Life Accents Reading Comprehension

LIFE ACCENTS Reading Comprehension Lower Secondary Suggested Answers
Unit 1
Page 2
1. We have learned a lot about Kala Nag’s life and personality.
2. best-loved; best-looked-after
3. stuck in deep mud; a stand of piled rifles
4. served for 47 years; 20 years old when caught; before the Afghan war of 1842; before he was 25 he gave up being afraid
5. loyalty and duty; fear and courage; loving and caring for others to get the best out of them
6. 18 (ish!)
Page 4
1. Holland village
2. No
3. Newspaper. It is written in short paragraphs which is typically how newspapers present the news.
4.
(a) No. It judges the people who caused the fire by giving them a derogatory name. It suggests that they set fire to
buildings regularly, an assertion that the writer cannot prove.
(b) Yes
(c) arsonists
5 No, but it is the kind of ‘human interest’ element that newspaper readers look for.
Page 6
1. Jamie; Rachel; the psychiatric clinic; the flat; my whole family; bedrooms; three fully grown men; the nurse
2. my, I, he, his, him, themselves
3.
(a) yes
(b) agitated; deeply disturbed; a violent temper; his rolling eyes
4.
(a) No.
(b) my poor brother; sadness
5.
(a) Yes
(b) almost the end of mine
6.
(a) to show how strong Jamie was
(b) he was out of control
7.
(a) cautious
(b) afraid
(c) desperate
(d) relieved, sad and shocked
Page 7

1. yes
2. ‘I’. The passage discusses the issue from a very personal point of view.
3.
(a) driving down; sweeping; lapping up
(b) When; By contrast; also; Till then
4. In Singapore the weather is always warm and sunny. Even the heavy downpours are beautiful. She needs only a few
lightweight clothes, so she saves money, which she can then spend on having fun. She can go overseas on tours to see the
sights.
5. Many people find changing seasons fun. It allows them to wear a variety of clothes. Changing seasons means changing
scenery. Visiting such countries is very different from living there, where you can experience all types of weather, and
enjoy very long days at the height of summer.

Page 10
1. 10 (Fill; place; boil; transfer; stir; turn off; bring out; pour; enjoy; remember)
2. slowly
3. dried; boiling; additional; hot; instant;
4. No
5. to make the instructions easy to follow as you prepare the meal
Page 12
1. The inhabitants of Montserrat.
2. The passage describes a past event.
3.
(a) Yes
(b) eruption — when molten lava shoots out of the top of a volcano.
vulcanologists — scientists who study the behaviour of volcanoes.
lava flows — the liquid contents of the volcano which spill over the mountainside.
pyroclastic — explosive
(c) yes
4. “Blinded by science” means that sometimes we can be persuaded by people who use scientific terms that we really do
not understand.
5. The first paragraph uses words which suggest that the writer is very sad that Montserrrat is no longer a ‘bustling capital
city’. The island which was once ‘thriving’ is now ‘deserted’ and nothing more than ‘ash’. He could easily have left out
this paragraph if he had wanted to write a purely factual article.
6. Yes
Page 14
1.
(a) They are very technical words.
(b) glossary
2. The readers of the article; potential users of e-mail.
3 Yes. For anyone who is completely new to e-mail, all these technical terms are very confusing. A simple point-by-point
explanation on how to receive e-mails, then a separate point-by-point explanation on how to reply to an e-mail would be
easier to follow.

1. Kesh; Kangha; Kirpan; Kara; Kachera
2. Past tense verbs are used to explain when these symbols were introduced. Present tense verbs describe current actions.
3.
(a) Yes
(b) They help the reader who is scanning for specific information. For example, she may only want to know what a Kirpan
is, so her eye will easily find the relevant information.
4. Yes
5.
(a) School textbooks; sports books; school almanacs
(b) It is a collection of a huge number of information reports!
Page 17
1. Narrative; personal recount
2. Personal recount
3. Information report
4. Narrative
5. Exposition
7. Procedure
8. How explanation
9. Information report; Why explanation

UNIT 2
Page 22
1. True
2. False
3. True
4. False
5. True
6. True
7. True
8. True
Page 24
1. No
2. No
3. Yes
4. Yes
5. No
6. Yes

7. No
8. Yes
9. No
10. Yes
Page 26
1. Mighty Monuments
2. Buildings which show off their structures. In the past, structures were usually hidden.
3. Its exterior was decorated in an Islamic style, and inside there was a Muslim prayer room.
4. Yes
5. (An open question)
6. Another open question, but the key must be the variety of building types now compared to the past
7. Are there?
8. (An open question)
Page 28-29
1
(a) …it is taken in silence under strict supervision.
(b) …my examinations judge my work but not the worth of my whole family.
2. Narrative
3.
(a) The heads of every family in the city.
(b) Their families.
4. To allocate housing to the families on the basis of ‘merit’.
5. There is some truth in this harsh opinion. The capable and hardworking examinees would naturally do better than the
less intelligent or lazy ones.
6 Yes. He reminds the failures that they will have another chance to improve their families’ lot next year.
7. You need both of these, but for some people it is not enough. We are not all born with the same capabilities. There are
also some whose performance is affected by ill health or other unfortunate circumstances at home.
8. Grey. Grey.
9. ‘rows of desks filled the arena’; 3000 examinees sitting along nine terraces with 320 desks in each.
10. I will work hard to make tomorrow better than today.
Page 32
1. 228
2. 42
3. 243
4. 44, 57-61

5. 165-168
6. 188
7. 139
8. 74, 82-83
9. 174
10. 60-62
11. 115
12. 230
13. 224
Page 33
1. Chupacabras has only one ‘p’
2. scaring
3. chupacabras
4. September 2000
5. ‘are said to be’; ‘some people say that’
6. legs
7. while
8. crest
Page 35
1.1608 — Invention of the microscope.
1635 — Robert Hooke was born.
1665 — Hooke coined the word ‘cells’ to describe the structure of a cork.
1831 — Robert Brown discovered the nucleus of plant cells.
1838 — Schleiden discovered other plants are made of cells.
1839 — Schwann suggested that the ‘cell theory’ also applied to animals.
2. Micrographia
3. They are named after the compartments in a bee honeycomb
4. 4 – England, Scotland, Holland, Germany
5. It is the process by which living things grow
Pages 40-42
1. No, he was sitting.
2. 2
3. Jupiter and Mr James
4. It looked like a jungle.
5. It was locked in a cage.
6. Fumes from paint, thinner and solvents.
7. They were passed out through an open window.
8. ‘Help!’
9. Joshua Cameron
10. He was made to walk around in the fresh air.

11. a rug
12. ergo
13. He climbed in through a small hole behind the exhaust fan.
14. one foot square
15. in a long chest

16.
(a) cautiously
(b) shifted
(c) momentary
(d) flinging
(e) tugged

Unit 3
Page 44
1. for a long time
2. Nam Piau
3. She had fierce eyes and a long nose.
4. Yes, because it was giving him nightmares.
5. It was just a bad dream, so Chandra was not really flying.
Page 45
1. A teacher new to the class.
2. She was going to give them a list of dos and don’ts.
3. He immediately thought of giving her the nickname ‘Frank’, which is a boy’s name.
4. This is to show how quickly the new teacher responded to the boy’s laugh. There was no pause.
5. They would have begun to understand the joke, too, and some would have started to laugh.
6. Embarrassed.
7. From then on, everyone called Miss Jones ‘Frank’.
8. She would probably have disliked the nickname and have been quite annoyed with the writer, so not at all ‘thankful’.
Pages 47-49
1. A public house.
2. He means that the crowds of people had gradually dwindled in numbers until there were none left. It is a good image
because this dwindling was gradual, like melting ice.
3. He saw the coconuts. He would have thought of the juice inside them.
4. Government business
5. He did not realise how expensive coconuts were because at home he could help himself to as many as he wanted simply
by climbing trees.
6. He spoke with a cigarette still between his lips.
7. Early evening because the coconut seller says that Hari looked as if he hadn’t eaten ‘all day’. Besides, the crowds had
just left the city, suggesting it was the end of the working day.

8. hateful
9. They were probably friends and colleagues from the city offices., since they came out at the same time, laughing
together.
10. Rain or emptied bottles or coconut juice or even urine.
11. No. The beggar clearly dislikes the coconut seller and would not have referred to him in a polite way.
12. The beggar was suggesting that the coconut seller was a murderer.
Pages 51-53
1. The writer knows that his article is no more than ‘an educated guess’, so he cannot say for sure that there was an
eruption in 535AD.
2.
(a) assuming
(b) from what little we know
(c) probably precious few people
(d) there seems to have been no city worthy of the name
(e) Chinese traders appear to have left the most comprehensive records
3. It is a quotation from a past written record.
4. They would have wanted the Chinese to attack and destroy their neighbours.
5.
(a) The many Indian or Chinese traders passing through the region by sea would have detected any large city in the area.
(b) The descriptions of events in Krakatoa are so vague and imaginative that they were clearly the words of simple
villagers.
6. suggested powerfully
7. Few people made any lasting records of the Dark Ages, since no print media was available and whole populations were
wiped out by disease.
8. He feels he has given enough examples to make his case convincing.
9. He is almost fully convinced, but the image of the finger pointing alluringly towards Krakatoa leaves just a small
measure of doubt.
10. It is important to discover as much as we can about the past, since we can avoid repeating past mistakes by learning
from history.
Pages 54-55
1. 30 December, 1957
2. in the hospitaal
3. They are seriously ill, so their condition needs monitoring.
4. Pillows
5. sight, touch, taste and smell
6. He is understanding and forgiving towards them.
7. ‘they could not have told’ that he was deaf
8. They were trained to shoot at anything that was suspicious.
9. Christ meant that even the most insignificant individual is important.
10. He died of his wounds.
Pages 57-59
1. There were no adults left in the village who could pose any danger to the children.
2.
(a) They were not used to meeting strangers, so wanted to know all about where they came from.

(b) Life in the streets would have been very monotonous for the children, so this new arrival gave them something new to
do.
3. He was Chinese like them.
4. to avoid being pulled around any more
5. simple
6. go back
7. He says this because the non-Muslim Chinese had massacred his people.
8. There were too many Muslim Chinese ‘rebels’ scattered over too wide an area.
9. They had no chance of surviving the Chinese army, but they had some small hope of crossing the mountains safely.
10. She was slowing down the whole group, so her life had to be sacrificed to save many others.
11. Many women at that time had bound feet, so the trek over the mountains was especially hard for them.
12. As a way of ensuring that their community grows again.
Page 60
Narratives, personal recounts, expositions most likely to require the reader to draw inferences.
Pages 63-65
1. He wanted his father to treat him as a man.
2. He would have been about 12 since he was just starting at high school.
3 .There is no such evidence. In fact, the passage states that the only deer his father had so far had was one which he had
hit with his truck.
4. Yes. He had gathered together all the necessary equipment on the previous day.
5. He had been drinking alcohol, since the passage tells us that he would not have woken up even if Eric had made a lot of
noise.
6. He appears to have been well-equipped, with protection from the cold, and shells, matches, flashlight and knife all
prepared.
7. in an open spot from where he could look out for deer
8. He needed to find a place to hide in while it was still dark
9. in order to keep the gun still as he fired
10. It was in order to make the deer look his way, thus providing a clear target. It was effective because Eric’s shot hit the
deer in the throat.
11. He was stepping on fallen branches.
12. He felt ashamed.
13. He could have sold an almost new rifle, but instead he chose to bury it so that no one else could ever again kill with it.
14. The death of a fine buck deer.
15. He understood that you don’t become a man by taking the life of a helpless creature. His decision never to hunt again
was his own, personal choice, for which he would stand accountable. Taking and standing by such decisions is the mark of
an adult man.

Unit 4
Page 70
1. periods of ten years; I could guess this because the writer refers to 32 years as ‘three decades or more’
2. humiliated

3. store
4. the fact that the writer is getting old
5. the sales staff
6. the rude salesgirl
Page 71-72
1. asteroid
2. go round
3. Eros
4. Near-Earth Asteroid Tracking System
5. become extinct
6..
(a) people who live on Earth
(b) Jupiter’s gravity
7.
(a) shooting stars
(b) a very small heavenly body
(c) a small piece of a meteoroid
8. warning
9. after equal periods of time; in this case, every 75 years
10. amateur
Pages 74-75
1.
(a) scientists who study birds
(b) major groups of birds
(c) all birds that are like one another
(d) from early times
(e) the process by which the descendants of a single species develop along a number of different lines
(f) eating insects and plants as well as seeds
(g) neither thick nor thin
(h) the way in which unrelated birds with similar feeding or living habits have reached their present forms
2.
(a) species
(b) ornithologists
(c) of the bird
(d) adaptive radiation
(e) Geospizinae
(f) method of a bird reaching its present form
(g) the unrelated birds
(h) loons and grebes
Pages 77-78
1. Nazi Germany’s airforce
2. by the start of World war II
3. raids

4. a series of night raids
5. Britain’s wartime Prime Minister
6. Clearing the debris of shipwrecks from the River Mersey.
7. natives of Liverpool
8. Freddy Lennon and Julia
9. She made fun of Freddy’s hat on their first meeting.
10. He absconded from his ship in New York when he heard that war had broken out in Europe.
11. A person who continuously meets with misfortune in life.
12. ‘famous’ and ‘obscurity’
Pages 79-80
1
(a) the layer of air above the earth
(b) very heavy
(c) the weight of all gases in the atmosphere
(d) areas of high air pressure
(e) areas of low pressure
2
(a) winds
(b) the land cools down more quickly than the sea
(c) the summer monsoon
(d) anticyclones
3. anticlockwise
Pages 83-84
1. the advice that most people should cut down on the amount of fatty foods they eat
2. obese
3. coronary heart disease
4. You cannot always tell how much fat is contained in any particular food.
5. visible
6. invisible
7. sedentary
8. heart attack
9. high blood pressure
10. passed down through the family

Unit 5
Page 87
1. my first objection is that; Furthermore; While it is true that..it is also true that; Thirdly; In other words; Finally
2. These connectors join ideas together and present opinions in a persuasive way.
3. It is an exposition.

1. Transition
2. Addition
3. Repetition of a key word
4. Contrast and concession
5. Comparison
6. Enumeration
7. Comparison
8. Use of parallel structure
9. Result
10. Time

Page 89-90
1. To begin with
2. therefore
3. In those days
4. On top of that
5. Similarly
6. therefore
7. Today
8. Moreover
9. What is more
10. Finally

Pages 90-91
1. And then
2. Nevertheless
3. so
4. Despite
5. But
6. Likewise
7. As a result
8. it is also true
9. Eventually
10. To put it more simply
Pages 93-94
1. This is a controversial statement. It will make the listener pay attention from the very beginning of her speech.
2. The fact that animals have no rights
3.
(a) On the one hand.. on the other hand
(b) she concedes that there are still too many bad zoos and bad practices

4. Modern
5. She concedes that zoos in the past often mistreated animals, using them only for their entertainment value.
6. Opportunity
7. Of course not. We cannot learn how animals live and behave in a classroom setting, except when watching films.
8. The comparison is between the worst zoos where animals are kept in cages and cruelly treated by their trainers, and
modern zoos where education and conservation are the main aims.
9
(a) Summary
(b) Enumeration
(c) Contrast and concession
(d) Addition
10. Conservation is the most important. Many species are in danger of becoming extinct. Zoos play a vital role in
preserving these creatures and often return them to the wild where they can flourish again.
Page 95
To begin with, animals belong in the wild. They have a right to stay there. It is wrong to capture them and take them away.
While it is true that zoos mean well, it is also true that many zoos keep animals in cages that are simply too small for them.
As a result, the animals are unhappy and begin to behave abnormally. For example, birds have their wings clipped to
prevent them from flying away. Furthermore, polar bears are kept in tropical countries.
On top of that, zoos give visitors the idea that it is all right to make use of animals for our own ends. In any case, visitors
do not go to zoos for education; they go to stare at trapped animals.
To turn to the argument that zoos help breed endangered animals. First, many breeding programmes fail; secondly, it would
be better for such breeding programmes to be carried out in nature reserves which offer the animals space and freedom.
My opinion is clear. Despite the fact that animal research is important, it should never involve entertainment. After all is
said and done, animals are happier in large private nature reserves or in their natural habitats rather than in commercial
zoos.
To sum up, I would like to suggest that we close all zoos, turn larger ones into nature reserves, and ban any form of
entertainment involving animals. Finally, we should allow visitors into these nature reserves only by appointment and only
for organised education courses.

Pages 100-101
Paragraph 2
It is sometimes argued that uniforms help iron out the social and financial differences between pupils. However, bullies
will always find ways of tormenting their weaker peers, so this in itself is no argument for the compulsory wearing of

uniforms. More persuasive is the point that uniforms are expensive items and put to limited use.
Paragraph 3
The wearing of a school uniform outside school certainly helps identify children who may be lost and helps to curb poor
behaviour. Nevertheless, it also clearly classifies a child as belonging to this school or that, which in itself may lead to
snobbery or derision, depending upon the school’s reputation.
Paragraph 4
Next there is the issue of cultivating good habits. Children who are taught to dress sensibly for school are more likely to
make the right clothes choices in social settings now and later when they start work. Taking that choice away from them by
insisting on uniforms certainly deprives them of a learning experience. Even so, many teachers in non-uniform schools do
spend far too much time monitoring inappropriate clothes when they should be teaching their subjects.
Paragraph 5
Finally we turn to the thorny subject of human rights. Schools today comprise children from many different cultural and
religious backgrounds. France seems to have completely ignored this and has banned the wearing of any religious symbols
in all its state schools. This has made Muslim headscarves, Sikh turbans and Christian crucifixes unacceptable in French
schools. We have to take seriously the individual’s right to dress how they wish, especially as concerns culture and
religion, while at the same time asking them to bear in mind the need for restraint in a school setting. In conclusion, the
only system that would suit everyone would be a system which offers both uniform and non-uniform schools in the same
country. In other words, this would allow everyone to exercise their own choice.

Pages 103-104
1. ‘A forest is not only ... it is also’ is a parallel structure.
2. The fact that there are over 7000 different kinds of plants and animals living in the beechwoods of Central Europe.
3. Deciduous trees — their leaves fall in the autumn; coniferous trees — nearly all have evergreen leaves.
4. The negative impact of man.
5.
(a) forests prevent landslides and avalanches
(b) reduce erosion caused by rainwater
(c) provide us with oxygen
6. We must ensure that for every tree we chop down, another is allowed to grow.
7. microscopic creatures
8. Flowers are pollinated by the animal community, and seeds are distributed by them.
9. The animals which human beings bring into the forest to help in the task of felling and carrying timber
10. Man chopping down or burning down a large area of forestland.

Unit 6
Page 106
1. ante : antenatal

2. ante : anteroom
3. hyper : hypertension
4. ir : irrational
5. ir : irreligious
6. im : impossible
7. in : incredible
8. poly : polygamist
9. post : postmortem
10. post : postgraduate
Page 107
2. A falsehood is a lie.
3. The so-called Rolex watch which my uncle bought outside the bus station is worthless.
4. My granny is so miserly that she doesn’t even spend money on keeping herself properly fed.
5. I use a pedometer to measure how far I walk every day.
6. Singapore is a truly cosmopolitan city where people from all over the world work and play together.
7. The people who worship at the church enjoy a very strong sense of fellowship together.
8. That woman next door is always interfering in our business : I’ve never met anyone as meddlesome as her!
9.When it comes to changing a wheel, I’m absolutely clueless; I always have to call out the AA.
10. Those colours go together very well; green and beige is a very tasteful combination.
Page 109
1. monotonous
2. monosyllable
3. monoplane
4. monologue
5. monolingual
6. monograph
7. monorail
8. monoxide
9. monolith
10. monocle
Page 110
1. bicycle
2. biennial
3. bicep
4. bicultural
5. bicentennial
6. bisected
7. biscuit
8. binoculars
9. bifocals
10. biped
Page 111

1. tricep
2. triad
3. triathlon
4. triennial
5. tripod
6. triplets
7. triplicate
8. trisected
9. tricycle
10 trilogy
Pages 112-113
1. occurring once every two years
2. boring, single-tone
3. what happened after the speech
4. food which is very low in fat
5. unfriendly
6. had to be tasted
7. mean
8. study of religions
9. generous to everyone
10. two-hundredth anniversary
11. two-wheeled vehicle
12. eyeglasses which correct near and distance vision
13. having three colours
14. too boisterous
15. three
16. an instrument to measure distance walked
17. city
18. possibility
19. behaving like a dignified politician
20. friendliness
page 115
1. generous
2. all agreed
3. self-control and calmness
4. a rich and powerful businessman
5. an animal with one horn
6. harmony
7. foretell
8. free will
9. person who gives to others
10. say something against
pages 118-119
1.

(a) carnivore: eats meat
(b) mammals: animals with breasts for feeding their young
(c) habitats: places where they live
(d) canine: like dogs’
(e) territory: area of land
(f) flexible: bends easily
(g) retract: to draw back in
(h) visible: can be seen
(i)rodents: animals that chew
(j) domestic: animals that live in homes with people
(k) ancestors: relatives of earlier generations
(l) feral: wild
2.
(a) eat scraps left over by others
(b) available now and again
(c) live animal food
(d) damp
(e) cunning
(f) of the same kind
(g) large, sharp-edged cheek teeth
(h) cut
(i) groups
(j) compared with other cats
(k) snow leopard
(l) steep-sided valley
(m) chases
(n) produced by mating
(o) about
(p) gentle
(q) natural desires
(r) open land

Unit 7
Pages 121-122
1. a shape with six sides
2. scolding
3. dream-like state
4. waste
5. spoil
6. cannot be seen through
7. being alone
8. tingling nerve endings in the skin
9. complete unhappiness
10. arrived safely, often in a winning position

Pages 122-123
1. A job is made easier if people work together to complete it
2. You are unlikely to repeat a past mistake having been hurt the first time
3. You should expect and accept a certain amount of foolish behaviour from boys
4. It is better for one person or, at most, only a few to work on a task together; opposite in meaning to 1 above!
5. There’s always some truth in any rumour
6 .You should eat only what you need to survive, not treat eating as the main pleasure in life
7. Family ties are strong enough to withstand disputes; often used as a warning for people to stay out of family quarrels
8. It is better to take too many precautions than too few
9. It is better to fix a situation early rather than leave it until the damage is beyond repair
10. Think carefully before taking any irreversible decision
Pages 130-132
1.
(a) darling
(b) admit
( c ) died
(d) deeply
(e) alive
(f) lacking in motivation
(g) heritage of stories
(h) behaved cruelly towards her
(i) all over the country
(j) overcome
2
(a) Her letter bore a Singapore postmark.
(b) There have been no commercial flights in those days.
(c) They were uplifting stories that filled the young girl with hope.
(d) Ye Xian practised until she was perfect.
(e) She was so busy at her craft that she had no time to make friends.
(f) She was being chased by her stepmother.
(g) He wanted to find out to whom the shoe belonged.
(h) Both tell the story of how girls in hopeless domestic situations found love and happiness.
(i) The writer both loved her niece and was very proud of her.
(j) As a child, the niece looked up to her aunt and depended on her for encouragement. The niece’s achievement in
winning the playwriting competition was due entirely to her own efforts. Despite her new independence, the niece still
thinks fondly of her aunt, as is shown by the letter she sent from Singapore.
Pages 134-135
1. We live on planet Earth, which itself zooms through space.
2. gravity
3. They appear to be standing on the ‘bottom’ of the globe that is Earth, as if hanging upside down.
4. collections of stars
5. clever and brave
6. Bright blue skies or very cloudy nights prevent astronomers from observing the stars.

7. Without the atmosphere, people on Earth would not be protected from the sun’s rays or from meteors. There would be
no air to breathe, and the Earth’s water would simply boil away. Life on Earth would not be possible.
8. unique
9. because it is covered in so much water
10.
(a) since the time before history was recorded
(b) vital
(c) intricate

Unit 8
Pages 137-138
1. I collect all sorts of things.
2. Let’s take food and drink.
3. A drink and some sleep.
4. Ill-prepared, always late, too soft.
5.. No. Boxers know it’s dangerous.
Page 143
Mrs Julia Ding reported that as she was turning into the Kranji Leisure Centre at around 8.30 pm on 17 September, she had
to swerve her car to avoid a riderless horse rearing up in front of her. The horse missed her car, but reared up again and fell
on to the bonnet of another car, registration number SAD3267E. No one was hurt in the incident, but the occupants of the
damaged car, a mother and seven year old daughter, were taken to hospital suffering from shock. The horse fell over and
limped off into a nearby field.
(97
words)
Page 146
Despite the obvious benefits, teaching Internet skills in school has its dangers. Time spent on the Internet could displace
valuable time learning other vital subjects, affecting the pupil’s overall performance and eventually his job prospects.
Furthermore, Internet access exposes impressionable pupils to undesirable material such as weaponry, extreme politics or
pornography. Through chat rooms, it can even introduce them to adult Internet users, posing as youngsters, who may harm
them. These may be small risks, but they are avoidable ones. On top of that, pupils can easily copy essays from the
Internet, a method of cheating called ‘plagiarism’ that actually encourages less research not more, as Internet advocates
say.
(110 words)
Page 151
Belinda’s mum was amazingly kind to her. She stayed with her daughter for a week, taking the blame for the girl’s
depression, and helped her settle down after taking medicine prescribed by the doctor, and consulting a counselor. Her
brother Sam treated her gently. He cooked her bacon and eggs every morning for breakfast even though he said he was
afraid of the kitchen. Her father found his daughter’s depression hard to talk about, but he was always ready with a hug. In
his unfussy way, he sorted school matters out for her so she didn’t have to go back until the exams. He even helped out
with revision and played down the importance of the exams altogether.
(118 words)

The writer has given up going to the movies for the following reasons. Firstly, there is the hassle of getting there along
busy roads sometimes in poor weather, and then facing queues at the box office. Whether the cinema is old or new, the
experience is unpleasant. Smelly old carpets and loose leather seats are the problems with old halls. Noise seeping in from
adjacent screens bedevils the new; sticky floors are problems in all cinemas. Cinemagoers themselves are a nuisance.
Children run along the aisles; teenagers make constant disruptive noises; adults act as if at home, talking throughout the
movie. Finally there is the noise of eating and the disturbance of people getting in and out of their seats.
(120 words)

Life Accents Reading Comprehension

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