SKKN teaching and learning foreign languages in the national education system for the period of 2008 2020

PART A: INTRODUCTION
I. REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE TOPIC
Whenever talking about English, people think of it not only as an international
language but also as the official language of more than fifty-three nations and the
main language in international events and organizations as well. In developed
countries where the citizens have the highest income in the world, almost everyone
can speak English, which is the most popular language and is one of the core
subjects in the curriculums at schools.
Understanding the importance of foreign languages, especially English in the
period of integration and globalization trend these days, The Communist Party and
the Government are very concerned about the issues of teaching and learning
foreign languages. On the 30th September, 2008, the Prime Minister signed a
decision No 1400/ QĐ-TTg, approving of the Scheme “Teaching and learning
foreign languages in the national education system” (also known as Foreign
Languages Scheme 2020). The objective of the Scheme is carrying out the overall
renovation of teaching and learning foreign languages in the education system,
including higher education in order to make good progress in the competence of
using foreign languages of the staff, especially in some priority areas of the
economy by 2015.
On the 8th April, 2011, the head of the Ministry of Education and Training signed a
decision No 1400/ QĐ-BGD&ĐT establishing a committee to manage the Scheme
“Teaching and learning foreign languages in the national education system for the
period of 2008-2020”.
In secondary schools, English helps students form and develop not only the
communication competence in English but also other competence in general. It
provides students with an important international means of communication, which
helps students exchange information, scientific knowledge and advanced
technology, thus students have chance to know more about different cultures in the
world.
Of the four skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing in English, the reading
skill plays an important part because reading has a close relationship with our daily

activities. Reading helps us enrich our mind and broaden our knowledge. English
as an international language opens up an endless horizon of knowledge. Almost all
books, magazines or study which contain mankind’s knowledge are written in
English. Therefore, reading skill has been more and more emphasized. In Vietnam,
English is one of the core subjects at all levels of education. The English textbooks
of all grades include reading lessons. Reading is also one of the four marked
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criteria in evaluating the competence of using English in international English
examinations such as TOEFL, IELTS, .... First and foremost, the English test is
compulsory in the National Examinations for GCSE in which reading
comprehension questions are the most difficult. Most students fail to answer all the
questions well and often feel afraid of the reading texts due to their lack of
vocabulary and skill to cope with this type of questions.
For the reasons above, I choose the topic: “Some experiences of improving
reading comprehension skills for high school students in the National
Examinations for GCSE”.
The topic consists of three main parts:
Part A: Introduction which includes the Reasons for Choosing the Topic, the Aim
of the Study, the Objective of the Study, the Method of the Study, the Subject of
the Study, the Range of the Study, and the Novelty of the Study
Part B: Contents with the Theoretical Basis of the Topic, the Practical Basis of the
Topic and the Practical Application in Teaching.
Part C: Conclusion including the Results of the Experience Application, the
Summary and the Proposals.
II. AIM, OBJECTIVE, METHOD, SUBJECT AND RANGE OF THE
STUDY
1. Aim of the Study:
The topic was studied and applied with a view to enhancing the reading

comprehension skills for high school students. It is also served as a source of
materials that help English teachers in their teaching the reading skill.
Through this study, the topic has helped the writer draw experiences of teaching
the reading comprehension skills, increase knowledge and contribute to students’
good results in the National Examinations for GCSE.
2. Objective of the Study:
The writer’s experiences shown in this study may provide English teachers with a
source of materials to teach the reading comprehension skills. In addition, students
can also use the methods illustrated in this study for their self-study in learning to
do reading comprehension exercises.
3. Method of the Study:
- Studying the materials about improving reading skills in reference books.
- Analyzing and drawing experiences from the process of teaching.
- Studying the reading texts, especially in the English test of the National
Examinations for GCSE.
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- Applying in the real teaching to self evaluate.
4. Subject of the Study:
- The reading comprehension questions and the rules to deal with them.
- Some reading comprehension questions often asked in the English tests of the
National Examinations for GCSE in recent years.
5. Range of the Study:
Reading comprehension tests for high school students in the English tests of the
National Examinations for GCSE.
6. Novelty of the Study:
In fact, a lot of writers and English teachers have introduced the reading
comprehension rules in general based on what are written in reference books
published by various publishing houses ranging from famous to domestic such as

Oxford Publishing House, Cambridge Publishing House or Hanoi National
University Publishing House, Education and Training Publishing House of
Vietnam, and so on... However, they seem to be too academic for students to
follow, especially to weak students in rural areas where students hardly have good
learning conditions to access to modern learning methods. In this case, the writer
with the teaching experiences in more than twenty years has a different way to help
students approach traditional methods of doing the reading comprehension
exercises with some new strategies.

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PART B: CONTENTS
I. THEORETICAL BASIS OF THE TOPIC:
Reading comprehension is a very difficult skills in terms of high level vocabulary
and complex grammatical structures. To master this skill, students have to work
hard to widen their vocabulary days after days. They also have to grasp the
grammar rules and have good knowledge of English idioms and expressions.
Moreover, they need to know what to do to understand the sense of the context in
the reading texts and try to answer the reading comprehension questions in the
shortest time.
Actually, English teachers have a lot of difficulties in improving students’ reading
skills due to the limited competence of understanding written English of students.
This encouraged the writer to study and draw experiences during the real teaching
process with the aim of helping students getting out of the fear of reading
comprehension tests.
II. PRACTICAL BASIS OF THE TOPIC:
Most students at Cua Lo High School come from rural areas where they do not
have chance to learn English systematically since they were at lower grade. Their
knowledge of English grammar and vocabulary is extremely limited.

Understanding and memorizing grammatical rules seem rather hard to them, not
mentioning how to deal with the long reading texts full of “strange new words and
phrases”. Reading has become a dark cloud in front of them and it is somewhat a
nightmare to weak students in trying to pass the National Examinations for GCSE.
Students lose most of their marks in the reading test because they know of no
effective way to answer the reading comprehension questions correctly. In some
cases, they just guess the answers. Having taught students to sit for the GCSE
exam for many years, I find it extremely essential to figure out effective reading
strategies. I have read a lot of reference books on reading skills and have collected
good points in these books to summarize a good method to teach students how to
answer reading comprehension questions correctly in the shortest time even if their
vocabulary is limited.
III. PRACTICAL APPLICATION IN TEACHING:
From my experience of teaching students to sit for University Entrance
Examinations and GCSE Examinations during the last over twenty years, I have
drawn a few methods to help students cope with reading comprehension exercises.
At first, when introducing the topic of reading comprehension to students, I
suggest that they not read the whole passage. The first reason is that the time
allotted is limited. Each exam usually consists of three comprehensions texts,
excluding a lot of grammatical and vocabulary questions in the other parts, which
requires students to control the time do finish each of part, and each reading
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comprehension exercise should be done within 10 to 15 minutes. Hence, why
spending time reading texts of 250 words or even 350 words in such a short time?
The second reason is that comprehension texts are full of vocabulary, phrases,
idioms and strange expressions which students sometimes find it hard to figure out,
even hardly understand the content of the passages at all. This just makes them
confused and waste time focusing on the positions “new words” appear to find out

what the passage is about, thus, students may soon forget the objective of
answering the questions below the passage. In fact, during the process of finding
the answers to the questions, students will definitely work out the content of the
text. Therefore, reading the whole passage at the beginning is by no means
necessary. Instead, students must master the two most important skills in doing
reading comprehension exercises – SCANNING and SKIMMING. Scanning is
reading a text quickly in order to find specific information whereas skimming is
reading quickly to get a general idea of meaning. To practice these reading skills, I
classify reading comprehension questions and how to answer each of them, as well
as the order of dealing with the questions. Students should not answer questions in
the order as given. For example, the first question is usually asked about the main
idea of the passage -“What is the main idea of the passage?” Or “What is the
passage mainly about?”. However, when starting, students who do not read the
whole passage – as mentioned above - find it hard and spend a lot of time figuring
out the main points of the passage. Therefore, I usually ask my students to scan the
passage first to answer questions for specific information before skimming to get
general ideas. The order and methods of answering reading comprehension
questions are shown in the name of the following skills in which skill 1, 2, 4 and 5
need scanning and the others need skimming.
1. SKILL 1: FINDING PRONOUN REFERENTS
The question form of this type is: “The pronoun “...…” (usually highlighted in
bold type) in line X or paragraph Y refers to which of the following?
The reason why students should answer this type of question first is that it is
usually easy to find the answer and easy to understand, too. In addition, it doesn’t
take much time to find the answer because the pronoun is always printed in bold
type to make it easier for students to find them in the passage and the line or the
paragraph where the pronoun is located is given in the question. The noun that the
pronoun refers to is generally found before the pronoun.
This is a common question in a reading comprehension exercise. Students are
asked to determine to which noun a pronoun refers. In a pronoun reference

question, a noun is generally used first in a passage and the pronoun that refers to it
comes after, so to answer this kind of question, students should look before the
pronoun to find the nouns – may be separated from the pronoun by some words
ahead or sometimes appear in the preceding sentence - that agree with the pronoun.
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It is clear that a plural pronoun such as “they, these, those, them ...” refers to a
plural noun, while a singular noun is replaced by a singular pronoun such as “it,
this, that...”. Moreover, nouns for people and things should also be taken into
consideration. For example, in the context, the pronoun takes an action of a human,
then students, of course, have to find the nouns for people before. If it is still
confusing, students can try each of the nouns in the context in place of the pronoun
and eliminate any definitely wrong answers and choose the most suitable one from
the remaining choices. Let’s have a look at a short paragraph cited from a reading
comprehension exercise (Question 47 - Code 194) in the English test of the GCSE
examination in 2015.
“..........With further warming, animals will tend to migrate toward the poles and up
mountainsides toward higher elevations. Plants will also attempt to shift their
ranges, seeking new areas as old habitats grow too warm. In many places,
however, human development will prevent these shifts. Species that find cities or
farmland blocking their way north or south may become extinct. Species living in
unique ecosystems, such as those found in polar and mountaintop regions, are
especially at risk because migration to new habitats is not possible. For example,
polar bears and marine mammals in the Arctic are already threatened by dwindling
sea ice but have nowhere farther north to go....”
From "Global Warming" by Michael Mastrandrea and Stephen H. Schneider
Question 47: “The pronoun “those” in paragraph 2 refers to ______.
A. species B. ecosystems C. habitats D. areas
In this case, the pronoun “those” in the question as well as in the paragraph is

printed in bold type and the line where it appears is shown, so it is very easy for
students to find it. Then students just have to look at the sentence containing the
pronoun “Species living in unique ecosystems, such as those found in polar and
mountaintop regions, are especially at risk because migration to new habitats is not
possible” and look for the plural nouns coming before the pronoun “those” to find
two – “species and ecosystems”. Students can easily eliminate the two wrong
options – C. habitats and D. areas. Next step, they should try each of the nouns
“species and ecosystems” in the context in place of the pronoun “those” – “found
in polar and mountaintop regions, are especially at risk....”. The correct answer is
“A. species” as they are living things and “found in polar and mountaintop
regions”, not “ecosystems”.
Another example is from the English test of the GCSE examination in 2016 with a
short paragraph cited from a reading comprehension exercise (Question 34 - Code
168)

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“Though called by sweet-sounding names like Firinga or Katrina, tropical cyclones
are huge rotating storms 200 to 2,000 kilometers wide with winds that blow at
speeds of more than 100 kilometers per hour (kph). Weather professionals know
them as tropical cyclones, but they are called hurricanes in the Caribbean Sea,
typhoons in the Pacific Ocean, and cyclones in the Indian Ocean. They occur in
both the northern and southern hemispheres. Large ones have destroyed cities and
killed hundreds of thousands of people...........”
Adapted from “Reading Explorer 2” by Paul
Maclntyre Question 34: “The word “they” in paragraph 1 refers to ______.
A. sweet-sounding names B. wind speeds
C. tropical cyclones D. weather professionals
In this question, the pronoun “they” refers to a plural noun, so students have to

look for the ones coming before and they are “Weather professionals” and “tropical
cyclones”, so students can eliminate the wrong answers A and B. Moreover, the
phrase “Weather professionals” refers to humans while the pronoun “they” refer to
things – “hurricanes”, so “C. tropical cyclones” is the correct answer.
One more example, the English test of the GCSE examination in 2017 has a short
paragraph cited from a reading comprehension exercise (Question 29 - Code 401)
as follow.
“Different cultures follow their own special customs when a child's baby teeth fall
out. In Korea, for example, they have the custom of throwing lost teeth up on the
roof of a house. According to tradition, a magpie will come and take the tooth.
Later, the magpie will return with a new tooth for the child. In other Asian
countries, such as Japan and Vietnam, children follow a similar tradition of
throwing their lost teeth onto the roofs of houses....”
“Question 29. The word "their" in paragraph 1 refers to .
A. houses' B. roofs' C. children's D. countries'”
There are plural nouns before the pronoun “their”, including “countries” and
“children”. Besides, “their” refers to the possession of human or a living thing
because the noun after “their” is “lost teeth”, so the correct answer is definitely
“C. children's”.
Another code – 402 – in the English test of the GCSE examination in 2017 has
also a short paragraph with a question of the same type.
“ Children all around the world love to read comic books. Maybe they like to read
the kind of comic books that come out once a month, like Spiderman or Batman, or
maybe they like manga- style comic books. That means that publishers who make
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comic books need to keep in touch with the things young people like to do. One
thing that many young people today are interested in is technology, so of course
kids want to read digital comic books on electronic devices.....”

(Source: Reading Advantage by Casey Malarcher)
“Question 29. The word "they" in paragraph 1 refers to .
A. children B. comic books C. publishers D. things”
In this case, the plural noun in the same sentence before “they” is “books”, but it
doesn’t suit the meaning in the context, so students have to look at the preceding
sentence, and the plural noun found is “children”. Thus, the correct answer is “A.
children”.
Through four examples above, we can see that this is not only a frequently asked
question, but also one of the easiest questions in a reading comprehension test.
Students, therefore, should answer these kinds of questions first.
2. SKILL 2: USING CONTEXT TO DETERMINE THE MEANINGS OF
WORDS.
This is also a frequently asked vocabulary questions with the question forms like
“What is the meaning of “X” in line Y/ paragraph Y...?” or “The word/ phrase “X”
in line Y/ paragraph Y is closest in meaning to.... ” or “The word “X” in line Y/
paragraph Y probably means......” or ““The word “X” in line Y/ paragraph Y could
best be replaced by.....”
These kinds of questions don’t take much time to answer because the word/ phrase
is highlighted in bold type and the location where it appears is also revealed in the
question. Students do not have to waste time finding it. Besides, to answer this
question, students do not have to read the whole passage or the long paragraph.
Instead, the information that helps students understand the meaning of an unknown
word/ phrase can often be found in the context surrounding the unknown word/
phrase. Thus, students must read the sentence that contains the word/ phrase
carefully, look for the context clues to help understand the meaning and choose the
answer that the context indicates.
Look at the following paragraph cited from a reading comprehension exercise
(Question 51 - Code 194) in the English test of the GCSE examination in 2015 as
an example.
“...........Ocean ecosystems, especially fragile ones like coral reefs, will also be

affected by global warming. Warmer ocean temperatures can cause coral to
“bleach”, a state which if prolonged will lead to the death of the coral.
Scientists estimate that even 1 Celsius degree of additional warming could lead to
widespread bleaching and death of coral reefs around the world. Also, increasing
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carbon dioxide in the atmosphere enters the ocean and increases the acidity of
ocean waters. This acidification further stresses ocean ecosystems....”
From "Global Warming" by Michael Mastrandrea and Stephen H. Schneider
Question 51: The word “fragile” in paragraph 4 most probably means ______.

A. very large B. easily damaged

C. rather strong

D. pretty hard

Those who do not know the meaning of “fragile” in general can read the sentence
carefully and understand that “fragile” is an adjective used to describe “ocean
ecosystems” which will easily “be affected by global warming”. In this context, it
can’t take the meaning of something “strong” or “hard”, so C and D are the two
wrong answers to be eliminated first. Option “A. very large” is not related to the
meaning “will be affected by global warming”, so “B. easily damaged” is the
correct answer.
There are other two vocabulary questions in the same test above in the following
paragraph.
“.....A country’s level of poverty can depend greatly on its mix of population
density and agricultural productivity. Bangladesh, for example, has one of the
world’s highest population densities, with 1,147 persons per sq km. A large

majority of the people of Bangladesh engage in low-productivity manual farming,
which contributes to the country’s extremely high level of poverty. Some of the
smaller countries in Western Europe, such as the Netherlands and Belgium, have
high population densities as well. These countries practice mechanized farming
and are involved in high-tech industries, however, and therefore have high
standards of living.
At the other end of the spectrum, many countries in sub-Saharan Africa have
population densities of less than 30 persons per sq km. Many people in these
countries practice manual subsistence farming; these countries also have infertile
land, and lack the economic resources and technology to boost productivity. As a
consequence, these nations are very poor. The United States has both relatively low
population density and high agricultural productivity; it is one of the world’s
wealthiest nations......”
From "Poverty" by Thomas J. Corbett
Question 60: The phrase “engage in” in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to
______.
A. escape from B. look into

C. give up

D. participate in

Question 61: The word “infertile” in paragraph 4 probably means ______.
A. disused

B. impossible

C. unproductive

D. inaccessible

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In question 60, students can read the sentence and find that D is the correct answer
because in the context, “people” “engage in low-productivity manual farming,
which contributes to the country’s extremely high level of poverty.” The other
three options A, B, C do not suit the meaning.
In question 61, “ have infertile land” copes with “lack the economic resources and
technology to boost productivity”, so “infertile” takes a negative meaning, and
something related to “low-productivity”. Hence, the correct answer is C.
Below is one more example in the English test of GCSE examination in 2016,
code 168, question 36 and 40.
“.......Tropical cyclones begin over water that is warmer than 27 degrees Celsius
(80 degrees Fahrenheit) slightly north or south of the earth’s equator. Warm,
humid air full of water vapor moves upward. The earth’s rotation causes the
growing storm to start to rotate around its center (called the eye). At a certain
height, the water vapor condenses, changing to liquid and releasing heat. The heat
draws more air and water vapor upward, creating a cycle as air and water vapor
rise and liquid water falls. If the cycle speeds up until winds reach 118 kilometers
per hour, the storm qualifies as a tropical cyclone.
Most deaths in tropical cyclones are caused by storm surge. This is a rise in sea
level, sometimes seven meters or more, caused by the storm pushing against the
ocean’s surface. Storm surge was to blame for the flooding of New Orleans in
2005. The storm surge of Cyclone Nargis in 2008 in Myanmar pushed seawater
nearly four meters deep some 40 kilometers inland, resulting in many deaths. It has
never been easy to forecast a tropical cyclone accurately. The goal is to know when
and where the next tropical cyclone will form. “And we can’t really do that yet,”
says David Nolan, a weather researcher from the University of Miami. The
direction and strength of tropical cyclones are also difficult to predict, even with

computer assistance. In fact, long-term forecasts are poor; small differences in the
combination of weather factors lead to very different storms. More accurate
forecasting could help people decide to evacuate when a storm is on the way.”
Adapted from “Reading Explorer 2” by Paul Maclntyre
Question 36: The word “humid” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
______. A. moist B. dry C. thin D. thick
Question 40: The word “evacuate” in paragraph 4 mostly means ______.
A. move to safer places B. make accurate predictions
C. take preventive measures D. call for relief supplies

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Firstly, “humid” in the sentence means “full of water vapor”, so it cannot be “dry”;
it also does not relate to “thin” or “thick”, so the correct answer is “A”-“moist”.
Secondly, the last sentence in the above paragraph indicates that “evacuate” means
what people decide to do when hearing about a storm coming on the way
according to forecasting. In this case, “A” is the correct answer.
The second reading text in the same test as the above has the following paragraphs:
“.....Picture a series of concentric circles, with an urban core that produces some
food at varying capacities, surrounded by a series of outlying rings of small farms
that become increasingly more rural with distance. The hope is that such land use
planning, from the inner core to the outer rings, will encourage local ecologically
sound sustainable food production. This, in turn, will create local jobs and decrease
reliance on distant food products that originate from petroleum-intensive large
scale farms. That’s the idea behind SAgE, believed to be the nation’s first
metropolitan-based community college sustainable agriculture program that
emphasizes farming practices across diverse landscape types from urban centers to
surrounding rural environs. “It’s small scale agriculture with an urban focus,”
Niebler says. “Any urban population, large or small, can practice sustainable

agriculture, improve food security and protect the environment, which ultimately
results in resilient food systems and communities.” SAgE is a part of the National
Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological Education (ATE) Program, which is
providing the project with $157,375 over two years. ATE’s goal is to support
projects that strengthen the skills of technicians who work in industries regarded as
vital to the nation’s prosperity and security. The support largely goes to community
colleges that work in partnership with universities, secondary schools, businesses
and industries, as well as government agencies, which design and implement
model workforce initiatives.....”
Adapted from “Promoting Sustainable Agriculture” by Marlene Cimons
Question 57: The word “concentric” in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
______.
A. going in different directions B. having the same size
C. having the same center D. coming from different places
Question 59: The phrase “in partnership with” in paragraph 4 probably means
______.
A. in addition to B. in place of C. together with D. instead of
Question 57 asks about the meaning of “concentric”. Students should look at the
words “circles”, “with an urban core” and “surrounded by a series of outlying rings
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of small farms”. From this context, students can determine that “concentric”
means “having the same center”.
In question 59, to find a phrase that is closest in meaning to “in partnership
with”, students should try replacing “in partnership with” with the 4 options – A,
B, C, and D. They can determine that “in partnership with” means “together
with”.
Let’s take another example in the English test of the GCSE examination in 2017
(Code 401 – Question 32 and 34)

“.......The idea of giving lost teeth to an angel or fairy is also a tradition in the
West. Many children in Western countries count on the Tooth Fairy to leave money
or presents in exchange for a tooth. The exact origins of the Tooth Fairy are a
mystery, although the story probably began in England or Ireland centuries ago.
According to tradition, a child puts a lost tooth under his or her pillow before going
to bed. In the wee hours, while the child is sleeping, the Tooth Fairy takes the
tooth and leaves something else under the pillow. In France, the Tooth Fairy leaves
a small gift. In the United States, however, the Tooth Fairy usually leaves money.
These days, the rate is $1 to $5 per tooth, adding up to a lot of money from the
Tooth Fairy!....”
(Source: Reading Challenge 2 by Casey Malarcher & Andrea Janzen)
Question 32. The word "origins" in paragraph 3 is closest in meaning to
_ . A. countries B. families C. beginnings D. stories
Question 34. The phrase "the wee hours" in paragraph 3 probably refers to the
period of time_______ .
A. early in the evening

B. soon after midnight

C. late in the morning

D. long before bedtime

Question 32 is quite easy. When reading the sentence “The exact origins of the
Tooth Fairy are a mystery, although the story probably began in England or Ireland
centuries ago”, students can understand the meaning of “origins” in this context is
similar to “beginnings”, so C is the correct option.
In question 34, the phrase "the wee hours" is the time “while the child is
sleeping”, so “B. soon after midnight” is correct.
3. SKILL 3: ANSWERING STATED DETAIL QUESTIONS DIRECTLY

Many reading comprehension questions require answers that are directly stated in
the passage, which means students should be able to find the answer to this type of
question without having to draw a conclusion. A stated detail question asks about
one piece of information in the passage rather than the main idea of each paragraph
or the passage as a whole. The answers to these questions are generally given in
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order in the passage, and the correct answer is often a restatement of what is given
in the passage. This means that the correct answer often expresses the same idea as
what is written in the passage, but the words are not exactly the same.
Stated detail questions usually begin with “According to the passage, .... ”; “It is
stated in the passage....”; “The passage indicates that..... ”; “Which of the following
is true....”
To answer this type of questions, students should underline the key word(s) in the
question, skim the appropriate part of the passage for the key word or idea, then
read the sentence containing the key word or idea carefully to eliminate the
definitely wrong answers and choose the best one from the remaining choices.
Here are some examples from the English test of the GCSE examination in 2015
(Code 194- Question 45, 46, 49, 50, 52, 53)
“Plants and animals will find it difficult to escape from or adjust to the effects of
global warming. Scientists have already observed shifts in the lifecycles of many
plants and animals, such as flowers blooming earlier and birds hatching earlier in
the spring. Many species have begun shifting where they live or their annual
migration patterns due to warmer temperatures.
With further warming, animals will tend to migrate toward the poles and up
mountainsides toward higher elevations. Plants will also attempt to shift their
ranges, seeking new areas as old habitats grow too warm. In many places,
however, human development will prevent these shifts. Species that find cities or
farmland blocking their way north or south may become extinct. Species living in

unique ecosystems, such as those found in polar and mountaintop regions, are
especially at risk because migration to new habitats is not possible. For example,
polar bears and marine mammals in the Arctic are already threatened by dwindling
sea ice but have nowhere farther north to go.
Projecting species extinction due to global warming is extremely difficult. Some
scientists have estimated that 20 to 50 percent of species could be committed to
extinction with 2 to 3 Celsius degrees of further warming. The rate of warming, not
just the magnitude, is extremely important for plants and animals. Some species
and even entire ecosystems, such as certain types of forest, may not be able to
adjust quickly enough and may disappear.
Ocean ecosystems, especially fragile ones like coral reefs, will also be affected by
global warming. Warmer ocean temperatures can cause coral to “bleach”, a state
which if prolonged will lead to the death of the coral. Scientists estimate that even
1 Celsius degree of additional warming could lead to widespread bleaching and
death of coral reefs around the world. Also, increasing carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere enters the ocean and increases the acidity of ocean waters. This
acidification further stresses ocean ecosystems.
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From "Global Warming" by Michael Mastrandrea and Stephen H. Schneider”
Question 45: Scientists have observed that warmer temperatures in the spring
cause flowers to ______.
A. die instantly B. bloom earlier C. become lighter D. lose color
In this question, the key words are underlined and highlighted in bold type.
Students have to skim the passage and read the following sentences carefully:
“Plants and animals will find it difficult to escape from or adjust to the effects of
global warming. Scientists have already observed shifts in the lifecycles of many
plants and animals, such as flowers blooming earlier and birds hatching earlier in
the spring.” It is easy to see that B is the correct answer.

Question 46: According to paragraph 2, when their habitats grow warmer,
animals tend to move ______.
A. south-eastwards and down mountainsides toward lower elevations
B. north-westwards and up mountainsides toward higher elevations
C. toward the North Pole and down mountainsides toward lower elevations
D. toward the poles and up mountainsides toward higher elevations

In question 46, paragraph 2 should be focused and the key words underlined in the
question are found in the first sentences: “With further warming, animals will
tend to migrate toward the poles and up mountainsides toward higher
elevations.” In this case, the verb “move” in the question is close in meaning to
“migrate” and D is the correct answer.
Question 49: It is mentioned in the passage that if the global temperature rose by
2 or 3 Celsius degrees, ______.
A. half of the earth’s surface would be flooded
B. the sea level would rise by 20 centimeters C.
water supply would decrease by 50 percent

D. 20 to 50 percent of species could become extinct
The key words are found in the second sentence of paragraph 3: “Some scientists
have estimated that 20 to 50 percent of species could be committed to extinction
with 2 to 3 Celsius degrees of further warming.” This means D is the correct
answer.
Question 50: According to the passage, if some species are not able to adjust
quickly to warmer temperatures, ______.
A. they may be endangered B. they can begin to develop
C. they will certainly need water D. they move to tropical forests
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With this question, the key words are found in the last sentence of paragraph 3:
“Some species and even entire ecosystems, such as certain types of forest, may not
be able to adjust quickly enough and may disappear”. Clearly, the correct
answer is A.
“Question 52: The bleaching of coral reefs as mentioned in paragraph 4 indicates
______.
A. the water absorption of coral reefs
B. the quick growth of marine mammals
C. the blooming phase of sea weeds
D. the slow death of coral reefs
In this question, students may not know the meaning of the key words “bleach”
and “coral reef”. However, they can find these key words in the second and third
sentence of paragraph 4: “Warmer ocean temperatures can cause coral to
“bleach”, a state which if prolonged will lead to the death of the coral. Scientists
estimate that even 1 Celsius degree of additional warming could lead to
widespread bleaching and death of coral reefs around the world.” Although they
don’t get the exact meaning of the vocabulary, they can understand the main idea
of the above sentences is that warmer temperatures can cause coral reefs to bleach
and widespread bleaching can lead to the death of coral reefs. Therefore, D is the
correct answer.
Question 53: The level of acidity in the ocean is increased by ______.
A. the rising amount of carbon dioxide entering the ocean
B. the decrease of acidity of the pole waters
C. the extinction of species in coastal areas
D. the loss of acidity in the atmosphere around the earth”.
The answer to this question is found at the end of paragraph 4: “Also, increasing
carbon dioxide in the atmosphere enters the ocean and increases the acidity of
ocean waters.” It is easy to see A is the correct answer (“the rising amount” is
close in meaning to “increasing”).

By analyzing the examples above, we can see that stated detail questions are
frequently asked and they require students master the skimming skill to answer
questions in the fastest way.
4. SKILL 4: FINDING “UNSTATED” DETAILS
In the reading test, students will also be asked to find an answer that is not
stated or not mentioned or not true in the passage. This type of question means that
three options given are stated, mentioned, or true in the passage while one answer
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is not. Students should note that there are two kinds of answers to this type of
question: First, there are three true statements and one is not true according to the
passage. Second, there are three true statements and one is not mentioned in the
passage.
Here are some common question forms of this type.
“Which of the following is not stated.......?”; “Which of the following is not
mentioned.......?”; ““Which of the following is not discussed.......?”; “All of the
following are true except.....”
To answer this type of question, students must have good scanning skill. They have
to deal with each option in the question carefully until they find the correct one.
They should begin with the first option – A – to underline the key words, then scan
the appropriate place in the passage for the key words or related ideas. They have
to read the sentence that contains the key words or ideas carefully to decide if the
option is true or false according to the passage. If it is true, they eliminate the
option and do the process again with the others until find the one that is not true or
not mentioned. Because of this, it really takes time to answer the question.
Let’s look at an example from the English test of the GCSE examination in 2016
(Code 168- Question 41)
“Though called by sweet-sounding names like Firinga or Katrina, tropical

cyclones are huge rotating storms 200 to 2,000 kilometers wide with winds that
blow at speeds of more than 100 kilometers per hour (kph). Weather professionals
know them as tropical cyclones, but they are called hurricanes in the Caribbean
Sea, typhoons in the Pacific Ocean, and cyclones in the Indian Ocean. They occur
in both the northern and southern hemispheres. Large ones have destroyed cities
and killed hundreds of thousands of people.
Tropical cyclones begin over water that is warmer than 27 degrees Celsius (80
degrees Fahrenheit) slightly north or south of the earth’s equator. Warm, humid air
full of water vapor moves upward. The earth’s rotation causes the growing storm
to start to rotate around its center (called the eye). At a certain height, the water
vapor condenses, changing to liquid and releasing heat. The heat draws more air
and water vapor upward, creating a cycle as air and water vapor rise and liquid
water falls. If the cycle speeds up until winds reach 118 kilometers per hour, the
storm qualifies as a tropical cyclone.
Most deaths in tropical cyclones are caused by storm surge. This is a rise in sea
level, sometimes seven meters or more, caused by the storm pushing against the
ocean’s surface. Storm surge was to blame for the flooding of New Orleans in
2005. The storm surge of Cyclone Nargis in 2008 in Myanmar pushed seawater
nearly four meters deep some 40 kilometers inland, resulting in many deaths.
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It has never been easy to forecast a tropical cyclone accurately. The goal is to
know when and where the next tropical cyclone will form. “And we can’t really do
that yet,” says David Nolan, a weather researcher from the University of Miami.
The direction and strength of tropical cyclones are also difficult to predict,
even with computer assistance. In fact, long-term forecasts are poor; small
differences in the combination of weather factors lead to very different storms.
More accurate forecasting could help people decide to evacuate when a storm is
on the way”.

Adapted from “Reading Explorer 2” by Paul Maclntyre
Question 41: Which of the following statements is NOT true according to the
passage?
A. The center of a growing storm is known as its eye.
B. The direction and strength of tropical cyclones are difficult to forecast.
C. Tropical cyclones are often given beautiful names.
D. Tropical cyclone predictions depend entirely on computer assistance.
First of all, students have to underline the key words in option A – the ones
underlined - and scan the passage to check if it is true according to the passage.
The key words are found in paragraph 2, “called the eye” in the bracket explains
that “its center” is called its eye, so option A is true. Option B is also true, because
in paragraph 4, “The direction and strength of tropical cyclones are also difficult to
predict”; and “predict is close in meaning to forecast”. The key words in option C
appear in the first sentence of paragraph 1 (“sweet-sounding names” are similar to
“beautiful names”), so C is true. Of course, students can jump to conclusion that D
is the correct answer. Besides, we can find the key words in option D in paragraph
4 - some details such as “The direction and strength of tropical cyclones are also
difficult to predict, even with computer assistance. More accurate forecasting....”
show that ‘Tropical cyclone predictions” not only depend on computer assistance
but also others.
By answering this type of questions, students can understand a lot about the main
ideas of the passage.
Question 60 and 63 in the English test of the GCSE examination in 2016 (Code
168) also ask the same kind of questions.
“The concept of urban agriculture may conjure up images of rooftop, backyard or
community gardens scattered among downtown city streets and surrounding
neighborhoods. But in the Seattle area, and within and beyond the Puget Sound
region, it means a great deal more. “Urban agriculture doesn’t necessarily equate to
production that occurs only in a metropolitan urban area,” says Jason Niebler, who
directs the Sustainable Agriculture Education (SAgE) Initiative at Seattle Central

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Community College. “It means we are providing for growing population food
needs from surrounding rural landscapes, as well as from the core urban
landscape.”
Picture a series of concentric circles, with an urban core that produces some food at
varying capacities, surrounded by a series of outlying rings of small farms that
become increasingly more rural with distance. The hope is that such land use
planning, from the inner core to the outer rings, will encourage local ecologically
sound sustainable food production. This, in turn, will create local jobs and decrease
reliance on distant food products that originate from petroleum-intensive large
scale farms.
That’s the idea behind SAgE, believed to be the nation’s first metropolitan-based
community college sustainable agriculture program that emphasizes farming
practices across diverse landscape types from urban centers to surrounding rural
environs. “It’s small scale agriculture with an urban focus,” Niebler says. “Any
urban population, large or small, can practice sustainable agriculture, improve food
security and protect the environment, which ultimately results in resilient food
systems and communities.”
SAgE is a part of the National Science Foundation’s Advanced Technological
Education (ATE) Program, which is providing the project with $157,375 over two
years. ATE’s goal is to support projects that strengthen the skills of technicians
who work in industries regarded as vital to the nation’s prosperity and security. The
support largely goes to community colleges that work in partnership with
universities, secondary schools, businesses and industries, as well as government
agencies, which design and implement model workforce initiatives.
The SAgE project focuses on the environmental, socioeconomic, political and
cultural issues related to sustainable food systems within Puget Sound watersheds
through student and community education and research, and technological

innovation. The curriculum offers courses that cover such issues as agricultural
ecology, urban food systems, food politics and ethics, soil science, sustainable food
production and technology, the integration of food and forests, and career
opportunities.
“We’ve created a curriculum that is fundamental in nature, addressing the
principles of sustainable agriculture and what a food system is – how it functions
both locally and globally,” Niebler says. “These courses are challenging, robust
and inspirational. One of the really wonderful things about them is that we offer
service learning opportunities, where students volunteer a portion of their time to
working with local partner organizations. They can do a research project, or a
service learning option. The ideal would be to prompt students into careers that
involve sustainable practices in an urban agriculture setting.”
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Adapted from “Promoting Sustainable Agriculture” by Marlene Cimons
Question 60: The curriculum of SAgE at Seattle Central Community College
offers courses covering the following EXCEPT ______.
A. agricultural ecology B. career opportunities
C. urban system development D. integration of food and forests
This is a quite easy question. Three options are true according to the passage,
students have to find the one that is not true or not mentioned. However, the
question provide the key words, which make it easier to find the three correct
option. This question is somehow a combination between SKILL 3 and SKILL 4.
The key words which are underlined and highlighted appear in the last sentence in
paragraph as printed in bold type. Students can find that A, B, and D are
mentioned, so C is the correct answer.
Question 63: Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage? A.
The curriculum that the SAgE project designs is fundamental in nature.

B. The SAgE project alone will offer students sufficient jobs in urban
agriculture.
C. ATE helps to improve the skills of technicians in the nation’s major
industries.
D. Resilient food systems can be attributed to sustainable agricultural
practices.
To answer this question, students have to underline the key words in each option
and search them in the passage to see if the option is true. The key words in option
A can be found in the first sentence of paragraph 6, “We’ve created a curriculum
that is fundamental in nature,...” , this means A is true.
The key words in option B are in paragraph 6, but “the SAgE project” offer
students “service learning opportunities”, not “sufficient jobs” as in the option, so
B is not true according to the passage, thus B is the correct answer to this question.
Of course, students do not need to analyze option C, and D. However, in this case,
we still deal with them to give students more examples about this type of question.
The key words of option C are found in paragraph 4. In this case, “strengthen the
skills” is close in meaning to “improve the skills”; and “industries .............. vital to
the nation’s prosperity and security” is similar to “nation’s major industries”.
Therefore C is true.
Similarly, the key words of option D appear in the last sentence of paragraph 3, in
which “practice sustainable agriculture”, ............. results in resilient food systems”,
so D is also true.
5. SKILL 5: ANSWERING IMPLIED DETAIL QUESTIONS
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Some questions in the reading test require answers that are not directly stated in the
passage. Students have to draw conclusions from information that is given in the

passage to find the answer. Questions of this type are “ implied detail questions”.
They contain the words “implied, likely, probably” to let readers know that the
answer to the question is not directly stated. The common question forms are “It is
implied from the passage that.............. ”, “It can be inferred from the passage
that.....”, “It is most likely that..........”, “What probably happened..........”. To
answer these questions, students should underline the key words in the question,
scan the passage for the key words or related ideas, then read the sentences that
contain the key words carefully to find an answer that could be true.
Look at an example of an implied detail question from in the English test of the
GCSE examination in 2016 (Code 168 – Question 56)
Question 56: It can be inferred from the passage that the conventional idea of
urban agriculture ______.
A. focuses mainly on agriculture within and beyond the Puget Sound region
B. aims at food production and consumption in both rural and urban regions
C. is associated with production only in metropolitan urban areas
D. concerns with food production in any city’s surrounding
areas (The full passage has already been printed in Skill 4)
First of all, students have to underlined the key words in the question and scan the
passage for the key words. In this question, the key words “conventional idea” and
“urban agriculture” are found in paragraph 1, in which the detail “The concept of
urban agriculture may conjure up images...” can be understood as “conventional
idea”. Some specific details such as “downtown city streets and surrounding
neighborhoods” and “But in the Seattle area, and within and beyond the Puget
Sound region, it means a great deal more. “Urban agriculture doesn’t necessarily
equate to production that occurs only in a metropolitan urban area,..” reveal that
urban agriculture is commonly known as production that occurs within the city
centre and the surroundings, which means C is the correct answer.
Below is another example the English test of the GCSE examination in 2017 (Code
402).
Question 37. It can be inferred from paragraph 2 that the "dilution" policy is

related to _________.
A. dealing with the problems of water pollution
B. helping the ecosystem of the oceans flourish
C. neglecting the effects of dumping trash into the oceans

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D. treating harmful materials in the oceans properly

Here is paragraph 2.

“Today, we need look no further than the New Jersey-size dead zone that forms
each summer in the Mississippi River Delta, or the thousand-mile-wide swath of
decomposing plastic in the northern Pacific Ocean to see that this "dilution" policy
has helped place a once flourishing ocean ecosystem on the brink of collapse.”
(Source: )
In the paragraph, students can find some important words such as “dilution
policy”, “helped” “place”, “ocean ecosystem on the brink of collapse”. We can
conclude that "dilution policy” takes a negative meaning, and it does nothing to
deal with the problems of pollution while A, B, and D discuss something positive,
so C is the correct answer.
Look at another example from the English test of the GCSE examination in 2017
(Code 404).
“Tropical rainforests are being destroyed and badly degraded at an unsustainable
rate. Some scientists estimate that in the early 1990s tropical forests were being
destroyed at a rate of approximately 28 hectares a minute, or about 14 million
hectares each year – an area about the size of the state of Wisconsin. This figure
marked a decrease since the 1980s, when approximately 16 million hectares were

destroyed each year, largely due to a reported decline of deforestation in the
Amazon River Basin in the early 1990s. However, satellite images indicate that
rates may have rebounded in the late 1990s as burning in the Amazon increased
again. Over the past three decades alone, about 5 million square kilometers – or 20
percent of the world's tropical forests – have been cleared. During this time,
deforestation in tropical Asia reached almost 30 percent. High rates of
deforestation are inevitably followed by alarming rates of plant and animal
extinction because many rainforest species cannot survive outside their pristine
rainforest habitat. Some scientists estimate that dozens of rainforest species are
becoming extinct every day.
Causes of deforestation vary from location to location, but certain patterns tend to
be consistent across all forests. Logging companies in search of valuable rainforest
hardwoods, or, less often, oil companies in search of petroleum, are often the first
to enter a remote area of rainforest. Some logged forests, if left alone, can
regenerate in a few decades. But typically, they are not left alone – the roads built
by logging companies often provide access for landless farmers to enter a new
area, as well as a means to transport agricultural crops to market. For every 1
kilometer of new roads built through a forested area, 4 to 24 square kilometers are
deforested and colonized.
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Once the loggers leave the land, a typical cycle of destruction ensues. When the
landless farmers arrive, they clear the land for planting. Poor rainforest soils
produce a low crop yield, especially after a couple of years. At that point, the
farmers often sell their lands to cattle ranchers or large plantation owners. After
nutrients have been exhausted and soils compacted by cattle, lands are then
abandoned and often laid to waste. Rainforest does not readily regenerate on these
lands without human intervention. Meanwhile, the colonist farmers and cattle

ranchers move to a new piece of land made accessible by logging roads, where the
cycle of deforestation begins again.”
(Source: Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation)
Question 42. What can be inferred about rainforests from the passage?
A. Rainforest destruction can be reduced with the help of cattle ranchers.
B. The cycle of rainforest destruction will come to an end.
C. Human beings are the main contributor to deforestation in tropical regions.
D. Most tropical rainforests have been sold to plantation owners.

This is a difficult question because the key word “rainforests” in the question
appear from the beginning to the end of the passage and most details focus on it.
To answer this question, students have to analyze the detail in each option one by
one till figuring out the correct answer. The key word in option A in the last
paragraph: “the farmers often sell their lands to cattle ranchers or large plantation
owners. After nutrients have been exhausted and soils compacted by cattle, lands
are then abandoned and often laid to waste. Rainforest does not readily regenerate
on these lands without human intervention. Meanwhile, the colonist farmers and
cattle ranchers move to a new piece of land made accessible by logging roads,
where the cycle of deforestation begins again.” As can be seen from the paragraph,
“cattle ranchers” contribute to causing “rainforest destruction”, which means A is
not correct. Option B is also not correct because the last sentence of the passage
says that “the cycle of deforestation begins again”, “the cycle of rainforest
destruction” cannot come to an end. Option C discusses the cause of deforestation,
which can be found in paragraph 2 and 3. Students can see that they mention the
contributors to deforestation including “logging companies”, “farmers”, and “cattle
ranchers”. This means “Human beings are the main contributor to deforestation in
tropical regions”, and C is the correct answer.
6. SKILL 6: ANSWERING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE MAIN IDEAS OF
THE PASSAGES
It is very common for reading passages to have questions about the main ideas in

the passage. These questions ask about the main idea, topic, best title, or subject
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which the author is trying to get across in the passage.
The question forms are “What is the topic of the passage?”; “What is the subject of
the passage?”; “What is the main idea of the passage?”; “What is the author’s main
point in the passage?”; “With what is the author primarily concerned?”; “Which of
the following would be the best title?”; “What does the passage mainly discuss?”
The answer to this type of questions can be determined by summarizing the main
points of each paragraph in the passage which are often revealed in the first
sentence of the paragraph usually known as the topic sentence. Students have to
read the first line of each paragraph to see if it is the topic sentence, then look
quickly over the rest of the paragraph to check that the topic sentence has really be
found. After finding the topic of each paragraph, students have to summarize and
decide the main idea of the passage, eliminate any wrong answers and choose the
best one.
This type of question is quite difficult to most students but it appears in almost
every reading comprehension exercise.
Let’s see an example from the English test of the GCSE examination in 2015
(Code 194- Question 54)
Question 54: What does the passage mainly discuss?
A. Influence of climate changes on human lifestyles
B. Effects of global warming on animals and plants
C. Global warming and possible solutions
D. Global warming and species migration
(The reading text is printed in SKILL 3).
To answer this question, students have to find the topic sentences of the four
paragraphs in the passage which are usually the first sentences. The first sentence
of paragraph 1 is “Plants and animals will find it difficult to escape from or adjust

to the effects of global warming”. This is also the topic sentence of paragraph 1
because the rest of the paragraph explain how difficult it is for plants and animals
to adjust to “warmer temperatures”. Similarly, the topic sentences of paragraph 2
are “With further warming, animals will tend to migrate toward the poles and up
mountainsides toward higher elevations. Plants will also attempt to shift their
ranges, seeking new areas as old habitats grow too warm”. Paragraph 2 discusses
the migration of animals and plants to cope with “further warming.” Paragraph 3
talk about “Projecting species extinction due to global warming is extremely
difficult” as in the first sentence. The first sentence of paragraph 4 also shows the
topic of the paragraph: “Ocean ecosystems, especially fragile ones like coral reefs,
will also be affected by global warming”. Thus, students can eliminate option A:
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“Influence of climate changes on human lifestyles” because all of the paragraphs
don’t mention the effect of global warming on human life. Option C is not correct
because “possible solutions” are not mentioned. Option D is eliminated because
“species migration” is discussed only in paragraph 2, which can’t represent as the
main point of the whole passage. Therefore, B is the correct answer.
Following is another example from the English test of the GCSE examination in
2016 (Code 168- Question 42)
Which of the following would serve as the best title for the passage?
A. Cyclone Forecasting B. Tropical Cyclones
C. Storm Surges D. Cyclone Formation (The
full reading text is printed in SKILL 4)

By analyzing the first sentences of the four paragraphs in the passage students can
draw a conclusion that paragraph 1 gives the definition of tropical cyclones as in
the detail “tropical cyclones are huge rotating storms.....”. Paragraph 2 talks about
the formation of tropical cyclones with the detail “Tropical cyclones begin over

water that is warmer than 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees Fahrenheit) slightly north
or south of the earth’s equator...” and “If the cycle speeds up until winds reach 118
kilometers per hour, the storm qualifies as a tropical cyclone.” Paragraph 3
discusses the consequence of tropical cyclones as it begins with “Most deaths in
tropical cyclones are caused by storm surge.” Paragraph 4 explains how difficult to
forecast tropical cyclones accurately and the topic sentence is “It has never been
easy to forecast a tropical cyclone accurately”. Option A, C, and D are the main
ideas of each paragraph, thus, they can be the main ideas of the whole passage.
Therefore, B is the correct answer.
Let’s take another example from the English test of the GCSE examination in 2017
(Code 401- Question 28)
“Different cultures follow their own special customs when a child's baby teeth fall
out. In Korea, for example, they have the custom of throwing lost teeth up on the
roof of a house. According to tradition, a magpie will come and take the tooth.
Later, the magpie will return with a new tooth for the child. In other Asian
countries, such as Japan and Vietnam, children follow a similar tradition of
throwing their lost teeth onto the roofs of houses.
Birds aren't the only animals thought to take lost teeth. In Mexico and Spain, tradition
says a mouse takes a lost tooth and leaves some money. However, in Mongolia, dogs
are responsible for taking teeth away. Dogs are highly respected in Mongolian culture
and are considered guardian angels of the people. Tradition says that the new tooth
will grow good and strong if the baby tooth is fed to a guardian angel. Accordingly,
parents in Mongolia will put their child's lost tooth in a piece of

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meat and feed it to a dog.
The idea of giving lost teeth to an angel or fairy is also a tradition in the West.

Many children in Western countries count on the Tooth Fairy to leave money or
presents in exchange for a tooth. The exact origins of the Tooth Fairy are a
mystery, although the story probably began in England or Ireland centuries ago.
According to tradition, a child puts a lost tooth under his or her pillow before going
to bed. In the wee hours, while the child is sleeping, the Tooth Fairy takes the tooth
and leaves something else under the pillow. In France, the Tooth Fairy leaves a
small gift. In the United States, however, the Tooth Fairy usually leaves money.
These days, the rate is $1 to $5 per tooth, adding up to a lot of money from the
Tooth Fairy!”
(Source: Reading Challenge 2 by Casey Malarcher & Andrea Janzen)
Question 28. What is the passage mainly about?
A. Traditions concerning children's lost teeth
B. Presents for young children's lost teeth
C. Animals eating children's lost teeth
D. Customs concerning children's new teeth
The first sentence of paragraph 1 “Different cultures follow their own special
customs when a child's baby teeth fall out” is the topic sentence because the rest of
the paragraph gives information about different customs when “a child's baby teeth
fall out” in different cultures such as in Korea, Japan, Vietnam....Paragraph 2
discusses other animals concerning children’s lost teeth as in the first sentence
“Birds aren't the only animals thought to take lost teeth”. Paragraph 3 talks about
traditions concerning children's lost teeth in Western countries such as in England,
Ireland, France and the United States. In general, the three paragraphs are about
traditions concerning children’s lost teeth, so A is the correct answer.
SKILL 7: DETERMINING THE TONE IN THE PASSAGE
This type includes overall questions which ask about the passage as a whole rather
than one small detail. A question about the tone in the passage requires students to
find out if the author shows any emotion in his or her writing. Some reading text
are factual passages without any emotion and the tone could be informative,
explanatory or factual while in others, the author shows some emotion. For

example, if the author is being funny, then the tone might be humorous; if the
author is protesting against an issue, the tone might be negative, or if the author
shows the approval of somebody or something, then the tone might be supportive,
etc.....
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