TASK 1

Scanning to Find Specific Information

Scan the text below to find answers to the questions following the text. Write your
answers on the space provided.

Egypt, Gift of Nile

Geographical Setting. Geography has made Egypt one of the worlds
cradles of civilization. Although the rains seldom come, it has plenty of water
for farminf and other purposes. The Nile river, the longer river in the world,
gives abundant water for irrigation, and its flood makes the soil fertile. This
wrote the famous Greek historian, Herodotus, All Egypt is the gift of Nile
Geographically, Egypt is divided into two parts --- Upper Egypt and
Lower Egypt. Egypt is bounded on the north by the Mediterranean Sea, on the
west by the Red Sea, on the east by the Libyan Desert, and on the south by
the Nubian Desert.

From World History by Dr.

Sonia M. Zaide

1. What is the longest river in Egypt? _______________________________________

2. Who wrote that All Egypt is the gift of Nile? _____________________________
3. Into how many parts is Egypt divided? ____________________________________
4. What are the names of the parts of Egypt? _____________________________ and
______________________________
5. What is on the south of Egypt? __________________________________________
6. What is on the north of Egypt? __________________________________________
7. What is on the west of Egypt? ___________________________________________
8. What is on the east of Egypt? ___________________________________________
9. What has made Egypt one of the cradles of civilization? ______________________
10. What makes Egypt soil fertile ? __________________________________________

TASK 2

Skimming to get The Main Ideas of

Texts
Skim the following texts and write the main idea of each text on the space proviced.

Text 1
We study the origin of life on earth for two important reasons. First, the study of the
early history shows us how unique and special the human race is in Gods plan of
creation. By studying how human history developed, we can better appreciate the love
of God for mankid. Second, we can learn valuable lessons from the past to help solve the
present problems. If we love and help each other, our world will have peace and
prosperity. If not, there will be more hatred --- crimes and wars will escalate because
people will kill each other and destroy society. The lesson of history repeats itself down
through the ages.
Main idea: ______________________________________________________________________________
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Text 2
Chivalry and knighthood were some of the best features of the Middle Ages. Today,
when men are no longer as polite or kind to women, they may say, Chivalry is dead.
Before women became liberated, ladies dreamed of a Knight in shining armor to come
and court them or rescue them from danger. Many a movie, TV program, play or book
has glamorized feudal chivalry and knights, for example, Sir Walter and Scotts Ivanhoe.
Main idea: ______________________________________________________________________________
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Text 3
The Jews, also called Hebrews, were a pastoral Semitic people who originally lived in
Arabian Desert and later migrated to Mesopotamia. About 1800 B.C. Abraham, at Gods
command, led them out of the city of Ur and settled in Palestine, then called Canaan.
They found Canaan, with its Jordan River and rich valleys, to be a better country then
Mesopotamia. In due time there arose the Twelve Tribes of Israel, who claimed descent
from the twelve son of Jacob, grandson of Abraham.
Time came when tragedy struck the Jews. Paraoh Rameses II conquered Palestine
and carried them off into captivity and slavery in Egypt. For many years they suffered
from bondage. In 1225 B.C., Moses led them out of Egypt across the Red Sea to the
wilderness of Sinai Peninsula. Their fight to freedom, called Exodus, is recorded in the
Old Testament. On Mount Sinai, Moses received the Ten Commandments of God.
After reaching Palestine, the Promised Land, the Jews established their cities and
homes and fought many wars. During this period arose the Jewish heroes, whose exploits
became part of Israels heritage of greatness.
Main Idea: ______________________________________________________________________________
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Text 4
The Cold War was the global battle for supremacy between United States and the
democratic countries on the one hand, and the Soviet Union and the communist countries
on the other. It was called Cold War because it was mostly fought through propaganda and
secret tactics.
Main Idea: ______________________________________________________________________________
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TASK 3

Skimming and Scanning a Text

Skim and scan the text to answer the questions in the list following the text. After writing
the answers to the questions on the long spaces provide, also indicate the reading skill/s used --skimming, scanning, or both on the shorter spaces found before the numbers.

Floods in the Greater Manila may be classified into two types: those caused solely by local storm run-off
and floods caused by the local flow of the Pasig River. In the first type, the Pasig River is not flooded; the
inundation is caused by run-off water which accumulates because of inadequate drainage system of the area.
The rise in the level of Laguna Lake is another cause of flooding in Greater Manila. In 1972, the water
level went up by six feet causing damage to the Meralco Rockwell station in Sucat, Rizal.
Mans careless habits and lack of discipline are contributory factors to the flooding of the streets.
Garbage thrown on the streets go down the manholes and clog the mains and esteros thereby preventing the
free flow of water to the Pasig River and Manila bay. The run-off water causes the occurrences of floods.
Then there was the problem of vanishing esteros. Surveys made after the 1972 floods showed that
only about 40 kilometers of esteros out of 90 kilometers of esteros in Greater Manila were in existence. The
squatters who had appropriated the esteros by living along their banks and dumping their garbage thereon
together with the influential and the rich who made illegal constructions on estero sites compounded the
problem.
A major cause of flood was the illegal and indiscriminate cutting of trees and kaingin system. Illegal
dikes build on rivers and creeks is another cause of flood. Mountains without trees are subject to soil erosion
because of the absence of deep-rooted plants. As a result, there is a rapid rush of floodwaters in the lowlands.
Heavy floods wash away roads and bridges.

Excerpts from Development and

Economics
Socio-economic problems
By Pulido and Espineli

____________ 1.) What is the main idea of the above text? ______________________________
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____________ 2.) What are the two types of floods? ___________________________________
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____________ 3.) What is one cause of flood stated in the second paragraph? _______________
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____________ 4.) Is man also one of the causes of floods? Copy the lines in the text that support
your answer. ___________________________________________________
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____________ 5.) What is a major cause of floods also stated in the text? __________________
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