F1 English

St Paul’s College
2019-2020

Module Booklet 6:
Simply the Best

Contents

Page Learning Activity Tick

When
Completed
2 Reading Comprehension 1 – True Master

5 Reading Comprehension 2 – The Rise and Fall

of the Beatles
7 Proofreading 1

8 Proofreading 2

9 Word Forms – Stan Lee – American comic

book writer
10 Verb Forms – A Narrow Escape

11 Writing
 Reading Comprehension Passage 1 (25 marks)

Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow.

W True master January 09,2013 By Chris Lau & junior reporter Janet Tam (Young Post)
[1] Wing chun master Lui Ming-fai wants to spread his love of martial arts.

[2] Lui Ming-fai has been practising wing chun since his early teens. He has also taught this martial
art to many people.

[3] Every time a new movie about Ip Man arrives, kung fu becomes a hot topic in Hong Kong.
5 People begin queuing up for wing chun classes. Case in point: right now.

[4] Director Wong Kar-wai’s biopic The Grandmaster is about to hit movie screens, making 2013
the year of kung fu.

[5] Lui Ming-fai is excited about that prospect. He is a wing chun master and the sudden publicity
gives him a chance to spread his love of this martial art–especially as he once trained under one
10 of Ip’s apprentices.

[6] Lui was a young man then and has since been practising and teaching wing chun for more than
40 years in Hong Kong and Macau. Recently, he returned to the birthplace of nearly all Chinese
martial arts: Foshan. He is now leading wing chun classes there in a newly opened studio at
Lingnan Tiandi.

15 [7] His students over the years have come from all walks of life, from China and abroad as well.
“When I was in Macau, I once taught an American who was a police officer,” the wing chun master
recalls. Although Lui is a respected figure now, he started out as an ordinary apprentice at the age
of 14. He went on to master every move patiently, step by step.

[8] In the beginning, Lui acquired the core skills of the martial art by practising “siu lim tao”. The
three-syllable phrase means “little thoughts” literally, but refers to footwork in the context of wing
20 chun.

[9] “Siu lim tao is a series of basic moves – slow and basic,” he says. “It may seem boring, but the
practice can train our patience and endurance.”

[10] A solid foundation is essential forwing chun students. They need to perfect siu lim tao – on
25 both the physical and spiritual level – before moving onto the next stage. Wing chun’s philosophy
is all about being nimble and direct. Using the shortest distance to strike the most explosive blow
is what every wing chun practitioner strives to achieve.

[11] Outsiders often associate this martial art with action-packed movies, such as those starring
Bruce Lee and Donnie Yen, who played Ip in a 2008 film.

30 [12] In these movies, the heroes perform amazing feats of leaping and side-kicking before landing
on their feet again. But Lui says traditional wing chun focuses on its practical function. Those
moves in action films may look amazing, but they are unnecessary. “They do it for the visual
effects,” he notes.

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[13] To show off the merits and skills of true wing chun, Lui participated in a documentary called
“Wing Chun”. It was directed by Hong Kong-based Irish director Seamus Walsh.

[14] Ip Man-themed action films may give the audience a big thrill, but for real kung fu lovers, the
martial art is not about fighting. It is a lifestyle that requires great dedication, focus and
endurance.

A. True/ False/ Not stated (5 marks)

Decide whether the following statements are true (T), false (F) or not stated
(NS). Write T, F or NS on the answer sheets.

1. A movie about Ip Man was shown in cinema around the world at the
time the news article was published.
2. Donnie Yen played the role of Ip Man in The Grandmaster.
3. Wing chun students should have a good foundation of the basic skills of
siu lim tao.
4. Practising wing chun is about being direct and quick.
5. The Irish director of Wing Chun, Seamus Walsh, loves Chinese culture.

B. Referencing (4 marks)
Look at how the reference words are used and explain what they refer to in the
text.

1. this martial art (line 9)

2. there (line 13)
3. these movies (line 28)
4. It (line 34)

C. Vocabulary (4 marks)
Look at the words below and look at the dictionary entries. Which meanings
correspond to their meanings in the reading passage? Write the appropriate
letter on the answer sheets.

1. hot (adj) [line 4]:

(A.) having a high temperature; (B.) making you feel hot;
(C.) food that contains a burning feeling in your mouth; (D.) new, exciting, very popular

2. prospect(n) [line 8]:

(A.) the possibility that something will happen; (B.) prospects [pl] chances of being successful;
(C.) a person who is likely to be successful in a competition; (D.) a wide view of an area of land

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 3. master (v) [line 18]:
(A.) to manage to control an emotion; (B.) to learn or understand something completely;
(C.) to gain control of an animal or a person

4. strike (v) [line 26]:

(A.) to hit or kick a ball; (B.) to hit something/somebody hard or with force;
(C.) to come into somebody’s mind suddenly; (D.) to give somebody a particular impression

D. Comprehension Questions (12 marks)

Answer the following questions in complete sentences.
1. Why was Lui Ming-fai excited about the new Ip Man film? (3 marks)
2. What is ‘Siu lim tao’ in wing chun? (2marks)
3. Why are the heroes performing acrobatic moves such as leaping and side-kicking
in action films? (4marks)
4. What do real kung fu lovers think the martial art is? (3marks)

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Reading Comprehension Passage 2 (25 marks)

Read the passage carefully and then answer the questions that follow.

The rise and fall of the Beatles

1. The Beatles are probably the most famous pop group in the world. On radio
stations across the world, a Beatles song is being played every second of
every day. Throughout the 1960s, the Beatles set new records for the greatest
number of No.1 singles and albums. Although the group broke up in 1970,
their music remains as popular today as it was back then.

2. The original group, which included John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George
Harrison and Pete Best, started playing together in 1959. Three years later, in
May 1962, the group signed a contract with the Parlophone record company.
Before this, they had been rejected by four record companies. The managers
of those companies must regret turning down the Beatles as they later
became the most successful group in the world!

3. Two months before the release of the Beatles’ first single, “Love Me Do” in
October 1962, Pete Best was sacked and Ringo Starr took his place. The
group’s catchy tunes and simple love lyrics, as well as the fact that they were
all so charming, made the group immediately popular. In 1963, the group
became the first to have three No. 1 singles and two No.1 albums in a row. As a
result, the media nicknamed the group the “Fab Four”, with “fab” being short
for “fabulous”.

4. By the end of 1963, the Beatles were the most popular group all over Europe.
They set fashions in hairstyles and clothing as well as selling millions of
records. Their records were not available in America until December 1963,
when their fifth single was released there. Within a month it was a US No.1.
Their record company quickly released their first four singles, and the Beatles
set another record - the first group ever to hold the top five places in the
American record chart at the same time.

5. The next two years were the high point of what is now called “Beatlemania” -
the time when Europe and America went crazy for the Beatles. The group
undertook world tours and played to packed audiences.

6. The audiences, mainly young girls, screamed so loudly at these concerts that
the Beatles could not hear themselves play or sing! In August 1965, they set
another record by playing to the largest ever concert audience - 55,600
people. By the time they played their last public performance a year later, they
had scored a further eight No. 1 singles in the US. From 1966 until 1970, the
Beatles released six more albums, all of which went to No.1 in the charts. By
1970, though, a mixture of drugs, arguments and financial problems brought
the band’s career to an end.

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7. Throughout the 1970s, all four members recorded music on their own. Then,
one day in December 1980, a fan approached John Lennon outside his
apartment building in New York and asked him to sign his autograph. Sadly, it
was the last thing Lennon ever did. As he was signing his name, the fan, Mark
Chapman suddenly pulled out a gun and shot John Lennon dead. The
remaining three Beatles are all still alive, and they all occasionally release new
records. Nothing they do, however, can ever compare to the extraordinary
work they did together as the Beatles.

Passage 2

A. Comprehension Questions (15 marks)

Answer the following questions in complete sentences.

1. What reasons does the passage mention for the success of the Beatles’ music?
(4 marks)
2. Why did the Beatles break up in 1970? (4 marks)
3. What records did the Beatles set during their pop career? (4 marks)
4. How does the writer feel about the murder of John Lennon? Explain your
answer.
(3 marks)

B. Synonyms (4 marks)
Find words in the passage with similar meanings to the following.

1. turned down (paragraph 2)

2. allowed something to be seen or heard publicly (paragraph 4)
3. crowded (paragraph 5)
4. unusual, uncommon (paragraph 7)

C. Vocabulary (6 Marks)
Fill in the blanks below with the words from the passage. Change the form of the
word if necessary. The first letter of each missing word has been given. Write the
whole word on the answer sheet.

Lorraine got 1. s________________ from her job as she was always late for work.
She 2. r___________________losing her job and was earnestly hoping to start a
new 3. c_________. She wants to become a songwriter, so she often practises
writing 4. l_____________. Some of her songs are really 5. f___________ as they
have quite 6. c_________ tunes.

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 Proofreading 1 (14 marks)

Your friend wrote an article about a lost boy, Jackie Chow. There is one mistake in
each numbered line. Correct the mistakes. Two have been done for you as examples.

 Underline a word that is incorrect and write the correct word in the column beside
it.
 Mark the position of a missing word with a ‘Λ’ and write the missing word in the
column beside it.

e.g.1 ^ Mysterious boy – e.g. 1 __A__

e.g. 2 Writen by Jackie Chow e.g. 2 Written
1. Last night, the police were still unable to find parents of the lost boy

2. Jackie Chow. ‘We have tried to contact the boys’ parents. However,

3. when we rang their numbers, no one answer the phone. We don’t

4. have no idea whether the numbers are right,’ reported Officer Chan.

5. Yesterday morning, Radio Hong Kong interviewed Jackie. She said

6. that he very scared and wanted to go home immediately. He also

7. said that he doesn’t know if his parents were in Hong Kong or not.

8. Jackie, who is blind, said that his parents are doctors and worked

9. for a charity ORBIS.

10. The ORBIS flying eye hospital was in Hong Kong in Monday evening.

11. It stayed for three hours to collect any medicine and some new equipment

12. for the operating rooms. In a recently interview, a spokesperson

13. for the airport said that it possible that Jackie got off the plane.

14. He told reporters to contact the Airport Authority for further informations.

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 Proofreading 2 (12 marks)

Read the following message. There is one mistake in each numbered line. Correct the
mistakes.
 Underline a word that is incorrect and write the correct word above it.
 Mark the position of a missing word with a ‘Λ’ and write the missing word above
it.

The Mosquito

1. Everyone knows the small insect called ‘mosquito’. It is possible find

2. mosquitoes in almost every parts of the world except in the place where it is rather

3. cold or where it is very dry. During summer, it is almost certainly that you can

4. find many mosquitoes near brooks, ponds and lake.

5. Mosquitoes have a interesting life cycle. The female mosquito bites a

6. person or animal in order to get some bloods. She needs this blood before she can

7. lay her eggs. Second, she flies to area with water and lays her eggs in the water.

8. In a few days, the eggs open, and the baby mosquitoes, call the larvae, come out.

9. In a short time, they become mature and fly.

10. It is interesting note that only the female will bite for blood. She has a

11. special mouth can go into an animal’s skin or a person’s skin. On the

12. other hand, the man mosquito can only drink plant sap with his mouth.

Word Forms (10 marks)

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Fill in the blanks with the most appropriate form of the word. One
has been done for you as an example.

Stan Lee – e.g. American (America) comic book writer

Stan Lee (1922-2018) is an American comic book writer best

(1) ____________ (know) for his work with Marvel Comics. Among the
hundreds of characters and teams that he helped to create were the
Fantastic Four, Spider-Man, the Avengers and the X-men.

After (2) ____________ (graduation) from high school at age 16, Lee was
hired as an (3) ____________ (editor) assistant for Timely Comics. By
that time, he had begun writing comic-book scripts for Timely.

On top of The Fantastic Four, Lee and (4) ____________ (art) Jack Kirby
created The X-Men in 1963. A (5) ____________ (distinctiveness)
feature of Lee’s comic-book heroes is that they combine superhuman
powers with human (6) ____________ (insecure) and emotions. Marvel
continued to (7) ____________ (prosperous) and in 1972 Lee became the
publisher and director of the group.

After working for Marvel in an official capacity for nearly 60 years,

Lee began to (8) ____________ (pursuit) other projects, and in 1999, he
formed Stan Lee Media, an Internet (9) ____________ (entertainer)
company built around his creations. Film (10) ____________ (adapt)
based on the series that Lee cocreated were highly successful. X-Men
(2000) and Spider-Man (2002) launched blockbuster franchises that
earned billions of dollars in box-office revenue worldwide.

1. 6.
2. 7.
3. 8.
4. 9.
5. 10.

Verb Forms (15 marks)

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 A Narrow Escape

Last Saturday, my sisters and I (1) ________ (be) alone in the house. Our parents (2)
________ (go) out and (3) ________ (return) later that evening.

After lunch, we went into the living room. Sally (4) ________ (make) her
favourite dessert while Annie (5) ________ (listen) to the radio. I picked up a book to
read. After some time, I (6) ________ (move) over to the window to have a breath of
fresh air. To my horror, I saw a large tree (7) ________ (sway) violently outside.

“The tree (8) ________ (fall)!” I screamed. “(9) ________ (run) outside
quickly!” My sisters and I (10) ________ (rush) out of the house. We were just in
time. The tree (11) ________ (give) a loud creak and fell onto the front part of the
house. None of us was hurt except Annie who (12) ________ (trap) by some falling
branches. She had a few cuts and bruises on her arms and legs. Sally helped her up
and we took her to a nearby clinic.

The tree (13) ________ (damage) the living room and some furniture. Some wires
were also damaged and the electricity supply was cut off. We had to call for the
electricians to repair them. We were glad, though, that none of us was seriously hurt.
What an unlucky day it (14) ________ (be)! We (15) ________ (renovate) our house
next week.

1. 9.
2. 10.
3. 11.
4. 12.
5. 13.
6. 14.
7. 15.
8.

Writing (30 marks)

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Throughout this unit, you have read a lot about people who have inspired others.
Is there anyone else whose life and achievements you admire? Write a profile
about them.

Complete the activities on pages 75 – 78 in your Longman Edge book and then
write your profile.

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