Lastructions of the assignment

1. Read the texts and complete the tasks,

2. Draw the graphic organizer to show the main ideas, examples and supporting details in the reading.

3. Write a short summary of the reading. Tell the main ideas. For each main idea, give one or two
examples. Use the information in your graphic organizer to help you. You do not need to use the same
words and phrases as in the reading, but make sure the meaning ts the same.

4. Prepare for the speaking. Talk about the main idea of reading /e.g what did you understand Srom the
reading, what was the main idea of the text

Reading 1. Secrets of a Happy Brain: Reading Comprehension

The human brain remembers negative experiences more easily than positive ones. Our brains have
developed this way because threats, like dangerous animals, had a more immediate effect on our
ancestors’ survival compared to positive things like food or shelter. As a result, you likely know what
makes you unhappy, but do you know what makes you happy?

Research suggests that our level of happiness depends partly on factors we cannot control —our genes
and our life circumstances. But our level of happiness is also shaped by the choices we make. If you’ve
been chasing wealth, fame, good looks, material things, and power, you may be looking for happiness in
all the wrong places. Psychologists suggest that the following seven habits make people happier.

People who form close relationships tend to be happier than those who do not. The number of friends
we have is not important. What matters is the quality of our relationships. Relationships that bring
happiness usually involve the sharing of feelings, mutual respect, acceptance, trust, fun and empathy.

People who make a habit of caring for the wellbeing of others tend to be happier. This might involve
volunteering for an organization or reaching out to support friends and family on a regular basis.

People who exercise regularly improve both their physical and mental well-being. Some research has
shown that exercise can be as effective as medication in treating depression.

When we are so interested in an activity we enjoy that we lose track of time, we are in a state of flow.
The activity could be making art, playing piano, surfing, or playing a game. People who experience flow
in their work or hobbies tend to be happier.

People who include spirituality in their daily life tend to be happier. Practicing spirituality is a way of
recognizing and trying to understand the wonder and beauty of existence. Some people do this by going
to a place of worship or praying. Some people practice yoga or meditation. Some people go for long
walks in nature.

People are more likely to be happy if they know what their strengths ace and use them regularly. People
who set goals and use their strengths to achieve them tend to be hap ier. People are especially
happy when they can use their strengths to serve the greater good.

People who think positively by being grateful, mindful - timistic are more likely to be happy. Being -
grateful means being thankful. Being mindful means being open to, focusing on, and enjoyin od REN
experiences of the present moment. Being optimistic means being hopeful about the future.
1. How does the author explain spirituality?
A. It is a way of making new friends.
B. It is a way or recognizing the need to protect and preserve the beauty of nature.
C. It is a way of recognizing and trying to understand the wonder and beauty of life.
2. According to the reading, people are in a state of flow when _____.
A. people include spirituality in their daily lives .
B. we feel the need to help others.
C. time seems to pass very quickly.
3. What would the author think is not a way of caring for the well-being of others?
A. volunteering at a home for old people.
B. giving advice to a friend who has marriage problems.
C. practicing yoga or meditation.
4. What is part of thinking positively?
A. feeling bad about decisions we have made.
B. wishing that we could change the past.
C. appreciating what we have.
5. What is not given as a way people can include spirituality in their daily lives?
A. going to a place of worship.
B. taking long walks in nature.
C. getting regular exercise.
6. What is not mentioned in the reading as being part of a quality relationship?
A. enthusiasm.
B. sharing of feelings.
C. mutual respect.
7. Things we cannot control that affect our level of happiness are:
A. the number and quality of relationships we have.
B. the number of volunteer positions we have.
C. our genes.
8. Why doesn't the brain remember positive experiences as much as negative ones?
A. Our ancestors didn't understand what made them happy.
B. Positive experiences were not as important for the survival of our ancestors as negative ones.
C. Positive experiences like having food and shelter were necessary for the survival of our ancestors.
9. What is not part of being mindful?
A. taking pleasure in what you are doing at this time.
B. enjoying the memory of a past experience.
C. focusing on this moment.
10. The writer probably believes that can help someone experiencing depression.
A. learning to play the piano or guitar.
B. learning to make art.
C. starting an exercise program.
Reading 2. The Hitchhiker: Reading Comprehension .

As Andrea turned off the motorway onto the road to Brockbourne, the small village in which she lived, it
was four o'clock in the afternoon, but already the sun was falling behind the hills. At this time in
December, it would be completely dark by five o'clock. Andrea shivered, The y car was not

cold, but the trees bending in the harsh wind and the patches of yesterday's enow atill heaped in the fi
Id made her feel chilly inside. [t was another ten miles to the cottage where she lived with her hi band
Michael, and the dim light and wintry weather made her feel a little lonely She would have liked to Ji ten
to the radio, but it had been stolen from her car when it was parked outside her office in London about
two weeks ago, and she had not got around to replacing it yet.

She was just coming out of the little village of Mickley when she saw the old lady. standing by the toad,
with a crude hand-written sign saying "Brockbourne” in her hand. Andrea was surprised She had never
seen an old lady hitchhiking before. However, the weather and the coming darkness made her feel sort)
for the lady. waiting hopefully on a country road like this with little traffic. Normally, Andrea would
never pick up a hitchhiker when she was alone, thinking it was too dangerous, but what was the harm
im doing a favor for a little old lady like this? Andrea pulled up a little way down the road, and the lady,
holding a big shopping bag. hurried over to climb in the door which Andrea had opened for her.

When she did get in. Andrea could see that she was not, in fact. so little. Broad and fat, the old lady had
some difficulty climbing in through the car door, with her big bag, and when she had got in, she more
than filled the seat next to Andrea. She wore a long, shabby old dress, and she had a yellow hat pulled
down low over her eyes. Panting noisily from her effort, she pushed her big brown canvas shopping bag
down onto the floor under her feet, and said in a voice which was almost a whisper, "Thank you dearie
~I'm just going to Brockbourne."

“Do you live there?” asked Andrea, thinking that she had never seen the old lady in the village in the
four years she had lived there herself.
“No, dearie,” answered the passenger, in her soft voice, "I'm just going to visit a friend. He was
supposed to meet me back there at Mickley, but his car won't start, so 1 decided to hitchhike — there
isn't a bus until seven, and I didn't want to wait. I knew some kind soul would give me a lift.”

Something in the way the lady spoke, and the way she never turned her head, but stared continuously
into the darkness ahead from under her old yellow hat, made Andrea uneasy about this strange
hitchhiker. She didn't know why, but she felt instinctively that there was something wrong, something
odd, something....dangerous. But how could an old lady be dangerous? it was absurd.

Careful not to turn her head, Andrea looked sideways at her passenger. She studied the hat, the dirty
collar of the dress, the shapeless body, the arms with their thick black hairs....

Thick black hairs?

Hairy arms? Andrea's blood froze.

This wasn't a woman. It was a man.

At first, she didn't know what to do. Then suddenly, an idea came into her racing, terrified brain.
Swinging the wheel suddenly, she threw the car into a skid, and brought it to a halt.

“My God!" she shouted, "A child! Did you see the child? I think I hit her!"

The “old lady” was clearly shaken by the sudden skid. "I didn't see anything dearie,” she said. "I don't
think you hit anything." .

"I'm sure it was a child!" insisted Andrea. "Could you just get out and have a look? Just see if there’s
anything on the road?” She held her breath. Would her plan work?

It did. The passenger slowly opened the car door, leaving her bag inside, and climbed out to investigate.
As soon as she was out of the vehicle, Andrea gunned the engine and accelerated madly away. The car
door swung shut as she rounded g bend, and soon she had put a good three miles between herself and
the awful hitchhiker.

It was only then that she thought about jae bag ly ing on the floor in front of her. Maybe the bag would
provide some information about the real iden about the old woman who was not an old woman, Pulling
into the side of the road, Andrea lifted the heavy bag onto her lap and opened it curiously.

It contained only one item — a small hand aae, with a razor-sharp blade. The axe, and the inside of the
bag, were covered with the dark red stains of dried blood. Andrea began to scream.

1. Where did Andrea work?

A. Brockbourne
B. Mickley
C. London
D. the text doesn't say
2. How was Andrea feeling as she drove home?
A. happy
B. afraid
C. lonely
D. hot
3. Why didn't she listen to the radio?
A. The radio had been stolen from her car.
B. She liked peace and quiet.
C. The radio was broken.
D. There was a strike at the radio station.
4. Why did she stop to give the old lady a ride?
A. It was a cold evening.
B. Andrea felt lonely.
C. She felt sorry for the lady.
D. All of the above.
5. Where did the lady want to go?
A. Brockbourne
B. Mickley
C. London
D. The text doesn't say
6. What made Andrea afraid when she looked at the old lady?
A. She had a moustache.
B. She had a hard voice like a man.
C. She had a shopping bag.
D. She had hairy arms.
7. Why did Andrea suddenly stop the car?
A. She thought she had hit a child in the road.
B. She skidded on some ice in the road.
C. She wanted to trick the passenger into getting out.
D. She was so afraid that she couldn't concentrate, and she nearly had a crash.
8. What did Andrea do when the "old lady” got out?
A. waited for her
B. drove away quickly
C. opened her bag
D. switched off the engine
9. Why did Andrea look in the old lady's bag?
A. She wanted to steal what was in it.
B. She wanted to find her address so that she could send the bag back to her.
C. She wanted to borrow the old lady's tools.
D. She wanted to find out who the strange passenger was.
10. What was the “old lady” probably going to do to Andrea?
A. nothing
B. killher
C. give her an axe
D. visit her in Brockbourne
Reading 3. The Most Amazing Structure on Earth: Main Idea & Comprehension Questions

There are people who say the most amazing structure on earth is the human brain. It is so complex that
it took about 700 million years to develop. Humans started out as wormlike creatures that used one end
of the body to move forward. Ever so slowly, a bunch of nerves began developing at that one end the
head. These nerves helped the creature to sense light, food and danger. Eventually, this bunch of nerves
became the creature’s brain. To carry messages from the brain to other parts of the body, the creature
grew a spinal cord. Later, the creature became a fish with eyes, ears and a nose that could send the
brain information about sights, sounds and smells.

More time passed, and the fish grew arms and legs so it could move about on land. For this, it needed a
larger and more complex brain. It became an ape-like creature, and the parts of the brain used for
seeing images and being social grew much stronger. Finally, the ape-like creature became human, with a
brain that was capable of reason, emotion, creativity, memory and the ability to judge right from
wrong.

The human brain is very mysterious. Many questions about the brain have not yet been answered. For
example, why do we need to sleep or why do we dream? There is a lot about the brain that we do not
yet understand. Believe it or not, people used to think of the brain as useless stuffing. Of course, we now
know the brain is our control centre. The surface of the brain is called the cerebral cortex. It is the part
of the brain that makes us intelligent, and it consists of four parts called lobes. The front lobe is where
much of our thinking and feeling happens. The top lobe processes information which is coming from
parts of our bodies, such as our skin and muscles. The side lobe plays an important role in hearing,
speech and long-term memories while the back lobe processes images from our eyes.
Which do you think is more powerful: your brain or a supercomputer? You might be surprised to learn
that the world’s best supercomputer is only about as powerful as half a mouse brain! Your brain is
packed with 100 billion brain cells called neurons. They send information to your body telling it what to
do, and they receive information from each of your senses, what you see, feel, taste, hear and touch. All
of this information travels to and from parts of your body along your spinal cord, which is like a highway
found down the centre of your back. As the information travels from neuron to neuron, pathways are
created. When you think about or practice something again and again, those pathways get stronger.
That’s how the brain learns and remembers. Actually, you were born with most of the neurons you have
now, but when you were a baby, you didn’t have many pathways to connect them. As an adult, you now
have more than 125 trillion connections between your neurons. No computer on earth can compete
with the speed of your brain and how much information it can hold.

1. What is the main idea of the last paragraph?

A. People are born with most of the neurons they have when they become adults.
B. The brain's neurons send and receive information throughout the body faster than any computer.
C. The brain has 100 million cells called neurons.
2. As used in this reading, the words "useless stuffing" refer to:
A. unused or new neurons inside the brain
B. unimportant material
C. unimportant lobes on the surface of the cerebral cortex
3. A mouse brain is______
A. about twice as strong as the world's best supercomputer
B. about as strong as the world'd best supercomputer
C. about half as strong as the world's best supercomputer
4. What is the main idea of the third paragraph?
A. The cerebral cortex has three parts,
B. People used to think the brain was not Important.
C. The cerebral cortex, which has four parts, makes us Intelligent,
5. The cerebral cortex consists of______
A. four parts called neurons
B. useless stuffing
C. four parts called lobes
6. The top of the cerebral cortex______
A. processes things that people touch
B. processes images from our eyes
C. processes sounds that people hear
7. The brain's neurons use the spinal cord like a______
A. map which shows the locations of different parts of the body
B. pathway
C. highway
8. Adult humans have ______ connections between neurons.
A, 100 billion
B. 125 trillion
C. 700 million
9. People who injure the side lobe of the cerebral cortex______
A. may not be able to feel happiness or sadness as well as other people
B. are usually not very intelligent
C. may have trouble remembering things
Reading 4. The Effects of Stress: Reading Comprehension

There is a famous expression in English: "Stop the world, I want to get off!" This expression refers to a
feeling of panic, or stress, that makes a person want to stop whatever they are doing, try to relax, and
become calm again. 'Stress' means pressure or tension, It is one of the most common causes of health
problems in modern life. Too much stress results in physical, emotional, and mental health problems.

There are numerous physical effects of stress. Stress can affect the heart. It can increase the pulse rate,
make the heart miss beats, and can cause high blood pressure. Stress can affect the respiratory system.
It can lead to asthma. It can cause a person to breathe too fast, resulting in a loss of important carbon
dioxide. Stress can affect the stomach. It can cause stomach aches and problems digesting food. These
are only a few examples of the wide range of illnesses and symptonis resulting from stress.

Emotions are also easily affected by stress. People suffering from stress often feel anxious, They may
have panic attacks. They may feel tired all the time, When pcople are under stress, they often overreact
to little problems, For example, a normally gentle parent under a lot of stress at work may yell at a child
for dropping a glass of juice. Stress can make people angry, moody, or nervous.

Long-term stress can lead to a variety of serious mental illnesses. Depression, an extreme feeling of
sadness and hopelessness, can be the result of continued and increasing stress. Alcoholism and other
addictions often develop as a result of overuse of alcohol or drugs to try to relieve stress. Eating
disorders, such as anorexia, are sometimes caused by stress and are often made worse by stress. If
stress is allowed to continue, then one’s mental health is put at risk. It is obvious that stress is a serious
problem. It attacks the body. It affects the emotions. Untreated, it may ‘ vontually ronult in mental
diiness, Stress has a great influence on the health and well-being of our bodies, “ our feelings, and our
minds, So, reduce stress: stop the world and rest for a while.

1. Which of the following is not a common problem caused by stress?

A. physical problems
B. anecdotal problems
C. montal problema
D. emotional problems
2. According to the essay, which of the following parts of the body does not have physical problems
caused by stress.
A. the arms
B. the stomach
C. the lungs
D. the heart
3. Which of the following show how stress can affect the emotions? Choose the correct answer.
A. it can make people feel nervous
B. it can cause panic attacks
C. it can make people feel elated
D. itcan make people feel angry
4. Which of the following can result from long-term stress? Choose the correct answer
A. Bliss
B. Depression
C. Alcoholism
D. whimsy
5. Choose the best answer to explain how alcoholism is caused by stress.
A. alcohol is used to relieve stress
B. alcohol is popular
C. alcoho! is a chemical
D. alcohol is similar to medicine
6. Choose all of the answers that can complete this sentence: Stress can affect the respiratory system
by_____ .
A. causing stomach problems
B. causing asthma
C. a loss of carbon dioxide
D. causing breathing problems
7. Symptoms of emotional stress include_______.
A. feeling joyous
B. feeling hungry
C. feeling thirsty
D. feeling tired
Reading 5. Why People Get Tattoos

Jack lay, quiet and unmoving, for thirty minutes while a stranger repeatedly stabbed him with sharp
needles, causing blood to pour steadily out of his leg. Jack was getting a tattoo. His friend Tony had
recently gotten a tattoo, and Jack was so impressed by Tony's bravery and his tattoo that he decided to
get one too. Getting a tattoo because your friends and peers have them is just one of the reasons why a
lot of young people in North America get tattoos. Peer pressure, media influence, and
personal expression are some of the common reasons for wearing tattoos today.

The desire to be part of a group, to be accepted by one's friends or peers, can have a great influence on
what a person docs. Sometimes, wearing a tattoo can be a sign that you belong to a certain group.
Gangs ofien use special clothes and tatioos to identify their particular group. For example, in one ging all
the members may wear green army jackets and have large 'Xs' tattooed on their arms. It is not only
gangs that have this type of special 'uniform', Young people often belong to a certain group of friends,
Some of these groups wear only brand-name clothes. Some wear only black clothes. Others wear
tattoos, When a person's friends are all doing something, such as getting a tattoo, that person is more
likely to do the same thing, and get a tattoo too.

The media is another big influence behind the popularity of tattoos in North America. A wide variety of
media images show tattoos. Tattoos can be seen on people appearing in commercials selling expensive
cars. Famous sports heroes with tattoos are shown in magazines. Fashion models are often secn in
magazines and on TV wearing designer clothes that show their bodies tattooed with detailed and
colourful patterns, These media images link tattoos to ideas of wealth, success, and status. As a result,
many people decide to get a tattoo for its fashion and status value.

It is not always the influence of other people or the media that results in a person getting a tattoo. Many
people decide to wear tattoos in order (o express their artistic nature, their beliefs, or their feclings «in
other words, to show their individuality. A musician in a rock band may get a tattoo ofa guitar on the
arm, Some environmentalists may tattoo pictures of endangered animals on their shoulders. Lovers may
tattoo each others' names over their hearts. A tattoo can be a public sign to show what is important in a
person's life.

As you can sce, there are many reasons why young North Americans get tattoos. A tattoo can be part ofa
group's uniform. It can be a sign of fashion. It can be an expression of individuality. The decision to get a
tattoo is most often a result of the influence of friends or media or the desire to express oneself, For
Jack, it was a mixture of all three.

1. According to the essay, what are the three most common reasons why a person gets a tattoo?
A. pressure from their peers
B. it is healthy
C. influence from the media
D. a way of personal expression
2. According lo the essay, which of the following are common ways that people show they belong to a
ceilain group?
A. wearing a tattoo B. wearing special clothes
C. wearing a special uniform
D. wenting a special kind of socks
3. According to the essay, which of the following are ways that the media uses tattoos in advertising?
A. to sell cars
B. by using fashion models
C. by using sports stats
D. by using endangered species
4 According to the essay, media images are linked to . Choose all that apply.
A. wealth
B. strtus
C. stiecens
D. debt
5. Acconding to the ensay, which of the following are possible artistic reasons for getting tattoos?
A. to show membership in a band
B. to show a lover's name
C. to show pictures of animals that may become extinct
D. to show which language you speak.
6. Jack was stabbed for thirty minutes with a needle because_____.
A. he was getting a tattoo
B. he was getting acupuncture
C. he is was getting his ears pierced
D. he was getting a nose ring
7. According to the essay, some people get tattoos because_____.
A. they think it is fashionable
B. they like pain
C. they think it will wash off in the bath
D. they are religious
8. According to the essay, Jack thinks people who get tattoos are .
A. brave
B. cowardly
C. old fashioned
D. nitwits
9. The reason Jack wanted to get a tattoo was .
A. the influence of friends
B. the influence of the media
C. a desire to express himself
D. all of the above