Basic text skills - Ernst Klett Verlag (PDF)

Basic text skills: A Reading skills Solutions 1 Reading skills (pp.4–8) 1.1 Getting started: Anticipating (pp.4–6) a) Look at who the author is. What do you think is the author’s intention? The author is a leading conservative politician. This means that he will probably want to convince the readers of his views and those of his political party. b) The text is a newspaper article from The Guardian (the source can be found below the text). So it can either be a news report or a comment on some current event. Which is more likely? As the author is a politician and not a journalist, it is very likely that he gives his own opinion. Therefore it is probably a comment. c) Look at the title: Is there such a thing as “the British Dream”? Why do you think the author uses this term? No, there is only the expression “The American Dream”. By writing “Talk about the British Dream” the author suggests that there should be a specifically British dream of success, too. d) What clues can you find in the subtitle as to the theme and the author’s intention? How does it link to your expectations in a)? The theme is the integration of immigrants and associated problems. The author stresses the importance of shared values. Conservatives are often especially concerned about values. e) What does the word ‘taboo’ in the very first sentence make you expect with regard to the whole article? You expect that the article questions the taboo, or perhaps breaks it. 1.2 Skimming through a text (p.6) a) In the first four paragraphs the main points/keywords and key sentences are underlined in red. Practise working through the rest of the text in the same way. – b) Take notes in the margin to prepare a summary. You can already find examples for such notes next to the text. – 1.3 Scanning a text (p.7) a) A typical task in your Abitur could be the following one: The author compares Britain to the United States with regard to the integration of immigrants. Examine this comparison and the conclusions he draws from it. Is there anything in the title that points to this comparison? Yes, there is: When reading the term “British Dream”, the reader automatically thinks about the American Dream and if there could be something similar in Great Britain. b) The first mention of the US is underlined in green. Scan the text for all the information relevant to the task above and underline it, too. – c) Take notes in the margin. They can help you to write the answer to the task later on. There are already two examples for such notes next to the text. – © Ernst Klett Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart 2007 | www.klett.de Von dieser Druckvorlage ist die Vervielfältigung für den eigenen Unterrichtsgebrauch gestattet. Die Kopiergebühren sind abgegolten. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. EXAM TRAINING Englisch Abitur ISBN 978-3-12-801007-6 1  Basic text skills: A Reading skills Solutions 1.4 Dealing with unknown words (pp.7–8) a) Here you are given two paraphrases for each unfamiliar word or phrase. Which of the two meanings given is the correct or more appropriate one? Write it into the line below and try to consciously think about why you chose it. “to champion sth”: (l.8) to support and defend sth or: to call sth into question/to doubt sth t o support and defend sth “inconsistent with”: (l.15) more important than or: not in harmony with n ot in harmony with “assimilation”: (l.16) becoming part of the mainstream culture or: becoming part of the society but retaining their cultural and religious identity b ecoming part of the mainstream culture “disaffection from the state”: (l.30) dissatisfaction with one’s situation in the state or: hostility to the state d issatisfaction with one’s situation in the state “constituency”: (l.38) an area that has its own mosque or: a district which an MP represents in Parliament a district which an MP represents in Parliament “buy into”: (l.44) pay money to become part of or: try hard for becoming part of try hard for becoming part of b) Try to fill in the blanks in the table below. Of course your way of guessing the right meaning can be very different from the model solutions. Unknown word Meaning Method creed (l.2) set of (religious) beliefs Context: The text at this point lists difficulties for integration, like skin colour and cultural backgrounds; as religion is also a big factor for integration, it is likely that creed means just that Similarities: French ‘creer’ and Latin ‘credere’ both mean ‘to believe’ perpetrated (l.4) to do, to make (used for criminal or immoral actions) Context: makes clear that the “suicide bombers” carried out the attacks soul-searching (l.5) long and careful examination of one’s thoughts and feelings Context: The text has just described a contradiction between the British belief in successful integration and the recent attacks. The natural consequence is to carefully think about integration in the UK again. Word formation: You probably know ‘soul’ and ‘to search’, and can recognise that they are combined in a noun. antidote (l.59) medicine against poison Context: makes clear that Howard is writing about some means against “poisoned thinking” Word formation: ‘anti-’ is a common prefix meaning ‘against’ © Ernst Klett Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart 2007 | www.klett.de Von dieser Druckvorlage ist die Vervielfältigung für den eigenen Unterrichtsgebrauch gestattet. Die Kopiergebühren sind abgegolten. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. EXAM TRAINING Englisch Abitur ISBN 978-3-12-801007-6 2  Basic text skills: B Writing skills Solutions 2 Writing skills (pp.8–10) 2.1 Getting started: Answering a comprehension question (pp.8–9) Again look at the task which you were given in the section on scanning: The author compares Britain to the United States with regard to the integration of immigrants. Describe this comparison and the conclusions he draws from it. a) This time, answer the task in a few paragraphs with the help of your notes from scanning the text. Write your answer, which should be about 150 words, on a separate sheet of paper and try to follow the hints you were given above. When comparing the integration of Muslims into the societies of Britain and the USA, Michael Howard sees a clear advantage for the United States although politically it should be easier for Britain. The reason for this lies in the political system: The British head of state, the Queen, is not as directly responsible for controversial decisions in Iraq or Palestine as the American President. Therefore it should be easier for British Muslims to identify with their country. To increase immigrants’ identification with Britain he wants a two-way process (ll.37): Immigrants should be willing to accept the basic values of Great Britain and society should make it easy for them to do so. For Howard, this is the great advantage of the United States: The American Dream gives hope to immigrants that they can be successful and this motivates them to accept American values. Therefore, he wants people to talk about the British Dream as well. 2.2 Summary writing (p.9) a) Summarise Michael Howard’s article in 100 to 150 words, and pay attention to the hints given above. Work with your notes from skimming. In his newspaper article “Talk about the British Dream”, from The Guardian, 17th August 2005, Conservative politician Michael Howard questions the success of the British model of integrating immigrants. He starts with the London bombings and argues that in order to fight terrorism it is essential to help foreigners to integrate without forcing them to assimilate. To encourage integration Howard wants to stress the common British identity instead of emphasising different cultural backgrounds. This identity consists of the values and the social and political system of Great Britain. Inspired by the American dream, he wants immigrants to see Britain as a chance for success and therefore to identify more easily with their new country. In addition to this, he calls for the government to take stronger measures against those immigrants who do not accept basic British values. 2.3 Using quotations (pp.9–10) a) To avoid using too many quotations, you will have to be able to paraphrase central statements of a text. Practise with the following ones: “I believe I can speak with some authority on this. I am the child of immigrant parents.” (l.13) H oward claims that he knows what he is talking about because his parents were immigrants. “Rather than cherishing the ties that bind us, we have been focusing on what divides us.” (ll.34–35) Howard criticises that the British have focused on what divides them instead of what they have in common. b) It is also important to successfully integrate quotations into your own text. Imagine you are writing a comment on Howard’s article and try to incorporate the following short quotations into full sentences. You will find Useful phrases for this below. “a strong sense of British identity” (l.11) Howard takes for granted that almost everybody living in Great Britain wants to feel, as he calls it, “a strong sense of ritish identity” (ll.$$). B “the British Dream” (l.48) T o illustrate what the UK could learn from the USA, Howard uses the phrase “the British Dream” (ll.48). “We need to break down the barriers that exist in too many people’s lives – and minds” (ll.49-50) Michael Howard claims that in order to make successful integration possible the British “need to break down the arriers that exist in too many people’s lives – and minds” (ll.49-50). b © Ernst Klett Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart 2007 | www.klett.de Von dieser Druckvorlage ist die Vervielfältigung für den eigenen Unterrichtsgebrauch gestattet. Die Kopiergebühren sind abgegolten. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. EXAM TRAINING Englisch Abitur ISBN 978-3-12-801007-6 3  Basic text skills: B Writing skills Solutions “decency, tolerance and a sense of fair play” (ll.51–52) According to Howard, the central values of British identity are “decency, tolerance and a sense of fair play” (ll.51-52). © Ernst Klett Verlag GmbH, Stuttgart 2007 | www.klett.de Von dieser Druckvorlage ist die Vervielfältigung für den eigenen Unterrichtsgebrauch gestattet. Die Kopiergebühren sind abgegolten. Alle Rechte vorbehalten. EXAM TRAINING Englisch Abitur ISBN 978-3-12-801007-6 4