IED JOSE MARÍA VERGARA Y VERGARA BITUIMA 10th /2020

ALEYDA PATRICIA PADILLA MALAGÓN

CORREO: aleydapatricia@gmail.com
TELF:3152072185
GUIA 8 : 18 SEPTIEMBRE – 16 OCTUBRE

READING COMPREHENSION

NOMBRE:

OBJETIVE: Leer textos sencillos sobre hechos concretos que tratan sobre
temas relacionados con la cotidianidad

ACTIVITY 1

1. Read the text (lea atentamente el texto busque en su diccionario las palabras
desconocidas
THE BAD LUCK THEORY
You invite your friends over to watch an NBA basketball playoff game on TV. There are plenty of
sodas in the refrigerator, the popcorn is popping and you are all set to watch the bog game. You
turn on the set, and all you get is fuzzy image on the screen. Is this plain bad luck or is it Murphy‟s
Law at work? Murphy‟s Law states: “If anything can go wrong, it will.” Similar situations occur all
the time. When you‟re in a hurry to open the door and you try several keys on the key ring, the last
one you try is usually the one that works. When you get into a line at a supermarket, you find
you‟ve chosen the slowest one, and it just doesn‟t move. Bad luck or coincidence? According to
British physicist Robert Mathews, it‟s neither one nor the other. He explains that our selective
memory tends to remember the bad episodes more readily than the things that usually work out,
and the law of probability is more against us than in favor. For example, in the supermarket with
five cashiers, the chances of getting a fast line are 20 percent, and 80 percent for a slow line.
Mathews became a popular scientist when he proved that a piece of toast doesn‟t necessarily fall
on the floor on the buttered side. BBC Television gathered 300 people to throw pieces of buttered
toast up in the air and observe on which side they fell. Half fell on the buttered side, and half didn‟t.
Now here‟s a tricky question for Dr. Mathews. It‟s a known fact that cats always fall on their four
legs. What happens if you tie a piece of buttered toast on a cat‟s back and drop them from a
balcony? Will the cat land on all four, or will the toast land on the buttered side? I sincerely hope
the BBC doesn‟t try this experiment.
Just remember that you cannot blame Murphy‟s Law for everything that goes wrong. If the hot
water runs out while you‟re having a shower, it‟s probably because the burner needs to be fixed. If
your car breaks down on the way to a job interview, it‟s probably because you didn‟t have the
vehicle serviced or repaired.
2. Match the word with the definition

fuzzy
( ) a. responsibility for anything wrong ( ) b. a part
plenty
of a device that hot water. ( ) c. to spread the fatty
luck
substance.
remember
( ) d. to fall, descend.
buttered
( ) e. to adjust, repair
gather
tie () f. indistinct, not clear. () g. to bring together.
() h. accident, fortune.
drop
blame () i. to come to land or a port.

land () j. abundant supply.

burner
() k. to fasten by a cord or other bond.
fix

3. Enun cuadro registre los casos presentados en el texto como ejemplos de

mala suerte.

ACTIVITY 2

You are going to read an extract from a novel. Use your dictionary to look for the unknown
vocabulary and then mark the right answer. Lea Atentamente el texto y marque la opción
correcta.
Gran’s shop
On Saturday morning I worked in the family shop. I started cycling down the shop with dad
on Saturdays as soon as I was big enough. I thought if is as giving him a hand and so I
didn´t mind what I did, although it was mostly just fetching and carrying at a run all
morning. I managed not to think of it as a work and I looked forward for the bar of
chocolate my grandmother passed me unsmilingly as I left. I tried not to look at her; I had a
reason to feel guilty because I‟d generally already eaten some dried fruit or a sliver of
cheese when no one was looking. As soon as I was fifteen, though, Dad said, ´that‟s it our
Janet. You‟re of working age now and you‟re not coming to work unless your grandmother
pays you properly. He did his best to make his chin look determined.
 “ I shall speak to her.‟
The next Saturday, Gran called me into her office behind the shop. I always hated going in
there. She had an electric heater on full blast, and the windows were always tight closed
whatever the weather. „You‟re wanting to get paid, I hear,‟ she said. „Yes, please,‟ I
replied. It was rather like visiting the headmistress at school, so I was very quiet and
respectful. Gran searched through the mess of papers on her crowded desk, sighing and
clicking her tongue. Eventually she produced an official leaflet and ran her fingers along
the column of figures. „How old are you?‟ „Fifteen…Gran,‟ I added for extra politeness, but
she looked at me as if I had been cheeky. „full-timers at your age get forty pounds for a
thirty-five-hour week,‟ she announced in such a way as not to leave doubt that she
wasn‟t in favour of it.
„No wonder that is not profit in shopkeeping! So Janet, what‟s that per hour?‟ questions
like that always flustered me. Instead of trying to work them out in my head, I would just
stand there, unable to think straight. „I‟ll get a pencil and paper,‟ I offered. „Don‟t bother,‟
snapped Gran angrily, „I‟ll do myself. „I‟ll give you a pound and hour, take it or leave it.‟
„I‟ll take it, please.‟ „And I expect real work for it, mind. No standing about, and if I catch
you eating any of the stock, there´ll be trouble. That is theft, and it is a crime‟.
From then on, my main job in the store was filling the shelves. This was dull, but I hardly
expected to be trusted with handling the money. Once or twice, however, when Dad was
extra busy, I‟d tried to help him by serving behind the counter. I hated it. It was difficult to
remember the prices or everything and I was particularly hopeless at using the till. Certain
costumers made unkind remarks about this, increasing the confusion and chances of
making a fool of myself.
It was an old-established village shop, going back 150 years at least and it was really
behind the times even then. Dad longed to make the shop more attractive to costumers,
but Gran wouldn‟t to hear of it. I averheard them once arguing about whether to buy a
freezer cabinet. „Our customers want to have frozen food,‟ Dad said. „they see thinks
advertised and if they can‟t get from us, they‟ll go elsewhere.‟ „Your father always sold
fresh food,‟ Gran replied. „People come here for quality; they don‟t want all that frozen
stuff.‟
Actually, she gave way in the end over the freezer. Mr. Timpson, her great rival, installed
one in his shop at the other end of the village and customers started to make loud
comments about how handy it was being able to get frozen food in the village, and how
good Mr. Timpson‟s sausages were. It had really upset her because she was proud of her
sausages and she ungraciously gave Dad the money to buy the freezer. Within a couple of
weeks, she was eating frozen food like the rest of us.

According to the text which is the best answer

1. How did Janet feel when she first started her Saturday morning job?

a. She enjoyed the work that she was given.

b. She was pleased to be helping her father.
c. She worried that she was not doing it well.
d. She was only interested in the reward.
2. What do we learn about her grandmother‟s office in paragraph two?

a. It needed decoration.
b. It was untidy.
c. It had too much furniture in it.
d. It was dark.

3. „This‟ (in line 18) refers to

a. shopkeepers‟ profits
b. a thirty-five-hour week
c. Janet‟s request
d. the recommended wage

4. „Flustered‟ (in line 18) means

a. bored
b. angered
c. confused
d. depressed

5. Why did Janet‟s grandmother react angrily to her offer to fetch a pencil and paper?
a. Janet was unable to answer a question.
b. Janet had been unwilling to help her.
c. Janet had made an unhelpful suggestion.
d. Janet had answered her rudely.

6. What did Janet‟s father and grandmother disagree about?

a. How to keep their customers loyal to the shop.
b. The type of advertisement needed to attract customers.
c. The type of customers they needed to attract.

7. What eventually persuaded Janet‟s grandmother to buy a freezer?

a. She found that she liked frozen food after all.
b. A new shop opening in the village had one.
c. It was suggested that her products weren‟t fresh.
d. She responded to the pressure from the customers.

8. What impression do we get of Janet‟s feelings towards her grandmother?

a. She respected her fairness.
b. She doubted her judgment.
c. She disliked her manner.
d. She admired her determination.
 ACTIVITY 3

WRITE LETTERS

The pen is mightier than the sword, they say; ¿so why not use it? Write to packaging
anufacturers and ask them to forgo CFCs and excess packaging on items you
buy regularly.
Write to anufacturers of canned goods and ask them to remove the sugar. Write to
paper suppliers and ask them to produce unbleached and recycled paper.

1. In the text, the underlined word it refers to:

The pen
The sword
Items
Letters

2. In the text, the underlined word regularly means

Lately
Rarely
Only
Frequently

3. In the text, the words canned goods mean:

Plastic goods
Tinned food
Metal goods
Dog food

Construcción de párrafos

4-6

Jogging is good exercise when it is done regularly: at least three times a week. It
strengthens the leg muscles, and, (4) it forces the heart to beat faster, it also
improves blood circulation. Many people also jog (5) control their weight.
Joggers burn up 62 calories for every kilometer they run. (6) , jogging helps decrease
levels of emotional stress.
4.

furthermore
also
thus
since

5.

help with
helping
helps
to help

6.

In contrast
Whereas
In addition
However

Answer the questions 7-8 taking into account the information given by the following
graph:
 IED JOSE MARÍA VERGARA Y VERGARA BITUIMA 10th /2020

7. The graph reflects that

the average life span in Russia is at least 80 years.

people in Chad almost never reach age 50.
people from Spain and Italy have the same life expectancy.
people in France have the highest life expectancy.

8. According to the graph, men all over the world

tend to live longer than women.

are not expected to live as long as women do.
want to live less than women.
are required not to live as long as women do.

9. Read the comments of an expert in Baroque music.

George Frederick Handel is one of the most outstanding composers of the Baroque
period. He composed many operas, but since he wasn't good at money management,
he went broke. He was well-known, though, due to his vast cosmopolitan repertoire,
including over fifty offertories. It can be said that he was a German artist who wrote
Italian music with a French style for the English people.

The word though implies that

despite his financial difficulties, his music was very successful during his own
time.
in spite of his great skill, he is still well-known.
he'd never have succeeded unless he had composed a lot of music.
somehow, Handel did a good deal of work.
 IED JOSE MARÍA VERGARA Y VERGARA BITUIMA 10th /2020

10. The doctor's secretary asks the patient how he spells his name.

How does you spell your name?

How your name does you spell?
How do you spell your name?
How your name do you spell