COMPREHENSION

-English FAL Grade 1 1

Ms van Heerden

-IF AT FIRST…P163
 COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
Why the title is suitable?
Synonyms/antonyms:
To write an answer in your own
words the following could apply
 
To quote from the text you need to
note the following:
 
 
Full sentences
Supply your own title:
Yes/No
True/False
You always have to say that it is suitable/be positive about it and say that:
▪ It emphasises the ....
▪ Draws attention to ....
▪ It is a pun. A pun is when one thing is said and another meant.
• Use the same part of speech (replace a noun with a noun, verb with a verb)
• Put your answer in the text to see if it makes sense.
➢ You do not need to change every single word in the sentence. Change two or three words in the
sentence. If you try to change every single word you sometimes lose the meaning or context of the
sentence.
A quote is a perfect picture of what is printed in the text. Should you copy one part of one word
incorrectly it will be wrong.
➢ They could ask you to quote 1(one) word = write 1(one) word only!
➢ They could ask you to quote 3(three) consecutive words = write 3(three) words only that follow one
another perfectly from the text!
• Never start an answer with ‘because’ or ‘coz’! Write in full sentences where applicable or just one
word or phrase depending on the requirements of the question.
▪ Never have more than 6 words in your own title.
• Yes/No and True/False questions: you have to answer yes/no or true/false first
and then give a reason in order to get marks. Yes/No or True/False without a
reason, will not get you any marks.
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 COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS
Yes/No Yes/No and True/False questions: you have to answer yes/no or true/false first and then give a reason
True/False in order to get marks. Yes/No or True/False without a reason, will not get you any marks.

Fact/Opinion If asked FACT or OPINION: first say what it is and THEN give a reason or motivation – 2 marks.

Difficult words Difficult words: It is impossible for you to understand the meanings of ALL the words used in a
comprehension passage. It helps to try and figure out the meaning of a word by looking at the context
in which it is used – try to understand what it could mean as used in a specific sentence.
Opinion Questions To answer an opinion question “Why? / Does this......? /Do you agree? You need to give your opinion
and then apply it to the text. Remember that all answers need to be sourced from the text.
➢ Yes or I agree followed by “I think....
➢ Support your answer with a quote. Yes, because according to the passage “XXXXX”
➢ If you give your reason and you give it in your own words you say: I agree, because...
➢ Do not address the two or three sections as one. Address each of them individually.
➢ Find the reasons from the passage, but answer them in your own words.
➢ Bulleted or numbered for each of the three reasons you will have to discuss.
➢ Underline that which will guide the marker to the essence of your answer.
▪ The friend is described as being old, because in the passage the writer says...
▪ The friend is also described as being a familiar, because ......
▪ The friend is seen as being trusted, because.........
• How something makes you feel you write the following:
➢ It makes me feel (emotion like sad/happy/excited), because ..........

To answer the question “What is ➢ When the unexpected or the opposite is revealed or when there is a twist to the tale.
implied/Why is something
ironic/Why is he sarcastic?
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 title
Look at the title of the passage: it always provides some insight into the passage and it is
a good indication of what you can expect from reading the entire text.

IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T

SUCCEED,
READ THE
INSTRUCTIONS
What is the
original Is this an improvement
idiom? on the original saying?

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 2. Read and highlight the main
IF AT FIRST YOU DON’T SUCCEED, idea of each paragraph , it
READ THE INSTRUCTIONS usually presents itself in the first
sentence.
I am never late.
Last Saturday, at the stroke of eight, I reported to the house and was told first
priority was to glue back some tiles in the kitchen. I have to admit, this
do-it-yourself stuff is not really my forte. The hardware man’s son, who always
helps out at his dad’s shop on Saturdays, advised me that rubber cement was
best for sticking tiles on walls. He usually knows. He’s 10.

Have you noticed how hardware men always have schoolboy sons helping out
on Saturdays, giving advice to men even older than their fathers about rat
poison, enamels, plumbing, fixing a switch (“and make sure the mains are off,
hey?”) ,dressing lawns? Can you imagine if dispensing-chemists did this?
Or surgeons? As far as glue is concerned I prefer stuff in tubes because all
you have to do is squeeze. I placed the tiles down on the kitchen counter and
began to squeeze glue on their undersides. Amazing how quickly the stuff
shoots out. I squeezed out my signature in glue between, but then needed to
spread it more evenly. But with what?
“Why didn’t you read the instructions first?” Asked my wife, who is the sort of person who would ask a man,
lying groaning under a Putco bus, why he didn’t look where he was going. It is a point of honour among Real
Men never to read instructions. In any event I was too busy by now to reply.
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The glue was flowing off the edge of the tile so I was forced to
spread it with my finger.
This proved messy and there was far too much glue on the tile. I
hit on the idea of placing another tile on top of the glued side
hoping this would share the glue out a bit.
Now I had a sort of oozing glue sandwich.
“You should get the dentist to remove your amalgam fillings,”
said my wife.
“Amalgam filling?”
“Yes, I read somewhere that amalgam filling leak mercury into
the brain and eventually destroy it. Psychiatrists think it might be
why people do stupid things. “She was watching me struggling to
separate the two tiles. It was like trying to open a giant clam.
“You must be carrying half a kilogram of amalgam in your
teeth,” she said.
“But the theory is absurd,” I said. “How can mercury leak
upwards?”
“Well, I suppose every time you pat the dog or tie your shoelaces
or wipe glue off the floor a bit of mercury leaks into your brain.”
My wife went on: “It says here on the box that you are supposed
to apply the glue to both surfaces.”
“What? To both sides of the tiles?”
“No,” she said, “to the wall and the underside of the tile. You
had better put some on the wall quickly before it dries on the
tile.”
It had already dried on the tiles. I smeared some glue high up on
the wall with my hands.
The stuff was running under my watch and down my arm and
had settled under my right armpit thus pinning my upper arm to
my chest.
I decided to keep the two tiles sandwiched and slap them on the
wall as they were, in the hope that my wife would not notice the
double thickness. Unfortunately, they had become stuck to the
kitchen counter. The hardware man’s son advised on the phone
that the best solvent was petrol and that we should wash
everything down with it and start from scratch. I was not allowed
to take part in this operation. In any event it was impossible now
that the phone was stuck to my left hand and my right arm was
stuck to my chest.
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 4. Read the questions

COMPREHENSION p 164
Refer to If At First You Don’t Succeed, Read The Instructions and answer all the questions that follow. Questions on page
164.
1.1 Examine the following quotation: “He usually knows. He’s 10.” (paragraph 2).
Explain what point the writer is trying to make. (2)
1.2 To whom is the question ‘Have you noticed…’(paragraph 2) addressed? (1)
1.3 “Why don’t you read the instructions first?” asked my wife. (paragraph 3).
Identify the writer’s reason for not reading the instructions first. (2)
1.4 What does James Clark mean by the phrase ‘I hit on the idea…’ (paragraph 4)? (2)
1.5 In point form, list the items that become glued together and mention what they
are stuck onto. (3)
1.6 Explain what a ‘solvent’ is (paragraph 7) in the context of the passage. (2)
1.7 Provide a reason why the writer states that ‘I was not allowed to take part in the
operation.’ (last paragraph). (2)
1.8 Is this article supposed to be taken seriously? Provide a reason for your answer
and justify your answer by quoting from the text.(2)
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 4. Read the questions
COMPREHENSION MEMO p 164
Refer to If At First You Don’t Succeed, Read The Instructions and answer all the questions that follow. Questions on
page 164.
1.1 Although the child is only 10, an adult man trusts a child of 10 to know more than him. The student
must mention that the child is very young and that the adult does not know how to use the product. (2)
1.2 The question is addressed to the reader of the article, the public. (1)
1.3 A man’s ego stands between him and reading instructions. It is not an honourable thing to do for a
real man as he says, “It is a point of honour among Real Men never to read instructions.” This is an
example of stereotypical behaviour.
(2)
1.4 This phrase means that he thought of an idea when he did not expect to. It is specifically used when
someone solves a problem.
(2)
1.5 The items that were stuck together are:
■ his upper arm and chest.
■ two tiles that he had sandwiched together
■ tiles stuck to the counter.
■ his phone was stuck to his hand. 8
 4. Read the questions

COMPREHENSION MEMO p 164

Refer to If At First You Don’t Succeed, Read The Instructions and answer all the questions
that follow. Questions on page 164.
1.6 A liquid that will dissolve the glue so that it will lose its strength is a solvent.
One mark per correct fact.
(2)
1.7 He was not allowed to fix this mess because they didn’t want him to mess
everything up again. They thought he would make the situation even worse than it
already was.
(2)
1.8 Yes, the article is meant to be serious because doing tasks yourself without proper
training can be dangerous. “And make sure the mains are off, hey?”
OR
No, the article is light hearted and humorous and is not meant to be taken seriously.
“I have to admit, this do-it-yourself stuff is not really my forte.” (2) 9