Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Professor: Vladimir Ajon Jiron

Reading Skills I
Topic Sentence

CHOOSING THE TOPIC SENTENCE

1.) ___________________________________________. I usually go skiing every weekend in the
winter even though it is expensive. I love the feeling of flying down a mountain. The views are beautiful
from the top of a mountain and along the trails. Even the danger of falling and getting hurt cant keep me
away from the slopes on a winter day.
a) Skiing is expensive.
b) My favorite sport is skiing
c) Skiing is dangerous.
2.) _________________________________________________. North Americans send cards for many
occasions. They send cards to family and friends on birthdays and holidays. They also send thank-you
cards; get well cards, graduation cards, and congratulation cards. It is very common to buy cards in
stores and send them through the mail, but turning on the computer and sending cards over the Internet
is also popular.
a) Cards sending is very common in North America.
b) Birthday cards are the most popular kind of card.
c) It is important to send thank-you cards.
3.) _____________________________________________ . I enjoy summer sports like water skiing and
baseball. The weather is usually sunny and hot, so I can go to the beach almost every day. Gardening is
my hobby and I spend many summer days working in my garden. Unfortunately, the days pass too
quickly in summer.
a) I like to garden in summer.
b) Summer is my favorite season.
c) Summer is too short.
4.) ________________________________________ . First of all, we need money to repair old roads
and build new roads. We also need more to pay teachers salaries and to pay for services such as trash
collection. Finally, more tax money is needed to give financial help to the poor citizens of the city. It is
clear that the city will have serious problems if taxes are not raised soon.
a) We should raise city taxes.
b) City taxes are too high.
c) City taxes pay for new roads.

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Professor: Vladimir Ajon Jiron

Reading Skills I
Topic Sentence

5.) _________________________________________ . For example, a person can have breakfast in

New York, board an airplane, and have dinner in Paris. A businesswoman in London can instantly place
an order with a factory in Hong Kong by sending a fax. Furthermore, a schoolboy in Tokyo can turn on a
TV and watch a baseball game being played in Los Angeles.
a) Airplanes have changed our lives.
b) Advances in technology have made the world seem smaller.
c) The fax machine was an important invention.
6.) ___________________________________________ . One thing you must consider is the quality of
the universitys educational program. You also need to think about the schools size and location. Finally,
you must be sure to consider the universitys tuition to make sure you can afford to go to school there.
a) It is expensive to attend a university in the United States.
b) There are several factors to consider when you choose a university to attend.
c) You should consider getting a good education.
7.) ___________________________________________. Thousands of new people are born on our
planet every day. The number of inhabitants in the world has already reached over six billion. If the
present growth rate remains unchecked, the world may soon face wide-spread starvation, poverty, and
serious health problems.
a) Therefore, it is predicted that the world will face serious health problems in the near future.
b) The rapid growth of the world's human population is the most important problem the world needs to
address.
c) One of the burning issues is the population explosion in third world countries.
8.) ___________________________________________. Arriving in the land below the Rio Grande
River, the Spanish conquistador Hernando Cortez was surprised to see the local inhabitants raising
crops that included avocados, corn, garlic and nuts. Onions, tomatoes, chili peppers and pumpkins were
also grown in the rich soil. Irrigation systems were employed in some of the drier regions. The Aztec
farmers also were skilful in creating terraced gardens to make the most of the rainfall and to minimize
soil erosion. Evidence shows that they employed crop rotation as well as natural fertilizers to enhance
the production of their farm products.
a) The Aztecs of Mexico were a nation of accomplished farmers.
b) Hernando Cortez discovered farming in Mexico.
c) Mexico is blessed with rich farmland and an abundance of food products.

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Professor: Vladimir Ajon Jiron

Reading Skills I
Topic Sentence

9.) ___________________________________________. Every year, a different person in my family

cooks the Thanksgiving feast. For this person, Thanksgiving is not much fun. The person who does all
the cooking has to start preparing the meal the night before the holiday. Then, on Thanksgiving morning,
the cook has to get up early to put the turkey in the oven. Everyone else usually sleeps in late and
spends the day watching sports or visiting with friends and family. Every once in a while, someone will go
into the kitchen to ask, "When are we going to eat?" But no one offers to help.
a) Thanksgiving isn't a holiday for everyone in my family.
b) It's fun to watch sports on Thanksgiving.
c) Thanksgiving is a lot of work.
10.) ___________________________________________.When I was a kid, every Sunday, my whole
family went to my grandparents' house for dinner. They had four children, and all of them were married,
so there were often twenty or more people for dinner. The house was always filled with laughter. The
young children sat at the "kiddie table" in the kitchen. You had to be over thirteen to sit with the adults.
But no matter where you sat, the food was the same, and it was delicious. My grandparents were Italian,
so we always had pasta. But the pasta was just one part of the meal. The pasta course was usually
followed by a plate of fish or beef and vegetables. No one left the table hungry, that's for sure. After
dinner, everyone gathered in the living room to play games and visit. Around nine o'clock, everyone
would finally start getting ready to go home, but no one ever wanted to leave.
a) Italian family meals are huge.
b) It can be difficult to have a large family.
c) One of my best childhood memories is Sunday dinner at my grandparents.
11.)__________________________________________.Thisbeliefisespeciallycommonamong weiht
lifterswhooftenconsumelargequantitiesofhighproteinfoodsanddietarysupplements, thinkingitwillimprove
theirathleticperformance.Likeweightlifters,footballplayersconsumetoomuchprotein,expectingittoproduce
additionalmuscleenergy.Althoughitistruethatmuscles containmoreproteinthanothertissues,thereisno
evidencethatahighproteindietactually constructsmoremuscletissuethananormaldiet.Nutritionistspointout
thatmusclecellsgrow notfromexcessproteinbutfromexercise:whenamuscleisused,itpullsinproteinforits
consumption.Thisishowamusclegrowsandstrengthens.Ifathleteswanttoincreasetheir musclemass,then
theymustexercisein additiontofollowingawellbalanced,normaldiet.
a) Manyathleteshavefalseideasregardingpropernutrition.
b) Mybrother, aweightlifter,isanexampleofsomeonewhoconsumesalotofproteinbecause he thinksit will
makehimbulky.
c) Manyathletesfalselybelievethatproteinimprovesathleticperformancebyincreasingmuscle mass.
d) Thepublicisoftenconfusedbytheseeminglyconflictingadvicenutritionistsgiveusaboutour health.

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Professor: Vladimir Ajon Jiron

Reading Skills I
Topic Sentence

12.)__________________________________________.Latelyparentsandcriticsacrossthecountryhave
beenmakingabiggerfussaboutthenumberandcontentofcommercialsaimedatchildren,anditseemsasthough
themediahasbecomeascapegoatforadultswhohavesetquestionablehealthguidelinesfortheirchildren.Itis
bothlogicalandfactualtostatethatparentsarethe numberoneauthorityformosteverythingintheirchildslife,
whichofcourseincludesfood choices.RecentstudiesfromtheInstituteofMedicinefoundthattheeasiestand
mostreliablemeasureofunderstandingachildshealthanddietistolookatthehealthanddietoftheparents.It is
verylikelythatachildsobesitydidnotcomefromthemedia,butfrombehaviorswithinthe family.Evenif
advertisementsbecamerestrictedormorelimited,ifparentsdonotenforcehealthydietsorteachnutrition,the
childrenwillhavelearnednothing.TimothyJ.MurisofTheWall StreetJournalrealizesthatwithoutaddressingthe
issuesofparentalcontrol,thebanonchild foodadvertisementsareappealingonthesurface,butultimately
useless.
a) Despiteincreasingratesofchildhoodobesity,weshouldnotbanjunkfoodadsaimedat children.
b) AccordingtoAndrewMartinoftheChicagoTribune,theratesofobesityamong6to 11yearoldsmorethan
triplingduringthelastthreedecades,doublingforchildrenages2to5 andincreasingeven morefor adolescents
12to19yearsold.
c) Thestaggeringfiguresregardingchildhoodobesityalonearealarmingenoughtogenerateastir.
d) Althoughjunkfoodadvertisementsarebeingblamedforchildrenspoordietaryhabits,regulating these ads
wouldnotaddresstherealsourceoftheproblem:lackofparentalguidance.
13.) _______________________________________. When I was seventeen years old, I applied to be
an American Field Service exchange student. I was very proud and excited when I was chosen, but I
never realized how much that year would influence the rest of my life. From the moment I got off the
plane in Rio de Janeiro, I felt like a new person. At first I was nervous about speaking Portuguese, but
the Brazilians soon helped me to feel at ease. Before I left my home, I had been shy and quiet. In Brazil I
became much more confident and outgoing. Most importantly, I had thought I would become an
engineer. In Brazil I learned to love music and realized I wanted to become a professional musician.
a) Brazil is a great place to spend a year as an exchange student.
b) Spending a year as an exchange student changed my whole life.
c) Every student should visit another country.
14.) ____________________________ I have traveled to Mexico, England, Germany, and Japan. I must
admit that I am nervous all of the time while I am away. I cannot relax until the airplane lands in Chicago,
where I live. It's not that I don't like foreigners. I have several friends from other countries. And it's not
that I hate foreign food. My husband and I often eat out at ethnic restaurants at home. However, I just do
not feel comfortable on foreign soil. I am always afraid of making mistakes and offending people. Even

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Professor: Vladimir Ajon Jiron

Reading Skills I
Topic Sentence

when I know the language, as I did in England, I still get confused with the money, the transportation
system, and all the different ways of doing things. My husband is a great traveler. He loves every minute
he spends out of the country, but I'm afraid from now on he'll have to go alone.
a) Traveling abroad can be very stressful if you aren't used to it.
b) Many people enjoy foreign travel and go away every chance that they get.
c) Although many people find traveling to foreign countries exciting, people like me should never leave
home.
15.) ___________________________________________. I saw around Velva a release from what was
like slavery to the tyrannical soil, release from the ignorance that darkens the soul and from the
loneliness that corrodes it. In this generation my Velva friends have rejoined the general American
society that their pioneering fathers left behind when they first made the barren trek in the days of the
wheat rush. As I sit here in Washington writing this, I can feel their nearness.
a) Family-sized farms are not productive.
b) I grew up on a family-sized farm, near a town called Velva.
c) Many politicians deplore the passing of the old family-sized farm, but I'm not so sure.
d) People moved away from the cities in the late nineteenth century, in search of fertile land for farming.
16.) ___________________________________________. The first is the wear-and-tear hypothesis that
suggests the body eventually succumbs to the environmental insults of life. The second is the notion that
we have an internal clock which is genetically programmed to run down. Supporters of the wear-and-tear
theory maintain that the very practice of breathing causes us to age because inhaled oxygen produces
toxic by-products. Advocates of the internal clock theory believe that individual cells are told to stop
dividing and thus eventually to die by, for example, hormones produced by the brain or by their own
genes.
a) There are two broad theories concerning what triggers a human's inevitable decline to death.
b) Some scientists believe that humans contain an "internal time clock" which forces them eventually to
die.
c) We all must die some day.
d) My biology professor gave an interesting lecture Thursday
17.) ___________________________________________. The strictest military discipline imaginable is
still looser than that prevailing in the average assembly-line. The soldier, at worst, is still able to exercise
the highest conceivable functions of freedom -- that is, he or she is permitted to steal and to kill. No
discipline prevailing in peace gives him or her anything remotely resembling this. The soldier is, in war, in
the position of a free adult; in peace he or she is almost always in the position of a child. In war all things

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Professor: Vladimir Ajon Jiron

Reading Skills I
Topic Sentence

are excused by success, even violations of discipline. In peace, speaking generally, success is
inconceivable except as a function of discipline
a) Soldiers need discipline.
b) We commonly look on the discipline of war as vastly more rigid than any discipline necessary in time
of peace, but this is an error.
c) Although soldiers are not always disciplined, they serve an important social function in wartime.
d) In times of peace, soldiers often convert easily from wartime pursuits to the discipline necessary
successfully to compete in even the most competitive marketplace.

18.) ___________________________________________. In Montreal, a flashing red traffic light

instructs drivers to careen even more wildly through intersections heavily populated with pedestrians and
oncoming vehicles. In startling contrast, an amber light in Calgary warns drivers to scream to a halt on
the off chance that there might be a pedestrian within 500 meters who might consider crossing at some
unspecified time within the current day. In my home town in New Brunswick, finally, traffic lights (along
with painted lines and posted speed limits) do not apply to tractors, all terrain vehicles, or pickup trucks,
which together account for most vehicles on the road. In fact, were any observant Canadian dropped
from an alien space vessel at an unspecified intersection anywhere in this vast land, he or she could
almost certainly orient him-or-herself according to the surrounding traffic patterns.
a) People in Calgary are careful of pedestrians.
b) Although the interpretation of traffic signals may seem highly standardized, close observation reveals
regional variations across this country, distinguishing the East Coast from Central Canada and the West
as surely as dominant dialects or political inclinations.
c) People in Montreal drive faster than people in Alberta, and Maritimers generally don't pay any attention
to traffic signals at all.
d) Canadians do not follow traffic signals properly
19.) ___________________________________________. During the 1990s, I really enjoyed watching
Friends on television every Thursday night. I really wanted Rachels haircutI think every girl wanted
Rachels haircut back then! Rachels haircut went really well with the Guess Jeans that were so popular
in the 1990s. I remember all the advertisements for Guess and Calvin Klein Jeans that were in each
months Sassy magazine. I dont think Sassy magazine exists anymore, but it was one of the most
popular magazines for young women in the 1990s.
a) My favorite tv show from the 1990s was FRIENDS
b) Thinking about the 90s brings back a lot of memories about fashion and popular culture
c) The 1990s was the best decade to grow up in.
d) In the 1990s, I wanted to be the most popular kid in my school

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Professor: Vladimir Ajon Jiron

Reading Skills I
Topic Sentence

20.) ___________________________________________. Exercise is really good for ones physical and

mental health. It is proven that aerobic exercise is good for the heart, which is very important to overall
health. . Strength training is important for maintaining muscle mass and improving bone density. Both
muscle mass and bone density can decrease as we age, so improving them through strength training is
important. My grandmother broke a hip last year because her bones were so fragile. All kinds of exercise
have been shown to relieve depression, anxiety, and stress.
a) It is proven that aerobic exercise is good for the heart, which is very important to overall health.
b) Both muscle mass and bone density can decrease as we age, so improving them through strength
training is important
c) My grandmother broke a hip last year because her bones were so fragile.
d) All kinds of exercise have been shown to relieve depression, anxiety, and stress.
IDENTIFYING TOPIC SENTENCES
1. Crime is a major concern in the United States. The possibility of becoming a victim of crime,
particularly of a violent assault, is the number one fear of millions of Americans. This concern is
well founded, as 5.3 million people over the age of 12 annually will be victimized by violent
crimes. That nearly 14 million serious crimes are reported yearly to the police indicates only part
of the situation. An annual study by the Bureau of Justice Statistics surveys American households
to determine the extent of serious crime not being reported to law-enforment authorities. Initiated
in 1973, the National C rime Survey measures the number of crimes unreported to the police as
opposed to reported crime, which is documented annually by the FBIs Uniform Crime Reports
Bulletin. The results of the National Crime Survey are disturbing to the entire criminal justice
system, indicating that people and households in the United States face 49 million crime attempts
a year when unreported and reported crime occurrences are combined.
2. A living will is a legal document prepared by a patient. This document gives instructions about the
health care to be provided if the patient becomes terminally ill or falls into a permanent coma or
persistent vegetative state. A living will is a way for the patient to make health-care decisions
before experiencing a healthcare emergency. A living will specifies whether the patient wants to
be kept on life-support machines. It specifies whether the patient wants tube feedings or artificial
(IV) hydration when the patient is in a coma or persistent vegetative state. It may also contain
other instructions related to health care. For example, the living will may contain a Do Not
Resuscitate (DNR) order. This order instructs any healthcare worker not to use cardiopulmonary
resuscitation if the comatose or terminally ill patient experiences a life threatening event, such as
heart attack or stroke.
3. The United States has a severe fire problem that if not addressed, will continue to worsen
drastically. Fire statistics show that our nation, one of the richest and most technologically
sophisticated countries in the world, lags behind its peer nations in fire security. Nationally, there
are millions of fires, thousands of deaths, tens of thousands of injuries, and billions of dollars lost
each yearfigures which far exceed comparable statistics for other industrialized countries. In
2001, for example, the direct value of property destroyed in fires was $11 billion ($44 billion if the
World Trade Center loss is included). More recently in 2004, direct property losses from fires
were estimated at over $9.8 billion.

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Professor: Vladimir Ajon Jiron

Reading Skills I
Topic Sentence

4. Vitamin B12 (cyanocobalamin) is found in mollusks, clams, beef liver, rainbow trout, and fortified
cereals. Vitamin B12 is needed for healthy nerve cells, to make DNA, and for the formation of red
blood cells. Vitamin B12 is bound to the protein in food, and hydrochloric acid in the stomach
releases B12 from the protein during digestion. Once released, B12 combines with a substance
called intrinsic factor (IF) before it is absorbed into the bloodstream. Deficiency is a very serious
problem, ultimately leading to irreversible nerve damage signified by numbness and tingling in the
hands and feet. Signs and symptoms include fatigue, weakness, nausea, constipation, flatulence,
loss of appetite, weight loss, and difficulty in maintaining balance, depression, confusion, poor
memory, and soreness of the mouth or tongue. The RDI is 2.4 mg/day for both males and
females.
5. The star system has been the backbone of the American film industry since the mid 1910s. Stars
are the creation of the public, its reigning favorites. Their influence in the fields of fashion, values,
and public behavior has been enormous. The social history of a nation can be written in terms of
its film stars, Raymond Durgnat has observed. Stars confer instant consequence to any film they
appear in. Their fees have staggered the public. In the 1920s, Mary Pickford and Charles Chaplin
were the two highest paid employees in the world. Contemporary stars such as Julia Roberts and
Tom Cruise command salaries of many millions per film, so popular are these box-office giants.
Some stars had careers that spanned five decades: Bette Davis and John Wayne, to name just
two.
6. For decades, we have looked at our steadily increasing life expectancy rate and proudly
proclaimed that Americans health has never been better. Recently, however, health organizations
and international groups have attempted to quantify the number of years a person lives with a
disability or illness, compared with the number of healthy years. The World Health Organization
summarizes this concept as healthy life expectancy. Simply stated, healthy life expectancy refers
to the number of years a newborn can expect to live in full health, based on current rates of
illness and mortality and also on the quality of their lives. For example, if we could delay the onset
of diabetes so that a person didnt develop the disease until he or she was 60 years old, rather
than developing it at 30, there would be a dramatic increase in this individuals healthy life
expectancy.

7. The functions of desktop publishing software are similar to those of word processing programs,
except that some capabilities are more sophisticated. A user can enter text using the desktop
publishing program in the same way that he or she can enter text with a word processing
program. In addition, the user can retrieve text from a file created by another program. For
example, the user may enter, edit, and save text using a word processing program and then
retrieve the saved text using the desktop publishing program.
8. Are you twittered out? Is all that texting causing your thumbs to seize up in protest? If so, youre
not alone. Like millions of others, you may find that all of the pressure for contact is more than
enough stress for you! Known as technostress, the bombardment is defined as stress created by
a dependence on technology and the constant state of being plugged in or wirelessly connected,
which can include a perceived obligation to respond, chat, or tweet.
9. In the past, exposure to liability made many doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals
reluctant to stop and render aid to victims in emergency situations, such as highway accidents.
Almost all states have enacted a Good Samaritan law that relieves medical professionals from
liability for injury caused by their ordinary negligence in such circumstances. Good Samaritan
laws protect medical professionals only from liability for their ordinary negligence, not for injuries

Universidad Latina de Costa Rica

Professor: Vladimir Ajon Jiron

Reading Skills I
Topic Sentence

caused by their gross negligence or reckless or intentional conduct. Most Good Samaritan laws
protect licensed doctors and nurses and laypersons that have been certified in C PR. Good
Samaritan statutes generally do not protect laypersons who are not trained in CPRthat is, they
are liable for injuries caused by their ordinary negligence in rendering aid.
10. At some time or another, many close relationships go through a conflict phase. Were always
fighting, complains a newlywed. But if she were to analyze these fights, she would discover
important differences among them. According to communication researchers Miller and
Steinberg, most conflicts fit into three different categories. There is (1) pseudoconflicttriggered
by a lack of understanding. There is (2) simple conflictstemming from different ideas,
definitions, perceptions, or goals. Finally there is (3) ego conflictwhich occurs when conflict gets
personal.