Reading & Vocabulary

Farahiya Zalikha Zakaria

English, APB, UiTM
 Objectives of Lesson

1) Use contextual clues to ascertain

meanings of words and phrases
2) Employ various reading strategies to
skim for general information
3) Employ various reading strategies to
scan for specific information
4) Identify main ideas and supporting
details
Contextual Clues
 Contextual Clues

surrounding words, phrases, sentences, ideas

& events that help to guess the meanings of
unfamiliar words.
 Contextual Clues

Synonym
Example Contrast

Contextual Clues

Definition Inference
 Contextual Clues

1) Definition
Sam has been a pugilist – a professional
boxer – for the past 12 years.
Meaning:______________________

2) Example
Perishable food such as meat, fish & milk,
& are easily damaged each time a power
cut exceeds more than 2 hours.
Meaning:_____________________
 Contextual Clues
3) Synonym
The steadfastness & perseverance instilled
by her mother helped build Tina's courage
to deal with challenges.
Meaning:______________________
4) Contrast
We have to remove obsolete computing
equipment & replace them with newly
purchased, state-of-the-art hardware.
Meaning:______________________
 Contextual Clues

3) Inference
The college has undertaken several initiatives
to alleviate the increasingly serious social
problems affecting the teenage students.
Meaning:_______________________
 Practice

Go to page 106 & 107 (NatGeo Pathways)

Skimming and Scanning
 Skimming

Skimming:
- Rapid reading by glancing at a passage to
find specific information
- Purpose is to quickly gather the most
important gist of a passage.
- Not essential to understand each & every
word
 Skimming

E.g.:
- Newspaper – to quickly get the general
news of the day
- Magazines – to quickly discover which
articles you would like to read in more
detail
- Business and Travel Brochures – to
quickly get informed
 Skimming

How to skim?
- Read the title if there is one.
- Read the introduction/first paragraph.
- Read the first sentence of each
paragraph.
- Notice any pictures, charts, or graphs.
- Notice any italicized/boldface words
- Read the summary/last paragraph if
there is one.
 Practice

Skim the newspaper article given.

 Scanning

Scanning:
- Reading technique used when you want
to find specific information you’ve
already thought in mind
- Purpose is to read a passage by finding
the answer to clarify a question you
already wonder
- Unrelated information is ignored
 Scanning

How to scan?
- State the specific info you’re looking for.
- Anticipate how the answer will appear.
E.g.: look for numbers if you want to
know dates.
- Notice the headings (if there is any) to
identify sections that might contain the
info
- Selectively read and skip through sections
of the passage.
 Practice

Scan the newspaper article given. Look for

this specific information:

What are some possible psychological

disorders that might have caused people to
resort to plastic surgeries?
Identifying Main Ideas &
Supporting Details
 Identifying Main Ideas
& Supporting Details

Main Ideas - most important points of the

topic, what the writer wants you to know

Supporting Details - details supporting &

developing the main ideas such as examples,
reasons, explanation & additional information
 Identifying Main Ideas
& Supporting Details

E.g.:

Sometimes, we want to date attractive-

looking people because it improves our own
image. We would feel more confident and
have more pride especially when others feel
envious of us.
 Identifying Main Ideas
& Supporting Details

Types of Main
Ideas

Topic Sentence Implied Main Ideas

 Main idea from Topic Sentence

Topic Sentence – One sentence from a

paragraph which explains what the paragraph
is all about. Main idea is explicitly stated.
E.g.:

Some people tend to view bonuses as found money and spend

them frivolously such as changing to a more expensive car or
going on shopping spree. These are some common ways of how
people spend their year-end bonuses. Another popular choice of
spending is real estate. Some people choose to upgrade their
primary residence or invest in a second home.
 Main idea from Topic Sentence

Topic Sentence/Main idea:

These are some common ways of how people
spend year-end bonuses

Supporting details:
- spend year-end bonuses on expensive car &
shopping spree
- spend them on real estate
 Implied Main idea

Implied main idea – A summary or conclusion

of the important points in a paragraph. Main
idea is implicitly stated.
E.g.:

My brother, Jerry, was a friendly, sociable, and concerned

person whom I used to enjoy talking to. That was before he is
addicted to a computer game called ‘Mobile Legends’. Since
then, he has no time for his friends and only socialises online
with his virtual friends. It’s hard to carry on a conversation with
him at home as he only replies in monosyllables like ‘yes’ or ‘no’.
 Implied Main idea

Main idea:
Jerry’s behaviour has changed since he got
addicted to the computer game ‘Mobile
Legends’.

Supporting details:
- he was once a friendly, sociable, & concerned
person
- now he only socialises with his virtual friends
- hard to communicate with him
 Practice

We can send the same e-mail to many people in different places

simultaneously. They are transmitted within seconds or minutes to
any destination around the world. Email is cheaper than using long
distance phone calls or fax to communicate. Besides that, no
stationery or other writing material is required. Thus, e-mail can save
time and cost.

Topic sentence/Main idea: E-mail can save time and cost.

Supporting details:
- same e-mail can be sent to may people in different places
simultaneously
- transmitted within seconds or minutes to any destination
- cheaper than long distance phone calls or fax
- no stationery or other writing material required
 Practice

Melissa squints whenever she looks at the whiteboard in class.

Whenever she copies notes from the whiteboard, she somehow
leaves out a word or two. Whenever she walks along the corridor and
a friend happen to wave to her from the far end, Melissa appears not
to have noticed anything. Sometimes, she complaints of having a
headache when she reads for too long.

Main idea: Melissa has severe eyesight problems.

Supporting details:
- when copying notes from the whiteboard, she leaves some words
- when a friend waves to her from afar, Melissa doesn’t notice
- gets a headache when she reads for too long
Beautiful to the Extreme
By AUDREY VIJAINDREN - July 23, 2017 @ 2:07pm

Cosmetic surgery seems to have become more extreme. Today, fixing the nose and tucking
the tummy are no longer the reasons why people are willing to go under the knife. As the
popularity of social media soars, it is easy to gain instant fame by looking like a collectible doll
superheroes or computer game character.

The definition of beauty is often associated with celebrities and popular culture. According to
local aesthetic centres in the Klang Valley, the top 10 looks that patients ask for include Kylie
Jenner’s bee-stung lips and the double eyelids (blepharoplasty) of K-pop starlets, believed to
be the most popular procedure worldwide.

Herbert Chavez, 39, has had 23 surgeries over the last 20 years to make him look like his
comic-book hero Superman. He has spent close to RM30,000 to transform himself to look like
the Man of Steel, undergoing nose jobs, skin-whitening treatments, liposuction, jaw
realignment and filler implants. This example resonates that men are not spared from the
desire to have an out-of-this-world look that can only be achieved through cosmetic surgeries.
Recently, in Malaysia, Amirul Rizwan Musa, 21, made headlines for his unusually porcelain
look, which he said is inspired by the Final Fantasy video game character Squall Leonhart. “I
was obsessed with anime characters and I felt ashamed that I looked the way I did back then.
So, I decided to undergo plastic surgery to boost my confidence,” says Amirul, who goes by
the name Miyyo Rizone. He is reported to have spent nearly RM180,000 on cosmetic surgery.

Azah Yasmin, a registered counsellor at Bright Counselling,

reckons people like Chavez and Amirul to have problems in
controlling their negative thoughts. They won’t believe it
when people tell them that they look fine. This may cause
severe emotional distress and insecurities, which may
interfere with their daily function such as missing work or
school, avoiding socialising and isolating themselves.

According to Azah, people with constant irrational thoughts about their physical flaws may
be suffering from body dysmorphic disorder (BDD), a psychological disorder where a person
becomes obsessed with imaginary physical defects. Azah says BDD affects all age groups, but
usually starts as a teenager or young adult, the time when most people are sensitive about
their appearance. “It’s more common in people with a history of depression or social phobia.
It often occurs alongside obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), generalised anxiety disorder
or an eating disorder.” Azah says psychosocial surroundings also play a role in shaping a
person’s general outlook in life. “The person may also be going through traumatic events like
bullying, a bitter divorce or an underlying psychological condition, which he or she is not even
aware of.”

Wendy Lee, who is an image consultant, says that changing one’s appearance is no longer an
identity issue; it’s simply a choice of lifestyle. “It’s about being daring or having a carefree life,
doing whatever they like. Ten or even five years ago, if this question were to arise, the sole
reason would probably just be because there’s a body-image or self-esteem issue. But times
have changed,” says Lee, a professional brand image consultant and adjunct professor.

Adapted from https://www.nst.com.my/news/exclusive/2017/07/260023/beautiful-extreme