Cláudia Regina Abreu | Cidália Sousa | Vanessa Reis Esteves

Unit 5 The magic of reading

Name: _______________________________________ Class: ______ No.: ________

Date: ________________________________________ Score: __________________
Enc. Educação: _____________________ Teacher: _______________________

LISTENING 15 MINUTES

A. You will hear people talking about books. Circle the correct option for each
speaker.

1. Speaker 1 likes…
a) science fiction b) novels c) biographies
2. Speaker 2 dislikes…
a) fairy tales b) poetry books c) eBooks
3. Speaker 3 wrote a…
a) novel b) picture book c) detective story
4. Speaker 4 is interviewing…
a) a writer b) a poet c) an editor
5. Speaker 5 is reading...
a) Twilight b) The Hobbit c) The Perks of Being a Wallflower

B. You will hear a conversation about a story contest. Complete the table below.

Name of the competition 1. ______________ Literary Journal

Age group 2. __________-_________ year old

Deadline 3. ___________________________

Prize 4. ___________________________

Judges 5. local ___________________

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 Cláudia Regina Abreu | Cidália Sousa | Vanessa Reis Esteves

Unit 5 The magic of reading

Name: _______________________________________ Class: ______ No.: ________

Date: ________________________________________ Score: __________________
Enc. Educação: _____________________ Teacher: _______________________

READING COMPREHENSION 20 MINUTES

Read the text carefully.

Review of An Abundance of Katherines by John Green

An Abundance of Katherines is a brilliant book that I highly recommend. I came
across An Abundance of Katherines at my local library. This book was so good that I finished
it in less than a day.
An Abundance of Katherines follows Colin Singleton, who is a genius. Colin has a
5 very specific type when it comes to the girlfriends: he only dates girls called Katherine. And
so far, he’s been dumped by 19 of them. We follow Colin as he travels into the unknown on
a road trip with his best friend, Hassan.
I loved the plot of this book. Normally, road trips just annoy me – far too clichéd. But,
in this book, it really works. A road trip is perfect for Colin, as the ever-changing, exciting
10 and foreign atmosphere is just like him. As the scenery changes, Colin changes as a person.
I couldn’t help but see a deeper meaning in this story. On the surface, it is the tale of
a prodigy on a road trip, but there is so much more than that. The novel carries some very
important messages about fitting in and about trying to see logic in everything. Green
understands teenagers, particularly those who are nerdy and socially awkward. This gives
15 the book a friendlier tone, which is great.
A major part of this book is The Theorem of Underlying Katherine Predictability. This
is a complicated idea that Colin invents, and it’s basically a graph that can predict when and
how two people will break up. The theorem is really just a vehicle to show how intelligent
Colin is, and to help him realise that “The future is unpredictable.” To conclude, An
20 Abundance of Katherines is a fantastically nerdy coming-of-age road trip that I would
recommend to John Green fans and self-proclaimed nerds everywhere, as well as anyone
who needs some good life advice.
Adapted from: https://www.theguardian.com

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Cláudia Regina Abreu | Cidália Sousa | Vanessa Reis Esteves

A. Choose the correct option according to the text.

1. The reviewer thinks the book is…

a. very good b. acceptable c. rather ordinary
2. The main character chooses girlfriends who...
a. have an interesting name b. have a specific name c. are clever
like him
3. Colin’s personality changes…
a. before the road trip b. throughout the road trip c. after the road
trip
4. The novel contains some important messages for…
a. adults b. children c. teenagers

B. Which of the underlined words in the text correspond to the following

meanings?

1. exact or precise: (adj) _____________________________________________

2. irritate: (verb) _____________________________________________
3. setting: (noun) _____________________________________________
4. near my home: (adj) _____________________________________________
5. plenty of: (noun) _____________________________________________

C. What do these words refer to in the text?

1. “I” in line 1: __________________________

2. “This” in line 2: _______________________
3. “who” in line 4: _______________________
4. “it” in line 11: ________________________
5. “those” in line 14: _____________________

D. Answer the questions about the text.

1. What type of text is this? ______________________________________________

2. What is the book about? ______________________________________________
3. How does the narrator feel about road trips? ______________________________
4. Would you like to read this book? Why/Why not? ___________________________
__________________________________________________________________
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Cláudia Regina Abreu | Cidália Sousa | Vanessa Reis Esteves

VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR 10 MINUTES

A. Match the expressions about books to their definitions.

1. to be engrossed in a book _____ a. to have someone advise you to read the book
2. to be a real page turner _____ b. to read the from the first to the last page
3. to come highly recommended _____ c. to be so involved in the book that you don’t
notice anything else
4. to read from the beginning to end d. to have a good story line
_____
5. to have a great plot _____ e. to be a book that hooks you

B. Rewrite the second sentence so that it means the same as the first. Use 1-3
words.
1. The characters in the novel didn’t follow the rules exactly.
The characters in the novel didn’t play ____________________________________.
2. This novel sold millions of copies around the world.
This novel is a ______________________________________________________.
3. John Green is an amazing author.
She said John Green ___________________________________________ author.
4. “Do you think that book will win a prize?” asked the journalist.
The journalist asked if that _______________________________________ a prize.

C. Read the sentences and choose the best verb: said, told, asked for each space.
1. My teacher _______________________ us that John Green writes Teenage fiction.
2. My sister _______________________ that she really likes Green’s books.
3. The woman _______________________ where she could buy one of his books.
4. The novelist _______________________ it is important for people to read.
5. Dad _______________________ Anna that I could buy a new book today.

D. Write the following sentences in reported speech.

1. “Authors invent fantastic stories.” said Sarah.
Sarah said _________________________________________________________.
2. “If I were you, I’d read that book.” said Tim.
Tim suggested ______________________________________________________.

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Cláudia Regina Abreu | Cidália Sousa | Vanessa Reis Esteves

3. “Don’t forget to write your book report!” said the teacher.

The teacher ordered _________________________________________________.
4. Mum told me: “Stop watching so much TV!”
Mum ordered _______________________________________________________.

WRITING 35 MINUTES

A. You’ve just received this note from your friend Katherine. Answer her message.
In your message you should:
- Identify the book and author.
- Mention the genre of the book.
- Say what you liked about it.
________________________________

________________________________

________________________________
Hi,
________________________________
Finished reading my
book. Please help me ________________________________

choose my next book. ________________________________

Mike

B. Choose a beginning and write a story of 90-100 words.

It was six o’clock. The alarm clock rang. Suddenly, …

Or
Knock! Knock! Knock! “Coming!” I yell from the sofa. I run and open the door and
that’s when…

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________ Good luck!

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Cláudia Regina Abreu | Cidália Sousa | Vanessa Reis Esteves

Speaking – Teacher’s instructions

Part 1
Teacher asks:
• Tell me about your reading habits. Do you read?
• Do you think children should read books at school? Why/Why not?
• Tell me about your favourite book.

Part 2
In the next part you are going to talk to each other. I am going to describe a situation to
you.
Imagine you are at a bookshop and you want to buy a book. There are lots of books on
the bookshelf. Now talk together about the different books you could choose and
choose one that you both like.
Student A: Choose a book. Describe it and make a suggestion.
Student B: Accept/Reject the suggestion and explain why.
Student A: Choose a different book. Describe it and make a suggestion.
Student B: Accept/Reject the suggestion and explain why.

Part 3
Now, I would like each of you to talk on your own about something. I’m going to give
each of you a picture of different ways to read nowadays.
Student A, here’s your picture. Please show it to Student B and talk about it. Student B,
please just listen. I’ll give you your picture in a moment.
So, Student A, please describe your picture to us. (Student A describes the picture.)
Ok, thank you. Now Student B, here is your picture. You can also see a man who is
reading in your picture. Please show it to Student A and then describe your picture to
us.

Part 4
Your pictures were about different ways to read. Now I’d like you to talk together about
different genres/types of books to read. You can discuss your favourite book genre, and
which book you are reading at the moment.
Cláudia Regina Abreu | Cidália Sousa | Vanessa Reis Esteves

Speaking – Student’s pictures

Part 2

Part 3
Student A

Student B