English Comprehe

By

M. Abdel Salam Hassan Mohamed Abdel Aatty

Revised by

M. M. Enani

nsion

Department of English Faculty of Arts

Cairo University

٢٠٠٥ ١١٢ English Comprehension Primer Level I (١)

Revised edition

Copyrights reserved

٢٠٠٥

Eng. Comp. primer.(I)

Deposit No: I.S.B.N: ٠٢١-٤٠٣-٩٧٧-

١١٠٦٨ ٢٠٠٥

English Comprehension Primer

Level I

By

M. Abdel Salam Hassan Mohamed Abdel Aatty

Revised by

M. M. Enani Department of English

Faculty of Arts Cairo University

٢٠٠٥

٢ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Revised edition

Copy rights

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٣

CONTENTS

PREFACE.................................................................................................................٥ (١) FICTIONAL STORY-TELLING ...................................................................١٣ (٢) LIBRARIES AND THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION.....................................١٦ (٣) POLLUTION ....................................................................................................١٩ (٤) AN ENGLISH PROFESSOR CONFESSES ..................................................٢٢ (٥) SCIENTISTS DILEMMA ...............................................................................٢٥ (٦) A WORK OF ART ...........................................................................................٢٧ PART II...................................................................................................................٣١ (١) WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE ..........................................................................٣٢ (٢) THE HISTORY OF POLLUTION.................................................................٣٦ (٣) CAROL..............................................................................................................٤٠ (٤) GENERAL BEHAVIOUR...............................................................................٤٤ (٥) BREAD AS A SYMBOL..................................................................................٤٧ (٦) VITAMIN MAGIC.........................................................................................٥٠ (٧) WOMEN'S WORK IN HISTORY..................................................................٥٣ (٨) A POSITIVE APPROACH TO YOUR CAREER ........................................٥٦ (٩) THE ARAB UNIVERSITY .............................................................................٦٠ (١٠)THE SCIENTIST’S DUTY ............................................................................٦٤ (١١)THE GLOVE AND THE LIONS...................................................................٦٧ (١٢) WHERE THERE' S A WILL....................................................................٧٠ (١٣) MARRIED BLISS ..........................................................................................٧٤ (١٤) SMALL WORLD ...........................................................................................٧٧ (١٥) MERMAIDS ...................................................................................................٨٠ (١٦) CATS ...............................................................................................................٨٣ (١٧) THE ADVENTURES OF A SHILLING......................................................٨٥

٤ English Comprehension Primer Level I

PART I ....................................................................................................................٨٨ ANSWER KEYS.....................................................................................................٨٨ PART II...................................................................................................................٩٨ ANSWER KEYS.....................................................................................................٩٨

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٥

PREFACE

For you as a student of translation, mastering reading skills is essential. According to most theories of translation, getting the main ideas of the source text (written in English in this case) is the first step towards good translation, or rather, translation in general.This book, therefore, is an attempt at helping you as a student of translation to acquire the main skills of reading any text regardless of its subject; hence is the variation in the topics of the reading passages. The questions at the end of each passage are divided into three parts according to the different skills they focus on.

The first part aims at enabling you to master the general reading skills which are: -Skimming:

Skimming is getting the main idea of the text and the sub ideas in its divisions (paragraphs, stanzas....etc.). -Scanning:

Scanning is quick reading to locate specific information, which again helps the students to focus on specific parts of the text. -Inference:

The objective of this skill is to use the schemata of the students (the information they already know) and to train them to ad between the lines.

Another important objective of this skill is to alert the students to the connection of each sentence to the others and to the referents of different pronouns. In the adventures of "Shilling", for instance, "and turning the face" ١٫١٢ "the face" refers to what? Right, it refers to the face of the shilling. Again, in the third paragraph ١٢ of

٦ English Comprehension Primer Level I

"The History of Pollution" you should ask yourself, "What does 'if in "destroys it" refer to?" Yes, of course, it refers to dirt.

(٢) The vocabulary item mainly aims at teaching the students to guess the meaning of vocabulary from the context without the need to look up every single word in the dictionary. You are, however, encouraged to look up some of the words in a good dictionary to see that words usually have more than one meaning and that the context is the only factor that determines the meaning aimed at by the writer. This, in turn, is a very important piece of information for the student of translation who often knows only one meaning for each word and who usually translates accordingly. Learning new vocabulary is again essential for whoever is interested in translation.

(٣) The objective of the third part, the discussion part, is to train you to read critically - a skill needed by all students of all disciplines. You should also be encouraged to use the same vocabulary you learn from the passage with the aim of increasing the English vocabulary you are going to use in your future translations.

The course is limited to one university term, but, if adequately mastered, the technique of dealing with original English texts should help the students to advance to a more complex (and richer) English texts.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٧

How to Study ١. Read the whole passage with the aim of getting the

main idea, the tone or the attitude of the writer. ٢. Read each division of the passage once more and

try to grasp the main idea of division. ٣. Try to connect each sentence to the one coming

before and the one coming after it. The referent of each pronoun will help you achieve this.

٤. Keep a separate workbook for this subject in which you answer the question and write your remarks.

٥. Start, then, answering the questions of part one in the order you have in your book. The answer of the first question tests your ability to skim, i.e. get the main idea of the whole passage or of a whole paragraph. The other questions test your understanding of certain details in the passage.

٦. Move to the second part of the questions where your understanding of vocabulary in context as well as your ability to guess meanings of words are tested.

٧. Try answering the questions of the third part in a written form, using the new vocabulary you learnt from the passage and your general knowledge.

٨. Check your answers with the brief answers in the appendix.

N.B. All correct answers are accepted, regardless of the phrasing; the answer given in the answers’ key is just a clue to the right answer You can use other words to express the same idea.

٨ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Ex. For the first question in the first part of "William Shakespeare" the answer can be:

The biography of William Shakespeare. Or New information on Shakespeare's life. Or What we know and do not know about the life of

William Shakespeare. Needless to say, any of the above answers is a

correct one and deserves the full mark for this question.

In the second part as well, you can have more than one correct answer, especially if you have only a word and you are asked to its meaning.

Ex. In "The Adventures of a Shilling" 'refined' can mean: polished, cleaned, ...etc. 'Merrily' can mean: happily, cheerfully, joyfully, ..etc. N.B. The word you choose should be of the same part of speech (verb, noun, adjective, ...etc., and of the same tense, if it is a verb. N.B. There are no answers to part III because answers may 'greatly differ according to each's opinions and general information.

(٩)Use the video tape for more elaboration on the way to study and how to answer the questions.

(١٠) In order to assess your effort, calculate the percentage

of the correct answers to all answers, if you get more than ٩٠٪, you are excellent. ٧٠-٥٠٪ is good, but you can do better. Work harder. If less than ٥٠٪, something has gone

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٩

wrong. Go back to the passage and the questions and try to find out where the problem is.

(١١) Try to attend the bi-monthly sessions regularly for more information on the course. The Study Group Meetings

Bi-monthly meetings with your teachers and colleagues will be held on Fridays. The sessions are meant to be regular classes where lessons are explained. The main objectives of the sessions are:

١. For you to ask about parts of the passage you cannot understand on your own.

٢. To ask the teacher to check your answers with you, especially the ones you are not sure about.

٣. To ask the teacher to help you find the reason for any problems you face during the course.

٤. To meet some of your colleagues and exchange ideas with them about your progress, trying to benefit from their experiences and to offer them yours.

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English Comprehension Primer Level I ١١

Part I

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OBJECTIVES:

By the end of this book, learners should be able to learn

how to use vocabulary, main ideas, and supporting details

to help increase reading comprehension.

The student will also be able to:

١. Describe vocabulary, main ideas, and supporting

details and their relationship to overall comprehension.

٢. Explain how vocabulary, main ideas and supporting

details can aid in reading comprehension.

٣. Demonstrate reading comprehension skills.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ١٣

(١) Fictional story-telling

Human beings expend great amounts of time and resources on creating and experiencing art and entertainment — music, dancing, and static visual arts. Of all of the arts, however, it is the category of fictional story-telling that across the globe today is the most intense focus of human addiction. A recent government study in Britain showed that if you add together annual attendances in plays and cinema with hours watching television drama, the average Briton spends roughly ٦٪ of all waking life watching dramatic performances. And that figure does not even include books and magazines: further vast numbers of hours spent reading short stories, as well as so-called serious fictions, old and new.

The origins of this obsession with comic and dramatic fictions are lost in remote prehistory, as lost as the origins of language itself. But like language, we know the obsession with fiction is universal: stories told, read, and dramatically or poetically performed are independently invented in all known cultures, literate or not, having advanced technologies or not. Wherever printing arrives, it is used to reproduce fictions. Whenever television appears in the world, soap operas soon show up on the schedule. Both the forms that fiction takes and the ideas, types of characters, and kinds of conflict that make up its content can be shown to be strikingly similar across cultures. It has specialist practitioners — novelists, playwrights, actors — and is governed both informally with stylistic conventions and sometimes formally — for example, by censorship laws. A love of fiction is as universal as governance, marriage and jokes.

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The universal fascination with fictions is a curious thing. If human beings were attracted only to true narratives, factual reports that describe the real world, the attraction could be attributed to utility. Was that the case, there would be no “problem of fiction,” because there would be no fiction: the only alternatives to desirable truth would be unintentional mistakes or intentional lies. Now as it happens, this speculation does not accord with facts: the human reaction to fictions, at least when they are properly understood to be fictions, is not aversion, but runs anywhere from boredom to amusement to intense pleasure.

From “The Pleasures of Fiction” Philosophy and Literature ٦٦-٤٥٣ :(٢٠٠٤) ٢٨.By Denis Dutton

English Comprehension Primer Level I ١٥

Reading Skills:

١. What is the main idea in the first paragraph? ٢. What does love of fiction mean to the author? ٣. Why is the obsession with fiction universal? ٤. What would life be like without fiction? ٥. How does fiction affect human life?

Vocabulary: Explain the meaning of the following words as they are used in the passage and use them in sentences of your own.

• The visual arts • Annual • Schedule • fiction • Speculation • addiction • alternatives

Discussion: Do you enjoy reading fictions? Give reasons for your answer.

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(٢) Libraries and the digital revolution

I HAVE a golden library memory. I am sitting under a cherry tree in the tiny central courtyard of the Cambridge University Library, a book in one hand and an almond slice in the other. . Behind the walls on every side of the courtyard, the books stretch away in compact ranks hundred of yards deep, the shelves extending at the rate of two miles a year. Perhaps that was the moment I fell in love with libraries. Or perhaps it was earlier, growing up in Scotland, when the mobile library would lurch up the road with stocks of books, to be giggled over when the driver-librarian was having his cup of tea.

Or perhaps the moment came earlier yet, when my

father took me into the bowels of the Bodleian in Oxford and I inhaled, for the first time, that intoxicating mixture of vellum, paper and dust.

I have spent a substantial portion of my life since in

libraries, and I still enter them with a mixture of excitement and awe. I am not alone in this. Love for libraries is as old as writing itself, for a library is more to our culture than a collection of books: it is a temple, a symbol of power, the hushed core of civilisation, the citadel of memory, with its own mystique, social and sensual as well as intellectual. Even people who never enter libraries instinctively understand their symbolic power.

But now a revolution, widely compared to the invention of printing itself, is taking place among the stacks, and the library will never be the same again. This week Google announced plans to digitise fifteen million books from five

English Comprehension Primer Level I ١٧

great libraries, including the Bodleian. Google’s founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, have declared their intention to collect all information online, an ambition that puts them up there with the Ptolomies, founders of the great library at Alexandria. What was once megalomaniac bibliomania is now a technological certainty.

Some fear that this total library, vast and invisible, could finally destroy traditional libraries, which will become mere warehouses for the physical objects, empty of people and life. The advantages for researchers of a single scholarly online catalogue are incalculable, but will we bother to browse the shelves when we can merely summon up any book in the world with the push of a button? Are the days of the library as a social organism over?

From “Paradise is paper, vellum and dust” by Ben Macintyre

١٨ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Reading Skills: ١. When and why the author did fall in love with

libraries? ٢. Why love for libraries is as old as writing itself? ٣. What kind of revolution the author is afraid of? ٤. What will be the shape of a future library as the

author sees it? ٥. How far did the library contribute to the social life

of the author? Vocabulary: Explain the meaning of the following words as they are used in the passage and use them in sentences of your own.

• lurch • giggle • Substantial • Intellect • Intellectual • Digitize • Megalomania

Discussion: What kind of libraries do you prefer? Give reasons for your answer.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ١٩

(٣) Pollution

Pollution can be local or widespread. Substances dumped into a river will often end up in the sea. The biggest pollution problem is global warming. This happens when greenhouse gases, such as CO٢ are released into the atmosphere, trapping heat and causing the planet to warm up. Since species are adapted to particular climates, when the Earth warms up they have to move to keep comfortable. This can be difficult if natural habitats are isolated by human settlements and agriculture.

Chemical pollutants have been responsible for affecting the reproductive organs of fish, alligators and polar bears, preventing them from producing babies. Chemical pollution in the environment also affects humans - ٤٦ US states have issued warnings against eating local fish because of dioxin contamination, and in Europe, human breast milk passes on more dioxin to our babies than is legally allowed for cow's milk. Despite this, the amount of pesticide sprayed on our crops around the world has increased ٢٦ times in the last ٥٠ years.

Species living in water are often most strongly affected because water spreads pollution easier than land, and because we often dump our pollution into water. Global warming will affect every species on Earth to some extent, and although some species will thrive in warmer climates, many will not.

Coral reefs have already been very hard hit by climate change, and polar bears have received the double-whammy of climate change and chemical pollution.

٢٠ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Most human activities produce some waste products, but it is important to make sure that we have as little pollution as possible. Many people are switching to 'clean technology'. That means having the same benefits from our modern life-style without the pollution. Electric cars, environmentally sensitive washing powders and solar-powered energy are examples. Less pollution is not only good for wildlife and nature - human health benefits from less pollution as well. That means lower medical bills, and a better quality of life.

From BBC World Service: Science & Nature

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٢١

Reading Skills:

١. What are the causes of climate change? ٢. What is the "greenhouse effect"? Explain. ٣. How does chemical pollution affect human beings? ٤. What is the impact of chemical pollutants on the world

of nature? ٥. Give three examples for 'clean technology'

equipments. Vocabulary: Explain the meaning of the following words as they are used in the passage and use them in sentences of your own.

• Glasshouse • Climate • reproduce • Reproduction • Environment • Contaminate • Contamination • A coral reef

Discussion How far do you consider the issue of pollution serious in Egypt?

٢٢ English Comprehension Primer Level I

(٤) An English professor confesses

By THOMAS H. BENTON

I'm an English professor, so of course I enjoy reading. But looking back on my childhood, I am certain that my interest in literature was stimulated not so much by reading books myself as by listening to recordings of other people reading them.

Neither of my parents had a college education, but they took me to the library long before I could read. There was always a stack of children's books in the house, and my mother must have read hundreds of them to me.

No doubt, the indestructible phonograph I received for Christmas around age ٥ partly liberated my mother from my constant requests for her to read. Together we discovered the local library's collection of records of famous actors reading poems, plays, and short stories.

I particularly remember Basil Rathbone's readings of Poe and Hawthorne As I approached ١٠, I discovered the tragedies of Shakespeare with actors like Paul Scofield and Claire Bloom. I remember recovering from the flu while listening again and again to Anthony Quayle reading Conrad's Heart of Darkness. To this day I cherish an abridged version of Whitman's Leaves of Grass with each syllable enunciated and expanded to the limits of possible meaning by the booming voice of Orson Welles.

Perhaps there is something psychologically reassuring about listening to someone read a story. Hardly a day has

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٢٣

passed in the last ٣٠ years in which I have not heard a spoken-word recording of one kind or another. I go to sleep every night with the soothing sounds of a recorded book.

I got my first cassette tape recorder when I was about ١٢, and I immediately started making copies of the records from the library with a tiny microphone propped up in front of my phonograph's three-inch speaker. I used to listen to my collection of cassettes over and over again, until I had abridged versions of many classic works nearly memorized.

Of course I had no idea how one went about becoming a professional narrator. I chose my undergraduate college largely because it was close to home and it offered me a scholarship. I was too shy to consider acting in the theatre department's stage performances, and there was no program in broadcasting.

٢٤ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Reading Skills:

١. What are the different stimulants that made the author interested in literature?

٢. What was the role played by his mother during his childhood?

٣. Name five men of letters mentioned in the passage? ٤. What does he usually do before going to bed? ٥. Has he planned to become a professor of English?

Vocabulary:

• Stimulate • Stimulant • Phonograph • Psychology • A memorize • bridge

Explain the meaning of the underlined words as they are used in the passage and use them in sentences of your own. Discussion Do you enjoy listening to Arabic literature?

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٢٥

(٥) Scientists Dilemma

Scientists and non-scientists alike are divided over the question of where an individual scientist’s greatest responsibility ought to lie. This question arises because of the special knowledge that scientists possess in this modern age and the destructive uses to which it may be put. Scientists have recently been able to place in the hands of the rulers of a few nations the kinds of weapons that have the capability to destroy the whole of mankind. Thus, some scientists feel caught in a conflict between loyalty to their national governments and their humanitarian feelings.

One view is that scientists have a moral responsibility to all of mankind not to destroy it. By placing nuclear weapons in the hands of politicians, all of mankind is threatened with destruction in a nuclear war. This is not mention the potential threat of the other areas such as bacteriological and chemical weaponry. Some of those who support this view feel that scientists should refuse outright to work on weapons projects for their governments. On the other hand, others argue that the scientist’s responsibility is to his nation. It is his state that gives him his opportunities for wealth, owner, and all the other benefits of life. For this he owes the state something in return, namely, his services in defending it. If a scientist refuses to help his state develop weapons, then it may be attacked by another a stronger state, and the lives and freedom of its citizens would be threatened. Thus, it is clear that the scientist faces a true dilemma.

٢٦ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Reading Skills:

١. Give reasons for a scientist’s obligation towards his country?

٢. Explain the moral aspect of the e scientist’s conflict.

٣. Where, do you think the scientist’s loyalty should lie?

٤. What is the relationship between the scientist and politicians, as presented in the passage?

٥. Explain the destructive aspects of science? Vocabulary: Explain the meaning of the following words as used in the passage and use them in sentences of your own: .

• Humanitarian • Bacteriology • Weaponry • Threat • Dilemma

Discussion: To what extent is this topic relevant to the current world political situation?

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٢٧

(٦) A work of art

Art is a wide field containing many types. Some of the main categories are literature, music and painting. Each of these categories can be divided into sub-categories. Literature, for example, consists of prose, poetry and drama. However, all works of art, no matter which category they belong to, have something in common. They all have form and content. Moreover, any artist, no matter what type of art he creates, must think about both of these concepts when he works to create his art.

Form means the shape or the outward physical appearance of something. This shape is made from the materials the artist uses. He puts these materials together in some way. For example, in literature, the materials are words. They can be put together in the form of a poem, a play, a novel or a short story. In painting, the colours used by the artist are his materials, which he puts into the picture in a balanced and pleasing way. In music, the material to work with is the notes. These can be arranged to form a symphony which is a long piece for a full-sized orchestra, or perhaps in a quartet. All in all, form is like a container; it gives a work of art a recognizable shape or appearance.

Content is the noun which comes from the verb “contain”. Content means the thing that is contained or held in the form. The content is the subject of the work of

٢٨ English Comprehension Primer Level I

art, or what the work of art is about. In a novel, the story itself, with all its characters and events, is the content. In a picture of a countryside scene, the scene is the content. In a song, the words and the melody are the content. It can be seen now that all works of art have something in common. They all consist of both form and content.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٢٩

Reading Skills:

١. Mention some of the types of art? ٢. Describe the meaning of form. Give examples. ٣. What is form in painting and music? ٤. What is meant by content? Illustrate. ٥. What are the two basic requirements of a good

work of art? Vocabulary: Use the following words in sentences of your own:

• Category • Common • Orchestrate • Container • Character

Discussion Examine form and content in a good Arabic song, poem or a short story of your own choice.

٣٠ English Comprehension Primer Level I

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٣١

Part II

٣٢ English Comprehension Primer Level I

(١) WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Most people have heard of Shakespeare and probably

know something of the plays that he wrote. However, not everybody knows much about the life of this remarkable man, except perhaps that he was born in the market town of Stratford-upon-Avon and that he married a woman called Anne Hathaway. We know nothing of his school life. We do not know, for example, how long it lasted, but we presume that he attended the local grammar school, where the principal subject taught was Latin.

Nothing certain is known of what he did between the time he left school and his departure for London. According to a local legend, he was beaten and even put in prison for stealing rabbits and deer from the estate of a neighbouring landowner, Sir Thomas Lucy; ft is said that because of this he was forced to run away from his native place. A different legend says that he was apprenticed to a Stratford butcher, but did not like the life and for this reason decided to leave Stratford.

Whatever caused him to leave the town of his birth, the world can be grateful that he did so. What is certain is that he set his fool on the road to fame when he arrived in London. It is said that at first he was without money or friends there, but that he earned a little by taking care of the horses of the gentlemen who attended the plays at the theatre. In time, as he became a familiar figure to the actors in the theatre, they stopped and spoke to him. They found his conversation so brilliant that finally he was invited to join their company.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٣٣

Earlier than ١٥٩٢ there is no mention of Shakespeare either as actor, or as playwright, and the name of the theatre he worked in is not known. However, by this date he had become one of the three leading members of a company of actors called the Lord Chamberlain's men. This company was under the protection of the Lord Chamberlain, a powerful nobleman and an official at the Queen's Court. The company travelled about the country, giving performances in different towns, and also performed plays at Court.

From what we know of his later life, it is clear that. Shakespeare's connection with the theatre made him a wealthy man, since his plays attracted large audiences and he shared in the profits. Towards the end of the sixteenth century he bought a large property in Stratford. It is not certain when he went back there to live, but it was probably around ١٦٠٣. He is not recorded as having acted in any play after that date, though he continued writing. No less than eleven of his plays were produced during the next ten years. These include the great tragedies Othello, Macbeth and King Lear. His last work was The Tempest, but he may have shared in the writing of the historical play King Henry VIII.

Even after his retirement he frequently visited London. Since the road between Stratford and London passed through Oxford, he would rest there at the home of his friend John Davenant, who had a deep respect and affection for the playwright.

Shakespeare died in ١٦١٦. Some years earlier he chose

a gravestone, under which he was to be buried. He had a curse engraved on this stone which threatened to bring

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misfortune to anyone who might remove his body from his grave.

It seems strange that he should have had this fear. He must have known how greatly he was respected, even In his lifetime, for the genius that he showed in his plays and poems. It seems impossible that his remains could have been disturbed after his death.

William Shakespeare

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٣٥

Reading Skills

١. What is the main idea in the first two paragraphs? ٢. What new information about Shakespeare do you

get from this passage? ٣. Why should the world be grateful for Shakespeare's

leaving his birth-place? ٤. How did Shakespeare become a rich man? ٥. Why does the writer think of the curse on

Shakespeare's grave as strange? Vocabulary Find words in the passage to complete the following sentences:

١. He is a doctor, I ….. ٢. There was no ….of him after his death although he

was very famous during his lifetime. ٣. I liked the … of King Lear by the Royal Company. ٤. The student showed a ….that astonished his teachers. ٥. After his …, my grandfather went back to his birthplace.

Discussion

١. What was the piece of information that astonished you the most in this passage? Give reasons for your answer.

٢. Do you know of any secrets related to any of the celebrities of Egypt?

٣٦ English Comprehension Primer Level I

(٢) THE HISTORY OF POLLUTION

Washington, - Everyone talks about water pollution, but no one seems to know who started it. The history of modern water pollution in the United States goes back to February ٢٨, ١٩٣١, when Mrs. Frieda Murphy leaned over her back-yard fence and said to Mrs. Sophie Holbrook, "You call those shirts white?" Mrs. Holbrook blushed and said, "They're as white as I can get them with this ordinary laundry soap."

“What you should use is this Formula Cake Soap which

guarantees against the dull wash-tub grey look that the family wash always had."

Sceptical but adventurous, Mrs. Holbrook tried the

Formula soap, which happily did take the grey out of her husband's shirts. But what Mrs. Holbrook didn't know was that after the water was drained from the tub, it emptied into the sewer, which emptied into the Blue Sky River, killing two fish.

Three years later, Mrs. Murphy leaned over the fence

and said to Mrs. Holbrook, "It's none of my business, but are you still using that Formula Cake Soap?" . " Yes, I am."

- " No wonder your husband's shirts always look dirty around the collar." " I can never get the dirt off the collar," Mrs. Holbrook cried. "You can, if you use Klonk Soap Chips. They were

designed especially for collar dirt. Here, you can have my box."

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٣٧

Mrs. Holbrook used the Klonk and the next time her husband put on his shirt he remarked, "How on earth did you get the collar clean?"

" That is my secret," said Mrs. Holbrook, and then

she whispered to no one in particular, " and Mrs. Murphy's.” But unbeknownst to Mrs. Holbrook, the water from

Klonk Soap Chips prevented any fish downstream from hatching eggs. Four years later, Mrs. Murphy was hanging up her shirts and Mrs. Holbrook said, “How did you ever get your chuffs so white, surely not with Klonk?"

" Not ordinary Kionk," Mrs. Murphy said. " But I

did with Super Fortified Klonk with the XLP additive. You see, Super Fortified Klonk attacks dirt and destroys it. Here, try some on your shirts."

Mrs. Holbrook did and discovered her husband's shirt cuffs turned pure white. What she could not possibly know was that it turned the river water pure white as well. The years went by, and poor Mrs. Murphy died. Her daughter-in-law took over the house. Mrs. Holbrook noticed how the daughter-in-law used to sing as she hung up her wash. “Why do you always sing?" asked Mrs. Holbrook.

“Because of this Dynamite detergent, it literally

dynamites my clothes clean. Here try it, and then let's go to a movie, since Dynamite detergent takes the drudgery out of the washing."

٣٨ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Six months later the Blue Sky River was declared a health hazard.

Finally last year Mrs. Murphy's daughter-in-law called

over to Mrs. Holbrook, “Have you heard about Zap, the enzyme giant killer?"

A few days later, as Mr. Holbrook was walking home from work, he accidentally fell into the Blue Sky River, swallowed a mouthful of water and died immediately.

At the funeral service the minister said, "You can

say anything you want about Holbrook, but no one can deny he had the cleanest shirts in town."

Art Buchwald

International Herald Tribune

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٣٩

Reading Skills

١. What is the tone of the writer of this article (serious-humorous - sarcastic - etc.)?

٢. What do you infer from the text about the attitude of the writer towards modern scientific inventions?

٣. According to the passage, what is the influence of advertisements on people?

٤. What is the role played by the community in kilting Holbrook?

Vocabulary What are the words used to show that each detergent is an improvement on its predecessor? Discussion Does your country suffer from water- pollution? How and why?

٤٠ English Comprehension Primer Level I

(٣) CAROL

By the time Carol was twenty-six she was making a lot of money for a girl her age, and she had quit her job to write full time [...] All her friends from high school had married and she had been -c bridesmaid several times. Her college friends had married too, but she did not see them anymore because the ones she liked did not live in New York. She now had her name on magazine covers occasionally, and she had a certain following and received fan letters, some of them from men proposing marriage. She wrote a piece on lonely people who wrote love letters to strangers. It was the first piece she had written with heart, and afterwards she had to have her telephone number unlisted.

Her mother and her mother's friends viewed her rising

career with dismay.Her mother said,"Boys don't want to marry girls who are too independent".

Because everyone she met at parties talked about their

analysis, Carol treated herself to a year of analysis to find out why; he had never married. [..] The doctor was just a man to her, she couldn’t think of him as a doctor or an authority, although once 'hen she had a sore throat she asked him to look at it since she as paying him anyway, and he prescribed some pills. She was aware that he thought she was funny and interesting because he laughed a lot at the things she said. She also became aware after a few months that he didn't think she was sick, or at least what he considered her sickness was that she did not fit into the role he saw for her as a young woman.

. “You are lonely," he said. " I would like to see you married. You would be a wonderful mother."

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٤١

“But I really don't feel I'm ready for that. There are so many things I haven't done yet." “You’re lucky you can write. You can stay at home with the children and write." “Only if they're zombies," she said. “You could marry a rich man. You could have a nurse for the children.' “Then why have they? If I had kids I'd want to enjoy being with them." -“Your parents must have made you feel very unwanted." He said sadly. -“Unwanted? They never let me out of their sight." “You must understand you are rejecting being feminine.' “If being feminine means washing some guy's socks, then how come every Chinese laundryman down on the corner doesn't feel his masculinity threatened?” “You retreat into words," he said. “That’s how I express myself."- “You could express yourself as a woman if you had a man to take care of you." -“Then how come I don't fall in love?" Carol asked. [...] “I’d get married if I could find somebody I really loved." “There have been cases where love came afterward."“You mean a marriage of convenience?" She said horrified. “It has worked." Not for me, she thought. "Do you think I'm really neurotic?' she asked. “The only area in which you function perfectly is your work. In the human area you need more work here."

٤٢ English Comprehension Primer Level I

She could see herself trotting obediently off to the analyst; twice a week until she got married, and then still more work" at the analyst until she produced two children, a number the doctor found ideal for mental health, and then more sessions of "work" until she was safely living in the suburbs. It could take years!

RonaJaffe: The Other Woman

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٤٣

Reading Skills

١. What is the attitude of the writer towards public opinion? ٢. Why. did Carol's mother and her friends view Carol's

rising career with dismay? ٣. What is meant by Carol's utterance, "If being feminine,

threatened” (lines ٥٠-٤٨)? ٤. Why is the word “work” in the last paragraph, put

between inverted commas? ٥. What is the role played by the psycho-analyst in Carol's

life? Vocabulary What is the meaning of the following words in their context:

• Zombies • Neurotic • Authority • Prescribed • trotting off

Discussion Which side do you take: Carol's or the society’s? Give reasons for your answer

٤٤ English Comprehension Primer Level I

(٤) GENERAL BEHAVIOUR

One's standard of behaviour, in private as well as in public, should invariably be of a high order. It should have its foundation in the personal quality of being courteously disposed, and not merely in the expedient implied in the saying that "good manners pay".

The saying is nearly always true of course, but on those

rare occasions when it is not, happiness or at least serenity is best served by the exercise of gentleness and tact.

The following notes, all of them somewhat obvious,

are included here for the sake of completeness – Any service or courtesy rendered by others at any time

should be acknowledged by a smile and a thank you. It is better to say ''thank you" too often than too seldom.

Loud conversation and, as far as possible, loud laughter

should be avoided.

A smile is always better than a frown; a pleasant expression always better than a disagreeable one.

If one is ill or indisposed, the fact should be kept to

oneself, except for purposes of medical attention. The fact of a recent indisposition may be mentioned briefly to account for, say, non-acceptance of an invitation; the details of the indisposition should never be described.

All 'disturbing happenings should be faced calmly, and

one should never lose one's temper. Unwitting discourtesy should

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٤٥

be ignored; deliberate discourtesy should be dealt with by present silence and future avoidance of the offender - any sharp reaction or attempt at rebuke would only result in a scene.

Care should be taken never to show resentment or

disgust, or to say or do anything which experience suggests may cause discomfort to or hurt anyone else, present or absent.

While as a general Principle one should always speak the truth, the practice is of little value in social life if it causes embarrassment or unhappiness. Silence is usually to be preferred, but where even silence would be upsetting, then the “white lie " must be spoken.

One's private concerns are never mentioned in general company.

One does not talk overmuch about oneself; and not at all but one's achievements unless specifically invited.

Arlton Wallace The Pocket Book of Etiquette

٤٦ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Reading Skills

١. What is meant by the saying, “good manners pay “? ٢. Why is it a rule of good behaviour to keep one's illnesses to

oneself ? ٣. What is the difference between 'unwitting discourtesy'

and 'deliberate discourtesy'? ٤. How can an absent person be hurt by something said

during his absence? ٥. What is a 'white lie’?

Vocabulary: From the passage, pick out five words which start with a negative prefix. Discussion: Do you believe that ‘a white lie’ can sometimes be better than silence? Explain?

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٤٧

(٥) BREAD AS A SYMBOL

One reason why bread attracts to itself so much comment and controversy is simply that it is much more than a food. Bread is so much a part of everyday living that it has become a symbol of life. For instance, it is used as a religious symbol, and as early as pre-Christian days unleavened bread had considerable religious significance. The Greeks had a goddess of bread grains in whose honour they built a magnificent temple: the Egyptians used bread as a sacrifice and cast it upon the waters of the Nile to honour their gods. The Jews attached immense religious and symbolic importance to bread and this importance grew rather than diminished with the emergence of Christianity. Today, as al the birth of the Christian religion, bread is used to symbolize spiritual food in the most solemn of Christian rituals. Moslems, toe, revere bread as the staff of life' and indeed the Arabic word for bread means 'life'.

In addition to its importance in religion, bread is also an important symbol in everyday living, and many customs and superstitions have grown up around it. Today, no Harvest Festival would be complete without a loaf of bread in the place of honour symbolizing our dependence on the fruits of the harvest, but in earlier days bread was honoured not just as a symbol but having important magical properties. When a field of wheat had been harvested the last sheaf of wheat was carefully preserved and used to make a special loaf of bread which was believed to provide protection against ill-health and bad fortune to all who ate it. A piece of the same loaf, if placed on the field from which the wheat had come, was

٤٨ English Comprehension Primer Level I

thought to ensure a plentiful harvest in the following year.

In the Middle Ages bread was thought to have remarkable medicinal powers. The Jews considered bread to have such potent properties that they believed that a loaf of bread and a bottle of water hung up in a house would protect not only the occupants, but the rest of the community, from cholera. In Algeria a paste of bread, pepper and garlic was applied to the face as a cure for neuralgia and headaches. In Britain the remedy used for headaches sounds more attractive even if no more likely to be effective; it involved eating toasted bread which had been dipped in cider.

Religion, superstition, taboos and medicine; bread is so much a part of life that it has intimate connections with all of these Because of this, people's attitude to bread is often significant of their general attitude to life.

Allan G.Cameron

Food: Facts and Fallacies

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٤٩

Reading Skills

١. What is bread a symbol of, according to the passage?

٢. Why do Arabs use the same word for bread and life?

٣. What are the diseases that are thought to be cured by bread?

٤. Why do people preserve the last sheaf of wheat in a harvest?

Vocabulary Try to figure out the meaning of these words using other information from the reading or your own experience.

• magnificent • rituals • plentiful • ensure • remedy

Discussion What are the superstitions connected with bread in your culture?

٥٠ English Comprehension Primer Level I

(٦) VITAMIN MAGIC

Today, more than half a century after their discovery, vitamins are still thought of as being mysterious or even magical by many people. How many people have knowingly handled, tasted or seen vitamins? Most people talk confidently about carbohydrates, fats and proteins but falter when it comes to vitamins.Why should this be so? The reason is almost certainly that carbohydrates, fats and proteins are commonplace and form the major part of what we eat; moreover we have a good idea what they are like. We know that sugar is pure carbohydrate and that cereal foods are mainly carbohydrates; we know that lard is pure fat and that margarine and butter are nearly so; we also know that meat, fish and cheese are good sources of protein, even if we are not exactly sure what the protein itself is like, But when it comes to vitamins we only know that food contains them in minute quantities and we cannot visualize them.

Although something of an aura of mystery and magic still surrounds them, vitamins have recently been the subject of so much publicity - not least in the form of advertising - that nearly everyone is at least conscious of their existence. This has been proved by a recent national survey sponsored by the UK Margarine and Shortening Manufacturers' Association. The survey, which involved nearly one thousand adults, was carried out in an attempt to discover how much people know about the food they eat and also their attitude to it. The report of the survey, referred to in what follows as the '١٩٦٩ national survey', shows that only ١ percent of those questioned had never

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٥١

heard of vitamins. While this result may give pleasure to both educationalists and advertisers of vitamins, it should not be allowed to obscure the fact that although almost everyone has heard of vitamins; not many people know much about them. As one of the people questioned in the survey commented, 'You see all these vitamins in babies' food and you think it must be good. You don't know what it is of course'.

There was a time-before the discovery of vitamins-when many thousands of people died each year because their food lacked the vitamins needed to keep them healthy. Nowadays-although many people in under-developed countries still suffer from diseases caused by a deficiency of vitamins in their diet-members of our affluent society are more likely to suffer from a surfeit of vitamins than from a lack of them. In countries such as America and Britain, where vast sums are expended in promoting vitamin preparations, millions of vitamin tablets and tons of special vitamin foods are consumed each year by people who not only have no need of them, but who are more likely to suffer ill-effects from over-consumption than enjoy the benefits promised by the promoters.

Allan G. Cameron Food: Facts and Fallacies

٥٢ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Reading Skills

١. What is the main idea in the first paragraph? ٢. Why do people believe they know carbohydrates

and proteins? ٣. What is magical about vitamins? ٤. Can abundance be a disadvantage?

Write a sentence from which this idea can be inferred.

Vocabulary Fill in the blanks with one of the following words: falter - promoter - affluent - surfeit – nutritional

١. She proved herself to be a good …. Of certain items: the things she advertised sold a lot.

٢. In … circumstances, they usually travel abroad. ٣. Being unprepared, he …when he received the exam

paper. ٤. Some …facts will certainly help people to lead a

happy, healthy life. ٥. We had a …of food after the party.

Discussion Do you think that people in developed countries are healthier than people in underdeveloped ones?

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٥٣

(٧) WOMEN'S WORK IN HISTORY

In ٣٠ ,١٨٥٠ per cent of the workforce was female, but the idea was growing, among men at least, that in a perfect world, women should not need to earn their bread at all. Most women's jot those days were very low-grade, of course. In ١٨٦١, four-fifths women who were working were employed in domestic service the textile industry.

In ١٨٨٤, Factory Acts, trying to be humanitarian, excluded women from working night shifts, and limited their working hoi twelve a day. Those women working in tedious menial because they came from poor families, used to sit at their loom; dream that they would entrap some rich man and never ha١ work again. Few did, of course.

But at the same time, some of the more middle-class women were realizing that work of the right sort could actually enhance their lives and give them greater purpose and challenge. There always been women who rebelled against the status quo of day, but somehow nothing very much happened to improve female career conditions until going quietly mad at home decided campaign for the right to education and a profession, as w money of their own

A few of the more far-sighted realized that marriage, children and a life of choosing dresses and visiting other ladies in similar materially comfortable circumstances, need not be all that life could offer. Why, they asked, could a man become a lawyer, a minister of religion, go to public school and receive a university

٥٤ English Comprehension Primer Level I

education when all these were denied to girls? Surely it couldn't be that girls were less intelligent than boys?

That had been the assumption, of course. But as soon as it was put to the test, everybody began to realize that girls had brains, too. The trouble was that, as soon as they were allowed to take exams, they disturbed all the males by coming top. This would never do at all. The only way to make sure women stayed in their proper, subordinate place was to exclude them from the profession, by law.

So this was done. Women were not allowed to enter medical schools or the universities. They were not allowed to practise as barristers or solicitors, even if they passed all their law exams. They were barred from taking Civil Service exams. But one by one, as pressure from women built up, and citadels were stormed, these laws were relaxed. Gradually, by sheer campaigning on their own behalf, women succeeded in gaining admittance to universities, obtaining degrees and entering the professions.

Liz Hodgkinson, The Working Woman’s Guide

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٥٥

Reading Skills:

١. Why did women wish to stop working in the eighties of the ١٩th century?

٢. What does the word 'far-sighted' in line ٢٩ show about the writer's attitude towards women's work?

٣. According to the writer, why were women not allowed to enter universities?

٤. What does 'citadels were stormed' in line ٥٠-٤٩ refer to?

٥. What is the attitude of the writer towards males in the fifth paragraph?

Vocabulary: Put the following words into sentences to reveal their meaning:

• according to the passage: • workforce • humanitarian • looms • campaign • admittance

Discussion Do you agree with the writer that working women were far-sighted? Give reasons for your answer.

٥٦ English Comprehension Primer Level I

(٨) A POSITIVE APPROACH TO YOUR CAREER

The first step on the road to a good career is not to see any work you do, however humble it may seem, as 'just a job'. This little word 'just' is one that hampers and handicaps women. How many women do you meet who inform you that they are 'just' a housewife, or 'just' a secretary, or 'just' the office dogs body, or that they 'just' have a part-time job?

At the very outset, you must set yourself goals. This is or prime importance, other wise you drift on, not knowing where you are supposed to be going. Psychologist Tom Crabtree, who writes in Cosmopolitan magazine, has this valuable advice on goal setting: First of all, he says, the goals must be realistic. It's no use saying: I want to be rich and famous. You have to know how you are going to achieve this and, more importantly, why you want to be rich and famous.

If setting goals is a new concept for you, here are Tom Crabtree's tips:

١. First of all, forget the past. Instead of trying to be somebody else, start being yourself.

٢. Make a fist of the goals you would like to achieve, and set about achieving them.

٣. Don't make promises to yourself that you don't

intend to keep ٤. Concentrate on your own goal. There will be plenty

of people who try to persuade you to help them reach their goals. (It's very common for a wife to

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٥٧

help her husband get to the top, be a good hostess for him, make a nice home and so on, but rare, the other way round.)

٥. Don't compare goals -- just get there. Let others climb Everest, and you choose your own hills to climb.

٦. Start with reachable goals, and then work hard towards more ambitious ones.

You may, for some reason, have missed out on an

academic school career, and left school at ١٥ or ١٦. Perhaps you hated school, hated work, or hated your teachers. It is a fact that girls do less well in subjects when the teacher is popular. Anyway, for whatever reason, you have left school without that clutch of ٠ - and A- levels that would seem to open up career doors. Is all lost ? Not a bit of it. You can still set yourself goals and, one by one, begin to achieve them.

It is true that nobody will give you a good job, just like that, when you are very young, have no experience of the working world, and have few paper qualifications to offer either. But you can still see the eventual job you do get as an important step along the way. I feel it is far better to get a job -- any job - than going straight onto the dole and getting out of bed at noon each day. That way of life rapidly leads to depression which, in turn, can lead to anger and frustration. There is no need at all for anybody to be unemployed. There is always something you can do, from taking next door's dog for a walk, to getting on with your novel, to typing out people's theses. There can never be any excuse at all for sitting around all day doing nothing.

٥٨ English Comprehension Primer Level I

For most school leavers, however, the first hurdle to overcome is to find that very first job. These days it can take some doing but, with the right attitude, you can do it. Whenever you go for a job you are liable to find yourself in competition with many other young people, and it can be very easy to lose heart and feel you are rejected before you even start. You must never - ever - give up, though, and, however hopeless it seems, continue to write letters, apply for jobs and seek out opportunities.

Liz Hodgkinson The Working Woman's Guide

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٥٩

Reading Skills

١. What is the main idea in the first paragraph? ٢. Why are the words 'how' in Iine١٨ and 'why' in line

١٩ written in italics? ٣. What do you understand from Crabtree's words,

“Let others climb Everest and you choose your own hills to climb?”

٤. According to the text, what should the person who left school at the age of ١٥ or ١٦ do ?

٥. Summarize the ideas in the last paragraph. Vocabulary Try to guess the meaning of the following words from context:

• handicap • valuable • popular • school leavers • frustration

Discussion Do you find Crabtree's advice applicable to our society? Give reasons for your answer.

٦٠ English Comprehension Primer Level I

(٩) THE ARAB UNIVERSITY

Three important institutions were given by the Middle Ages to he modern world - hospitals, observatories and universities, it has been long accepted in the West that the first two of these came from he Arabian civilisation of Islam.

Although the Greeks invented a number of

astronomical instruments, the observatory came into existence under the Islamic empire. The first permanent observatory was founded by the Caliph Ma'mun (reigned AD ٨٣٣-٨١٣) in Baghdad about the year ٨٣٠.

The Arabs made many contributions to medicine in the Middle Ages, but the most important was the establishment of numerous hospitals. Although they did not actually invent the hospital, they devoted a great deal to the organisation, financing and upkeep of hospitals. Now these are characteristics of hospitals ill over the world.

There is also evidence to show that the third great medieval institution, the university, was to a large extent an invention of Islamic civilisation. Western historians have, however, been reluctant to recognise the similarities between Muslim and Christian centuries of higher education in the Middle Ages. They have been even more reluctant to accept that these similarities are due to the influence of Muslim learning on Christian learning, even when they admitted that many of the university textbooks used in the Middle Ages were translated from Arabic.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٦١

Among the authors of scientific, medical and philosophical textbooks were Muslim scholars such as Avicenna (Ibn Sina) and Averroes (Ibn Rushd). This suggests that the European universities which used such textbooks must have had very important links with the civilisation which produced them. Thus, we must look for the origins of the medieval university in Islamic culture.

To begin with, it is accepted that there were Muslim centres of higher learning well over a century before the earliest ones in Europe. The mosque-college of al-Qarawiyyin in Fez (Morocco) was founded in AD ٨٥٩, that of Cordoba in the first half of the tenth century, the mosque-college of al-Azhar in Cairo in Ad ٩٧٢, and the 'House of Wisdom' (Dar al-Hikmah) in the same city in the eleventh century.

In Europe the appearance of the first centres of higher learning was much later - the universities of Bologna, Paris and Montpellier were certainly not in existence earlier than the twelfth century.

When these early universities appeared in Christian Europe they had many features in common with their Islamic counterparts. The students were generally organised in 'nations'-that is, they Were grouped for purposes of accommodation for students from Morocco, from Upper Egypt, from Iraq and so on; at the University of Paris the student body included the 'English nation' , the 'Flemish nation١, and others.Traces of this geographical organisation of Students remains in the names of some of the Oxford colleges, such as Lincoln, Worcester, Hertford and so on.

٦٢ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Another similarity was the distinctive form of dress, the gown, worn by university teachers for lectures and other official functions. The wearing of loose gowns of a very similar style to those used in Europe was a feature in the great medicine centres of Islamic learning.

There is also an interesting resemblance between the names of the Christian and Muslim institutions of higher learning. The European term for a university, stadium generale, looks very much like a translation of the Arabic term majlis aamm, which means a 'general gathering for study'.

Again, the tradition of the wandering scholar was known in the lands of Islam long before it became a feature of scholastic life in the Christian world. Muslim students felt that no one professor had a (command of a whole field of study, and so moved from one centre of learning to another throughout their academic career.

R. Y. Ebied and M.J.L. Young "The Arab University’

(The Times Higher Education Supplement)

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٦٣

Reading Skills

١. What is the attitude of the writers towards Islamic Civilization?

٢. What are Western historians willing to admit is taken from Islamic civilization?

٣. What is meant by organizing the students in 'nations'?

٤. What do you know about Avicenna and Averroes from the passage?

٥. What is a 'wandering Scholar'? Vocabulary

Fill in the blanks with words from the passage:

١. This dress is too …I need to change it with tighter one.

٢. The …in this hotel is very comfortable. ٣. The …life in Oxford is rich. ٤. The…between Ayman and his father is astonishing. ٥. He seemed … to help, so we had to depend on

ourselves. Discussion The role played by Islamic civilization in building Western civilization is a bit exaggerated in this passage.

٦٤ English Comprehension Primer Level I

(١٠)THE SCIENTIST’S DUTY

It is impossible in the modern world for a man of science to say with any honesty, " My business is to provide knowledge, and what use is made of the knowledge is not my responsibility." The knowledge that a man of science provides may fall into the hands of evil men. Institutions that follow completely unworthy aims may seize the scientist's findings. I do not suggest that a man of science, or even a large number of men of science, can altogether prevent this. They can, however, make it easy to misuse their discoveries

There is another way in which men of science can attempt to provide leadership. They can emphasise the value of those branches of science which have beneficial uses rather than harmful ones. Imagine what might be done if the money at present spent on arms and weapons were spent on increasing the world's food supply and reducing the pressure of population. In ten or twenty years poverty and hunger which now afflict more than half the grid's population could be ended. But at present almost all the governments of great states consider that it is better to spend money on killing foreigners than on keeping their own people alive. Ways of improving people's living conditions can best be worked out by en of science; and, since they can do this work better than others, it is their duty to do it. As the world becomes more unified by technology, life in an ivory tower becomes increasingly impossible. The scientist can no longer cut himself off from the rest of human activity. Furthermore, the man who resists the powerful organisations which control most of our lives may find

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٦٥

himself no longer in the ivory tower, with a wide view over a sunny landscape, but in the dark dungeon upon which the ivory tower was erected. It demands courage to risk imprisonment. But it may be necessary to risk imprisonment, to show courage, in order to prevent disaster. Everybody knows that the modern world depends upon scientists. If men of science protest loudly enough, they must be listened to. We scientists have it in our power to make a better world; and, therefore, with whatever difficulty and risk, we must make it. ERTRAND RUSSEL Portraits from Memory (Allen & Unwin, ١٩٥٦)

٦٦ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Reading Skills

١. What is the main idea in the passage? ٢. What is the outcome of the scientist's saying, "

My business is to provide knowledge, and what use is made of the Knowledge is not my responsibility”?

٣. What is meant by 'ivory tower' in this context ? ٤. According to the writer, what is the role scientists

can play to improve world conditions? Vocabulary Put the following words into sentences to reveal their meaning according to the passage:

• leadership • afflict • imprisonment • landscape • pressure

Discussion Do you agree with the writer that a scientist has a moral responsibility as well as a scientific one ? Give reasons for your answer.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٦٧

(١١)THE GLOVE AND THE LIONS

King Francis was a hearty king, and loved a royal sport, and one day as his lions fought, sat looking on the court. The nobles filled the benches, with the ladies in their pride, and 'amongst them sat the Count de Lorge, with one for whom he sighed:

And truly’t was a gallant thing to see that crowning

show, Valour and love, and a king above, and the royal beasts below.

Ramped and roared the lions, with horrid laughing jaws; they bit, they glared, gave blows like beams, a wind went with their paws; With wallowing might and stifled roar they rolled on one another. Till all the pit, with sand and mane, was in a thunderous smother; the bloody foam above the bars came whisking through the air; Said Francis then, " Faith, gentlemen, we' re better here than there!" De Lorge's love o ' erheard the King, a beauteous, lively dame, with smiling lips, and sharp bright eyes, which always seemed the same: She thought, The Count, my lover, is brave as brave can be; He surely would do wondrous things to show his love of me! King, ladies, lovers, all look on; the occasion is divine, I’ll drop my glove to prove his love; great glory will be mine!' She dropped her glove to prove his love: then looked at him and smiled.

٦٨ English Comprehension Primer Level I

He bowed, and in a moment leaped among the lions wild! The leap was quick: return was quick; he has regained his place; then threw the glove, but not with love, right in the lady's face! By Heaven!' said Francis, 'rightly done!' and he rose from where he sat ‘No love,’,' quoth he, 'but vanity, sets love a task like that!'

JAMES HENRY LEIGH HUNT THE GLOVE AND THE LIONS

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٦٩

Reading Skills

١. In your own words, describe the scene in the first stanza.

٢. What. does the word 'there' in the last line of the second stanza refer to ?

٣. What does the poet mean by "which always seemed the same" in the second line of the third stanza?

٤. Is there any change of attitude on the part of Count de Lorge in the course of the poem? If yes, describe it.

٥. Describe Francis's attitude towards the act of Count de Lorge's beloved.

Vocabulary Try to figure out the meaning of the following words from the context:

• horrid • wallowing • smother • wondrous • vanity

Discussion Do you approve of what Count de Lorge did? Give reasons to your answer.

٧٠ English Comprehension Primer Level I

(١٢) WHERE THERE' S A WILL ....there’s a sobbing relation All the family was gathered To hear poor Grandad's will, Fred was watching Alice, And she was watching Bill, He was watching Arthur, Everywhere he went, But specially at the cupboard, Where Grandad kept the rent. Outside on the patio, The sliding door was closed. And sitting in a chair Was nephew John, his face composed. He said ' Me dear old Grandad, I shall never see you more' And his sheets of calculations Were spread across the floor. Downstairs in the kitchen, Sister Alice blew her nose, Saying 'He always was my favourite, You knew that I suppose ? You couldn't have found a nicer man, I١ ve never come round much more often, If I' d lived just that bit nearer.' Cousin Arthur sat alone, His eyes were wild and rash, And desperately he tried to think Where old folks hid their cash.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٧١

He'd thought about the armchair. And the mattress on the bed, And he' d left his car at home, And booked a Pickfords van instead. Then there were the bedroom floorboards, He'd studied every crack, And twice, while dusting the commode, He'd rolled the carpet b, But he knew the others watched him, 'You scavengers' he cursed, And every night he prayed, 'Don't let the others find it first'. The day that Grandad's will was read, It came up bright and clear, The solicitor looked round, And said 'Now then, are we all here?' Someone shouted 'Yes' And someone else unscrewed his pen, And someone sat upon his coat, So he could not stand up again. He carefully unfolded it And wonderingly said, "This is the shortest will I ever will have read". He rolled a fag and carefully Laid in a filter tip, While beads of sweat they gathered On Cousin Arthur's lip.

٧٢ English Comprehension Primer Level I

It says: 'Me dear relations, hank you all for being so kind, And out beside the lily pond You will surely find, The half a million pounds With which I stuffed me garden gnome. Which i leave, with great affection, To the Battersea Dogs 'Home'

Pam ayres

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٧٣

Reading Skills

١. What is the significance of the subtitle? ٢. Is Sister Alice sincere in her sadness? Give reasons

for your answer. ٣. Why did Cousin Arthur leave his car and book a

van instead?

٤. Why did beads of sweat gather on Cousin Arthur's lip in lines ٥-٦٤?

٥. What shows that Grandad knew his family better than they knew him?

Vocabulary Find synonyms of the following words according to their meaning in the passage:

• favourite • desperately • wonderingly • beads • affection

Discussion - Is the scene of the gathered family in the poem a common one? - Now would the members of the family act if

Grandad were a poor man?

٧٤ English Comprehension Primer Level I

(١٣) MARRIED BLISS

I had wanted order in my life, and order was what I was getting. Each morning we got up at seven. While Ira did fifteen minutes of chin-ups and push-ups and running in place, while he showered and shaved, I cooked his breakfast: two fried eggs over easy, two strips of bacon, and two slices of buttered toast with jam, orange juice, and coffee. He proudly remarked that he had eaten the exact same breakfast every morning for fifteen years. At ٧٫٣٠ he was out the door and into his red fire chief's car on his way to his office on Main Street. Here he spent the morning selling either Sno Cats or Honda trail bikes, depending on the season. He also investigated insurance claims and discussed convertible versus renewable policies....

As the bell on the steeple of the Community Church chimed twelve, he walked in the door for his lunch of Campbell's tomato-rice soup and a bologna and cheese sandwich on Wonder Bread and coffee. At ١٢٫٥٠ he returned to his office, for more discussions.

While Ira was assisting the males of Stark's Bog with their financial planning, I ironed his shirts. He liked them ironed a certain way, folded just so. I patted them fondly as I folded. I scrubbed his toilet bowl. I waxed his floors. Ira's ancestral manse was so vast and rambling that there was no end to the housework. As soon as I had dusted and polished my way through the antique pine furniture to the end of the ell, it was time to return to the formal parlour and start all over again. In short, my married lot was harsh and tediously predictable. I loved

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٧٥

it. I adored knowing exactly what I would be doing for the entire upcoming month. I wallowed in the luxurious knowledge of where Ira was at each moment, whom he was with, what my assignments were. I had tasted freedom at the Free Farm. It had killed Eddie, had nearly killed us all. I preferred my new life in this antique stone cage.

As the church bell chimed five, Ira would stride in.

We ate dinner at six on the nose-steak or chops or a roast, potatoes, bread, pie and coffee. After dinner, Ira would take a cigar from a silver box on the sideboard. He would pour a short glass of brandy. Witt penknife he would carefully cut off the round tip of the cigar. Then he would place the other rounded end in his mouth and suck and twirl it for a while. Finally, he would dip this end in the brandy and then fit on a silver cigar holder. Lighting it, he would draw, deeply and settle back in his rush-seated armchair. 'Are you happy with me, Ginny?' he'd ask anxiously each evening. 'Please tell me if you're not. How will I know if you don't?' 'Ira, I couldn’t be happier,’ I'd reply. 'I love our life together.' And I did.

'So do I, he’d assure me. 'It' s so wonderful having

you here. I've been so lonely.' At seven thirty Ira left for his meeting for that evening. (I envied him all his meetings, begrudged them to him: he would have so many entries in his obituary, and I would have none.)

(Lisa Alther, Kinflicks)

٧٦ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Reading Skills

١. What is the significance of the title, "Married Bliss"?

٢. What is the speaker's attitude towards life in the "antique store Cage"?

٣. What does keeping regular hours for all his activities show about Ira's character ?

٤. What do you think of the kind of life described in the passage? Give reasons for your answer.

Vocabulary Put the following words in new contexts to show a similar meaning to that in the passage:

• Tediously • Predictable • Luxurious • begrudged • Obituary

Discussion Do you believe that marriage is bliss? Give reasons for your answer.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٧٧

(١٤) SMALL WORLD

The job of check-in clerk at Heathrow, or any other airport, is not a glamorous or particularly satisfying one. The world is mechanical and repetitive: inspect the ticket, check it against the passenger list on the computer terminal, tear out the ticket from its folder, check the baggage weight, tag the baggage, ask Smoking or Non-smoking, allocate a seat, issue a boarding pass. The only variation in this routine occurs when things go wrong - when fights are delayed or cancelled because of bad weather or strikes or technical hitches. Then the checker bears the full brunt of the customers' fury without being able to do anything to alleviate it. For the most part the job is a dull and monotonous one, processing people who are impatient to conclude their brief business with you, and whom you will probably never see again.

Cheryl Summerbee, a checker for British Airways in Terminal One at Heathrow, did not, however, complain of boredom. Though the passengers who passed through her hands took little notice of her, she took a lot of notice of them. She injected interest into her job by making quick assessments of their characters and treating them accordingly. Those who were rude or arrogant or otherwise unpleasant she put in uncomfortable or inconvenient seats, next to the toilets, or beside mothers with crying babies. Those who made a favourable impression she rewarded with the best seats, and whenever possible placed them next to some attractive member of the opposite sex. In Cheryl Summer bee ' s hands, seats allocation was a fine art, as delicate and complex an operation as arranging blind dates between

٧٨ English Comprehension Primer Level I

clients of a lonely hearts agency. It gave her a glow of satisfaction, a pleasant sense of doing good by stealth, to reflect on how many love affairs , and even marriages , she must have instigated between people who imagined they had met by pure chance.

Cheryl Summerbee was very much in favour of love. She firmly believed that it made the world go round, and did her bit to keep the globe spinning on its axis by her discreet management of the seating on British Airways Tridents.

(From Small World by David Lodge)

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٧٩

Reading Skills

١. What is the topic of the first paragraph? ٢. Why is it boring to work as a check-in clerk at an

airport? ٣. Is Cheryl Summerbee a romantic person? Give

reasons for your answer. ٤. What is Summerbee’s way of punishing rude and

arrogant passengers? Vocabulary Try to guess the meaning of the following phrases from the context:

• tag the baggage • technical hitches • take a lot of notice • blind dates • lonely hearts agency

Discussion What do you prefer: dealing with an ordinary check-in clerk or with somebody who is similar to Cheryl Summerbee? Give reasons for your answer.

٨٠ English Comprehension Primer Level I

(١٥) MERMAIDS

In folklore mermaids are either found maritime regions, particularly along the Scottish coasts, or in pools and rivers in the heart of England. Those from inland waters are undoubtedly lost gods or goddesses of the Celtic or earlier religion. Mermaids from the sea were common on the northern shores of Scotland and stories about them probably originated with the observation of seals. They coveted the love of men and seduced them with offers of treasure from sunken ships. They would then lull their captive to sleep with sweet singing and hold him confined in sea caves for ever. Their reason for wanting to marry a human was that they could' then discard their tail for legs.

Mermaids in Orkney tradition were really the lovely daughters of the Fin Folk, who resembled tall dark men but were clad in close-fitting silver scales. They lived in a magic realm under the sea but also cultivated farms on land. As they grew older they aged quickly and became repulsively ugly. It was to escape this fate that mermaids wished to become human. Sometimes the situation was reversed and a human woman married to a mermaid or selchie.

Among the supernatural powers of mermaids were those of being able to grant wishes and of uttering curses. In the late Roman period a mermaid cast up on the shores of Conway Bay cursed the town of Conway

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٨١

when its inhabitants refused to help her back to the water. She foretold a fish famine, which happened in the next century, and declared that the citizens of the town would always be poor.

A fairly well-known mermaid of the second sort, the denizen of; inland waters, was that of Child’s Ercali, in Shropshire. She appeared by a pond at an unspecified date to the utter astonishment of two farm labourers on their way to work. In the pond, she told them, was an immense treasure, and to prove it she brought up a huge gold nugget. The men were so amazed that one of them naturally expressed his feelings in an oath, whereupon the mermaid and the gold sank into the water and were never seen again.

(Ralph Whitlock In Search of Lost Gods)

٨٢ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Reading Skills

١. According to the passage, how can you describe a mermaid?

٢. Do mermaids have male counterparts? Give evidence from the passage

٣. Why is it dangerous to come across a mermaid? ٤. What is the positive side of meeting a mermaid? ٥. Why would mermaids like to get married to

humans? Vocabulary Put the following words into sentences to reveal their meaning according to the passage:

• Captive • Ugly • Supernatural • Famine • lull.

Discussion Do you believe in the existence of mermaids? Give reasons for your answer.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٨٣

(١٦) CATS

Much of the ill-treatment meted out to cats in past centuries (and it was severe) was due to the belief that they were really witches in disguise. Until quite recently some people were very careful about what they said when a cat was present, in case the animal turned back into human shape and repeated what it had heard.

Cats were, and probably still are, credited with psychic powers. They are said to have foreknowledge of approaching disasters. When a cat deserts a house where a person is lying sick, that person will shortly die. When in the Fen country cats go upstairs to sleep, a flood is imminent - and there are many instances to confirm the accuracy of this belief.

Cats are said to be effective killers of adders, and the prejudice against May kittens (superficially nonsensical) is probably due to the fear that by the late summer, when adders are numerous, they would bring adders into the house. Black cats are, of course, especially lucky, though a pure white cat also brings good luck if it is seen by chance. On the other hand, sailors, they liked to have a black cat on board, would never mention the word cat, referring to them instead by some euphemism. The same applied to miners in Cornwall. Fenland fishermen believed that cats could hear fish swimming under water and so based their activities on observation of cats' behaviour. A widespread superstition is that a cat should not be allowed near a sleeping child, lest it should suck the baby's breath, but that may well be an instance of a wise precaution for the wrong reason , for cats have been known to suffocate a baby by lying on its face. A cat’s sneezing is a lucky omen.

٨٤ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Reading Skills

١. What psychic powers are cats believed to possess? ٢. What evidence do black cats give of the great

difference in superstitious beliefs from one culture to the other?

٣. Why is it a wise precaution to keep cats away from babies?

٤. What does "the same" in line ٢٧ refer to? ٥. According to the passage, in what way can cats be

useful? Vocabulary Fill in the blanks with a word from the passage:

١. The belief in … is a universal phenomenon. ٢. I have to take certain … while setting off a

journey. ٣. The … of a helps in taking precautions against it. ٤. It is a widespread Egyptian superstition that black

cats are an ill … ٥. 'Pass away' is a …for 'die'.

Discussion What other animals or birds are said to have supernatural powers?

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٨٥

(١٧) THE ADVENTURES OF A SHILLING

Joseph Addison (١٧١٩-١٦٧٢) was a scholar, traveller and essayist. He was a close friend of Swift and Steele, but quarrelled with the latter before his death. In the following essay, Addison describes how a shilling was made and was used.

It seemed to me that the shilling that lay upon the table raised itself upon its edge , and turning the face towards me , opened its mouth , and in a soft , silver sound , gave me the following account of his life and adventures :

“I was born (said he) on the side of a mountain, near a little village of Peru, and made a voyage to England with Sir Francis Drake. I was, soon after my arrival, taken out of my old dress, refined, and put into the English fashion, with the face of Queen Elizabeth on one side, and the arms of the country on the other. Being thus provided, I found in myself a wonderful desire to wander, and visit all parts of the new world into which I was brought. The people very much liked me, and moved me so fast from hand to hand, that before I was five years old, I had travelled into almost every corner of the nation.

“But at the beginning of my sixth year, to my unspeakable sorrow, I fell into the hands of a miserable old fellow who shut me in an iron chest, where I found five hundred more of my own sort, who were in the same prison. The only relief we had was to be taken out and counted over in the fresh air every morning and evening.

٨٦ English Comprehension Primer Level I

After an imprisonment of several years, we heard somebody knocking at our chest and breaking it open with a hammer. This we found was the old man's heir, who, as his father lay dying, was good enough to come to set us free. He separated us that very day. What was the fate of my companions I do not know: as for myself, I was sent to a shop for some wine. The shopkeeper gave me to a woman, and the woman gave me to a butcher. In this way ١ passed merrily through the world; for, as I told you before, we shillings love nothing so much as travelling. I sometimes fetched in a piece of meat, and sometimes a book.

In the midst of this pleasant progress which I made from place to place, I was seized by a foolish old woman, who shut me up in a dirty purse. She did this because of a foolish saying that, 'While she kept a Queen Elizabeth's shilling about her, she would never be without money." I continued there a close prisoner for many months, till at last I was exchanged for forty-eight farthings. “thus wandered from pocket to pocket till the beginning of the civil wars, when, to my shame be it spoken , I was employed in raising soldiers against the king.'

(Joseph Addison, A Book of English Essays)

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٨٧

Reading Skills

١. How can a shilling travel? ٢. What are the two instances of imprisonment

mentioned by the shilling in the passage? . ٣. Why is the old man described as ‘miserable’? ٤. Why is the old man’s heir thought to be 'good' by

the shilling? ٥. Why is the old woman in the fourth paragraph

described as 'foolish'? Vocabulary Write the meaning of the following words as they occur in their context:

• refined • merrily • fetched • exchanged • raising soldiers

Discussion Make up a similar story from the point of view of an Egyptian pound.

٨٨ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Part I Answer Keys

Fictional story-telling The visual arts: are the arts of painting and sculpture, rather than literature and music. I think that schools often put too little emphasis on learning about the visual and performing arts. Annual {adjective} happening once every year, or relating to a period of one year an annual event/festival/convention/show/visit/holiday annual income/salary/profit/interest/rainfall/subscription attend to be at or go to (an event, place, etc.) A large number of people attended the funeral/the meeting/the court. Schedule noun [C] a list of planned activities or things to be done showing the times or dates when they are intended to happen or be done

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٨٩

fiction noun the type of book or story which is written about imaginary characters and events and not based on real people and facts, or a false report or statement which you pretend is true The author insists that the book is a work of fiction and not intended as a historical account. [U] Speculation noun The rumours that they are about to marry have been dismissed as pure speculation. [U] After he was dropped from the team, speculation about his future plans was rife. [U] addiction noun Her previous novel dealt with her recovery from drug addiction. [U] For years she was dependent on drugs and drink and it was only in her fifties that she finally managed to overcome these addictions. [C] He is trying to cure himself of his addiction to alcohol.[U] Alternatives (something that is) different from something else, esp. from what is usual, and offering the possibility of choice There must be an alternative to people sleeping on the streets.[C]

٩٠ English Comprehension Primer Level I

We are not going to rule out every other alternative. [C] I'm afraid I have no alternative but to ask you to leave (= that is what I have.

Libraries and the digital revolution lurch verb [I] to move in an irregular way, esp. making sudden movements backwards or forwards or from side to side A crowd of drunken football supporters lurched down the street, singing and shouting. giggle verb [I] to laugh repeatedly in an uncontrolled and childish way, often at something silly or something that you know you should not be laughing at Once one child starts giggling it starts the whole class off. Substantial (LARGE) adjective large in size, value or importance The findings show a substantial difference between the opinions of men and women. She inherited a substantial fortune from her grandmother. Intellect noun [U]

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٩١

the ability to think intelligently and understand, or the ability to do these things to a high level An intellect is also a highly educated person whose interests are studying and other activities that involve careful thinking. Intellectual noun [C] An intellectual is a highly educated person whose interests are studying and other activities that involve careful thinking and mental effort. She was too much of an intellectual to find teaching young children rewarding. He had no time for intellectualism and would never analyse a film or book that he had read. Digitize UK usually -ise verb [T] When information is digitized, it is put into the form of a series of the numbers zero and one, usually so that it can be processed by a computer. Megalomania noun [U] the belief that you are very much more important and powerful than you really are She has a bad case of megalomania, and always wants to take charge of everything she gets involved in.

Pollution

٩٢ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Glasshouse (plural-houses) usually greenhouse (plural greenhouses) noun [C] a building with glass sides and roof for growing plants in; a large greenhouse He's a commercial tomato grower with ten glasshouses. Climate noun the general weather conditions usually found in a particular place In some parts of the world there is an extreme climate, and it is very hot in summer and very cold in winter. reproduce (of living things) to produce young If this generation of young women don't start reproducing soon there will be a fall in the population. Reproduction noun [U] The group is researching reproduction in elephants/the reproduction of elephants. Teaching about human reproduction was widespread in schools but only half of all ١٦-year-olds had discussed 'personal relationships' in the classroom. The reproduction rate is the rate at which a population produces new members by birth.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٩٣

Environment (NATURE) noun [U] the environment (the quality of) the air, water and land in or on which people, animals and plants live Certain chemicals have been banned because of their damaging effect on the environment. We're not doing enough to protect the environment from pollution. Related words Contaminate verb [T] to spoil the purity of (something) or make it poisonous Much of the coast has been contaminated by nuclear waste. The food which had been contaminated was destroyed. Contamination noun [U] The water supply is being tested for contamination (= the presence of unwanted or dangerous substances). Related words A coral reef is a bank of coral, the top of which can sometimes be seen just above the sea.

٩٤ English Comprehension Primer Level I

An English professor confesses Stimulate verb [T] to encourage (something) to grow, develop or become active The government plans to cut taxes in order to stimulate the economy. The book was an attempt to stimulate discussion of the problem of global warming. Stimulant noun [C] Tourism has acted as a stimulant to the country's economy (= It has made the economy grow). Phonograph noun [C] US old use for record player, see at record Psychology noun [U] the scientific study of the way the human mind works and how it influences behaviour, or the influence of a particular person's character on their behaviour She studied psychology at Harvard.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٩٥

Abridge verb [T] to make (a book, speech, article, etc.) shorter I've only read the abridged edition/version of her novel. Related words memorize, verb [T] to learn (something) so that you will remember it exactly She has memorized all her friends' phone numbers. When I was at school, we were required to memorize a poem every week.

Scientists Dilemma Humanitarian adjective, noun (a person who is) involved in or connected with improving people's lives and reducing suffering Bacteriology noun [U] the scientific study of bacteria and other very small living things, esp. those which cause disease Related words

٩٦ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Weaponry noun [U] nuclear/conventional weaponry (= weapons in general) Threat noun [C] a suggestion that something unpleasant will happen, esp. if a particular action or order is not followed She left the country under threat of arrest if she returned. Dilemma noun [C] a situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two possibilities, both of which are often unpleasant The poor girl is caught in/facing the dilemma of obeying her father or marrying the man she loves.

A work of art Category (in a system for dividing things according to appearance, quality, etc.) a type, or a group of things having some features that are the same There are three categories of accommodation - standard, executive and de luxe. Some social scientists try to divide a population into categories according to how much money people earn. Related words.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٩٧

Common belonging to or shared by two or more people We've got a lot of interests in common/common interests (= We've have many of the same interests). Orchestrate If a piece of music is orchestrated, it is arranged or written to be played by an orchestra. Container A container is a hollow object, such as a box or a bottle, which can be used for holding something esp. for the purposes of carrying or storing. an unbreakable container a plastic drinks container She kept the buttons in an old ice-cream container. To containerize is to put goods in a large standard-sized metal box for transport, or to make a port, ship, etc. suitable for this method of transport. The goods must be containerized for export. Character a person, esp. when you are describing a particular quality that they have She's a curious/interesting character - I don't really know what to think of her.

٩٨ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Part II Answer Keys

(١) William Shakespeare

Reading Skills:

١. The biography of William Shakespeare. Or New information on Shakespeare’s life.

٢. Shakespeare was imprisoned for theft. He also worked as an apprentice butcher.

٣. Because it was in London he started his career as a playwright.

٤. His plays attracted large audiences and he shared in the profits.

٥. Because it shows that Shakespeare felt insecure and uncertain about his place as a great man whose remains cannot be disturbed.

Vocabulary:

• mention (١٫٣٥) • genius (١٫٧٢) • presume (١٫١١) • performance (١٫٤٢) • retirement (١٫٥٨)

English Comprehension Primer Level I ٩٩

(٢) The History of Pollution Reading Skills:

١. Humorous and sarcastic. ٢. He does not approve of them. ٣. They encourage people to buy the advertised

goods. ٤. They polluted the river in which he drowned.

Vocabulary:

• Super • Fortified • giant.

(٣) Carol Reading Skills:

١. She thinks it forces people to do things they do not want to do.

٢. Because it lessens her chances of marriage. ٣. It means that there is no relation between

femininity and washing some man's socks.

٤. Because the writer does not believe that it is really work.

٥. He makes her consent to the image of a good woman according to her society.

١٠٠ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Vocabulary:

• somebody who is unresponsive • psychopathic • a knowledgeable person or an expert • advised her to take a certain medicine - run to.

(٤) General Behaviour Reading Skills

١. Good manners are useful and profitable. ٢. Talking about one's illness can be boring and

disturbing to others. ٣. "Unwitting discourtesy" is an act of impoliteness

that is not done on purpose while "deliberate discourtesy' is an act of impoliteness that is meant to annoy others.

٤. He can know about ft from other people who have been present at the time this thing has been said.

٥. It is an untruth that causes no harm to anybody. Vocabulary:

• Disagreeable • Indisposed • non-acceptance • unwitting • discourtesy • discomfort • unhappiness.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ١٠١

(٥) Bread as a Symbol Reading Skills:

١. It is a symbol of life and of some religious concepts.

٢. Because, for them, bread is the basic kind of food used by all people and food is essential for any form of living.

٣. Cholera neuralgia and headaches. ٤. To ensure a plentiful harvest in the following year.

Vocabulary:

• Wonderful • religious rites (certain forms of celebrating a

religious- occasion • abundant • make sure that • cure.

(٦) Vitamin Magic Reading Skills:

١. The reasons for thinking of vitamins as mysterious. ٢. Because they are commonplace and people have a

good idea what they are like. ٣. They are mysterious and people think they can cure

all diseases. ٤. Yes, it can. See the last sentence.

١٠٢ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Vocabulary:

• Promoter • Affluent • Faltered • Nutritional • surfeit

(٧) Women's Work in History Reading Skills

١. Because, in those days, most women's jobs were very low-grade.

٢. It shows that she approves of women's work. ٣. Because they were thought to be less intelligent

than men. ٤. It refers to rebelling against the old traditions that

prevented them from work. ٥. She is prejudiced against them.

Vocabulary: All sentences that are grammatical and reveal the meaning of the word are acceptable.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ١٠٣

(٨) A Positive Approach to Your Career Reading Skills:

١. The first step to a good career is to be proud of one's job.

٢. To show the importance of knowing the way to and the reason behind the will to be rich and famous.

٣. One should set goals that are easy to achieve. ٤. She/he should set herself/himself goals that are

possible for her/him to achieve. ٥. It is important for a school-leaver to find a first

job, which may be difficult. She/he should then continuously look for a better job and should not ever lose hope to find it.

Vocabulary:

• Stand in the way of • Useful • liked by the student • students who leave school before graduation • loss of hope.

(٩)The Arab University Reading Skills:

١. He thinks highly of it. ٢. Hospitals and observatories.

١٠٤ English Comprehension Primer Level I

٣. They were divided into groups according to their nationality.

٤. They were Muslim scholars who wrote important books in the fields of science, medicine and philosophy. Their books were used as text books in European universities.

٥. Scholars moved from one academic centre to another searching for more knowledge.

Vocabulary:

• Loose (١٫٦٨) • accommodation (١٫٥٩) • academic (١٫٨٣) • resemblance (٧٢-١) • reluctant (١٫٢٦)

(١٠) The Scientist's Duty Reading Skills:

١. The responsibility of the man of science for what happens in his society, especially because of his own inventions.

٢. Evil men may misuse the knowledge he provides. ٣. It refers to isolation from what happens in the

world around them. ٤. They can object to wars and destruction and help

create a better world.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ١٠٥

Vocabulary: All sentences that are grammatical and reveal the meaning of the word are acceptable.

(١١) The Glove and The Lions Reading Skills:

١. It is a wonderful scene with the lions fighting watched by the king and noble ladies and gentlemen dressed in their best clothes.

٢. It refers to the circle full of fighting lions. ٣. The expression on her face and in her eyes does not

change. ٤. Yes, there is. He realizes that his beloved does not

really love him and that she is vain and so he stopped caring for her.

٥. He approved of what he did.

Vocabulary:

• Frightening • Sensual • cloud of dust • wonderful • false pride.

١٠٦ English Comprehension Primer Level I

(١٢) Where There's a Will Reading Skills:

١. It shows that people cry only when the dead person is a rich relative.

٢. No, she isn't. She did not visit Grandad very often during his life time.

٣. He expected to carry some of Grandad's furniture to his own house.

٤. He was very excited about the content of the will. ٥. He left all his money to dogs rather than to

members of his family. Vocabulary:

• best liked • too anxious • with astonishment • drops - love.

(١٣) Married Bliss Reading Skills:

١. It shows that marriage causes happiness. ٢. She enjoys it. ٣. He is a very disciplined person. ٤. Different answers are accepted.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ١٠٧

Vocabulary: All suggestions are accepted provided that they are grammatical and show the meaning of the word.

(١٤) Small World Reading Skills:

١. A description of the job of a check-in clerk. ٢. People are always eager to finish their business

with him and so they never want to exchange conversation with him.

٣. Yes, she is. She thinks of doing some match-making between the passengers.

٤. She puts them in uncomfortable and inconvenient seats.

Vocabulary: Put slip of paper with the name and address on the bags -- stoppages because of technical reasons -- pay attention to --arranged meetings between men and women without their knowing it -- an agency that helps single men and women to meet and get married.

١٠٨ English Comprehension Primer Level I

(١٥) Mermaids Reading Skills:

١. Tall, dark creatures clad in close-fitting silver scales.

٢. Yes, they do; since they can get married to women rather than men. (see lines ٥-٢٤).

٣. Because they can cast curses on humans. ٤. She can grant wishes. ٥. They want to escape the fate of growing old and

becoming repulsively ugly. Vocabulary:

• Prisoner • bad looking • beyond the natural • lack • sing for.

(١٦) Carol Reading Skills:

١. See the second paragraph. ٢. While they are thought of to be lucky in Finland,

they are an ill-omen in England, America and Egypt.

٣. Cats can suffocate a baby by lying on its face.

English Comprehension Primer Level I ١٠٩

٤. It refers to not mentioning the word 'cat' and using euphemism to call them.

٥. They kill adders and can also hear fish under water and so help fishermen fish at the right time.

Vocabulary:

• Superstition • precautions • foreknowledge • disaster • omen • euphemism

(١٧) The Adventures of a Shilling Reading Skills:

١. By moving from hand to hand through buying and selling.

٢. First, it was imprisoned in an iron chest by a miser. Secondly, it was imprisoned by an old woman in a dirty purse.

٣. Because he does not enjoy spending the money he had. Or because he was hated by the shilling.

٤. Because he freed it from its imprisonment. ٥. Because she believed in a foolish saying that

"'while she kept a Queen Elizabeth's shilling about her, she would never be without money.

١١٠ English Comprehension Primer Level I

Vocabulary:

• Polished • Happily • Brought • given in return of • urging them to rebel.