Reading: prediction • _) ps3

The last sentence in a paragraph often l1elps you predict tl1e topic of tl1e next paragrapli .

A Look at the title of the story and the picture in Exercise B.

What do you think it is about?

B Read each paragraph and circle one option to predict the topic
of the next paragraph . Then read to check.

AHot
Competition ~

Last year, my dad and l decided to take a trip, just the two of us.
My dad found out about the Intemational Chili Cook-off in Terlingua, Texas,
and we dccided to enter. Chili is a kind of stew with meat, tomatoes, onions,
and a lot of spices, anda chili cook-off is a competition to see who can cook
the best chili. For weeks before the trip, my dad experimented with chili
redpes. We decided on a spicy and delicious vegetarían version. Terlingua,
here we come!

I think the topic of the ncxt paragraph is ... a) their arrival in Terlingua. b) the results of the competition.

Chili is a Texan invention, and when we arrived in Terlingua, we were the only people not from Texas,
a state near Texas, or Mexico. A typical conversation went like this: "Where are you from?" "New
Jersey." "Huh." End of conversation. We walked around and watched other chili cooks at work. We
were shocked at the things we saw!

I think the topic of the next paragraph is .. . a) unusual types of chili. b) many chili recipes similar to theirs.

People were making chili from absolutely everything-ostrich meat, rattlesnake meat, whatever. One guy
even put his cowboy boots in his chili! What were we thinking? How were we going to compete with that?
"Maybe we shouldn't enter," my dad said. "Oh, come on! But let's think of something more unusual than
vegetarían chili!" I said.

C Choose the endlng that you think is going to happen. Find evidence in the text In Exercise B to
justify your answer.
I think ...
a) they make their vegetarían chili and win the competition.
!?) they inventan unusual type of chili, but they don't win.
e) they decide not to enter, but they have fun eating other people's chili.

D Read the ending of the story. Did you guess correctly?

The ncxt day, there were hundreds of people walking around and trying different types of chili. We made
"Surf Chili" with fresh tuna fish. Sorne peoplc tried it. Most people didn't. We got a few compliments on
the originality of the recipe, but no onc actually said they liked it. In thc end, we didn't win, but we had
lots of fun and a great story to tell our friends back home. Oh, and the winner? It was a recipe with buffalo
meat and five kinds of hot peppers-way too spicy for two people from New Jersey!