Boost writing 4 (Student book)

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First published2O0T
Producedby PearsonEducationAsia Limited, Hong Kong
GCC/01
ISBN-13:978-962-00-5884-4
ISBN-10:962-00-5884-4
Publisher:Simon Campbell
ProjectEditor: Howard Cheung
Editor: IeffZroback
Designers:JunkoFunaki,My.thWong,Angel Chan
Illustrator:Balic Choy
Audio Production:David Popeand SkyProductions
For permission to use copyrighted images, we would like to thank O Mike Theiss/Jim Reed Photography/Corbis (pp. a CTR and 9 TR), @ Brad
Loper/Dallas Morning News/Corbis @ (pp.4 CBR and 9 BR), @ Lloyd Cluff/Corbis (pp.5 BCTL and 17TL), O Martyn Goddard/Corbis (pp.5 BCTR
and 17 TR), O Marianna Day Massey/ZUMAlCorbis (p.13),CarolWiley @ Dorling Kindersley (p. 30),Alistair Duncan (c) Dorling Kindersley (p.
31 BR),Ariel Skelley/Corbis(p. 33 TR and BL), O StephanieMazelCorbis (p. 33 BR), @ Iumeirah (p. 37 BL), O Stephanie Colasanti/Corbis (p. 37

BR), O Tom Stewart/Corbis (p. 43 TR), @Tim Garcha/zefalCorbis (p. 43 BL), O NASA,ESA,the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AIJIIA)and I. Green
(University ofColorado, Boulder (p. 49 TR), O Joe Bator/Corbis (p. 49 BL), O NASA (p. 51), O Joson/zefalCorbis (p. 53 TR), @ GaryW. Carteri Corbis
(p. 53 BL), @ DungVo Trung/Politika/Corbis (p. 56), @ Simon Marcus/Corbis (p. 63) and @ Antonio Mo/Gettyimages (p. 66). Courtesy of the Library
of Congress(p. 29 TR).

Acknowledgements
I would like to dedicatethe Boostlr,r,ritingbooks to two very closecolleagues:Dean Staffordand YannickO'Neill.We
have sharedmany experiencesand ideasabout teachingwriting skillsover the years,but your specialistknowledgeand
enthusiasm for this aspect of learning and communication have always been an inspiration to me. Thanks mightily!
Iason Renshaw
The Publisherswould alsolike to thank the following teachersfor their suggestionsand comments on this course:Tara
Cameron,RosanneCerello,Nancy Chan, ChangLi Ping,Ioy Chao,JessieChen,JosephineChen,ChiangYing-hsueh,Claire
Cho, Cindy Chuang,Linda Chuang,Chueh Shiu-wen,Mark de Boer,Mieko Hayashida,Diana Ho, Lulu Hsu, EuniceIung,
Hye Ri Kim, JakeKimball, JosieLai, Carol Lee,ElaineLee,Melody Lee,PeggyLi, EstherLim, Moon Ieong Lim, Iasmin Lin,
Martin Lin, Catherine Littlehale Oki, Linda Liu, Tammy Liu, Goldie Luk, Ma Li-ling, Chizuko Matsushita, Geordie McGarty,
YasuyoMito, Eunice Izumi Miyashita, Mari Nakamura, Yannick O'Neill, Coco Pan, Hannah Park, Karen Peng,Zanne
Schultz, Kaj Schwermer,MiYeon Shin, Giant Shu, Dean Stafford, H1'LrnjuSuh,TanYung-hui, Devon Thagard, Iohn and
Charlievan Goch,AnnieWang,Wang Shu-ling,Wu Lien-chun, SabrinaWu,Yeh Shihfen,TomYeh,LauraYoshida,andYunji
Yun.

The
publisher's
policyis to use
papermanutactured
forests
fromsustainable

II

ritin
The Boost! Skills Seriesis the definitive ond comprehensive
fourlevel seriesof skillsbooksfor junior EFLleame6.Theseries
hos beendevelopedoround qge-qppropriote,cross-curriculor
topics thqt developstudents'criticql thinking ond examinotion
techniques.It followson integratedskillsopproochwith eochof
the skillsbroughttogetherat the end of eochunit.
The twelvecoreunitsin Boost! Writing 4 followo cleorqnd
tronsporent structureto make teaching ond Ieqming eqsyond
tun. The writing skills build ond progressocrossthe four levelsof
Boost! Writing ond are co[elqted to the next generotionof tests
of English.
Youwill find the followingin Boost! Writing 4:
a
.
.
.

Age-opproprioteond cross-curriolor topics
Modelsof goodwdting os well os exqmplesofbqd writing
Writing practicethot builds from sentenceqnd parogroph
levelsto full-lenglhpqssqges
Activities thot provide on opportunity to creoteo wide voriety
of text tFpes(essoys,letters,emqils, etc.)


Unit Topic
- Eachunithasanage-appropriate
and
topic.

cross-curricular
Studentswill
. findthetopicdirectlyrelates
to their
lives
and
study.
own
to learn.
a beengaged
andmotivated

Writing Skill
of thetargeted
A verysimpleintroduction
unitskillis provided.
Studentswill
. be introduced
to thewriting
skillina clearand
way.
understandable

1r""fl'"?siJl*Tlfl:':lri;

"*'
l[#]llilih:.*:l:.:::tr':i:
e"'""""":i-:si*;#r.r
".*--*r.i:.lii*ffi
;@,F"d'1Tffiddq"

i"#6ie"t"'t"":

e":-#::::l-*1"J-.,..*

Before You Write
with
Samples
ol goodwritingarepresented
task.
a noticing
Studentswill
. be introduced
to writingmodelsthatthey
their
ownwriting.
canfollowin
. discover
thewritingskillforthemselves
withouttheneedfor longexplanations.

AudioGD
TheCDat thebackof thebookprovides
plus
passages
audiosupportfor allreading
listening
tasks
theaudiofor theIntegration

4


Integration
Writing Practice
Practice
basedarounda writingmodelis followed
bymorepersonalized
writingpractice.
Studentswill
. develop
theskillsneededfor accurate
and
effective
writingthroughmodel-based
practice.
. beableto followguidance
to writetheirown
passages.

9*"*..".."."..",.""

".

*"

Thewritingskillis combined
withlistening,
reading
or speaking

tasks.
Studentswill
a produce
writingpassages
basedon reading
andspeaking/listening
inputs.
. developlanguage
skillsneededforthenext
generation
of integraied
testsof English.

@t"al.,,.^.",",,..-", ",.,-. ".,"

,".., ;''

o "",,
",,,";,-.,,".,;."""..,

rt -*.-***,",tu.",,

Review
Aftereverytwo coreunits
thereis a reviewwhich
consolidates
the writing
skillsalreadystudied.
Studentswill

beableto seetheir
progress
In usrng
writingskills.
buildon previously
taughtskillsto
produceaccurate
wntrng.


Evaluation

p.8

Writecause-and-

ExtremeWeather

Science
and
Nature

Writingcauseeffect
sentences
and-effect
PY
aboutextreme
5entence5
weather.

Writingan

GameConsoles

Write
introductions n rl
aooulvrdeo
something
new gameconsoles.

Ansand
introdudion
Entertainmentabout

Review1

p.17

let Me Explain

Culture
and
People

Writing
to explain
something

Learning at llome

Culture
and
People

.
Writeanessav
wnI|noaDout
aDouta newrute p . 2 3
a currenr
roDtc
'
aryourscnoor.

Review2

Writea letterto
yourrcacnet

h 10

p.27

FamousBuiklings

Listen to the Music

Geography
andHistory

Writesentences

passrve in thepassive
Using
p.29
votce
voiceabout
buildings.

Writeparagraphs
aboutdifferent p.33
kindsof music.


l\4ake
a
crossworo
puzzle.

Crosswords

Culture
and
People

Writing
descriptive
sentences

YaeationActivities

Sports

and
Leisure

Writing
an
organizing
essay
rc
5Ummer
organize
things activities.

SpaeeExploration

People/
Science
and
Nature

Usingphrases to complete
to improve
anapplication p.49
yourwriting
letterfor a space
mission.

Protecting Nature

People/
Science

and
Nature

lJsingdetails
anoexamptes
ro supponyour
ideas

Writeanessay

tr
tr

p.43

Review4

an
Complete
aDolication
letter
'',
to becomea

juniorranger.

Review5

@
@

SehoolApplieation

Culture
and
People

Stutlying Abroad

Culture
and
People

Review6

Extra Writing Sheets

Writingto
applyto a
SCnOOr

Writean
application
letterto an
international
scnoot,

Writing
an
Writeanessay

essay
to argue abouttravel.
anoptnton

o.)J


Unit I
Writing
cause-and-effect
sentences
Unit 2
Writing
anintroduction
aboutsomething
Unit3
Writing
to explain
something
Unit 4
Writing
abouta current
topic
Unit 5
passive
Using
voice
Unit 6
Using
synonyms

andpronouns
Unit 7
Writing
descriptive
sentences
Unit 8
Writing
anessay
to organize
things
Unit9
phrases
yourwriting
Using
to improve
Unit 1('
Using
details
andexamples
to suppon
yourideas
Unil 11
Writing
to apply
to a school
Unit 12
Writing
anessay
to argue
anopinion

ExtremeWeather
@l

(

*h", ."n happenin a big storm?Discuss
your answers.

*

Readthe passage.

Katrina
Leaves
NewOrleans
unoerwater
Hurricane
Katrinahit the cityof NewOrleans,
causingmassive
damage.
also
.l' Thehurricane
left a largepartofthe cityflooded.
2 Katrinahadwind speedsof up to 220
per hour,sotherewasa lot ofdamage
kilometers
to the city.
However,

the worsteffectof the hurricane
was
flooding.,S Because
ofthe storm,hugeamounts
of waterrushedintothe city. Asa resultof this
flooding,thousands
of peoplelosttheirhomes.
--:=

@

-,--_-

---"--'

lnswer the questions.

1

In the filst underlined sentence,whqt "left q lorge pqrt of the city flooded"?

2

In the secondunderlined sentence,whqt hoppenedbecquse"Kotdno hod wind speedsof
up to 220 kilometersper hour"?
In the third underlined sentence,whqt phrose links "the storm" ond "huge omounts of
woter rushed into the city"?


Writing cause-and-effect sentences

youneedto wnitesentences
Sometimes
that showhowsomething
lthecause]rnakesanother
youEhoud linkthe c6usew th the effectusing
thinghappen[theeffect].Inthlsk nd of sentence,
a word o. ptsrasesuchas becauseof so ds a resLr/Lcausear leave.

Completethe paragraphusingthe linkingword and phraseprovided.

@

leove / becouseof
Hurriconesore dqngerous{1)

their incredible Dower.Thev often cquse

huge wqves,which con ddmoge coostql cities.Hurricqnesqlso (2)
buildings ond roods ruined. As a result, hurricqnesoften cquseseriousfloods.

comptetethe paragraphusingthe causesprovided.

@

they form quickly / their incrediblespeed
Tornqdoesore o kind of spinning wind thot con move at more thon 400 kilometersper hour.
Becouse
of (1)

, they con pick up

objectsond cqlly them for mony kilometers.It is hqrd for peopleto prepqrefor tornqdoes
qnd moveunpredictqbly.

becouse(2)
(f

Completethe paragraphusing the effects provided.
some houseswere flooded / mony housesdid not hove electricity
Our city wqs hit by q terrible thunderstorm. Lightning struck o power line, so (r)
. Also,
(2)

10

becquseof heqvy rdin.


Writea cause.and.effect
sentenceabout eachDicture.

roin / coused / flood / cjty

As q result / volcono / peopleleft /
villqge

T h e r a i n c a u s e da f l o o d i n l h e c i l

trees / blew over / becquseof /
strong winds

tornodo / left / barn / ruined

11


@.GO

Listenandwrite exactlywhat you hear.
teffible

o
I

cleqr

Remember
to uselinking
words
phrases
your
and
in
sentences.

Work with a classmateand write four cause-and-effectsentences,
(A tornodo)

(A thunde$torm)

(A flood)

(A huricqne)

Q

storm

n""a you,.entences
to the class.


GameConsoles
@

*n", oo rou thinkaboutvideogames?
your answers.
Discuss

Readthe passage.

PloyStotion 3
Sony intrcduced the first
Ploystotiongome consolein the
mid-1990s.It wqs very populqr qnd
sold morc thon 100 million units.

Thenin 2000,SonyreleosedPloystotion2. This model
hos olso beenvery populqr due to its excellentgraphicsqnd
becouseit cqn plqy DVD5.

Sonyhos releosedthe newestmodel in the series,Ploystqtion3. It is 35 times
more powerful thon Ploystotion2. The controllen ore qlso much eqsierto usedue to
speciolsensors.
Sonysqysthqt ployinggomeson Plqystotion3 is like beingin o movie
becousethe croDhicsqre soincredible.

@

Circtethe best introductionfor the passage.
SonyComputerEntertoinmentInc. is part of the SonyCorporation. It wos estoblishedin 1993
in Tokyo.
SonyPlaystotion2 hos hqd q lot of competition from other consoleslike Microsoft Xbox qnd
Nintendo GomeCube.
The Sony Plqystotion3 gome consolehos been releosed.It is the lotestmodel in o populqr
seriesthqt qlso includesPloystotion1 qnd 2. Ploystotion3 is much fosterthon Ploystotion2,
ond it olso hqs o new contrcller ond incredible oroohics.

13


Writing an introduction about something new
youm6ywriteaboutsomethng new.Inthis kindof wfiting,younintroduction
Sometimes
should
showthe rcaderwhythe thingrsimportantor interesting.
Todothis,youshouldinclude
new
andinteresting
detailsinyourintroduction.

Cn".t (/) four detailsto makea good introductionfor a gameconsole.

@

Nintendoenjoyedsuccess
with their Nintendo64 gome console,which wosreleosedirr1996.
Nintendo'sWii gomeconsoleis now ovoiloble.
One of the most populor Nintendo64 gomeswas Super
Mario64.
It olso hos o brqnd new controller.
Comecubehod impressivegrophlcs.
In 2001 Nintendoreleosedthe Gomecube.
Wii ollowsployersto ploy mony of the Nintendogomesmode in the lost 20 yeors.
It is the lotestconsolefrom Nintendo,which qlso modeNintendo64 qnd Gomecube.

Lool.forverbsrnthepresent,
\!#
tense
to helpyouchoosethe
detais

G

14

Usethe details you selectedin Activity D to write an introduction for the game
console.


(lJ,

1

Write an introductionfor eachof the new products,
Product: The Super Mogic Wond

Introduction
The SuperMqgic Wond is now ovoilqble. It is
the lqtestwond frcm Mogic Inc. The Super
Mogic Wond hos

Product: The Advonced Come Console

Introduction
The AdvqncedGome Consolehos been rcleosed.
It is the newestconsolefrcm

Product: The Homework Robot

Introduction
The HomeworkRobotis now qvoiloble.

l5


Readthe passagea boy wrote about a video game, Takenotes on his
opinions,

Sonic the Hedgehog
I recentlygot o
Ploystotion 3,

qnd I am so
hoppyl I hove
been Dloyino
L
Sonicthe
Hedgehog.
Sonicis q grcot
gqme. I like it
becquseit is reolly fost qnd hos qmozing
grophics.It qlso requiresq lot of skill and
hqs o very interestingstory. Finollt I like
the foct thqt I cqn ploy three different
hedgehogchorocte$-Sonic, Shodowond
Silver.

Notes
- Plqystqtion3: recent'lygot,5o

hapw
- Beenployjng:

- Like it becouse:

- Also:

Listento what a girl saysabout anothervideogame.Takenoteson hel
opinions.
Notes
- Nintendo Wil:
- Beenploying: the Leaendof Zelda'.Twiliaht-Princesg

Twiwht Princessl
Likeit becouse:
Also:
- Choroctersi

Work with a classmate.On a separatepieceof paper,wtite a paragraph
comparingand contrastingthe games.


Write a cause-and-effectsentenceabout each picture.
1

qs o result / eorthquqke / bddge
domoged

snowstorm / so / rood / slippery

huIIicane / left / homes /

student / upset / becquse /
exom

ruined


Write an introduction for each of the new Droducts.
Product: The Advonced Video Phone

Introduction

The AdvoncedVideo Phoneis now
qvqil0ble.

Product: The Fll/inq Bike

Introduction
TheFlyingBikehosbeenreleqsed.


Let Me Explain
i)

Why might you need to go to a doctor?
D i s c u s ys o u r a n s w e r s .

irl|",^13R e a dt h e e m a i l

To:

m a r k @ f l n kd s k . l

F,om:



Deor Mork,
I'm reolly sorry,but I won't be oble to come ond
visit yorLthis weekend.I've br'okenmy orm, so I
ccrnnottr-crvcl.
I brokeit on Mondoy.It wos roining o iot thot morning, so the streetoutside

my housewos reolly slippery-Becousel'd sleptin, I wos in o rush. I lon out
onto the rood, sl\)ped ond broke my orm- I hod to 9(Jto the hospitol ond get o
cost.The doctortold me to stoy ot home ond rest.
I hope I con visit you someother time, os I'm reolly looking forword to seeing
you.
)oIryr
Brion

Answer the questions.
1

Whot is Brion trying to e)rploin?
Whot is his reoson?
'19


Writing to explainsomething
Sometimesyoumayneedto write an emailor a letter to explainsomething.For example,
youmayneedto explainwhyyoucannotdo somethingor go somewhere.Makesureto give
reasonsto supportyour explanation.

Q

Comnletethe student'semailto her soccercoach.
I qm sorry to inform you thot I will not be able to attend your soccercomp next week.
I hopeI will be qbleto qttendthe next one. / He told me thqt I wosill qnd
should stoy ot home. / He olso soid thqt I will needto rest for qt leqst q week.

DeorCoachSimpson,
(1)

I om very ill, ond I needto stqy ot home ond rest.
I becomesick q few doysogo, ond I went to the doctoryesterdqy,(2)
(3)

As o result I will not be oble to come to your soccercqmp. (4)

I qm still lookingforwordto improving
my soccerskills.
Yourssincerel,
Penny


e

Followthe stepsto write a letter to your teacher.Explainthat you cannot
attendschoolnext week becauseyou are goingon a family trip.
Brcinsform.'
Bruinstorm ideqs for your letter on a sepqrqtepieceof poper. Thlnk of some
detoils for your explanqtion.
Planj Useyour ideosto moke q writing plqn. wlite on introduction stoting your reoson,
detoils for o body pqrogrqph explqining it fufther qnd q conclusionsoying whot you hope
mqy hqppen.

Teacher's
name:
lntroduction:

Bodyparagraph:
Details:

l4lrite:Write your letter on o seporote piece of poper.

Remember
to use'Dear...,"and
'Yours
yourletter.
sincerelr'in


A

a\r2a,@

Readthe email your friend Jameswrote about his birthday party.

From:
Subject:
Party
Hil
It's my birthdaynextSaturday,
and
l'll be havinga bigpartyat my house.
The partywill startat 2 p.m.andwill
finishaboutI p.m.We'regoingto
watchmovies,playgamesandeat
pizza,so it shouldbe a lot of fun.
I hopeyou canmakeit.
James

@

*ri," a short emailto Jamesexplainingwhy you cannotgo to his birthdayparty.
From:
Subjecr:RE:Party

22

To:


Learningat Home
{i)

would you preferto go to schoolor to
your answers.
learnat home?Discuss

Readthe essay.
:t----.}

lFJqlnilesah,ofi)ll
{rnq
Thisweek,mostchildren
wentbackto
Howevettherearethousands
school.
of
children
whodid not.Instead,

theywillstudy
at home.Thisiscalledhomeschooling.
Homeschooling
isactually
olderthanregular
Inthepast,children
learned
at home
school.
because
schools
did notexist.Evenafterschools
appeared
in thecity,therewerefewschools
in the country.Asa result,manychildrenstillhadto studyat home.Somefamouspeople
werehomeschooled,
including
Abraham
Lincoln
Edison.
andThomas
Formuchofthe 1900s,
homeschooling
wasrare.However,
in the 1970s,
manyparents
startedhomeschooling
theirchildren.Theychoseto do thisfor severalreasons.
Some
parentsthoughtthe localschoolswerebad,sotheydecidedto teachtheirchildren

themselves.
Otherswantedtheirchildren
to learnaboutreligion,
whichwasnottaught
at school.
Thesedays,homeschooling
isverypopularin Westerncountries.
TheUnitedKingdomhas
about50,000homeschooled
children,andCanadahasaround60,000.
TheUnitedStates
hasthe highestnumbetwithasmanyas1.1millionhomeschooled
children.
Considering
thesenumbers,
homeschooling
islikelyto remainpopularforyearsto come.

t(9
I

Follow the instructions.
Circlethe two pqrtsof the essoythqt tqlk oboutthe present.
Drow o squoreoround the port of the essoythot describesthe history of homeschooling.

2sil


Writing about a current topic
Sometimesyoumaywrite an essayabouta cuTTent

topic.Youcanwdte this kindof essavin
the followingway:
Introduction
.

Background
.

Namethe topic

a Providecurrent information
to get the feader'sattention

Q

Givebackgroundinfonmation.
and/or describethe hlstory
of the topic

Conclusion
Finishwith current
information6nd a prediction
aboutthefuture

comntetettre passage.
Thesenew computers
will be very helpfulfor students./ Theschooldid hovesome
computers
beforebut not enoughfor everystudentto use. / Our schoolrccentlygot
brondnew computels./ Furthermore,

only o few computemcouldconnectto the Intemet.

New Computers
(1)

Now, everyclqssrcomhqs three computersond there qre more
computerlobsoroundthe school.
(2)

Mony of thesecompute$ did not work well. (3)

Fortunqtelt the new compute$ oll hqve on Internet connection.Also, there ore now
enough compute$ for every student to use. {4)


[i

rollow the stepsto w]ite an essayabout a new rule at your schoolbanning
cell phones.
Broinsform,'
Bminstorm ideosfor your essqyon o sepqrqtepieceof poper' fhink obout whqt
your schoolis like ond how the new rule will chonge it.
Pian:Useyour ideosto moke q wdting plon. Write qn interestingintroduction, body
pqrqgrqphsgiving bockground informotion, ond q conclusionproviding cunent
informqtion ond o prcdiction qbout the futurc.

BodyparagraphI (background):
Details:

Bodyparagraph2 (background):

conclusion:

l.l/rtfe:Write your essoyon q sepqrqte preceoI poper.

that showcause
Tryto usesentences
your
wrlting.
andeffectin