Vocabulary Knowledge for Effective Reading Guessing unknown vocabulary ‘what do you usually do when you come toa word you do not know in your reading? Doyou a. look it up in the dictionary? b. ask your teacher? ¢. ask another student ora frend? 4. try to guess what it means? Ifyou answered a b o then you are not reading as effectively and efficiently as you could be. Infact, the best strategy for dealing with an unknown word is to try to guess what it means, This strategy ‘Is fast because you don’t interrupt your reading. ‘+ helps your comprehension because you stay focused on the general sense of what you are reading, + helps bulld vocabulary because you are more likely to remember the words. + allows you to enjoy your reading more because you don’t have to stop often. Guessing meaning from context in sentences When you try to guess the meaning of an unknown word, you use the text surrounding the word—the context. One sentence may be enough to give you the meaning, oF you may need to use a longer passage. Example: Do you know what “misogynist” means? If not, try to make a guess: A misogynist is 950 Now read these sentences. Try again to guess what misogynist means. 4, She realized that her boss was a misogynist soon after she started working for him. ». Its difficult for a woman to work for a misogynist. She is never sure of the reasons for hls cltcism. . She knew that no woman would ever get a top-level job in a company owned by a misogynist ‘We know from sentence a that a misogynist is a man. From sentence b we learn that a misogynist criticizes women’s work. Then from c we understand that a misogynist has. ‘negative feelings about women. ‘These exercises will help you develop the skill of guessing vocabulary in context ifyou: + Do not usea dictionary! + Do not talk about the vocabulary with other students until you have tried to make a {guess on your own and everyone else has finished. + Do not try to translate the unknown words into your own language. Instead, you should try to describe them or give words with similar meanings in English! exeneine 1 > {In ach of the following ltoms, thore Is 2 word you may not know. Guess the moaning of the word {rom the context ofthe sentences. Then compare your work with another student. 1, What does “ravenous” mean? Could I have a piece of bread? I missed breakfast and I'm simply ravenous. ‘The poor horse was ravenous and it ate the leaves and bark off the tres. 2, What does “Aippers” mean? ‘We were all surprised to see how fast Johnny was swimming. Then we saw that he was ‘wearing flippers. With my flippers on my feet, [felt like a fish, I had never swum so fast and so far! 3. What does “wink” mean? George winked to me from across the room. It was a signal not to say anything about what we had seen. {ve only known one cat that could wink and that was Tinker. She really could close just one of her eyes and she did it often.4, What does “sallow” mean? ‘The poor child had sallow skin and very thin, bony arms and legs You could tell from his sallow complexion that he had lived in an unhealthy climate for many yeats. 5. What does “dike” mean? After so much rain, the river flowed over the dike and into the fields. People in this area began building dikes many centuries ago. It was the only way to keep the sea out of ther villages. 6. What does “gaudy” mean? ‘She was wearing such gaudy clothes that it was easy to find her in the crowd. “My mother always said that old ladies shouldn’t wear bright colors. She thought that they would look gaudy and foolish. exercise 2 > _Imeach of the following tems there Is @ word you may not know. Guess the meaning of the word ‘rom the context of the santences. Then compare your work with another student. 1. What does “pitch” mean? “The singer was so terribly off pitch that ft hart my east listen “The ambulance siren was at sich a high pitch that we all jumped. 2, What does “shred” mean? ‘He read the letter carefully and then tore it to shreds, ‘Sammy was a real mess when he came home: his clothes were in shreds and he was ‘covered with mud. 3. What does “mold” mean? ‘The liquid plastic was poured into a mold and left there until it was hard. ‘The dentist frst makes a mold of his patient's teeth. From that he makes a model of the teeth to decide how to correct any problems. or2 4. What does “eaves” mean? Some birds had built a nest high up on the eaves of our house. Houses in the mountains have wide eaves so the snow will not pile up against the windows, 5. What does “pressing” mean? Mr. Brewster had some very pressing business, so he had to leave before the meeting, ‘The state of the environment is one of the most pressing problems of our time. 6, What does “porch” mean? ‘On nice days, old Mrs, Willows always sat out on her porch and watched the people pass by. From the second floor porch, there was a wonderful view of the ocean. exenetae 3 In each of the following toms, there I 2 ward you may not know. Guess the meaning of the word ‘rom the context ofthe sentences. Then compare your work with another student. 1, What does “stoop” mean? The old man walked slowly along, all stooped over and leaning on a stick. ‘When I stooped down to get a better look, I realized that it was a dead rabbit. It must hhave been hit by a car. 2, What does “squall” mean? ‘The squall arrived so suddenly that we all got wet when we ran home from the beach. ‘When they saw the squall coming, the sailors took down the sail and headed for the port. 3. What does “gush” mean? ‘When the fountain was turned on, the water gushed up several fet into the air ‘The blood gushed out of his wound until the doctor put on a tight bandage.4. What does “rugged” mean? Susan and her husband led a rugged life in the Alaskan mountains, with no electricity and no running water. ‘The young man’s face was rugged, but his smile was friendly and the children soon forgot their fears. 5. What does “imp” mean? ‘What an imp he was! Little Tommy was always getting into trouble, but making us laugh about i. ‘With her pointed litle chin, bright eyes and impish expression, we didn’t know ‘whether to believe the child, 6. What does “soggy” mean? ‘The study window had been left open during the storm, and my papers were & soggy mess. ‘We gathered up the soggy towels and bathing sults and hung them all in the sun todry. Using grammar to guess word meaning Another way context can help you guess meaning is by giving you information about the ‘grammar, When you find a word you do not know, look at the grammatical structure of the sentence. It will tell you about the function of the word—as a noun, verb, pronoun, adjective, or adverb, etc. Then you have a much narrower range of choices for guessing. the meaning In each of the following sentences, there is one word that you probably do not know. ‘Look at the grammatical structure ofthe sentence and decide whether the word is a noun, verb, adjective, or adverb. Then guess the meaning. Compare your answers with another student. ‘Example: The news that John was resigning from his job surprised us all. We simply couldn't fathom why he wanted to leave now that the company was finally doing so well ‘What isthe grammatical function of fathom in this sentence? If you wrote “verb,” you were correct. Only a verb makes sense here after “couldn't.” [Now can you guess what fathom means? Ifyou answered “understand” or something similar, you were correct.{In each of the following sentences, there ls one word you probably do not know: Look at the ‘grammatical structure ofthe sontence and decide what the grammatical function ofthe word f. ‘Then try to guess the meaning. Compare your work with another student. 1. The only person in the room was a daddering old man who didn’t seem to understand, ‘our question, Grammatical function of doddering: Approximate meaning: 2. “What's all that muckus?” Dad called to us. “Ifyou can’t be quiet you'll all go to bed with no supper!” Grammatical function of ruckus: Approximate meaning: 3. His breath reeked of whiskey, and from the way he walked, we guessed he had been _ inthe paragraphs below, one word has been replaced with a nonsense word. Worklng with nother ‘student, try to guess what that nonsense word means. If you do not know the exact meaning in English, try to describe It Read the whole paragraph fst. 1. What do you think “zip” means? Nobody wants a zip near their home. Fist of all, the usually do not smell very pleasant. Ifthe wind is from the right direction, you may get that smell at home. Zips attract lots of insects, such as fies and mosquitoes. Animals such as rats and mice foften come to live inthe neighborhood too. A nearby zip may also mean you will have noisy trucks on your street all day. And finally, the most serious problem with zips is ‘that they may pollute the drinking water. This does not always happen. But some- times, the garbage has dangerous chemicals init. Then when it rains, the chemicals center the water underground and make it unsafe to drink, 2, What do you think “zap” means? ‘When people think about sources of water pollution, they do not usually think of zaps. However, asthe demand grows for fish to eat, the number of zaps is increasing. In some areas, they are beginning to create environmental problems. In fact, when fish are in their natural environment, they do not pollute. But in zaps, the situation is not ‘natural. There are usually lots of fish in very litle water. This means that the water ‘must be changed very often. And each time itis changed, the dirty water must be ‘thrown away. Itis usually poured directly from the zaps into a river or the ocean. The ‘chemical balance of the river or coastline is changed by this dirty water. And the plants and animals living there may suffer. 3. What do you think “2ep” means? In the United States and in many European counties, there Isa serious problem. ‘What should be done with the garbage? There is no more room for garbage dumps. It {snot possible to burn garbage, because that pollutes the air, So the governments are looking for ways to reduce the amount of garbage that is produced. One way to do this {i to zep as much as possible. Not all kinds of garbage can be zepped, of course. The ‘easiest things to zep are probably glass and paper. However, one can also zep many kinds of metal and plastic. Many cities now require people to zep these materials. The people must put them separately from the regular garbage. Then special trucks take ‘them away and bring them to private companies. These companies will buy them and use them againse exorcise 6 1In the paragraphs below, one word has been replaced with a nonsense word. Working with another ‘student, try to guess what that nonsense word means. you do not know the exact meaning In English, try to describe it. Read the whole paragraph ft. 1, What do you think “zip” means? Experiments have shown that some animals have an extraordinary sense of direc- ton. The zip is a good example ofthis. In 1957, some scientists took eighteen zips from their home on the island of Midway in the Pacific Ocean. These zips were sent by airplane to some distant places, such as Japan, the Philippines, and the Hawallan Islands. Then they were set fre, Scientists already knew that zips could fly for great distances because of their huge wings. But no one thought that the zips would be able to find thelr way home, Afterall, Midway is just a very litle island in the middle of a very large ocean. However, fourteen of the zips did get to Midway. They got there very quickly, too. One flew from the Philippines—4,120 km.—In only 32 days! 2. What do you think “zap” means? Another animal with a very good sense of direction is the Monarch butterfly. The ‘Monarch Is a beautiful orange-colored butterfly. It is one ofthe larger kinds of butter- ‘lies, but is tll only an insect. All Monarchs spend the winter in a certain area of central Mexico. In the eatly spring, they begin to zap north. The butterflies that leave ‘Mexico will die on their way. However, their children or grandchildren will zap all the way to northern United States or Canada. Then, in the fall, these new butterflies start zapping south. They have never been to Mexico, but they manage to find the place their parents left. They will even go to live in the same trees. Scientists believe that ‘genetic programming makes this possible, but they do not know how. 3. What do you think “zep” means? Genetic programming is also probably the answer to the mystery of the salmon, ‘These fish are born In zeps far from the ocean, When they are big enough, they travel all the way down the zep. Then they swim out into the deep ocean water, sometimes for thousands of miles. One salmon from Washington State in the United States was ‘caught half-way to Japan, But no matter how far away they are, the fish start home in. the spring. Somehow they know where home i. Along all the many miles of coast, each salmon finds the mouth ofits own zep. Then it swims all the way up to the very same spot where it was born,Recognizing words that connect ideas Do you ever find that you are understanding words but not understanding the writer's {deas? Sometimes this happens when you do not pay attention to the words which con- nect the ideas. These words are often short, but important, Three useful kinds of words to notice are pronouns, synonyms, and summary words. Pronouns ‘Writers use pronouns because repeating the same word or name many times is boring and ‘lumsy. Pronouns can be singular or plural. This means they can replace a single ‘name/idea or a group of names/ideas. Here i a list of some commonly used pronouns: he, she, it, we, you, they myself, yourself, herselt, me, him, her, us, them this, these, those ‘my, your, her, his, our, their eerie 9 = _Ineach paragraph, the pronouns are underlined. Wile the referent for each pronoun below. ‘Compare your work with another student. ‘Example: Modern technology has dramatically changed the way we view the world. With. air travel, satellite communications, and computers, it seems a much smaller place these cays What i it? “The world” is the referent for ‘The Problem of Old Computers 1. When a computer stops working or is replaced, one of three things can happen to At (1) It @) might be fixed up and given to someone else who can use it (3). Or per- hhaps it (4) could be taken apart and the various parts could be recycled. The greatest possibilty is that it 4) might be sent to the dump. There, it (5) would join countless other computers in filling up the limited dumping space. Write the referent for: it 2. Inthe United States, about 10 million computers are thrown away every year! Because most unwanted computers are sent to a dump, they (I) have caused a prob- lem. The computer industry and the government are working on ways to solve it (2. ‘They (3) have concluded that there must be changes in the way computers are bull ‘They (4) must be made in ways that will allow their parts to be recycled. These parts Include the electronic parts, the glass screen of the monitor, and parts of the printer. ‘Waite the referent for: 1. they 3. They 2 it 4. They 59r. 3. Anew company has started to recycle computer parts. When old computers and computer parts are received at the company, they (1) are carefully broken down into parts. These (2) include circuit boards, bits of aluminum, gold, and electronic chips. Sometimes it takes an hour to break an old personal computer down into its parts. Eventually, they (3) are all carefully sorted and stored. Then the company sells them (4) to the many customers it has found for used parts. ‘Write the referent for: 1. they 3. they 2. These 4. them exercise 10 2 meach paragraph, the pronouns are underlined White the referent fr each pronoun on the lines 60 ‘below. Compare your work with another student. Pedicabs 1, Appedicab is a small cab which is pulled by a bicycle, This human-powered trans- portation has been popular in Asian countries for many years. Two years ago, a local businessman decided to introduce it (1) in Denver, Colorado. So fat, he (2) has four of ‘hem (3) on the road, He explained that they (4) do not take the place of taxis, because people use them (5) for short rides. The passengers are often people who don’t want to walk because they (6) are dressed in evening clothes. ‘Write the referent for Lit 4. they 2. he S. them 3. them 6. they 2. The drivers of pedicabs are usually students with strong legs and friendly personalt- ties. They (1) pay the owner $15 to $25 torent a pedicab fora night. He (2) expects ‘them (3) to Keep the cab in good condition. A typical driver ears about as much as he (4) would by working asa waiter. He (5) can keep al the money he (6) is paid. One ppdicab driver said that he (7) feels like a businessman. He (8) can eam a good wage and he (9) is his own boss Write the referent for: 1. They 6. he 2. He 7. he 3. them 8. He 4. he 9. he 5. He3. Pedicabs could be a good addition to the total transportation system in many cities. In Denver, the owner of a pedicab company plans to invest in a total of twenty of them (1). He (2) believes that they (3) will be popular with baseball fans at the new baseball stadium. They (4) can use them (S) to ride to thelr parked cars or to nearby restaurants. Furthermore, he (6) thinks that pedicabs could help carry some of the crowds in Atlanta during the 1996 Olympics. And he (7) thinks they (8) would be use ful in port cities where cruise ships dock. Tourists could use them (9) to get from the port to the city cente ‘Write the referent for: 1. them 6. he 2. He 7. he 3. they 8. they 4. They 9. them 5. them ‘Synonyms Wolters make thelr writing interesting and enjoyable to read by using a variety of words. ‘They may use afew different words to name the same thing, It is important to remember that even though two diferent words are used, they could name the same thing Example: An orange can be a delicious snack, This citrus fruit is also very healthy for you because it isa good source of vitamin C. Both orange and citrus fruit name the same thing. exorcise 1 Inthe felling sentences, cele the synonym forthe underlined word. Sometimes the synonym ‘wil be more than a single word. Compare your work with another student. 1. During is history, Estonia was occupied and ruled by forces from Germany, Sweden, and other countries. Nevertheless, this small eastern-European nation stil boasts rich cultural heritage. 2, The Estonians are especially proud oftheir historic capital city. "The walls and gates of old Tallinn date back tothe 13th century. 3. A favorite activity of Fstonlans is singing in groups. They are very fond of giving choral concert 4. Every year, an al-stonian song festival is held. This event isa century-old tradition much loved by everyone. 5. On the square in the center of old Tallinn stands the oldcity hall This beautiful ‘medieval building is used now for concerts and special events 6 Tartu, a smaller city to the southeast of Tallin, isthe home of Estonia's oldest and Jargest educational institution. Tartu University is the only university in the world ‘where Estonian i the language of instruction. or62 7, Both Tallinn and Tartu were originally built to be fortresses. The two strongholds ‘were built on hills with good views of the surrounding countryside. 8, Many Estonlans have country homes on the nearby island of Saaremaa in the Baltic Sea, They visit their simple cottages often and plant large gardens there. 9. A controversial organization was recently recognized by the government. Now the Society of Estonian Nudists can meet legally in their clubs—without clothes. 10, Estonians love a good cup of coffe. In the center of Tallinn, there are many small shops where people can enjoy their favorite beverage. ‘The order of synonyms Sometimes a writer will use several synonyms to refer to the same thing. These synonyms ‘usually follow a pattern of specific to general Example: in the movie, Jurassic Park, viewers can see a tyrannosaurus rex, veloclraptors,@ tniceratops, and a brachiosautus, Scientists in the film found a way to bring these long- dead dinosaurs to life. The creatures are shown with great realism. It is easy to understand ‘why some movie-goers (especially children) were very frightened by the movie, ‘What does dinosaurs refer to? ‘What does creatures refer to? ‘These synonyms refer to the same thing. The synonyms were used in order, from specific to general: ‘Most specific: tyrannosaurus rex, velociraptors, triceratops, brachiosaurus ‘More general: dinosaurs ‘Most general: creatures exorcise 12 Witte each ofthese groups of words In order, from specific to general. Work with another student, 1. forests, oaks, tees, maples, 2. university, biology class, medical school, physiology department 3. State Street Bank, financial institution, Joan department, bank 4. office equipment, personal computers, modern technology, disks S. coins, currency, money, exchange 66, Hungarian, languages, Finnish, Estonian, Finno-Ugric language family7, Haiti, Caribbean, western hemisphere, Port-au-Prince 8, Sistine Chapel, Italian Renaissance, Michelangelo, history of western art 9. baseball, skiing, sports, football, outdoor activities 10. Big Mac with fries, meal, lunch exerctze 13 = _meach of these paragraphs, underline the synonyms and thelr referent. Wite “R” above the referent. After you finish, compare your work with another student. Example: The hardworking student reread page, athe teacher ha suggested. The page vrs very dificl for er In fat, the whole chapter was almost impossible to understand She ook break sighed, and went back to herhogk She wished thatthe teacher would 1. Late was a famous actor inthe moves nd on TV. tories about ths brown and white colle were st writen in books. Millons of children bave lard to lve the beat- fal dog She may have been an animal, but to her fans, she was a start a any living creature 2. Mi. McKinley i one ofthe words most Denutiful sights. Many people blive tat You want tomb eal mountain this Is the one! Its umm ithe tallest in North {mere sng 6197.6 meters above sea level. The snow-capped peak was ist cimbed ins 2. Jacke went canoeing on the Sao River in Maine last weekend. Although she had never paddled sch boat Delo she lermed very fast When te craft went through some rough, rocky places inthe vey, she kept it afloat. After an hou, Jackie Brought the veel safely to shore, proud of her new-found talent 4. steve hasbeen playing the oboe for many yas He fist sated oa to playthis vondvind instrament when he was in college, Now he performs inthe woodwind se ttn of the Denver Symphony Orchestra Hels proud tobe a pat of such a eat mus- cal organization 5. Many people enjoy the paintings of Rembrandt. Mastepices by this Dutchman are found in many ofthe words museums Some ofthe master’s Best works cn be sen in New Yor’ famous Metropolitan Maseum, There museum visors can fly appre- Glate the work of thls 17th century genius. (There are two referents in this paragraph! Can you find them?) 68‘Summary words ‘A summary word (or phrase) names a general idea that has many examples or parts. For ‘example, in the paragraph below, what are the referents for the summary Word, process? ‘One morning, Ayako decided to make some egg salad. Fist, she boiled the water. ‘Then she added a drop of vinegar and six eggs. She botled them for ten minutes. After ‘that, she placed the eggs in some cold water for half an hour to cool them. Then she peeled the eggs and chopped them. Finally, she added some mayonnaise and chopped celery and the salad was ready. The whole process had taken about an hour. ‘Brocess refers to each step Ayako took in making egg salad. exenciae 1¢ Te words in each list are members ofthe same group or parts of the same process. Wite the ‘summary word (or phrase) for each ist. baseball basketball football swimming tennis malaria tuberculosis scarlet fever diphtheria measles get a shovel dig a hole in the ground put lots of water inthe hole ‘unwrap the roots of the tree place the roots in the hole be sure the tree is straight cover the roots with lots of soil, stamp down the soil add more water Uranus Jupiter Satuen Mercury television set vcr cellular phone personal computer phone answering machine10. put a slice of bread om a plate seta knife ‘open a jar of peanut butter put a small amount of peanut butter on the bread spread it around ‘open a jar of jelly spread a small amount of jelly over the peanut butter cover with another slice of bread. Every body continues in a state of rest or of motion at a constant speed in a straight line unless it is disturbed by a force acting on it. ‘A force is required to accelerate a body. The strength of the force is directly proportional to the mass of the body. ‘To every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. The action is on one body, the reaction on another. cathedral verb church ‘noun temple adjective mosque pronoun chapel ‘adverb pput your mask around your neck hold your flippers in one hand walk into the surf until the water is about two feet deep sit down, facing the shore put your flippers on your feet stand up and turn around to face the sea Place the breathing tube in your mouth adjust your mask start swimming be sure to keep the end of the ar tube above the surface of the water 6s66 Referents In a longer essay exenetoe 15. > In this exercise, you wil reread the passage “Poles Apart,” on page 47. Read the ossay all the ‘way tothe end. Go back to the boginnlng and number the sentences. Then fil n the table below. Witte the referent foreach word. Check your work with another student. Sentence 3 3 2 16 v ” 23 a1 32 Word or Words __Referents k that this difference it both poles kt this climatic difference to regions ‘These animals the area this great volume of ice thisexorcize 16 ‘Read this essay all the way to the end. Then fil Inthe table below. Wite the referent for each word. Check your work with another student. ‘Tho Effects of Dumping Hazardous Wastes by Blzabeth A, Mikulecky (1) In recent years, concer about the env ronment has been growing. (2) The public has ‘become aware of many common, dangerous dumping practices. (3) These practices, some ‘of wich have been going on for years, have increased as the population has grown. (4) Recent publty has drawn public attention to ‘one form of environmental polution—tne dump Ing of hazardous chemical wastes. (6) These wastes include heavy metals (such as mercury) and other byproducts of twchoology (6) Such chemicals cause cancer, ‘brain damage, and high infant mortality rates. (7) Dumping ofthe wastes istic to supervise. (8) And, in fat, even careful dump- ing has resulted inthe destruction of whole Sentence __Word or Words 3 these 3 some of which 5 these 6 such chemicals ° they u this 2 te 13 tt 15 the later v there wv they (2) Wnen wastes ae fst put into a dum, they are usualy sealed In large metal drums. (410) As time passes, the meta rusts, and the ‘waste materials begin to leak out into the sur rounding soll. (14) This has two effects on the ‘environment. (12) Fst, the local sols offen permanent destroyed and it must be removed. (13) It becomes adetional hazardous waste to be stored somewhere ese. (14) Second, the chemical waste ean sink lower and lower nto ‘the soll and reach the water tables deep Inthe earth's surface. (1) The latter effect produces. polation ofthe water sources for many miles ‘around. (16) Sometimes the wastes spread into 2 riverbed. (17) From there, they are tkely to be carried to one of the oceans, spreading the pollution around the world, (USED ey Pression) Referents o7