their activities. Sample questions include how often people had
so many things to do that they went to bed late or missed meals, and how often they had too
many things to do in a day to get them all done.
8. The scientists then evaluated brain function for each individual with a battery of tests,
performed in the lab and at home, to evaluate processing speed, working memory, episodic
long-term memory, reasoning and crystallized knowledge (or the ability to use skills and
knowledge gained over time).
9. Evaluations of processing speed, for example, included comparing strings of numbers
to find differences between them or quickly matching up numbers to symbols in a code.
Working memory tests included computer games that asked players to remember which box
out of a large group held a hidden ball, or to recall the order in which they had been shown a
number of visual patterns.
10. Comparing the two sets of results showed a strong relationship between busyness and
cognition and, perhaps surprisingly, that the relationship didn't change with age but instead
remained consistent from ages 50 to 89. “We think it's informative that we see similar
relationships between busyness and cognition throughout middle age and older adulthood,”
Festini says. “You might expect to see larger differences in old age when there's more change
going on with cognition, but we found that the relationship was consistent across our sample.”
The current study focused on adults 50 to 89 because this range more closely matched other
studies co-author Denise Park had conducted, but Festini says she sees similar relationships
in all adult's brains, aged 20 and up.
11. It might also have been expected that busy people would show higher levels of stress to
the detriment of brain function, Festini notes. “Stress has been shown to have negative
impacts on cognition and the brain,” she says. But, at least among this group, if busier
members were indeed more stressed, any negative impacts produced by that stress appear to
have been outweighed by the benefits of busyness.
12. Still, Festini cautions, being very busy may well produce as yet unmeasured negative
effects. Distractibility, for example, wasn't measured in this test format and it may well plague
those who burn the candle at both ends.
13. The test also wasn't designed to tackle the intriguing question of why the relationship
between busyness and cognition exists at all.
14. Do people with better cognitive functions simply tend to lead busier lives? Or might a
busier lifestyle boost the brain's cognitive powers by engaging people more frequently in the
kinds of learning experiences, from iPad instruction to theater training, that research is
increasingly showing to produce cognitive benefits? Might there exist a mutual feedback loop
in which each option reinforces the other?
15. Small notes that his own work has found that changes in lifestyle activities have an
interesting two-way relationship with cognition. His team tracked older adults' participation in
physical activities like jogging or gardening, social activities like going out or visiting friends,
and cognitive activities like using a computer or playing bridge, and whether that participation
changed over time.
16. We found evidence that lifestyle activities buffered cognitive decline, but that older
adults who were experiencing declines gave up lifestyle activities.”
17. Another intriguing possibility is that new learning improves cognitive abilities, and that
the busy among us may have more opportunities to learn new things because they more
frequently engage in challenging tasks and situations that appear to help keep the brain sharp.
18. The new results may support that idea, which has been explored in previous research
including other studies in Park's lab at the UT Dallas Center for Vital Longevity.

19. “We think these results are consistent with some experimental work that has assigned
people to learn challenging new skills like quilting and digital photography,” Festini says.
“Those studies found cognitive benefits after a three-month period of intense new learning.”
20. If this theory turns out to be correct, scientists might devise ways to manipulate the
effect and produce structured activities that promote cognitive health. In the meantime, the
over-scheduled can at least take some solace that their busy lifestyles appear to go hand in
hand with better brain function.
Taken from:
Hanwerk, B. (2016, May 17). Being Super Busy May* Be Good for Your Brain *Does busyness boost cognition, or do people
with better cognition tend to keep busy? From http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/being-super-busy-may-be-
good-your-brain-or-not-180959147/
Reading comprehension
Using a Monolingual Dictionary

Sometimes a word may have more than one meaning. In some cases, one word belongs to
different categories, that is, it may be a noun, a verb or an adjective. This is when context comes
into play because it is through context that we are able to identify the right meaning of a word.
For example:
Slammed. Swamped. Flat out. Buried. No matter how it's said, the refrain is all too
familiar—people are just too busy.
What does refrain mean in this context? Is it a verb, or is it a noun? The context may
help, however, using a monolingual dictionary will help us clear any doubt.
Monolingual dictionaries provide definitions using the same language of the word
being defined.
Let’s read some definitions of refrain.
1. Refrain: /rɪˈfreɪn/ verb [intransitive] formal

to not do something that you want to do → abstain
refrain from (doing) something
“Please refrain from smoking in this area.”
2. Refrain: noun. Part of a song or poem that is repeated, especially at the end of
each verse → chorus
3. Formal. Noun. A remark or idea that is often repeated.

“Our proposal met with the constant refrain that the company could not afford it.”
http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/refrain
After reading the definitions for refrain, can you identify its right meaning in the
following sentence?
Slammed. Swamped. Flat out. Buried. No matter how it's said, the refrain is all too
familiar—people are just too busy.
Meaning: A remark or idea that is often repeated.
In this context refrain is a noun. We know this because it comes after the word the
and before the verb to be. Nouns are usually placed after the and before verbs.

A. Using a Monolingual Dictionary
Use a monolingual dictionary to identify the meaning of the following words. Write the
category of the word (noun, verb, adjective) and its appropriate definition according to the
context of the reading.
1. Paragraph 4, engaged: ___________________________________________________

2. Paragraph 6, raises: ____________________________________________________
3. Paragraph 8, battery: ____________________________________________________
4. Paragraph 9, strings: ____________________________________________________
5. Paragraph 12, candle, (burn the candle at both ends): __________________________
______________________________________________________________________
6. Paragraph 14, lead: _____________________________________________________
7. Paragraph 15, tracked: ___________________________________________________
8. Paragraph 17, sharp: ____________________________________________________
Scanning
It is not always necessary to read a whole text to find the information we need. Instead, it may
suffice to explore some specific sections of a text to obtain that piece of information. This
is called Scanning. Scanning must be done quickly by focusing on specific information.
Here are some suggestions on how to scan a text:
1. Think about the word(s) you are looking for and focus on finding those words or their
synonyms.
2. Do not read the sentences, just look for particular words or phrases.
3. Move your eyes quickly and don't become stuck on any particular section. You don't have
to understand everything.
4. Pay attention to numbers, letters, words in bold, italics or in a different font size or style.
For example:
1. How many people did Festini and colleagues test?

________________________________________________________________
2. How old were the individuals? _____________________________________
To answer these questions, you must scan the text for some number(s) that will
provide the right information. After a quick overview, we found that paragraph 7
gives us the answers.
Festini and colleagues tested 330 people, healthy individuals aged 50 to 89 who
were participating in an ongoing, comprehensive study of age-related changes in
brain function called the Dallas Lifespan Brain Study.

B. Scanning
1. Scan the test to answer the following questions.
a. Who are Sara Festini, Brent Small and Denise Park?

______________________________________________________________________
b. Where were previous studies carried out?

______________________________________________________________________
c. What is crystallized knowledge?

______________________________________________________________________
2. Complete the following sentences with information from the reading.
a. ______________ who are usually busy test better across a whole range of different
cognitive functions.
b. The evaluations of processing speed included ________________ or
________________________.
c. __________ has been shown to have negative impacts on cognition and the brain.
d. The test was not designed to answer the question of
_____________________________________.
e. In our opinion, these results are _____________ with some experimental work in
which people have learned __________________ like quilting and
_______________________.
Distinguishing Main Points from Supporting Details

A main idea or main point is the most important or central thought of a paragraph or larger section
of text, which tells the reader what the text is about. (http://www.dictionary.com/browse/main-idea)
Main ideas are supported by further information like examples, explanations, reasons, etc. This
information is what we call supporting details or supporting ideas.
For example:
Can you identify the main idea and the supporting detail in the following paragraph?
Festini and colleagues found that middle-aged and older Americans who keep themselves
busy test better across a whole range of different cognitive functions like brain processing
speeds, reasoning and vocabulary. The memory of specific events from the past, or
episodic memory, is especially enhanced among busy people, they report.
The first sentence states the main idea, whereas sentence two contributes to the main
idea by explaining it.

C. Main Points and Supporting Details
The following sentences have been taken from different sections in the text. Write “MI” if
they are main ideas or “SD” if they are supporting details.
1. The brain may benefit from busyness, according to new studies. _____
2. It is surprising that the relationship between busyness and cognition remained consistent
from ages 50 to 89. ____
3. Scientists measured participants' busyness with a survey asking questions about their
activities. _____
4. Distractibility may affect individuals who burn the candle at both ends. _____
5. Small’s work has proved that changes on lifestyles have a two-way relationship with
cognition. _____
Objective
- Can write descriptions of past events, activities, or personal experiences.
Writing (90-100 words)

Write about a time when you were very busy. Describe how you felt, what you did and how
you dealt with that situation. You can use the following phrases and follow their order.
There was a time when…

I once was/ had to…
I remember I….
It was a stressing moment/situation

I was feeling…
I decided to…
In the end I …
Finally, I …
I once had to hand in three essays and take two exams on the same day. I was really
stressed out, and I was desperate. This is what I did: I divided my time and focused on
the topics for the essays and began revising for my exams every day. I also got together
with some classmates after class for group study. In the end, I did well in the exams;
however, my writing still needs to be improved.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________.
References:
Dictionary.com. (n.d.). Main Idea. Retrieved June, 2017, from
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/main-idea
Hanwerk, B. (2016, May 17). Being Super Busy May* Be Good for Your Brain *Does busyness
boost cognition, or do people with better cognition tend to keep busy? From
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/being-super-busy-may-be-good-your-brain-or-
not-180959147/
Longman. (n.d.). Refrain. Retrieved June, 2017, from http://www.ldoceonline.com/

WEEK 2

Pathological Media Use
Objectives
- Can show comprehension of text structure using a mind map or outline
- Can identify the use of paraphrasing in a simple academic text
Before Reading
A. In this unit we have explored the connection between the brain and the emotional
attachment to people. Now, let’s take a look at a different type of attachment. In pairs,
answer the following questions:
1. How much are you attached to technology? What device can’t you live without?
2. Do you think that in general we, humans, have a healthy relationship with technology?
When do you consider it would be too much? Provide examples of this.
B. Watch the movie trailer of the movie Her, a film in which a man develops a relationship with
Samantha, an intelligent computer operating system (OS). Then, discuss with a partner the
following questions:
Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne6p6MfLBxc
1. Do you think the man in the trailer has a normal and healthy relationship with his OS?
2. When do you think this happens to human beings? Is our relation to technology
pathological1 at times?
1Pathological: not reasonable or sensible; impossible to control; caused by, or connected with, disease or
illness.
Reading
Pathological Media Use

1. In his book, iDisorder: Understanding our Obsession With Technology And Overcoming
Its Hold On Us, Larry Rosen (2012) has argued that many forms of behavior patterns
associated with the use of technology run the risk of being labeled as pathological behaviors.
Citing an example of our obsession regarding checking emails, personal messages, or other
information on our devices, Rosen seeks to compare it with other habits that are, or have the
potential to be, called obsessive– compulsive disorders (OCD). The pervasive nature of our
anxiety with technological gadgets can be assessed by taking a look at some reactions and
responses of technology users:
“I have experienced phantom vibrations from my phone.  
I get irritable when I am not near my technological devices.  
I cannot go on vacation without checking my cell phone or email.  
I become highly anxious when I can’t check my text messages, cell phone calls, or
social networking account.  
I feel tense and nervous when I am online or when I am using my cell phone” (p. 59).
2. Rosen concluded that if the earlier forms of behavior go out of control, one should seek
the help of a professional. The good news in this direction is that clinical  psychologists are
beginning to realize the degree to which computer usage can become addictive. Even in the
developing countries such as India, the National Institute of Mental Health And Neurosciences,
under the guidance of Sharma has started a bimonthly SHUT (Service for Healthy use of
Technology) clinic for the healthy management of technology addiction (Indian Psychologists

Portal, 2014).
3. Additionally, Internet provides an instant source for the expression of narcissism. The
Narcissistic Personality Disorder2 (DSM) describes several features of a narcissist: self-
importance, unlimited power,  feeling special, needing admiration, unreasonable
expectations/entitlements, exploitative nature, lack of empathy, envy, and arrogance. Now if
you take this stuff seriously, that is, if you frequently email regarding what you have been
doing or achieving, would it not make you believe that you are narcissistic? Not if those emails
were not checked excessively or just displayed a few examples from the several behaviors
listed earlier. Rosen contended that it would be simply human to display such behaviors, but if
it obstructs routine life, especially performance at work, such behaviors would bring a geek
closer to the therapist’s office.
4. We had mentioned earlier that technology has changed our social life, and it certainly
has pushed us in the direction of isolation. Citing an example of a computer programmer,
named Alan, Rosen described his tendency to manifest withdrawal behavior very similar to
that seen in people with a schizoid personality. Typically, Alan showed no interest in his
colleagues and relatives, avoided going to office, barely left his home, hardly cared about his
appearance and comments by others, ordered his meals to be delivered at his home, and
remained engrossed in his computer. Rosen posed a question regarding the classifying of this
behavior as a precursor to schizotypal personality disorder that is operationally described
when a person shows:
 No normative behavior    Lack friends  
 Odd thinking    Indifference  
 Paranoid behavior    Heightened anxiety  
5. Concluding his research on the role of technology in making this form of behavior
vulnerable to pathology, Rosen wrote,
“We discovered that the total daily use of the media and technology, as well as,
more specifically, hours spent online and playing video games, were all associated
with schizoid disorders in both the I-Generation (those born in the 1990s) and the
Net Generation (those born in the 1980s)” (Rosen, 2012, p. 173).  
6. That the personality of the person is also important in deciding how the Internet will be
used has been pointed out by many. Papacharissi and Rubin (2000) found that one personality
trait that tends to create a difference is extraversion–introversion. While those high on the
former tended to use the Internet to gather information, introverts used it for social purposes,
once again pointing to the key role of social shyness. Similarly, Landers and Lounsbury (2006)
found that high Internet users were lower on two of the Big Five3 personality dimensions,
namely, agreeableness and conscientiousness. As such Internet deaddiction centers would do
well to focus on the personality of the individuals who come to their clinics.
7. At the same time, we should not forget that as students, we were fascinated by the
writings of the founding father of modern psychology, William James (1890), who wrote in his
classic book, Principles of Psychology, that life without habits would be strenuous and boring.
With the learning of, and, performing on computers, we become habitual of using it. It creates
vistas of knowledge and opens doors for new relationships on Facebook and Twitter. And later
with mastery in multitasking, we begin to enjoy the flow of the technological world around us.
Does it really matter if we become addicted to technology and begin to live a life based on our
own choice?
2 Narcissistic personality disorder: a mental disorder in which a person shows heightened self-importance and
power, lacks empathy, and becomes arrogant.
3 Big-Five: a standardized test of personality describing personality in terms of five factors.
Taken and adapted from: Agrawal, R., & Kool, V. (2016). Behavior in the Virtual Environment. In Psychology of Technology (pp. 213-215).
Springer International Publishing.

A. Outlining
Outlining
A good strategy to help readers understand the structure of a text is outlining. This strategy can help
you identify how the text has been organized. Outlines begin with the main idea, followed by
supporting ideas and supporting details.
- The main idea of a passage or reading is the central thought or message. The main idea of a
paragraph is the author's message about the topic. It is often expressed directly or it can be
implied. They are of the type S+V+C.
- Supporting ideas explain and develop the main idea. They are reasons, facts, steps, or other
kinds of evidence that explain a main idea.
- Supporting details help fill out the supporting ideas and make them clear.
The following tips can help you write a good outline:

1. Look for words that tell you a list of details is coming. Words such as several kinds of, various
causes, and a few reasons can guide you.
2. Look for words that signal Supporting ideas. Such words are called addition words: first (of all),
for one thing, in addition, or furthermore.
3. In your outline, put all supporting ideas/details of equal importance at the same distance from
the margin.
Main idea Most general information

1. Supporting idea 1 More specific than main idea
a. Supporting detail 1 More specific than supporting ideas
b. Supporting detail 2
2. Supporting idea 2
a. Supporting detail
Example from paragraph 6:

Be careful: Sometimes you will not find signaling words to guide you. However, in this case, the
paragraph lists two studies that have explored the influence of personality in Internet use. It has two
signaling words. Similarly introduces the second supporting idea, but while is contrasting the two
elements mentioned in the supporting idea 1.
That the personality of the person is also important in deciding how the Internet will be used
has been pointed out by many. Papacharissi and Rubin (2000) found  that one personality trait
that tends to create a difference is extraversion–introversion. While those high on the former
tended to use the Internet to gather information, introverts used it for social purposes, once
again pointing to the key role of social shyness. Similarly,  Landers and Lounsbury (2006)
found that high Internet users were lower on two of the Big Five2 personality dimensions,
namely, agreeableness and conscientiousness. As such Internet deaddiction centers would do
well to focus on the personality of the individuals who come to their clinics.
Main Idea: The relationship people have with technology is probably the most committed relationship they have.
Main idea: That the personality of the person is also important in deciding how the Internet will be used
1. Supporting idea 1: These technologies are with people the whole day and everywhere.
has been pointed out by many.
2. Supporting idea 2: They satisfy people’s needs and expectations connecting them with people and
1. Supporting Idea 1: Papacharissi and Rubin (2000) found  that one personality trait that tends
overcoming distance.
to create a difference is extraversion–introversion.
3. Supporting idea 3: The interactions with them generate emotions.
a. Supporting Detail 1: While those high on the former (extraversion) tended to use the Internet
to gather information, introverts used it for social purposes, once again pointing to the key role
of social shyness.
2. Supporting Idea 2: Similarly,  Landers and Lounsbury (2006) found that high Internet users
were lower on two of the Big Five personality dimensions, namely, agreeableness and
conscientiousness.
Concluding Sentence: As such Internet deaddiction centers would do well to focus on the personality
of the individuals who come to their clinics.

B. Mapping
Mapping
Maps, or diagrams, are visual outlines in which circles, boxes, or other shapes show the relationship
between main ideas and supporting ideas.
Main idea
Supporting idea 1 Supporting idea 2
Supporting detail 1 Supporting detail 2 Supporting detail 1
Example from paragraph 6:
Studies showing the influence of personality on Internet use
Study referring to extroversion- Study referring to agreeableness-

introversion conscientiousness
Extroverts’ use to gather information

Introverts’ use for social purposes
Be careful: in this case ideas are expressed using key ideas, not exact words from the text.
1. Now complete the following outline based on the reading Pathological Media Use.
Tips to help you:
 Carefully read the text again.
 Highlight the main ideas. It can also be helpful to underline the key words in each
paragraph.
 Find ideas supporting or developing the main idea in each paragraph.

Main Idea:
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________
1. Supporting idea 1:
a. Supporting detail 1:
b. Supporting detail 2:
Supporting detail expanding detail 1:
c. Supporting detail 3:
Concluding sentence: a sentence that restates the main idea of the topic sentence in a new
way.
___________________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________________

C. Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing involves changing a text so that it is quite dissimilar to the source, yet it retains
all the meaning. This skill is useful in several areas of academic work.
Paraphrasing does not aim to shorten the length of a text, merely to restate the text.
 For example:
…that life without habits would be strenuous and boring.
could be paraphrased:
…that routines would prevent life from becoming hard and tedious.
A good paraphrase is significantly different from the wording of the original, without altering
the meaning at all.
The following tips or techniques can help you identify and/or write a good paraphrase:
1. Changing vocabulary:
 pathological > unhealthy
 addiction > dependence
2. Changing word class:
 behaviour (noun) > behave (verb)
 to manifest withdrawal behavior (verb + noun) > the manifestation of withdrawal
behavior (art+noun+noun)
3. Changing word order:
 …technology has changed our social life> Our social life has been changed by
technology.
Pay attention! Notice the changes from active to passive voice in this last example. Not only
does the change of words help you identify a good paraphrase but also the changes in
grammar (e.g. active to passive or passive to active) and sentence structure of the original
text.
1. Read the text below, and then decide which paragraph of the text this paraphrase
corresponds to.
In Rosen’s study on the influence of technology on the development of pathological

behaviors, the author recorded that schizoid disorders are connected to the time spent
online and playing video games together with the total of daily use of technology in
populations born in the 1980’s and 1990s, most commonly called the Net and the I-
Generations.
Paragraph ________

Objective
- Can take notes on a simple academic text.
Taking Notes
In this unit we have seen two important note-taking strategies: outlining and paraphrasing.
Additionally, these are other note-taking methods:
 Copy key words and phrases: in your notes write the words and phrases that build important
ideas in the text.
 Paraphrase key ideas: in your own words copy and rephrase the important ideas, words, and
phrases. Keep in mind the techniques seen before.
 Summarize key ideas: copy main ideas in your own words shortening the text since this is the
main difference with paraphrasing. The main purpose here is shortening text.
 Write explanations in your notes: when coming across complex ideas, it is helpful to transfer
them to your notes in a simple way, explaining what you have understood from them.
Sometimes explanations are longer than the original text.
Writing
1. Read the following text, and on a separate piece of paper take notes of the main ideas to
be able to answer the question at the end.
Her Reality: Could You Really Fall in Love With

Your Computer?
The day when your computer will know you better than any human is rapidly approaching.
1. Then there's the arresting possibility that software with access to every email or tweet
you've sent, every purchase you've made online, and your taste in everything from music to
porn could know you better than any human. Put it all together and a fully responsive AI agent
indistinguishable from another human is certain, Clayton says.
2. ''I don't think it's all that far off – if I said 10 years even that might be too long.''
3. So if computers meet us at such a crossroads, how will we respond? Psychological

therapist Annie Gurton thinks that, biologically, we're all-too ready for experiences such as the
one in the film Her. ''Humans are social animals,'' she says. ''We'll go to any lengths to find
company.'' You can see it from the way we customize our mobile to make it uniquely ours, or
our tendency to name animals, objects and yes, even computers. Anthropomorphizing –
attributing human characteristics to non-human objects – is so well known in psychotherapy
that it's common to use inanimate objects to represent a real person to sort out a complicated
relationship.
4. Science also makes no distinction between the love we feel for friends or family and
that of machines and tools. ''Research has shown that the same brain circuits are involved
irrespective of the object of our love,'' Gurton says. The final piece of the puzzle is that we tend
to humanize artifacts that offer us a high level of engagement – hallowed ground for computers
and smartphones.

5. Assuming it's possible to fall in love with a computer, the next question must surely be
whether that's OK, either morally or for the sake of our mental health. Most of us are balanced
enough to see when devotion to our gadgets interferes with real relationships, but Gurton
reminds us that therapists' waiting rooms are full of people who can't sort out the priorities
between the inanimate and the human. ''Plenty of marriages flounder because a partner can't
give up a relationship with an object like a car, fishing rod or surfboard,'' she says.
6. A case comes to Gurton's mind about a hospitalized woman suffering from psychosis,
hysterical whenever threatened with separation from her mobile phone. But as she adds wryly:
''Let's face it, which of us hasn't felt like that some time?''
7. So how sad or lonely do you need to be to fall in love with a computer? Neither – you
just need to be human. They'll do the rest and, for the first time, we're on the cusp of joining
hands.
Taken from
Turney, D. (2014, January 25). Her reality: could you really fall in love with your computer? Retrieved June 23, 2017, from
http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/her-reality-could-you-really-fall-in-love-with-your-computer-20140122-
319q4#ixzz2t7z4KAsa
2. Some of the ideas in these two texts may have challenged your values, your behaviors,
your belief system, or your position on technology issues. Go back to the information on
your notes and the outline of the reading Pathological Media Use, and mark each point
where you feel a personal challenge to your values, beliefs, behaviors or your status. In the
space below describe the biggest challenge and the reaction you had. Try to explain the
reason behind that reaction. How do you think your beliefs and opinions are being
challenged?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

References:
Agrawal, R., & Kool, V. (2016). Behavior in the Virtual Environment. In Psychology of Technology
(pp. 213-215). Springer International Publishing.
Bailey, S. (2003). Academic Writing. New York, NY: RoutledgeFalmer.
Clarin, E., & Jocson, J. (2016). Fragmentation, Intertextuality and Hyperreality: The Postmodern
and Popular Filipino Films. Journal of Arts & Humanities, 5(5). Retrieved June 7, 2017, from
https://theartsjournal.org/index.php/site/article/view/940.
Langan, J. (2010). (Fifth ed.) Ten Steps to Advancing College Reading Skills. West Berlin, NJ:
Townsend Press.
Turney, D. (2014, January 25). Her reality: could you really fall in love with your computer?
Retrieved June 23, 2017, from http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/her-reality-
could-you-really-fall-in-love-with-your-computer-20140122-319q4#ixzz2t7z4KAsa

WEEK 3

Let’s Eat: How Diet Influences the Brain
Objectives
- Can infer meaning in a structured text, if guided by questions.
Before Reading
Discuss with a partner the following questions:
1. What happens when you eat too much sugar? For example, when you eat too many
chocolate bars or ice cream.
2. Do you think food can affect your capacity to concentrate or memorize information?
Why?
Reading
Let’s Eat: How Diet Influences the Brain

You may have witnessed the short-term effects of food on your brain: a sugar rush after
too much candy or a mental fog from hunger. But what we eat also affects us in the
long term. Starting in the womb and continuing into old age, our diets don’t just shape
our bodies, but our brains as well.
1. Poor diets lead to a host of medical
issues: obesity, cardiovascular disease,
diabetes, and certain cancers. But diet also
influences the brain and can increase the
risk for mental disorders and
neurodegenerative diseases. Researchers
are uncovering the details of how the foods
we consume affect our cravings, our moods,
and even our memories.
Obesity is associated with significant changes in the brain. In Like mother, like child
this image, the brain of an obese individual shows fewer
dopamine receptors than a control subject. Lower dopamine 2. Food preference first develops in the
levels can increase cravings for fatty foods. womb. Studies show that if moms drink
Courtesy, with permission: National Institute on Drug Abuse
carrot juice during pregnancy, infants are
more likely to prefer the flavor of carrots. To
see if this holds true for less healthy foods and to probe what’s going on in the brain,
researchers turned to monkey studies.
3. While pregnant, monkey mothers ate either a healthy, low-fat diet or a high-fat one.
When their offspring were young — equivalent to human toddlers — they were given access to
a junk food diet, high in fat and sugar. Compared to monkeys whose mothers ate healthy diets
during pregnancy, monkeys whose mothers ate high-fat diets consumed more of the junk food.
To see how their prenatal diet had changed their brains and possibly permanently sculpted
their food preferences, the researchers looked at the expression of dopamine — a
neurotransmitter important for reward and motivation — markers in the brain.
4. When eating a favorite food, dopamine levels rise, creating that feeling of pleasure
experienced by chocolate lovers everywhere. (A similar surge happens with addictive drugs).
But eating too many treats leads to a decrease in the effects of dopamine — the brain tries to
turn down the signal. Suddenly, it takes more chocolate cake (or cocaine) to feel the same
rush.
5. In the monkeys, prenatal diets high in fat led to a decrease in the number of dopamine
fibers and a decrease in dopamine receptors. This could explain why the toddler monkeys
gorged on sugary, fatty food: they had to eat more to feel the same pleasure. These findings
suggest their brains were primed early on in development to want more junk food. Heiydi
Rivera, a postdoctoral researcher at the Oregon National Primate Research Center, points out
that the high-fat diet the monkey moms were on is actually “similar to our Western-style diet.”
Her results hint at a possible contribution to the soaring childhood obesity rates in the US.
Sugar highs and lows

6. Rivera’s study shows what you eat during development affects what you want to eat
later in life, but Constance Harrell at Emory University wondered, “Can what you eat affect how
you feel?”. Data from a 2008 survey revealed that teenagers consume more sugary drinks
(sodas, sports drinks, energy drinks, and the like) than people in other age groups. Sugar —
especially in the form of high fructose corn syrup, which is now ubiquitous in everything from
soda and salad dressing to yogurt and bread — can increase levels of stress hormones in the
brain. As adolescence is a crucial time for brain development, high sugar consumption and the
subsequent increase in stress hormones during this time may trigger mental health problems,
like anxiety and depression.
7. To see if eating sugar-filled diets affects mental health, Harrell put adolescent rats on
either a typical, healthy rodent diet or a diet full of fructose. Compared to the healthy rats, the
rats that ate more sugar had higher levels of stress hormones. Next, the researchers tested if
the sugar-fed rats were more anxious or depressed. Indeed, when put in a maze with two
kinds of arms — open and exposed or closed and dark — the fructose-fed rats spent more
time in the closed, “safe” arms, a sign of increased anxiety. When forced to swim, in a tank of
water — something rats don’t particularly enjoy — the fructose-fed rats gave up sooner,
indicative of depression. Other studies in adolescent rats have found that sugary diets lead to
impaired memory.
Obesity and memory

8. Interestingly, adult rats didn’t suffer the same consequences from sugar overload in
Harrell’s studies. The developing teenage brain seems to be especially vulnerable to high
sugar consumption. However, overall diet — particularly its effect on weight — continues to
influence the brain into old age.
9. For example, some studies have found a link between body weight and the size of
the hippocampus, an area of the brain important for learning and memory. Researchers in
Australia investigated this link in adults by measuring the size of the hippocampus and
comparing it to the person’s body mass index (BMI), a ratio of weight to height that is used to
determine if someone is overweight.
10. They found that, in people in their sixties, those who were overweight or obese (those
with the highest BMIs) had smaller hippocampi than people of healthy weights. In addition,
over the course of eight years, everyone’s hippocampus shrank, but the overweight subjects
experienced the biggest losses. The hippocampus normally shrinks with age, but it shrinks to a
greater degree in dementia, which leads to memory problems. Other research in humans
suggests that obese people score lower on memory tests, but losing weight through bariatric
surgery can improve scores.
11. Studies in mice might offer some clues about the connection between obesity and the
hippocampus. Obese mice had higher levels of inflammation in the brain, including in the
hippocampus, caused by the release of a molecule from fat cells. The mice also performed
poorly on memory tests, suggesting chronic inflammation wears down the brain, leading to
memory problems.
12. Our brains are sculpted by what we eat. If it’s too much fat, too much sugar, or just too
much, there may be permanent consequences for our brain function. Keeping our brains in
shape is one more reason to clean up our diets.
Taken from:
Burrell, T. (2015, May 15). Let’s Eat: How Diet Influences the Brain. Retrieved June, 2017, from
http://www.brainfacts.org/across-the-lifespan/diet-and-exercise/articles/2015/lets-eat-how-diet-influences-the-brain/
D. The general picture.

1. What’s the topic of the text?
2. Do and outline of the text: Into how many parts is the text divided? Which ones? What
do they talk about? Fill in the information in the table to do the outline. Make
hierarchical divisions clear among main, supporting ideas and examples.
1. Introduction
2. Body
3. Conclusion
E. Scanning.
Complete the following ideas based on the information of the text.
1. According to the text our diet affects both our ______________ and ______________.
2. The brain of an ______________ person displays fewer dopamine receptors than a
person with a regular weight.
3. Researchers have run some tests on ______________ and ______________ in order
to corroborate their theories.
4. According to ______________ diets high on fats and sugar might have negative impact
on the way we feel.
5. Australian researches investigated the link between the ______________ and a
person’s ______________.

F. Making Inferences
Making Inferences
An inference is a well-informed conclusion of an idea or piece of information that is not explicitly
stated in a text in order to find the intended meaning of it. In other words, making an inference is a
reading comprehension ability that is used by a reader to “read between the lines”.
To make an inference a reader must:

1. look at all the existing information in a text.
2. use his or her background knowledge, experience and common sense.
3. try to constantly make guesses as he or she reads.
4. consider the alternatives of the guessing he or she is making: he or she does not stop
with the first conclusion that comes to mind.
For example,
In the past, researchers never worried about the relation between the food
humans consume and the way it can influence their behavior and memory.
Is this true? Choose the best answer

a. Most likely true, based on what I read in the text.
b. Probably false, based on what I read in the text.
c. There is not enough information in the text to know if the statement is true
or false.
The best answer is C.

Explanation: In the first paragraph of the text, the author mentions that
“Researchers are uncovering the details of how the foods we consume affect
our cravings, our moods, and even our memories”; so, this means that at the
present time researchers have discovered the relation between food and the
brain; but, that does not mean that they did not worry about that before. In
fact, there is not enough information in text to confirm such idea.
1. Based on the text, decide if the following statements can be inferred as true (IT),
inferred as false (IF), or cannot be inferred (CI)
Statement IT IF CI
a. The inclination of the food a person might eat his or her entire life is
exclusively determined by genetics.
b. Researchers chose to experiment with monkeys because they are the
closest animal kind to human beings.
c. Pregnant women in the USA are currently having high fat and sugar
intake diets.
d. Once a person is obese, he or she can never recover or improve his or
her memory capacity .
e. It is beneficial for adolescents to stop consuming processed food.
f. Doing exercise on a daily basis is extremely beneficial for our brain.

Objective
- Can write an everyday connected text using a set of short elements or facts and
building them into a sequence.
Writing
Write in 100-120 words how your daily routine should be in order to keep yourself healthy. In
your text
- write about daily food habits the person should have.
- describe the activities the person should do and shouldn’t do.
- provide an organization of the activities.
Sequence Connectors
A sequence connector is an expression used to show the order or sequence in which events
happen. In a narrative, for example, they help show the sequence of events. In describing a
process, or when giving a set of instructions, they can show the various steps clearly.
At first, firstly, in the beginning, at the beginning of (the day)

Then, after (before), later, next, subsequently, after that, afterwards, as soon as,
once
Finally, at last, eventually, in the end, at the end of (the day)
For example,
Yesterday I did not have a good day. At first, I got up with plenty of energy but then things
started going wrong. I ran out of hot water just precisely when I was having a shower, and
it’s winter! Then, after having breakfast, I left for work. Once I realized I was going to be
late, I drove very fast in order not to arrive late. I was probably driving at 100 km/h when a
police car stopped me and I got a ticket. Just after that, the police men noticed that my
driving license had expired and immediately afterwards I was fined again. My problems did
not finish there: when I arrived at my office, my boss told me next time I was late I would be
fired. Later, I learnt that a colleague had got the position I had been applying for and,
finally, before I took the car to go back home I noticed that I had been robbed of my iPod as
I had forgotten to lock the car’s doors. By the end of the day, I had only received pieces of
bad news, so I did not want to know any more about this awful day.
Taken and adapted from:

Sequence Connectors for Narrative Texts. (2015, October 8). Retrieved June, 2017, from
https://liveinenglish.wordpress.com/2015/10/08/sequence-connectors-for-narrative-texts/
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________.
References
Burrell, T. (2015, May 15). Let’s Eat: How Diet Influences the Brain. Retrieved June, 2017,
from http://www.brainfacts.org/across-the-lifespan/diet-and-exercise/articles/2015/lets-
eat-how-diet-influences-the-brain/
Sequence Connectors for Narrative Texts. (2015, October 8). Retrieved June, 2017, from
https://liveinenglish.wordpress.com/2015/10/08/sequence-connectors-for-narrative-
texts/

WEEK 5

Preventing Hunger with Food Banks
Objectives
- Can identify the main line of argument in an academic text.
- Can identify examples in an academic text to support an argument.
- Can identify the main conclusions in a text that presents and contrasts arguments in a
clearly signaled way.
Strategy
- Appropriately identify the meaning of words used to show contrasts in arguments. (Part
D)
Before Reading
Discuss the following questions with a partner:
3. What happens when a family doesn’t have enough money to buy food here in
Colombia? What resources are available to help them? (Government or city resources,
family and friends, a bank loan, a credit card, etc.)
4. A food bank is a place where people with economic problems can get basic food items
for free. They are usually run by the government or religious groups. Do you know of
any “food bank” programs here in Bogota, or in another city in Colombia?
Reading
Read the following blog post from a researcher who is focused on food banks and preventing
hunger. Notice the main arguments and examples that the researcher gives to support his
ideas.
Vocabulary: Food insecurity (n.) – not always having money to buy enough food.
Food banks and austerity: what the data tell us

about rising food insecurity in the UK and
Europe
1. Since the 2008 crisis, there have been substantial rises in food insecurity across
Europe, writes Owen Davis. His research suggests a link between the welfare regimes of EU
countries and such rises, with the increase in the UK and Ireland having been sharper
compared to countries with a different system. This link between social policy and food
insecurity is not news to researchers, but the evidence must be communicated to the public if
government is to be held into account.
2. It is no secret to those working in food banks that the rise in food bank usage in the UK
is at least partly driven by rising economic insecurity. Yet what to frontline practitioners may
appear obvious continues to be debated at the highest levels of government. There are
suggestions that the phenomenon of rising food bank usage may simply reflect the increased
availability of food bank services. In other cases, the government has conceded that the need
for food banks may have intensified, but have shrugged off responsibility and instead blamed
macro-economic forces outside of their control.
3. In a forthcoming article with Ben Baumberg Geiger, we provide evidence that refutes
these government claims. There are no ideal measures of food insecurity over time, so we
used the best measure available – people’s answers to the question ‘can your household
afford a meal with meat, chicken or fish every other day?’, from the European Quality of Life
Survey. We find first that there have been substantial and statistically significant rises in food
insecurity across the majority of European countries (from 6.5 to 8.7 per cent between 2003
and 2011 on average). In the UK, we saw a rise in food insecurity from 3.8 to 8.8 per cent.
This suggests that rising food bank usage may at least partly reflect increased demand for
food bank services, which is part of a wider European trend. But our data also provoke a more
politically contentious question: why did food insecurity rise the most in the UK over the course
of the recession?
Social policy and food insecurity: a causal link?
4. For many in the field, the answer to this question is simple. Evidence has been
mounting around the role of social policy changes in explaining rising food bank usage and, by
implication, food insecurity. The Trussell Trust reports that delays in benefit payments and
changes to benefits eligibility were two of the three major causes of food bank referral
(accounting for 28 and 13.5 per cent of referrals, respectively) in 2015/6. A cross-party review
led by Frank Field MP also noted the significance for food insecurity of “unreliable income from
wages and benefits” and a recent article by Loopstra et al. in the British Medical Journal found
strong associations between rates of sanctioning, unemployment and cuts in central welfare
spending, and rising food bank usage.
5. Our research design did not allow us to make any claims about causal links between
social policy changes and rising food insecurity and/or food bank usage. However, we were
able to explore whether there was evidence that the rise in food insecurity differed according to
social policy arrangements across countries. To do this, we clustered European countries in to
five ‘welfare regimes’, which reflected broad differences in social policy generosity and design.
6. We found that the Anglo-Saxon welfare regime (UK and Ireland) had the steepest rises
in food insecurity over the 2008 crisis (3.7 to 8.4 per cent). This was particularly noticeable
when compared with other advanced welfare states such as those in Central Europe (3.6 to
5.7 per cent) and Scandinavia (1.3 to 2.4 per cent). According to welfare regime theory, the
Scandinavian and Central-European welfare states are better able to mitigate against poverty
and economic insecurity than Anglo-Saxon countries, which would explain the lower rise in
food insecurity. Moreover, recent welfare reforms and austerity measures in the UK have
differentiated the Anglo-Saxon countries further from these parts of Europe. Therefore,
although we cannot say with any certainty that changes in social policy explained differences
in rising food insecurity across Europe, the evidence from our research nonetheless points in
this direction.
Implications for policy and research
7. The findings from our research will come as little surprise to those already familiar with
the evidence on food banks and food insecurity in the UK. The Trussell Trust reports that the
majority of referrals to food banks in 2015/6 resulted from poverty and income insecurity –
underlying causes of food insecurity. Ethnographic research from Garthwaite and colleagues
also finds a persistent relationship between food insecurity and food bank usage in the UK, as
does qualitative research from Lambie-Mumford.
8. What is needed is for more political action on the issue of food insecurity. The Trussell
Trust has been scathing of government policy and has even been threatened by the
Department of Work and Pensions for its protests about the social injustice of food poverty in
the UK. However, academics have been less vocal on this issue. Yet we have a responsibility
not only to research food insecurity but also to communicate the importance of these findings
to the wider public. Kayleigh Garthwaite is soon releasing a book which does just this, by
reaching out to both academic and non-academic audiences. This is not simply a matter of
filling ‘impact’ quotas but should represent a duty of obligation that the academic community
has to both the wide dissemination of important scientific evidence and the democratic
imperative to hold the government to account.
Taken from:
Davis, O. (May 31st, 2016) Food banks and austerity: what the data tell us about rising food insecurity in the UK and
Europe.The London School of Economics and Political Science Blogs. Retrieved from:
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/food-insecurity-in-the-uk-and-europe/
A. Answer the following questions in 1-2 sentences.
1. What’s the main idea of the text?
2. What is the purpose of the text? What is the author arguing for?
(You should use at least 3 of the following phrases in your response: government,
misunderstanding, food insecurity, communicate research results, UK population,
researchers, food banks.)
3. Explain what a “causal link” is, and how it relates to this research.
B. True or false. If the statement is incorrect, mark it as false, then make a change to correct
the statement. The first one has been done for you.
T F
(p. 6) During the 2008 crisis, the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian governments
provided the same level very different levels of support for their citizens. X
(p. 2) The rate of food bank use has risen since 2008.
(p. 5) The research design allowed the author to clearly show causal links
between social policy changes and rising food insecurity and food bank usage.
(p.3) The researchers used this question to measure food insecurity: “Can your
household afford a meal with vegetables every other day?”

C. Explanation & Examples
Review the 5 selections below from the reading. Decide whether they are main ideas from
the reading or examples (look at the corresponding paragraph to remember the context).
Write the number of each sentence in the category that best describes it.
Main Ideas Examples
1. This link between social policy and food insecurity is not news to researchers but the
evidence must be communicated to the public, if government is to be held into account.
(p. 1)
2. Ethnographic research from Garthwaite and colleagues also finds a persistent

relationship between food insecurity and food bank usage in the UK, as does qualitative
research from Lambie-Mumford. (p. 7)
3. The Trussell Trust reports that delays in benefit payments and changes to benefits
eligibility were two of the three major causes of food bank referral (accounting for 28
and 13.5 per cent of referrals, respectively) in 2015/6. (p. 4)
4. What is needed is for more political action on the issue of food insecurity. The Trussell
Trust has been scathing of government policy and has even been threatened by the
Department of Work and Pensions for its protests about the social injustice of food
poverty in the UK. (p. 8)
5. In the UK, we saw a rise in food insecurity from 3.8 to 8.8 per cent. (p. 3)
D. Using Language to Show Contrast

The following are all expressions used to express a contrast of ideas in an argument in
particular contexts. For each underlined word below, indicate which group of synonyms in
the box could all be used to replace the underlined word. You will use each group of words
1 time. The first one has been done for you.
A B C D
admitting however rather nonetheless
despite the fact that though as a substitute yet
even if but alternately on the other hand
1. Our research design did not allow us to make any claims about causal links between social
policy changes and rising food insecurity and/or food bank usage. However D, we were
able to explore whether there was evidence that the rise in food insecurity differed
according to social policy arrangements across countries. (p. 5)
2. In other cases, the government has conceded that the need for food banks may have
intensified, but have shrugged off responsibility and instead blamed macro-economic
forces outside of their control. (p. 2)

3. Therefore, although we cannot say with any certainty that changes in social policy
explained differences in rising food insecurity across Europe, the evidence from our
research nonetheless points in this direction. (p. 6)
4. Academics have been less vocal on this issue, yet , we [academics] have a responsibility
not only to research food insecurity but also to communicate the importance of these
findings to the wider public. (p. 8)
Objective
- Can use discourse markers to show order of importance.
Strategy
- Brainstorming in groups before writing.
Indicate Importance, or Lack of Importance
When writing, you may need to indicate that a group of ideas is more or less important than the
other ideas in your argument.
n
Words used to indicate importance:
Chiefly, especially, importantly, in particular, mainly, mostly, most of all,
primarily, principally
Example:
Many people don’t have enough food to eat. In particular, many families with children have
problems buying enough food for their children. This can lead to problems for the children in
school, chiefly related to focus and attention, because it is hard to concentrate with a
hungry stomach. Most of all, a lack of good food keeps kids from fully developing physically
and cognitively.
writing, you may need to indicate that a group of ideas is more or less important
than Words used to indicate the idea is not important or relevant:
the
insignificant, minor, extraneous, inapplicable, incidental, inconsequential,
insignificant, irrelevant, pointless, unimportant
other ideas in your argument.

Example:
The government suggests that food banks are being used more simply because there are
more food banks than before. However, there is a lot of research that shows that this
argument is irrelevant – it is not central to the real problem, which is increased need for
assistance buying food. There is also a minor argument that perhaps people using food
banks do not truly need to use them. Both of these arguments are pointless because they
do not take research and facts into account.

Writing
Write a short, (70-90- word) well-organized response to the following questions:
Should there be more options to buy healthy, inexpensive food near Los Andes? How could
this help you to feel healthier during the day?
1. Brainstorm your ideas with a classmate.

a. What are some reasons that it would be good to have cheaper, healthier food near
campus?
b. Think of arguments to support your ideas. Decide which argument is the most
important, and choose at least 1 word to emphasize its importance (refer to the
explanation above).
c. If you wish to mention a less-important idea (or one you don’t agree with), you may
also present that by using vocabulary from above to indicate that the idea is not
important.
2. Answer the following questions: What are some reasons that there should be more options
for healthy, inexpensive food to buy near Los Andes? How could this help students to learn
better?
Use at least 5 vocabulary words from the list on the previous page to indicate that
ideas are important OR unimportant. Underline the 5 words in your text.

___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
Reference
Davis, O. (May 31st, 2016) Food banks and austerity: what the data tell us about rising food
insecurity in the UK and Europe.The London School of Economics and Political
Science Blogs. Retrieved from: http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/food-insecurity-
in-the-uk-and-europe/

WEEK 6

Natural Disasters and Human Security
Objectives
 To understand the author’s purpose and intended audience.
 To review and practice some reading strategies studied in the course.
Before Reading
In pairs, answer the following questions:
 Do you think there are more natural disasters than in the past?
 Do you think we are prepared to deal with the disasters?
Reading
1. As the 2011 Great Eastern Japan Earthquake has made all too clear, natural disasters can
be very difficult to predict and fully prepare against and have incredibly far-reaching
consequences for the safety and wellbeing of individuals and communities. As in previous
natural disasters such as the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the
Australian bushfires in 2009, the 2010 Haiti earthquake and the 2010 Pakistan floods, the
impacts on people and society in affected areas are immediate and overwhelming. Such
catastrophes tend to exacerbate pre-existing problems and inequalities, with vulnerable
parts of the population often disproportionately impacted. For instance, initial estimates
suggest that 65% of the deaths from the recent disaster in Japan were of people aged 60
or over. The consequences can be felt for many years, with people suffering as refugees
or being displaced within their own country, their livelihoods destroyed, and facing long-
term health issues.
How can we best understand and respond to the threats natural disasters pose to human
safety and wellbeing?
2. One approach is to see these all as threats to “human security”. Since its appearance in
the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 1994 Human Development Report,
the concept of human security has rapidly emerged in international politics, with the
establishment of the Commission on Human Security in 2001. Whereas a traditional
understanding of security emphasizes the military defense of state interests, human
security provides an alternative, human-centered perspective that focuses on securing and
protecting individuals’ “freedom from want” and “freedom from fear”. It offers a broader
understanding of security, by incorporating concerns of development and human rights as
well as more traditional issues.
3. Human security promotes a bottom-up, people-centered approach, which emphasizes the

needs, capacities and experiences of individuals on the ground. It has been widely applied
in a number of fields such as peacebuilding, humanitarian assistance, development,
education and health.
Applying human security to natural disasters

4. “Environmental security” was identified as a core component of the definition of human
security outlined in UNDP’s 1994 report. Nevertheless, human security debates and
policies have tended to focus more on human-made disasters, such as armed conflicts and
human rights abuses. At the same time, strategies for disaster risk reduction (e.g.
the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015) have largely avoided explicitly referring to
human security.
5. Even so, as recent catastrophes like the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan have clearly
shown, the actual threats that people struggle with following a natural disaster are similar to
those of a human-made crisis such as armed conflict: “fear” (such as aftershocks and
deteriorating social order) and “want” (lack of food, water and shelter). Likewise, many of
the same actors are involved in the response, notably the UN and humanitarian NGOs.
Indeed, most of the organizations involved in natural disaster relief are working to protect
human security, even if they don’t label their work as such.
6. In post-conflict situations the practical value of the human security approach lies in its
ability to focus and coordinate the efforts of many different actors on actual human needs,
by providing a holistic and bottom-up perspective.
7. Clearly, this approach would also be beneficial in the response to natural disasters—where
coordination of relief efforts has been a recurring problem, as seen in the Indian Ocean
tsunami and the earthquakes in Haiti and Japan. A human security approach would
encourage systematic information sharing, common action plans, needs assessment, and
better coordination of responses and offers of assistance.
8. A human security perspective encourages us to consider the needs of the most vulnerable
parts of the population, most notably protecting women, children, and the elderly. Human
security also emphasizes empowerment strategies, enabling people — both individuals and
communities — to act on their own behalf, and on the behalf of others. Particularly during
rebuilding, it would suggest a bottom-up approach and incorporation of the voices of all
those affected. In disaster preparedness, human security would assist in guiding policy
development by ensuring resilience measures and scenarios include consideration of
human and community needs.
9. An important distinction when applying human security to natural disasters concerns the
role of the military and the nature of civil-military relations. In civil conflicts, the military can
sometimes be a major threat to human security, but in the case of natural disasters, the
military, with its significant operational capacity and field experience, may instead be a
major provider of human security — as in the current efforts of the Japan Self-Defense
Forces.
Implications for the concept of human security

10. As a relatively young concept, human security is still being explored and debated by
academics and practitioners. Thinking about its application to natural disasters is an
important step in further developing the idea.
11. In theory, human security is a universal concept, but it has tended to focus on people in
developing and (post-) conflict countries. Natural disasters – such as Hurricane Katrina, the
Black Saturday bushfires and the recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan – demonstrate
that human security remains relevant for even the most wealthy, highly industrialized
countries. As such, it is valuable to consider the similarities and differences between the
way human security can be understood and applied in different countries and contexts.
12. Natural disasters also illustrate the need for a more multidisciplinary perspective when
considering human security. While human security issues in armed conflict are primarily
understood through the social sciences, the natural sciences may provide invaluable
knowledge for preparing and adapting to the human impacts of natural disasters.
Looking ahead
13. The idea of human security has quickly come to play an important role in the way the
international community understands and responds to issues such as armed conflicts and
human rights abuses. Humans are not the only threat to human security, however, as we
have seen from the extensive suffering and damage caused by natural disasters. And as
the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant shows, natural disasters can also
induce human-made disasters.
14. Due to population growth, poverty, and land shortages, people are increasingly living in
areas that are more exposed to natural hazards. Likewise, the economic effects of natural
disasters are long lasting and wide reaching in scope, particularly for developing countries.
Half a decade later, communities devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami are still
struggling to resume normal, productive lives.
15. While we cannot avert all natural disasters, our preparation for, and responses to their
human impacts can and must be improved. The human security approach has much to
offer by facilitating a focus on human vulnerabilities, thereby reducing the grave
consequences of natural disasters for human safety and wellbeing.
Futamura, M., Hobson, C., & Turner, N. (2011, April 29). Natural Disasters and Human Security. Retrieved June 7,
2019, from https://unu.edu/publications/articles/natural-disasters-and-human-security.html
A. The general picture

1. What’s the topic of the text?
a. Natural disasters and their consequences for human wellbeing
b. The application of the human security approach to natural disasters
c. Similarities between natural disasters and human-made disasters
B. Main idea and Supporting Details
1. Choose the main idea of the text.

a. Manmade and natural disasters should be addressed with a more humanistic approach such
as the human security perspective to ensure people’s security in those hazards.
b. When it comes to facing natural disasters, the most suitable perspective to face natural
disasters is the human security approach due to its wide and long application in diverse areas of
humanitarian assistance.
c. The implementation of the human security approach to natural disasters can bring many
advantages since its primary focus is the human being in times of crisis.
2. The following sentences were taken from a specific paragraph. Decide if they express the main
idea (MI), a supporting idea (SI) or a supporting detail (SD) of that paragraph.
1. “Since its appearance in the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 1994 Human
Development Report, the concept of human security has rapidly emerged in international
politics, with the establishment of the Commission on Human Security in 2001.” (P.2)
a. Main idea
b. Supporting idea
c. Supporting detail
2. “An important distinction when applying human security to natural disasters concerns the
role of the military and the nature of civil-military relations.” (P.9)
a. Main idea
b. Supporting idea
3. “And as the situation at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant shows, natural disasters can
also induce human-made disasters.” (P.13)
a. Main idea
b. Supporting idea
Writer’s Purpose and Intended Audience
An author’s purpose is the reason why she or he is writing. The purpose could be analyzed for the
entire text or just parts of it. It basically answers the question “why?”: Why did the author write this
text? Why did the writer choose to present this example? etc. The list of possible purposes is
infinite; however, a list of common purposes is presented below:
- to inform (to give information)
- to persuade (to convince readers to do or believe something)
- to entertain (to amuse the audience)
- to instruct (to explain how to do something)
- to analyze (to examine the nature or structure of something in order to explain it)
- to summarize (to give a short statement that presents only the main points of a text)
An author’s intended audience is the people the writer considers are going to read his or her text.
The audience determines, for example, the vocabulary the author uses; the way in which she or
he presents the ideas; if a particular term needs to be explained or not. The intended audience on
a text could be:
- a particular person (a teacher, a supervisor, a classmate)
- a specific group of people (university students, teachers, and researchers from a certain field)
- a genera l audience (people that read the everyday news).
University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. (2015, October 27). Writing for Success. Retrieved June 07, 2017, from
http://open.lib.umn.edu/writingforsuccess/chapter/6-1-purpose-audience-tone-and-content/
is by identifying where the reading is located.

Writer’s Purpose
For instance, andtheIntended
in this case, Audience (exercises)
reading comes
from the website of the United Nations
University. This shows that its intended
1. Who
audience is aisspecialized
NOT theone. intended
This canaudience
be of this text?
a. The general public with
seen in the way the author is expecting the no specialized knowledge
b. toGovernments
audience know the specificofvocabulary
developed and developing countries
related
c.to The
risk and vulnerabilities
United Nations in case
andofrelief agencies
natural disasters. The authors expect the
audience to know, for example, the difference
2. What’s
between theand
“security” author’s
“safety”,purpose
“human in paragraph 5?
a. To describe the similarities
security”, and “environmental security”. that human made disasters and natural disasters share
Additionally,
andthetheir
text defines the termto human security.
connection
“human security”.
- In the same paragraph it is also possible to
see the author’s general purpose of the
b. To prove that human made disasters and natural disasters have more similarities
than we may think, and that both have implications for human security.
c. To show how human made disasters and natural disasters infringe the freedoms
from want and fear of the individuals.
3. What is the author’s purpose in paragraph 6?
a. To demonstrate the usefulness of the human security approach in case of natural

hazards
b. To clarify additional benefits that the human security approach has in different areas
c. To discuss the main problems faced when dealing with the relief efforts after natural
disasters
Making Inferences
Inferences. Decide which of the following statements are inferred to be true (IT), inferred
to be false (IF), or cannot be inferred (CI). Mark the corresponding box.
Statements IT IF CI
1. At the time of a natural hazard, a demographic factor such as age

implies a risk factor for the individuals involved in the disaster.
2. Because human security has worked well in other fields, it should
be applied in natural disasters.
3. New concepts that have not been fully proved cannot be applied
to natural disasters.
4. The authors seem to imply that natural disasters strike developed
countries harder than developing countries.
5. Environmental knowledge or theories and other sciences like
social sciences can provide important input to make sure that
human security works better for natural disasters.
6. Animal encroachment is a threat to humans, and therefore it
should be included in the human security approach.
Writing
1. Organize the following list of events in the order they should happen. Then highlight any
transition expression that shows order or sequence (You can review the sequence
connectors in the writing section of “Let’s Eat: How Diet Influences the Brain”.)
____ During the eruption, follow evacuation orders from emergency officials. You also
need to look out for mudflows, look upstream before crossing any bridges to make
sure a mudflow is not coming. If it is, do not cross the bridge. The mudflow could
destroy it.
____ First, build an emergency kit and make family communication plans.

____ Finally, text, don’t talk. Unless there’s a life-threatening situation, if you have a cell
phone, send a text so that you don’t tie up phone lines needed by emergency
workers.
____ Once the episode is over, listen to safety officials.
2. Use the previous ideas to complete the following text.
Volcano eruptions are dangerous; that is why you need to be prepared for all the stages of
the
event.____________________________________________________________________
________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________.Try to stay safe!
3. Write what to do in case of a natural disaster. In your text

- talk about a specific event.
- describe what a person should do before, during and after the incident.
- try to follow the structure of the text in the previous point.
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________

References
Echeverri Acosta, Luz Marina, & McNulty Ferri, Maria. (2010). Reading Strategies to Develop
Higher Thinking Skills for Reading Comprehension. Profile Issues in Teachers` Professional
Development, 12(1), 107-123. Retrieved June 08, 2017, from
http://www.scielo.org.co/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1657-
07902010000100008&lng=en&tlng=en.
FEMA. (n.d.). Volcanoes. Retrieved June, 2017, from https://www.fema.gov/media-library-
data/a4402e44902b963c8de7ee4ad0586016/FEMA_FS_volcano_508-8-15-13.pdf
Hansen, K., & Paul, N. (2015, October 21). Information Strategies for Communicators. Retrieved
June, 2017, from http://open.lib.umn.edu/infostrategies/part/lesson-11-research-skill-
managing-and-synthesizing-information/
UCAR. (n.d.). How Volcanoes Influence Climate. Retrieved June, 2017, from
https://scied.ucar.edu/shortcontent/how-volcanoes-influence-climate
University of Minnesota Libraries Publishing. (2015, October 27). Writing for Success. Retrieved
June 07, 2017, from http://open.lib.umn.edu/writingforsuccess/chapter/6-1-purpose-audience-
tone-and-content/
Wolfe, J. (2000, September 5). Volcanoes and Climate Change. Retrieved June, 2017, from
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Volcano/

LENG1155 - Reading and Writing Book

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

LENG1155 - Reading and Writing Book

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

2020-10

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 1

Being Super Busy May Be Good for Your Brain

1. Slammed. Swamped. Flat out. Buried.

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 2

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 3

Using a Monolingual Dictionary

Let’s read some definitions of refrain.

1. Refrain: /rɪˈfreɪn/ verb [intransitive] formal

“Please refrain from smoking in this area.”

3. Formal. Noun. A remark or idea that is often repeated.

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 4

1. Paragraph 4, engaged: ___________________________________________________

Here are some suggestions on how to scan a text:

1. How many people did Festini and colleagues test?

2. How old were the individuals? _____________________________________

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 5

a. Who are Sara Festini, Brent Small and Denise Park?

b. Where were previous studies carried out?

c. What is crystallized knowledge?

2. Complete the following sentences with information from the reading.

Distinguishing Main Points from Supporting Details

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 6

Writing (90-100 words)

There was a time when…

It was a stressing moment/situation

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 7

Dictionary.com. (n.d.). Main Idea. Retrieved June, 2017, from

Longman. (n.d.). Refrain. Retrieved June, 2017, from http://www.ldoceonline.com/

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 8

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 9

Pathological Media Use

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 10

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 11

The following tips can help you write a good outline:

Main idea Most general information

Example from paragraph 6:

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 12

Supporting idea 1 Supporting idea 2

Supporting detail 1 Supporting detail 2 Supporting detail 1

Example from paragraph 6:

Studies showing the influence of personality on Internet use

Study referring to extroversion- Study referring to agreeableness-

Extroverts’ use to gather information

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 13

Supporting detail expanding detail 1:

Supporting detail expanding detail 1:

Supporting detail expanding detail 1:

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 14

In Rosen’s study on the influence of technology on the development of pathological

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 15

Her Reality: Could You Really Fall in Love With

3. So if computers meet us at such a crossroads, how will we respond? Psychological

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 16

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 17

(pp. 213-215). Springer International Publishing.

Bailey, S. (2003). Academic Writing. New York, NY: RoutledgeFalmer.

Retrieved June 23, 2017, from http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/her-reality-

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 18

UNIVERSIDAD DE LOS ANDES - LENG1155 19

Let’s Eat: How Diet Influences the Brain

Sugar highs and lows

Obesity and memory