SOME TIPS
In writing comprehension exams at EOI and elsewhere, a typical task is ‘headings’, i.e., matching headings with their corresponding texts or paragraphs. The texts are always related in a way. The point is practising or checking your ability to understand texts by means of discriminating between basic and secondary ideas, the real point and similar (but different) arguments.
I am going to deal with this as a writing task, but in actual fact it is also a listening task (e.g. in exams), so you can apply what is said here to this skill as well, mutatis mutandis.
Here, a heading is a sort of descriptive title or the basic idea contained in the text. It should not be a secondary idea; it should therefore not refer to just an example or one aspect in the text. It does not have to be a real summary, but, as I have said, a/the central, key idea, which the whole text deals with or revolves around or is about. So it should be something like the topic of the text, although the form can be not just a phrase, but a whole sentence, and it may in a way ‘play with words’, or rather, not be direct and straightforwardly descriptive, but partly suggestive. It is not a coincidence that the word heading is similar to the word headline: the ideas are not very different in English (a headline typically being the heading of a newspaper piece of news), and a heading can be seen as ‘the headline’ of the text – or, conversely, headlines can be seen as ‘newspaper headings’.
It is really important to fully understand the headings, rather than the whole texts. As the former are condensed, failing to understand a word or the syntax in a heading (e.g. the function of the –ing form in context) is usually the reason why the answer is not the right one. Compare these, as an example:
Children watching too much TV tend to be fatter. (a so-called present participle, which corresponds to a relative clause: children who watch too much TV)
Telly-watching children tend to be fatter. (a noun phrase functioning as subject of the sentence; the head of the phrase is children, which is preceded by a compound adjective – Spanish uses the realative clause ‘que ven la tele’ for the latter)
Watching too much TV tends to make children fatter. (a noun phrase functioning as subject of the sentence – Spanish uses the infinitive here: ‘Ver demasiado la tele’)
SO, LET’S GET STARTED
First, read the possible headings carefully. It seems to me that, unlike other kinds of listening and writing comprehension questions, the reading of the ‘questions’ (the possible headings in this case, actually) should be done constantly, not just (mainly) before the reading of the text (or, rather, texts in this case), but also after the reading of each individual text. Of course it will be sometimes possible to immediately use a heading with certainty, while in most cases, especially at the beginning, you will be only certain about the elimination of some of them. The process will continue until you are more and more certain. Review your answers at the end, when you will probably make corrections.
Here (unlike at an exam) you can choose between two options if you don’t think you really understand the headings:
a) Check doubts in a dictionary (e.g. as though, limb, chase, provide, seek).
b) Be aware of your doubts and do your best without looking the words up in your dictionary, as though you were at an exam. Make better guesses about them after reading the text and as you are trying to work out the answers and have already decided on a few certain ones. For example, ask yourself, ‘So, what could this mean?’. Several things should help you, including the context in the text if they are also used there, the realtionship between paragraphs and headings, and your previous grammatical and lexical knowledge: ‘Tears. This is certainly a plural noun. I think we commented on the difference between tear the verb and tear the noun. Oh, yes, they’re both here and they’re pronounced differently. What were the different meanings? I may remember if I look here again.’
Of course, vocabulary problems in the headings are in general much more important than those in the text! While doing these exercises, I would not use the dictionary for any vocabulary in the texts (of course unless I wanted to look up any words after finishing the exercise and checking the answers). What about vocabulary in the headings? I would follow the same principle. It would be a great idea to check doubts after finishing the exercise completely.
Be careful with ‘distractors’, i.e. the extra, wrong headings. Why do they look true but are actually false? The same happens with similar correct headings: which goes really here and which goes really there? Not all of them will ‘seem’ suitable for one given paragraph at first, but usually two or three of them do seem suitable. Is that true here?
Give yourself a more or less fixed time limit each time - perhaps between 10 and 18 minutes depending on the apparent difficulty and the length - in order to get better practice.
It is customary to provide an example at exams; that is, you can expect you’ll be given a ‘text 0’ with its correct heading as an example, so that the instruction can be better understood – there is no other reason. Here, it may depend on the number of items you have to pair up. If your exam time is really running out, just don’t read the ‘example text’ (unless you don’t have an idea about this kind of exam question – which is not actually your case, especially if you practise now!)
Let’s begin practising. The answers are at the end of this document. Must I say what you should do about them? I don’t have to! Just do the sensible thing.
(NOTE: If you don’t have a copy of the book mentioned in the first two exercises below, go to numbers 3-5 – as you may guess, these exercises were first prepared for 2010-2011 students)
1. NEVER GIVE UP (TEXT IN NEW ENGLISH FILE INTERMEDIATE, STUDENT’S BOOK, p. 47)
The text has two parts, the first about a swimmer who lost a leg and the second about one who lost an arm, with a similar structure. Number the seven paragraphs 1-7, No. 1 beginning ‘Natalie du Toit’ and No. 7 ‘Since then’.
Decide which ‘heading’ in the list below best fits each paragraph of the whole text. Notice there are 3 extra headings, not to be used. Write your answers in the boxes provided at the bottom.
A Amazing recovery, great determination, unbelievable achievement
B Arm amputated after motorbike accident
C Back to competition as though nothing had happened
D Bitter tears
E Changing her goal
F Just like before the accident
G Leg torn off by a shark
H Limb torn off
I Not just sport, lately
J Part of a limb cut off
Your answers:
2. JAM TODAY, TOMORROW, YESTERDAY… (TEXT IN NEW ENGLISH FILE INTERMEDIATE, STUDENT’S BOOK, p. 19)
Here is another text with paragraphs. It has actually been practised by some of you (most people in one or two groups)!
Decide which ‘heading’ in the list below best fits each paragraph. Notice there are 4 paragraphs and 2 extra headings, not to be used.
A A bit of a problem
B A nutritionist’s dream
C Almost only bread and jam
D Craig’s paradox
E How it started
F Why it all started
Your answers:
3. HOLIDAYS
Read the texts and the headings and match some of the headings to the corresponding texts. Three headings are not to be given numbers. Write your answers in the boxes provided at the bottom.
A A combat in space
B A fishing trip – and more!
C A long journey full of contrasts
D Freezing adventure weekend
E Luxury under water
F Run away from tornadoes
G Storm chasing
H The final frontier: 3,400 kph
I White shark heaven in a new Mexican island
TEXT 1
This is an extraordinary five-day jorney from Adelaide on the south coast to Alice Springs, with an overnight tour to Coober Pedy, where seventy percent of the world’s opal is mined. The Ghan is one of Australia’s most luxurious trains: you will be travelling across a hostile landscape of desert, salt lakes, mountains and hot springs, but in true comfort whether you travel first class or not.
At Coober Pedy the temperatures are so extreme (up to 50ºC during day and 0ºC at night) that all the houses are built underground as well as the mines. You stay at the Desert Cave Hotel, where the rooms have been cut out of the rock.
Tours are thoughout the year and cost $890.
TEXT 2
Journey to the edge of space in a Russian Foxboat jetfighter.
Travel at more than twice the speed of sound, to over 24,000 metres above the Earth. Join those few free spirits that have already experienced this journey to the edge of space. At about thirty-two kilometres above the ground, the curve of the Earth comes dramatically into view.
In the cockpit of a Russian MIG-25 military fighter plane you’re aboard the fastest combat aircraft in the world.
Limited dates.
Contact us direct for details and cost.
TEXT 3
Witness spectacular explosive thunderstorms, lightning and tornadoes. Come with us as we follow the storm and get as close as we can, to give you the most exciting experience. Our vans are equipped with the latest storm chasing technology, like our Weather Radar System, In-Motion Satellite Tracking System, and Lightning Display as necessary to see the tornadoes: the chase could take you anywhere in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas or Eastern Colorado.
Dates between May and July.
Ten days for $1,700.
TEXT 4
Head up to the frozen north and experience the thrill of a husky sledging expedition. Drive your own team of huskies and stay overnight in a wooden lodge, where you can relax and enjoy a traditional sauna. Also, stay in the famous ice hotel, drive a snowmobile, and with luck see the famous northern lights (aurora borealis), a wonderful natural display of green, red and purple lights in the sky. This is an unforgettable and unique short break.
Three nights for $2,500.
January to April.
TEXT 5
Jules’ Undersea Lodge in Key Largo, Florida was originally built as La Chalupa mobile undersea laboratory, the largest and most technically advanced in the world. The lodge has been completely remodeled to provide guests with luxury living space for up to six people. The interior has two living chambers, with bedrooms, and dining and entertainment facilities. Earn an Aquanaut certificate while enjoying unlimited diving for certified divers. If desired, guests may spend several days underwater without surfacing.
All year round. $295 per night.
TEXT 6
The world’s ultimate shark dive and fishing adventure is closer than you think. For divers, non-divers and tuna fishermen, discover Isla Guadalupe, one of the world’s most exciting new Great White dive sites.
Your cage dive and world-class tuna fishing expedition takes you on a five-day live-aboard adventure to the newly discovered and beautiful Isla Guadalupe site off the coast of Mexico. You will have the opportunity to dive by day with Great White Sharks and fish for huge tuna in the hunting grounds of Great White and Mako sharks.
Five-day live-aboard expeditions: October to November for $2,250.
Your answers:
4. THE HOSPITALITY CLUB
Read the following texts and match each of them to the most suitable heading from the list supplied below. Each heading can only be used once. There are three headings you will not need. Write your answers in the boxes provided at the bottom. Text 0 has been done as an example.
The Hospitality Club is the world’s largest hospitality exchange organization. We are thousands of friendly members throughout the world who offer each other free accommodation when travelling. Here are the answers to some of the questions we hear most often.
TEXT 0
Everybody. If you like to travel or just to meet interesting people then you are the right person for The Hospitality Club! Over the last years we have noticed that most of our members have one common characteristic: friendliness.
TEXT 1
You decide what you want to reveal about yourself. Other members will only see your user name, city and country. You can hide your real name and address. Your email address will not be displayed – members have to contact you through the site.
TEXT 2
Every member who contacts you through The Hospitality Club has to give you their full name, passport number and the user name at The Hospitality Club. When your guest arrives, make sure you check his/her passport to verify the identity information you received. This way their identity will be confirmed without doubt.
TEXT 3
We can send you a new one to the email address you specified when signing up. Please use the link under the login screen. You will have to enter the user name and the email address you used when signing up.
TEXT 4
You can use the message mechanism on the site, as no mail addresses are displayed in order to ensure the privacy and safety of all members and to avoid spam. All messages are sent through to the email address of the member you are writing to.
TEXT 5
Log into the site, chose Edit my profile and fill in the form with your user name, passport number, full name and email address. In the field for the reason of the update please write “delete profile”. When we receive this data, we will delete your profile and user account.
TEXT 6
If you would like to help making The Hospitality Club one of the nicest things on the Internet and in the real world, please send a message to our e-mail address or subscribe yourself to the mailing list we use to work together.
TEXT 7
The more successful the site becomes, the more we have to pay for web hosting. Rather than ask the most dedicated volunteers to pay this out of their pockets, we decided to implement advertisement technology because we will always try to find ways of funding this project and keeping the membership free.
A How can I help as a volunteer?
B How do I contact another member?
C How do I remove myself from the club?
D I forgot my password – what can I do?
E I forgot my user name – what can I do?
F What is my protection against criminals coming to visit me?
G What kind of personal information do I have to provide?
H Who can become a member of The Hospitality Club?
I Why are there ads? I thought this was a non-commercial project.
J Will my personal information be visible to other members?
K Will non-members have access to my profile?
Your answers:
5. HOW TO BE BRITISH
Read an article about ‘HOW TO BE BRITISH’, an approach to the national character through a TV programme. Match some of these headings to the texts below. There are three extra headings not to be used.
A A matter of state
B A new approach to dancing
C Despite plain evidence
D For the fun of it
E Learning to dance here and now
F Resigning before being paid
G Seeking excellence
H Two opposing fronts
1. Here in Britain there is a reality TV programme (note not TV show or program) called ‘Strictly Come Dancing’. In it, celebrities pair up with real ballroom dancers to learn how to dance and to compete to beat all the other celebrities and partners. Each week, viewers call in to say who they want sent out from the show. The bottom two are them voted out by a panel of judges.
2. In this series we have BBC chief political correspondent, John Seargeant, described by Jeremy Paxman as looking bored and miserable. John cannot dance. John just entered for a bit of fun. But John’s utter ineptitude on the dance floor has endeared him to the nation, who each week vote to keep him in and themselves entertained. Last week a vexed actress called Cherie Lunghi was voted off, despite working to death while John lazed about, according to one of the judges reading the Guardian.
3. Cherie was upset, the judges were livid. True talent and hard work were going unrewarded because of the British public’s love of a loser. John decided that he was in danger of winning and he’d better resign from the programme (try saying, ‘Oh jeez, I think I might win this fools’ game - I’d better quit’ in an American accent).
4. At once there was a roaring protest. 2000 viewers complained to the BBC. Jeremy Paxman on News Night complained that democracy itself was in danger, as have many bloggers. Democracy is the right of the public to reward failure. And that, my dear transatlantic cousins, is how to be British. PS: It has been whispered that John pulled out because he had booked to go on a cruise and had not expected his performance time on the programme would go on so long.
5. But some viewers claim that they prefer to see it as a lesson in self-critical good humour: grace and charm in the face of ridiculous self-importance (This is TV light entertainment, for goodness sake. The way the judges were going on about it you’d think it was a matter of life and death). I think it is entirely splendid that the public took to John S in the way that they did – this makes them proud to be a Brit!
Your answers:
6. JOKES
Read the following jokes and match each of them to the most suitable heading from the list supplied below. Each heading can only be used once. There are three headings you will not need. Write your answers in the boxes provided at the bottom. Text 0 has been done as an example.
OPTIONS
A. WOMEN IN MISCHIEF ARE WISER THAN MEN
B. CONVERSATION TEACHES MORE THAN MEDITATION
C. WHO UNDERSTANDS WRONGLY, ANSWERS WRONGLY
D. FOOLS SHOULD NOT HAVE WEAPONS
E. A ROSE BY ANY OTHER NAME WOULD SMELL AS SWEET
F. HE LAUGHS BEST WHO LAUGHS LAST
G. NO NEWS IS GOOD NEWS
H. ILL NEWS OFTEN COMES ON THE BACK OF WORSE
I. OLD MEN ARE TWICE CHILDREN
O
While
robbing a house, a burglar hears someone say, ‘J… J… Jesus is watching you.’ To
his relief, he realises it’s just a parrot with an uncontrollable tic mimicking
something it had heard. The burglar asks the parrot, ‘Hey, you nerd, what’s
your name?’
The
parrot says, ‘Moses.’
The
burglar goes on to ask, ‘Oh Moses, is it? What kind of person names their
parrot Moses?’
The
parrot replies, ‘The same kind of person that names his rottweiler Jesus.’
1
An
elderly couple had dinner at another’s couple house and, after eating, the
wives left the table and went into the kitchen.
The two
elderly gentlemen were talking, and one said, ‘Last night we went out to a new
restaurant, and it was really great. I would recommend it very highly.’
So the
other man said, ‘Oh, what was the name of the restaurant?’
The
first man thought and thought and finally said, ‘What is the name of that
flower you give to someone you love? You know, the one that is red and has
thorns.’
‘Do you
mean a rose?’
‘Yes,’
the man said. Then he turned towards the kitchen and yelled, ‘Rose, what’s the
name of that restaurant we went to last night?’
2
A priest
conducts a service in a church. ‘The person who puts the most in the church
collection box can choose three hymns,’ he says. The collection box comes back
to him after being filled up and he finds that someone has donated a thousand
pounds. ‘Who has donated a thousand pounds?’ he asks. A woman raises her hand.
The priest invites her to the front and tells her to choose three hymns. Excited
and determined, she immediately points one by one at the three most handsome
men in the church and says, ‘Oh, my God, I’ll have him, him and him!’
3
A man
goes to the doctor and has a check up. The doctor says to his patient, ‘I have
bad news and worse news.’
‘Oh
dear, what’s the bad news?’ asks the patient.
The
doctor replies, ‘You only have 24 hours to live.’
‘That’s
terrible’, says the patient. ‘How can the news possibly be worse?’
The
doctor replies, ‘I’ve been tryng to contact you since yesterday.’
4
A man
and his wife were having some problems at home and were giving each other the
silent treatment. The next week the man realized that he would need his wife to
wake him at 5:00 a.m. for an early flight to Sydney. Not wanting to be the
first to break the silence, he finally wrote on a piece of paper, ‘Please wake
me at 5 a.m.’ The next morning the man woke up, only to discover it was 9 a.m.,
and that he had missed his flight. Furious, he was about to go and see why his
wife hadn’t awakened him when he noticed a piece of paper by his bed. It said,
‘It’s 5:00 a.m. Wake up.’
5
A couple
of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the
ground. He doesn’t seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head.
The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls the emergency services. He
gasps to the operator: “My friend is dead! What can I do?”
The
operator, in a calm soothing voice, says: “Just take it easy. I can help.
First, let’s make sure he’s dead.”
There is
a silence, then a shot is heard. The guy’s voice comes back on the line. He
says: “OK, now what?”
Your answers:
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KEY
1. NEVER GIVE UP
1 J - 2 C - 3 F - 4 H - 5 A - 6 E - 7 I
Some analysis
First, here and in the other exercises, remember that you have to choose the best heading (neither one which is ‘just good’ nor the ‘perfect’ one which is not here – what you see is what you get: there may be better ones in your view, of course, but just choose the best here, whatever the reasons the examiner may have had). Here, the ‘examiner’ is I myself. I promise it takes quite a bit of time to think up ‘good’ headings and distractors – for many reasons! In this case, it was particularly difficult to get one for the second paragraph in each of the two stories, since one is almost forced to either give obvious information or the same heading for both. Something similar happens with the third paragraph in each story.
So, why 2 C and 5 A? Well, A would be good for both, but (from the student’s point of view), since you have Heading C in the list, you can see that it is not just the common (or mutual) idea (Back to competition) but also the idea that she competed with able-bodied swimmers … and qualified for the final, which was really an achievement - in a way, ‘as though nothing had happened’. On the other hand, the Back to competition bit makes this better for par. 2 than par. 3. Anyway, let’s compare par. 3 and par. 6. The key now is that it is Bethany, rather than Natalie, that changes her view on her career; if you have a careful look at par. 3 and par. 6, you will see the main idea in the former is ‘I’m still the same person’ (and no life handicap or different approach to life is mentioned), whereas in Bethany’s case the paragraph revolves around the last sentence (it is like saying, ‘Although I was happy when I resumed my career, it’s much more difficult now and I have to accept I won’t probably achieve my former objective – my expectations are now different’).
Of course par. 1 and par. 4 are easy if you realize that one of the limbs (Natalie’s leg) ‘had to be amputated at the knee’, whereas Bethany ‘lost an arm’ – by the way, not in a motorbike accident, so it can’t be B – and neither can par. 1, as it was not an arm.
2. JAM TODAY, TOMORROW, YESTERDAY…
1 D - 2 C - 3 E - 4 A
3. HOLIDAYS
1 C - 2 H - 3 G - 4 D - 5 E - 6 B
Some analysis
First of all, these are not basically my headings. In fact, I have changed both a very little bit of the text (as in most cases) when I’ve found not quite correct things and two headings in the original exercise, as well as one of the answers, which I did not agree with. In the original version, my item B just read ‘A fishing trip’, while my item I read ‘White shark heaven, Mexico’, and the answer to Text 6 was supposed to be I. But both B and I were ‘bad’ headings, just because they are both equally incomplete and it would be in my view impossible to safely decide between them: the text actually refers to a trip which is both a fishing trip and a dive for watching white sharks.
Then, why does Text 6 not go with letter I? First, because the new thing mentioned is the site as a place where to observe sharks, not that the island itself has been newly discovered; second, just because of the two aspects of the trip that we have just mentioned – in fact, if you are a diver, you are also offered the chance to dive.
As for Heading H, I would have changed it to, for instance, The ‘final’ frontier, reached at 3,400 kph. Anyway, it should be clear enough: you are certainly not sold a combat, but a voyage up to 24 kilometres above the ground – and it seems to me that the information misleads the would-be voyager into thinking he or she would be able to see ‘the curve of the Earth’, which the text itself says is only seen at 32 km away from the ground! And yes, as they say that you would ‘travel at more than twice the speed of sound’ (which is about 1,236 kph), the figure in the heading (3,400 kph) sounds weird to me too.
4. THE HOSPITALITY CLUB
1 G - 2 F - 3 D - 4 B - 5 C - 6 A - 7 I
Some analysis
The key sentence to know B goes with Text 4 is perhaps ‘All messages are sent through to the email address of the member you are writing to.’
You may agree that, regarding the rest of the paragraphs, they are all rather easy except Text 1, for which you may have considered Headings G, J and K. The latter seems to be the first to discard, since the text refers to ‘other members’. J is another ‘yes/no’ question; yet, it does not look like a bad option at all. Thus, it is simply the fact that all of the text really suits question G that should provide the definite clue.
5. HOW TO BE BRITISH
1 B - 2 D - 3 C - 4 A - 5 H
Some analysis
This is certainly not the easiest exercise. To begin with, we can point out that, once one reads the text very attentively, all three distractors can be seen as unsuitable without much difficulty:
· There is no emphasis on here and now (E) – it is simply not the point being made in any of the paragraphs.
· The same aplies to ‘seeking excellence’ (G) – the actress does try to excel, but it is not the one idea in any of the paragraphs.
· More clearly, F must be wrong because, for a start, no allusion to payment is even made.
(That is, we can safely beging by eliminating three items here, for a change.)
Thus, we would have A, B, C, D, and H left. And now, paragraph by paragraph:
· Par. 1 can only go with B.
· Par. 2 is not as easy. Anyway, there are two opposing, say, attitudes, but certainly not ‘fronts’. Once we’ve discarded G, both C and D may seem appropriate. In fact, the paragraph deals with both ideas, and neither seems to really be the ‘topic sentence’ (the one with the idea that all of the paragraph is about).
· Par. 3 really is about the public’s outrageous decision: it was she that was voted off, not he, despite all the obvious evidence that she has much more talent and had been working much harder - it must be C. Now we can assume that D goes with par. 2 if we don’t get a surprise later on.
· Now we have A and H left. Do they seem to match 4 and 5? They no doubt do: A is an ironic, exaggerated, even sarcastic way to call this state of affairs – and in varied ways, with references to ‘being British’, the Americans in the vocative, and the capriciousness or tyrany of (in this case British) democracy, i.e. popular or mass will: ‘A matter of state’, as the heading goes, which of course is itself an ironic, figurative, exxaggerated way to put it, a common collocation perhaps employed just for the sake of ‘mild sensationalism’. And the ‘two fronts’ in H are of course the two groups of people, the two approaches to the issue: on the one hand, such people as the author and some viewers, who take the matter lightly; on the other, people like the judges, who were outraged at the injustice, taking it much more seriously.
6. JOKES
0 F - 1 I - 2 C - 3 H - 4 A - 5 D
