|
Comprehension
Dahlia
Bartley, Contributor
Comprehension
is vital to the development of one's
reading skills and, therefore, to
one's ability to obtain an education.
Certainly, reading comprehension is
essential, not only to academic learning
in all subject areas, but to lifelong
learning. You must, therefore, develop
certain skills that will help you
to understand what you read.
How
will comprehension
skills enhance your performance, you
may well ask? Here are a few answers.
These skills, which are achievable,
will allow you to:
- Grasp
the meaning of what you read and
hear.
- Draw
conclusions and make inferences.
- Evaluate
information.
- Identify
the tone used.
- Recognise
facts stated explicitly.
- Extract
specific information from what is
read or heard.
- Recognise
cause and effect relationships.
- Identify
main and subordinate ideas and trace
their development.
Incidentally,
the last four are listed in the CSEC
syllabus. Please read the document
to find others.
Now,
let's look at a comprehension
passage which was set some time ago.
Read
the following passage carefully and
then answer the questions set on it.
|
The
street is wide and full of dust.
In the white sunlight, it lies
down passively. From the wide
world come motor cars, lorries
and vans, making a lot of noise,
shaking up the white dust and
leaving the air full of the
smell of fume. Wooden donkey
carts, creaking and shaking,
rattle over the pieces of white
marl lying about. Dogs fight
in the grass, snarling and snapping
angry white teeth. And little
naked children, with rags for
shirts, run about with discarded
bicycle tyres, jumping over
the furious dogs, the grass
and the 8 stones. Sometimes,
but sometimes only, the whole
street goes suddenly quiet as
though everything has stopped
for a moment to listen to itself.
But then it begins all over
again.
And
when the sun goes down the whole
yard becomes a slab of darkness,
12 like a block of black ice.
In the night-wrapped city, where
the streets intersect, the light
from lantern posts falls into
yellow pools on dust and pebbles.
And even the dogs bark with
a different meaning. The night
is like a door that closes in
the afternoon, locking everything
into a black room. Below in
the streets, the boys and girls
on bicycles ride past men and
women walking. And a donkey
cart would appear around the
corner moving slowly. The cartman
droops over the donkey's rump,
half asleep. And as the 19 donkey
walks, the cartman rolls forwards
and backwards in rhythm with
the hooves. And in the yard,
the women sit on their doorsteps,
looking out at the street, spitting,
gossiping with their neighbours
and laughing at themselves.
|
(a)
In one word, how would you describe
the scene in paragraph one (lines
1-10)? (1 mark)
(b)
State two activities going on in the
street, which are mentioned in paragraph
one (lines 1-10). (2 marks)
(c)
By using vivid descriptions, the writer
appeals to the sense of sight because
he wants you to see the scenes which
he is describing. In paragraph one
(lines 1-10) to which other senses
does the writer appeal? (2 marks)
(d)
What is suggested by the phrase 'sometimes,
but sometimes only' (line 8)?
(2 marks)
(e)
'And when the sun goes down the whole
yard becomes a slab of darkness, like
a block of black ice' (line 11). What
is the writer describing in this sentence?
(2 marks)
(f)
From paragraph two (lines 11-21),
quote two examples of figurative language
that the writer uses. (2 marks)
(g)
Why is the cartman described as rolling
'forwards and backwards in rhythm
with the hooves' (line 19)? (2
marks)
What
a highly descriptive passage! As you
read it, I am sure that you had no
difficulty in visualising the scene.
Take time out and assess the writer's
use of language. You will truly benefit
from such an exercise.
Next
week, we will look at the answers.
Until then, be good.
 |
|
Alpha
Academy students lead the cheers
for Prodigal Son and DJ Nicholas
(not in photo) during Kingston
College's Inter-School's Christian
Fellowship gospel concert dubbed:
'Power in the Blood: Freedom
Stems from the Root', at their
Melbourne campus, Upper Elletson
Road, on Friday, January 18.
- Anthony Minott/Freelance Photographer
|
Dahlia
Bartley teaches at Glenmuir High School.
|
