WEEK1. READING ACADEMIC ENGLISH TEXTS 1. GETTING STARTED.

I.- Reading

You will do a short quiz about lightning. You will then read an article about lightning and answer some questions.

How much do you know about lightning? Answer these questions. Find out if you are right in the next exercise.

True False

1. If you are struck by lightning, light can come out of your body.

True False

2. Lightning hits more than half a million people every year.

True False

3. There is always lightning, somewhere in the world.

True False

4. Lightning is hotter than the sun.

True False

5. About 50% of people struck by lightning die.

True False

6. Lightning burns you very badly.

True False

7. When there is lightning, it is safer to stand on one foot.

True False

8. In 1998, lightning killed 11 players in a football team.

True False

9. Planes are never hit by lightning.

True False

10. You can be struck by lightning when you are in your house.

Vocabulary

You will look at a new idea for learning words. You will look at how putting extra letters at the beginning and end of
words can change the meaning.

Searching the Internet: You will search the Internet to find the weather in different places.
1
Then read the article and check and correct your answers above.

Struck by lightning. It is a rainy day in Jackson, Florida. David Barnes, a telephone company engineer, is mending a
telephone line. Suddenly he jumps backwards. There is a very loud bang, and light comes out of his hand. He stands up,
but he can't feel anything on his right side. He can't hear with his right ear. But he can walk to his truck and get in. He
sits in his truck and feels very frightened. He knows he has been struck by lightning. Every year, lightning kills 24,000
people and injures half a million. Right now, there are 2,000 storms somewhere in the world, and there is lightning every
second of every day. Rwanda has the most lightning in the world, and in the US, Florida has more lightning than any
other state. How hot is lightning? Scientists say that it is three times hotter than the sun. It sounds very dangerous, but
90% of the people struck by lightning do not die. Usually, lightning does not burn people. If you are wearing a metal
watch, lightning will heat the metal and the metal will burn you, not the lightning. But lightning can hurt the brain.
David Barnes, for example, can’t work now. ‘It is difficult to stand up’, he says, ‘and I usually have to hold something. I
am learning to walk again. The big problem is that I can’t remember anything. Sometimes I can’t remember my wife´s
name’.

How does lightning strike people? Imagine you are standing in a field. Lightning hits the ground and travels along until it
arrives at your foot. Then it goes up your leg and down your other leg back into the ground. If it hits the ground close to
you, there is more electricity and it is more dangerous. In 1998 in Democratic Republic of Congo, lightning killed all
eleven members of a visiting football team in this way (Nobody from the home team was hurt – amazing, but true)

So how can we avoid lightning?

- Don’t worry about flying. Most airplanes are struck by lightning two or three times a year. They are very safe
because they are made of metal. Lightning travels along them and back into the air.
- Don’t use the telephone. Three people in the US are struck every year while they are on the phone.
- The best advice comes from David Barnes. He says, ‘Stay inside. If you hear it, fear it’

2
English I - II.- How can you make new words using suffixes? Look at some suffixes below.

Suffixes: A suffix is at the end of a word. Here are some examples. Look at how the meaning of the word changes

Study student (a person who studies) Slow slowly (the adverb from slow)

Sun sunny ( the adjective from sun) Japan Japanese (the adjective from Japan)

Hot hotter (the comparative from hot)

The next exercise you will see some words with suffixes from the lightning article. You'll need a dictionary.

Drag down the suffixes to change the meanings of the words. Then click on Marking and Feedback.

Ed ity wards y tists ous ing ly ly ter

1 rain rain"__. " It was a _____day in Jackson. 2 back back"____." David Barnes jumps_________

3 sudden sudden"__."__________ he jumps up. 4 frighten frighten"__." He sits in his truck and feels very____

5 hot hot"__." Lightning is _________than the sun. 6 danger danger"__." Lightning sounds very danger______

7. usual. Usual__. “ _____lightning does not burn people 8.Amaze- Amaz____. This story is ________, but it’s true

9.- Science. Scien____. ______say that it’s three times hotter than the sun.

10. Electric. Electric____ If it hits the ground close to you, there is more _________________.

In the Feedback from last exercise you read about the suffixes -ous, -ly, -ed and -er. Write the correct suffix to complete
each sentence.

1 The bus to work goes very slow___.

2 I'm five years old___ than my sister, but we're very close.

3 James wants to be an accountant. He's very interest___ in numbers.

4 'Have you heard of Christina Aguilera?' 'Christina Aguilera? Yeah! She's really fam___.'

5 You're going diving in Indonesia? I think that's really adventur___.

6 I like both of these shirts. Which one is cheap___?

7 Can you talk quiet___ please? People are trying to work.

8 I'm always tir___ these days. Do you think I work too hard?

9 I did that exercise really bad___. I'm going to try it again.

10 I was so pleas___ when Jackie told me she's getting married.

What's the weather like?

The weather. Use the Internet to find out what the weather is like today in:

3
1. Kigali, Rwanda 2. Sydney, Australia

3. Oslo, Norway 4. New York, USA

5. Baghdad, Iraq 6. Beijing, China

Write some sentences. Find a city where there is lightning, a city where it is windy, and a city where it is cloudy.

____________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________________________

4
Week II.- read the text below.

Are you a meat-eater?

Most people eat meat, but some people think it is wrong to eat animals. They think that modern farmers treat animals
very badly. In this unit we will read about vegans. Vegans do not eat meat or fish. They also do not eat eggs, milk or even
honey.

Joining ideas

When we write we join ideas with words like and, but and so. We sometimes call these 'signpost words'. If you
understand why writers use these words you will find reading easier.

Read about vegans. Then find words to match the meanings on the right. You can use a dictionary.

If I knew you, I wouldn't eat you

Turning animals into food

'Sick animals cannot be used as food, so farmers treat animals well.' Many people think this, but it is not true.
Nowadays, food does not come from small family farms, but from huge businesses. For these businesses, called 'agri-
businesses' or 'factory farms', making money is more important than the health of animals.

Stories from the factories.

A farming magazine in the USA gives the advice, 'Forget the lamb is an animal. Treat him just like a machine in a factory.'
When most people think of lambs, they think of fields in springtime. But real lambs in factory farms do not see the sun
or the flowers. They live in very small cages so they cannot turn around. When they are big enough, they are killed.

It is the same for cows. In 1940 a cow produced 2.3 tons of milk in a year. Now a cow produces 8.9 tons. They do not
give milk to their babies, only to the machines which collect the milk for the supermarkets. When a cow can’t give
enough milk, the farmer kills her for milk. Cows can live for 20 years, but in factory farms they usually die when they are
5-6 years old.

A healthy way to live.

Vegans believe this is wrong. Vegans do not eat any food that comes from animals and they do not wear leather shoes
or belts. Veganism is good for animals and it is also good for humans. Vegans have lower blood pressure, healthier
hearts and less cancer than meat-eaters.

But isn’t vegan food boring? Try having fresh fruit for breakfast, vegetable soup and brown bread for lunch, and an
Indian curry for dinner. Delicious and healthy!

What to eat?

It is very important to have a well -balanced diet. You should eat fruit, nuts and lots of green vegetables. Vegans eat a lot
of pasta, salads, soups, dried fruit and tofu. There are some very good vegan cook books such as Vegan favorites by Jay
Solomon.

Interested?

5
If you are interested in becoming a vegan, or simply want more information, download our vegan starter pack. And if
you have any questions, please send us an email. Help us to make the world a kinder place.

Veganoutreach.com

- FIND THE WORDS TO MATCH THE MEANINGS. YOU CAN USE A DICTIONARY.

1.- The way you behave to someone or something. T__________

2.- Very big H__________

3.- A place where people keep animals or grow food. F__________

4.- How well or sick you are. H__________

5.- If you tell someone the best thing to do, you given them_____ A__________

6.- A metal house for birds or animals. C_________

7.- A person who does not eat anything from animals. V_________

8.- Animal skin for making shoes, belts and bags. L__________

9.- A bad illness. Smoking gives you ____________ C__________

10.- A white food made from beans. It is popular in China and Japan. T__________

- Read the text again. Choose the correct answer.

1.- Who produces most of the food we eat nowadays?

a.- Small family farms

b.- big farming businesses

c.- Supermarkets

2.- According to the text, do farmers treat animals well?

a.- Yes, so the meat is healthy

b.- Yes, because farms are small

c.- No, they only want to make money.

3.- Why should farmers think of lambs as machines?

a.- they work in a factory.

b.- They want to keep them healthy

c.- Animals’ feelings are not important

4.- How much more milk does a cow produce now compared to 1940?
6
a.- 3.2 tons b.- 8.9 tons c.- 6.6 tons

5.- Where does all this milk go?

a.- To the cows’ babies b.- To the supermarkets c.- To the babies and the supermarkets

6.- Why do most cows die when they are 5-6 years old?

a.- because we need the meat

b.- because they don’t give enough milk

c.- because they are too old.

7.- Why don’t vegans eat food that comes from animals?

a.- because farms treat animals badly

b.- because they don’t like meat

c.- because they don’t wear leather

8.- Does the writer think a vegan diet is boring? A.YES____________ B. NO__________

9.- a ‘balanced diet’ has_________

a.- a bit of everything b.- lots of green vegetables c.- a lot of pasta

10.- What do you think is in the Vegan Starter Pack?

a.- Fruit, vegetables, nuts b.- Animal information c.- Recipes, information, websites

III.- When do writers use 'and', 'but' and 'so'?

Turning animals into food

'Sick animals cannot be used as food, so farmers treat animals well.' Many people think this, but it is not true. Nowadays
food does not come from small family farms, but from huge businesses. For these businesses, called 'agri-businesses' or
'factory farms', making money is more important than the health of animals.

A healthy way to live

Vegans believe this is wrong. Vegans do not eat any food that comes from animals and they do not wear leather shoes
or belts. Veganism is good for animals and it is also good for humans. Vegans have lower blood pressure, healthier
hearts and less cancer than meat-eaters.

Stories from the factories

They live in very small cages so they cannot turn around.

Which is the best word to complete each sentence: 'and', 'but' or 'so'?

1 Cows in the fields don't produce enough milk and____ farmers put them in cages.
7
2 People think vegan food is boring, and____ most of them have never tried it.

3 Brown bread is very healthy and____ vegetable soup is delicious!

4 I want to be vegetarian, and____ I love fried chicken!

5 I didn't know how to cook vegetarian food, and____ I bought some books.

6 I thought it would be difficult to eat out, and____ there are lots of vegetarian restaurants.

7 We've linked our recipes to the International Vegetarian Union's recipes website, and____ there are nearly 2,000
dishes to choose from! www.vegansociety.com

8.- Farmers now put more chickens in each cage. Each bird makes less money ______ each cage makes more money.
Chickens are cheap. Cages are expensive.

9.- I think everybody can stop and think, and say, ‘If I knew you, I wouldn’t eat you’ - ____it really is that simple.

10.- Cow´s milk contains the right amount of fat for calves, ____ too much for humans.

IV.- What do you think about vegans and animal rights? Read more! What do you think about vegans and the idea of
veganism? Would you like to read more about it? Click to visit some websites. (Warning: you might find these sites quite
difficult to read.)

8
Activity Write a short essay (100 words). Is it wrong to eat meat?

www.thevegansociety.com www.veganaction.com veganoutreach.com

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________