READING SKILLS

REFERECE QUESTIONS IN READING COMPREHENSIONEvery reading passage contains reference question. These questions will be easily identifiable because the words that the authors want to reference for will be in BOLD in the text and the question. Look at this simple question: Tom exercises and eats well. The doctor does not understand why he is always ill.- What does the word he” refer to?A. doctor B. Tom- You should choose “B” because this is the reference or antecedent for the personal pronounReferences have to be agree in gender and numbers- Tom exercises and eats well. The doctor does not understand why she is always ill.- She does not agree with its antecedent TOM in gender because Tom is man’s name.-- Tom exercises and eats well. The doctor does not understand why they is always ill.- They does not agree with its antecedent TOM in number because Tom is singular noun.The following types of words have antecedents:1/ Personal pronouns: HE SHE THEY ITHIM HER THEM ITHIS HER THEIR ITSHIMSESELF HERSELF THEMSELVES ITSELF2/ Demonstrative pronouns :THIS THESETHAT THOSE3/ Relative pronouns who whom whose which that4/ Each Every Both require singular antecedents:5/ Indefinite pronouns each, either, neitherevery onesome bodyany thingno where6/ Collective nouns family team class government…7/ Conjunctions: either ..or neither …nor not only …but also …8/ pronouns: One Ones other(s) another Each of the previous words will have an antecedent. The antecedent will be phrase or clause single word antecedent is fairly simple. What is difference between phrase and clause.- phrase is group of word that does not contain subject doing verb “Crashing the car” is phrase because we do not know :who is crashing the car”- clause is group of words that has subject doing verb.- “Bill has been playing tennis for two hours” is clause because it has the subject Bill” performing the verb “play” Be aware that any of the sated words may have word phrase or clause as reference.Example Researching the company you have an interview with is very important. It provides you with the company’s background and helps you form questions and shows interestWhat does It refer to?- You should choose: “Researching the company you have an interview”Example 2: Jim prefers that his college roommate does his chores on the weekend. It makes studying during the week easier because the house is cleanWhat does It refer to?- You should choose: “that his college roommate does his chores on the weekend”Example 3: Molly has not had much sleep lately. She hopes that the baby will sleep through the night. Thiswill allow her to get some sleep and make tomorrow better day.- “She” refers to :…………………- “This” refers to :…………………- “Her” refers to :………………….Example 4: Miss Scott, whose car broke down, called taxi. whose refers to: …………………..- The assignment that Tom forgot to do was worth several points- that refers to :……………………..Notice with the relative pronouns the antecedent comes right before the pronouns. What noun is before “whose” What noun is before that”Unit 10 Grade 12) ENDANGERED SPECIES For long time the image most people had of gorilla was dangerous-looking animal with big, bared teeth. But researchers studying gorillas show very different picture of mountain gorillas. The animals are peaceful, gentle, sociable, and mainly plant-eating creatures.Gorillas live in family groups. typical group is led by the biggest and strongest grown-up male gorilla. (1) He iscalled silverback because the hair on male's back turns from black to silvery grey as he grows up. silverback'sgroup usually includes one or two sub-adult males and few females and (2) their young.Mountain gorillas spend much of (3) their time eating. Their food includes variety of plants, along with fewkinds of insects and worms. At night the animals make nest to sleep in. Many lightweight gorillas nest in trees.The heavier (4) ones may nest in grasses on the ground. Babies sleep with (5) their mothers at night.Life for mountain gorillas is not always peaceful. (6) They are endangered and threatened by civil wars in thesmaller parts of Africa. Hunters kill (7) them for food. Their forests are cut down for farmland, fuel, and housing.But many scientists, forest rangers and other concerned people are working hard to protect mountain gorillas and(8) their habitats.1/ he refers to ……….. 5/ their” refers to ………..2/ their refers to ……….. 6/ they refers to ………...3/ their refers to ………. 7/ them refers to ………..4/ ones refers to …………. 8/ their refers to …………Unit Grade 11) VOLUNTEER WORKSpring School is an informal school. (1) It provides classes to advantaged children in HCM City. Around30 street children live and study at the school and about 250 children with special difficulties from District 1regularly attend classes.The Organization for educational development co-operated with Spring School to set up English classes in1998. Dane, theatre, singing and folk music classes were set up year later. Children from these classes participatein fundraising performances. (2) They raise money to continue their English and Performance Arts classes.Spring School requires volunteers to help organize (3) their fundraising dinner held annually in June. (4)This is an exciting night in (5) which children dance, sing and play music at one of the largest hotels in HCM City.(6) They also need foreign volunteers to contact sponsors and help to expand the school activities. Volunteers arerequired from February until July to help organize (7) these events.(8) It is hoped that more schools like Spring School will soon be found in other cities in Vietnam.1/ it refers to ……….. 5/ which” refers to ………..2/ they refers to ……….. 6/ they refers to ………...3/ their refers to ………. 7/ it refers to ………..4/ this refers to …………. 8/ these refers to …………EXAMPLES OF REFERENCE QUESTIONSExample People who want to become university teachers need master's degrees. Getting master's degree is necessity,but if it is gained too early, there may be concerns that the candidate lacks the real-world experience to go with it.In fact, very few schools want to hire novices with little or no classroom experience and even if they are accepted,they are usually ill-paid. One wise solution to the issue is for future postgraduates to start working as teachersbefore going on to gain their master's degree.(extracted from the first term exam 2016-2107)Question 41 The word they in paragraph refers to ____________.A. postgraduates B. novices C. schools D. teachersExample 2: You can usually tell when your friends are happy or angry by the looks on their faces or by their actions. This isuseful because reading their emotional expressions helps you to know how to respond to them. Emotions haveevolved to help us respond to important situations and to convey our intentions to others. But does raising theeyebrows and rounding the mouth say the same thing in Minneapolis as they does in Madagascar? Much researchon emotional expressions has centered on such questions.(extracted from the first term exam 2016-2017)Question 40 The word they in paragraph refers to ______A. appropriate responses in particular situations B. raising eyebrows and rounding the mouthC. our intentions to others D. research on emotional expressionsExample In many Asian cultures, for example, children are taught to control emotional responses especially negative ones-while many American children are encouraged to express their feelings more openly. Another difference can befound when an American person understands grin as signal of joy while on Japanese face, it may meanembarrassment.(extracted from the first term exam 2016-2017)Question 44: the word it in paragraph refers to __________A. feeling B. difference C. grin D. faceExample When they were asked what they thought was fair division of labor, women with jobs felt that housework shouldbe shared equally between male and female partners. Women who did not work outside the home were satisfied toperform 80% the majority of the household work if their husbands did remainder Research has shown that, iflevels increase beyond these percentages, women become unhappy and anxious, and feel they are unimportant. (extracted from the second term exam2016 -2017)Question 2: The word they in paragraph refers to__________A. men B. women C. jobs D. labourExample 5: The civil war broke out years later. Immediately, Barton started war service by helping the soldiers with theirneeds. At the battle of Bull run, Clara Barton received permission from the government to take care of the sick andhurt. Barton did this with great empathy and kindness. She acknowledged each soldier as person her enduranceand courage on the battlefield were admired by many. When the war ended in 1865 she used years of her life toassist the government in searching for soldiers who were missing during the war. (extracted from the second term exam 2016-2017)Question 33 The word this in paragraph refers to________A. cooking for soldiers B. receiving permissionC acknowledging each soldier as person D. taking care of the sick and hurtExample 6: Although speech is the most advanced form of communication, there are many ways of communicating withoutusing speech. Signals, signs, symbols, and gestures may be found in every known culture. The basic function ofsignal is to impinge upon the environment in such way that it attracts attention, as, for example, the dots anddashes of telegraph circuit. Coded to refer to speech, the potential for communication is very great. (extracted from the first term exam 2017-2018)Question 40. The word " it " in paragraph refers to ________.A. way B. environment C. function D. signalExample 7: Schooling, on the other hand, is specific, formalized process, whose general pattern varies little from one settingto the next. Throughout country, children arrive at school at approximately the same time, take assigned seats, aretaught by an adult, use similar textbooks, do homework, take exams, and so on. The slices of reality that are to belearned, whether they are the alphabet or an understanding of the workings of government, have usually beenlimited by the boundaries of the subject being taught. For example high school students know that they are notlikely to find out in their classes the truth about political problems in their communities or what the newestfilmmakers are experimenting with. There are definite conditions surrounding the formalized process of schooling.(extracted from the first term exam 2017-2018)Question 46 The word they in line 16 refers to ____________. A. slices of reality B. similar textbooks C. boundaries D. seatsExample Parents may get another kind of help from the companies they work for. Many companies now let people withchildren work part-time. That way, parents can spend more time with their children. Some husbands may even stopworking for while to stay with the children. For these men there is new word: They are called "househusband".In the United States more and more men are becoming househusband every year. (extracted from the second term exam 2017-2018)Question 20 The word " they " in paragraph refers to _______________A. parents who work part-time B. children who spend more time with fathers than mothersC. fathers who spend more time with their children D. husbands who stop working to stay with the childrenExample For animals other than mammals, then, feeding is not intrinsic to parental care. Animals add it to their reproductivestrategies to give them an edge in their lifelong quest for descendants. The most vulnerable moment in any animal'slife is when it first finds itself completely on its own, when it must forage and fend for itself. Feeding postponesthat moment until young animal has grown to such size that it is better able to cope. (extracted from the second term exam 2017-2018)Question 47: The word it in the last paragraph refers to ______A. feeding B. moment C. young animal D. sizeExample 10 Different cultures follow their own special customs when child's baby teeth fall out. In Korea, forexample, they have the custom of throwing lost teeth up on the roof of house. According to tradition, magpiewill come and take the tooth. Later, the magpie will return with new tooth for the child. In other Asian countries,such as Japan and Vietnam, children follow similar tradition of throwing their lost teeth onto the roofs of houses. extracted from the actual test 2017 -2018)When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.”