36
STUDY AND WRITING SKILLS
4.4
4.4 STUDY SKILLS
GUESSING THE MEANING OF UNKNOWN WORDS
1
Look at this statement. Do you think this is good advice?
4
b
What kind of words (nouns,
adjectives, etc.) are the words you do not
know in Exercise 4a?
5
Using topic knowledge
Look at the
nonsense words in these sentences.
What do you think they mean?
1
He survived the accident with only
minor
gloobers.
gloobers = injuries
2
She’s very healthy. She has never
spent a day in
tong
in her life.
3
I can’t remember the exact details of his
case. I need to check his medical
donks
.
4
Eating a good breakfast gives you a lot
of
clest
for the day.
6
a
Read this text. What is the situation?
My health has been good in the last few
years, but this morning I felt awful. I
had a bad earache and a stomach ache
and a pain in my chest, so I went to
the local doctor. The waiting room
was crowded. One man had a horrible
red rash on his face. A woman was
coughing all the time. A young man
in a wheelchair had his leg in plaster.
There were a lot of elderly people.
They were probably waiting for their
flu injections. I waited for ages. Finally,
the doctor called my name. When I
went into her room, she was sitting
at the computer, with a stethoscope
beside her.
Remember, when you’re reading, you usually know a lot of
words in the text. So be positive – concentrate mainly on those
words. Don’t panic about the words you don’t know.
6
b
Underline the words in the text that
you do not know or are not sure about.
Compare with a partner. Can you explain/
guess any words you don’t know? Use the
strategies on this page.
2
a
Which of these strategies do you use when you read a word that
you do not know?
1
underline/highlight it
2
ignore it
3
try to guess the meaning and keep reading
4
immediately look it up in your dictionary
5
look it up in your dictionary if you see the same word two or three
times and you can’t guess its meaning
6
look it up in your dictionary if you can’t guess the meaning, but
you feel the word is important
7
ask your teacher or classmates
8
something else
2
b
Compare your methods with a partner. Which of the above are
good ways of coping with new words, do you think?
3
a
Using grammar
Look at these sentences. What kind of word
(noun, adjective, or verb) goes in each gap?
1
This course has given me many
skills.
2
That doctor has probably saved about a hundred
.
3
At the clinic, they
people with serious illnesses.
3
b
Think of some words that could go in the gaps above.
4
a
Sometimes you can understand if a sentence is positive or negative,
even if you do not fully understand it. Look at these sentences. Which
have a positive sense? Which are negative? Explain your choices.
1
She made a quick recovery, and the doctor discharged her two
days early.
quick recovery … two days early – positive
2
The scan shows that he has broken his arm.
3
The massive doses of painkillers made me sick.
4
Luckily, I found the crumpled prescription in my back pocket.
