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Cambridge IGCSE®

First language
English
Fourth edition

John Reynolds

9781510421318_IGCSE_FL_English_sample.indd 1 14/11/2017 10:50

 The Cambridge IGCSE® English as a First Language Student Book will help
you to navigate syllabus objectives confidently. It is supported by a Workbook,
a Study and Revision Guide, as well as by Student and Whiteboard eTextbook
editions and an Online Teacher’s Guide. All the digital components are
available via the Dynamic Learning platform.
Cambridge IGCSE® English as a First Language Fourth edition ISBN 9781510421318 March 2018
Cambridge IGCSE® English as a First Language Workbook ISBN 9781510421325 June 2018
Cambridge IGCSE® English as a First Language Study and Revision Guide ISBN 9781510421349 January 2019
Cambridge IGCSE® English as a First Language Student eTextbook ISBN 9781510420281 April 2018
Cambridge IGCSE® English as a First Language Whiteboard eTextbook ISBN 9781510420298 March 2018
Cambridge IGCSE® English as a First Language Online Teacher’s Guide ISBN 9781510424159 July 2018

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The Online Teacher’s Guide is available via the Dynamic Learning platform.
To find out more and sign up for a free, no obligation Dynamic Learning Trial,
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or email international.sales@hoddereducation.com

9781510421318_IGCSE_FL_English_sample.indd 2 14/11/2017 10:50

 Cambridge IGCSE®

First language
English
Fourth edition

John Reynolds

9781510421318_IGCSE_English_4e_Prelims.indd 1 25/10/2017 09:00

 ® IGCSE is the registered trademark of Cambridge Assessment International Education.
Every effort have been made to trace all copyright holders, but if any have been inadvertently overlooked the publishers
will be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.
Although every effort has been made to ensure that website addresses are correct at time of going to press, Hodder
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9781510421318_IGCSE_English_4e_Prelims.indd 2 25/10/2017 09:00

 Contents
Introduction

CHAPTER 1 Travel and exploration

Unit 1 Active reading
Unit 2 Reading comprehension: short-answer questions
Unit 3 Summary questions
Unit 4 Becoming a better writer

CHAPTER 2 Environment
Unit 5 More complex questions/how writers achieve effects
Unit 6 More complex summary questions
Unit 7 Directed writing

CHAPTER 3 People and community

Unit 8 Further summary practice
Unit 9 Improving your writing
Unit 10 Directed writing

CHAPTER 4 Writing compositions

Unit 11 Practical guidelines
Unit 12 Written coursework

CHAPTER 5 Speaking and listening skills

Unit 13 Speaking and listening skills
Key terms

iii

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9781510421318_IGCSE_English_4e_Unit 1.indd 4 26/10/2017 08:57
 CHAPTER 1
Travel and
exploration
Units
1 Active reading
2 Reading comprehension: short-answer questions
3 Summary questions
4 Becoming a better writer

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 1 Active reading
In this unit you will:
H demonstrate understanding of explicit meanings
H demonstrate understanding of implicit meanings and attitudes
H select and use information for specific purposes
H organise and structure ideas and opinions for deliberate effect
H use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures appropriate to context
H make accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar.
This unit will focus on the following skills:
Reading
H demonstrate understanding of written text, and of the words and phrases
within them
H summarise and use material for a specific context
H select appropriate information for specific purposes.

Writing
H organise and convey facts, ideas and opinions effectively
H demonstrate a varied vocabulary appropriate to the context
H demonstrate accuracy in spelling, punctuation and grammar.

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 1.1 Why do you read?

1.1 Why do you read?

The written word is all around us. It is almost impossible to spend a day without
reading something. Here are a few examples.
» If you catch a train, you will probably read the timetable to make sure when your
train arrives/departs.
» If you’re planning to see the latest block-buster movie, then you will need to read
details of performance times in a newspaper or on a website.

» Whenever you use a computer,

you need to read the different
messages that appear on the
screen.

» When you settle down to relax after a hard day’s study,

you might decide to watch television. How do you find
out which programmes are on? Most probably you will
look at a television guide. How do you know when
the programme you intend to watch is about to start?
Almost certainly because you will read the title as it
flashes up on the screen in front of you.
Of course, you may decide that the most enjoyable way to
relax is not by watching television at all, but by reading.
But what will you read? Will you choose your favourite
sports magazine or will you return to the novel that you
left by your bed last night?
3

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 1 Active reading

Key terms 1.2 Passive and active reading

Passive reading:
So, reading is something we spend our lives doing, often without being conscious
The process by
which we register of the fact that we are doing it In fact, you might think that the printed word is so
what we read on much a part of our lives that we take very little notice of it; it is just there.
road signs, etc. We take the printed word for granted and, as a result, we frequently recognise
without consciously familiar (and less familiar) words without really thinking about what they mean – we
having to think are reading passively, just accepting what we see. This is what we mean by passive
about the meaning
of the words used.
reading – the words are like wallpaper; we see them but don’t really bother to think
Active reading: The about them!
process involved in Reading, however, is also an active process, in which you really think about
making sense of what you are reading and try to get as much out of the text as you can. On many
more complicated occasions (such as reading a legal document before you sign it or making sure that
pieces of writing in
you understand fully the information contained in a school text book) you need
which we have to
engage more closely to concentrate carefully on the sense of the words that you are reading. This is
with what is written called active reading and it is important that you develop this skill of reading for
and think carefully understanding.
about the meaning An English Language course is unlike most other subjects in that there are very
of the words used by few facts and details which you need to learn. However, it is still important to
the writers.
spend time developing the skills you need. For Cambridge IGCSE® First Language
English you need to be able to:
» demonstrate understanding of explicit meanings
» demonstrate understanding of implicit meanings and attitudes
» analyse, evaluate and develop facts, ideas and opinions, using appropriate
support from the text
» demonstrate understanding of how writers achieve effects and influence readers
» select and use information for specific purposes.
If you improve your skills in active reading, this will help you in many other school
Key terms subjects as well, such as history or economics.
Non-fiction: A While studying English Language, you will need to read different types of
piece of writing in materials. You might be presented with:
which the content
is factual and not
» a piece of non-fiction (possibly taken from a newspaper)
imaginative. » an extract from a novel or short story
Convey: » a piece of personal writing such as an autobiography to give just three examples.
Communicate;
writers convey Remember that words alone are not the only way by which writers convey meaning:
meaning when they pictures, diagrams, sub-headings (which draw a reader’s attention to a specific point
make their ideas in an article), changes of font and typeface (such as the use of italics or bold print)
understandable for are all means by which writers will try to influence your responses as a reader.
their readers.

1.3 How do you develop the skill of active

reading?
Throughout your course, it is a good idea to practise active reading, as this will help
you fully understand the texts you are reading. Here are some suggestions of ways in
which you can do this:
» Read a wide range of texts, not just novels and magazines but also newspaper
articles, in particular, editorials and opinion columns and any leaflets or
pamphlets you can find.
4

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 1.3 How do you develop the skill of active reading?

» Remember, work in other subjects, such as history or sociology, also requires

you to read non-fiction books which contain complicated and well-structured
arguments. Other types of non-fiction writing include journals, travel books,
blueprints, diagrams, letters, web and magazine articles.
» With everything that you read make sure that you think carefully about what the
words, sentences and paragraphs actually mean. It may help to:
» Ask yourself questions as you go along, or think of comprehension questions
that might be set to test understanding of what you are reading
» Imagine what you would ask someone else if they had read the article and you
hadn’t.
» It is a good idea to have a pencil and notepad close to hand whenever you are
reading in order to underline or highlight key words and phrases as you read.
» Make annotations in the margin to summarise points.
» Read critically by asking yourself questions as you read the text. Who wrote it?
When? Who is the intended audience?
» Look for ‘signposts’ that help you understand the text – phrases like ‘most
importantly’, ‘in contrast’, ‘on the other hand’.
When you are working on comprehension passages in class, it is almost certain
that your teacher will keep asking you questions, to help you gain a complete
understanding of what you have read, and to ensure that your answers are as precise
and specific as possible.
So, when you are reading on your own, try to think about what questions your
teacher would ask if he/she were there with you. This should help to ensure that
you have thought about the main concerns of the passages and understood them to
the best of your ability.
Once you have mastered this approach, you will find that you are reading with a
much clearer and more focused understanding – this will allow you to maximise the
use of your skills in any situation and when answering a comprehension question.

Test your active reading skills

Exercise 1
• Read through the following paragraphs in which the writer describes the start of
her cruise down the Nile in a luxury steamboat.
• As you read, make notes of any words or phrases about whose meaning you are
not clear and then check their meaning by using a dictionary.
• Write down a one-sentence summary of each paragraph.
• Make up five questions (with answers) to test understanding of the passage and
then give them to a partner to answer.

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 1 Active reading

Cruising the Nile by

Luxury Riverboat
Gini Alhadeff
The dining room was wood-paneled, and its thick with palm trees, and I awoke again later
low ceilings reminded me of Harry’s Bar in as the sun was rising from behind them. There
Venice, with matching low tables and chairs. were rocks jutting into the Nile that were partly
The tables were set with white Flanders- covered by shrubs; a tin house on a flat; small
cotton tablecloths, and every day different wooden boats — two of them, green and blue.
arrangements of fresh flowers, such as A man crouched in one; another man “beat
pink gladiolus or yellow daisies, made their the water” to “wake up the fish,” as our guide
appearance. The meals consisted of simple Maissa, an elegant and cultivated Egyptian
and delicious Egyptian-Continental dishes: lady from Cairo, put it.
meatballs or shawarma kebabs with rice and
The opposite shore was desert-like, and
baked cauliflower, for instance, or baby okra
there was a road on which automobiles rarely
in tomato sauce, and homey desserts such
passed. Sitting close to the large wood-framed
as mahallabiyya pudding. The waiters wore
windows, which ran all around one half of my
stately maroon or navy djellabas with white
cabin, I watched the Nile and its shores and
arabesques down the middle, a wide sash at
the light visiting it gently at all hours, in varying
the waist, and a red tarboosh (as the fez is
intensities. I could hear the water beneath the
called in Egypt).
hull of the boat. Now and then the boat’s engine
We spent the night in port, and left Aswan at emitted a kind of reassuring roar. We passed
5:45 a.m. after some manoeuvering of the boat by low barren hills on both sides. My twin gold-
— which I heard, waking briefly. One shore was caned beds glimmered in the sunlight
Source: www.travelandleisure.com/articles/
cruising-the-nile-by-luxury-riverboat/3

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 1.4 Skimming and scanning – getting the gist

Key terms 1.4 Skimming and scanning – getting

Skimming: Reading
quickly through the gist
a passage or
Sometimes you need to be able to read as much as you can and understand it as
article in order
to gain an overall fully as you can, in a limited period of time. This is why developing your active
understanding reading skills is so important. You must read through the whole question paper
of its content, carefully, but if you are skilled at reading actively, then you can save some time by
in particular by employing the techniques known as skimming and scanning.
using clues from
headlines, sub- » Skimming means reading quickly through a passage in order to gain a clear,
headings, etc. overall view of what it is about. This is what we mean by ‘getting the gist’.
Scanning: Reading » Scanning is a refinement of this approach, as it means you are reading in order to
sections of the
passage or article
extract specific details which are relevant to the questions that you are required
more closely to answer. Before we look a little more closely at how to apply these techniques,
once you have there is one other very important point to consider, and it is also one that is easy
established the to overlook.
overall meaning
by skimming, in
order to ensure Identifying key words in a question
understanding of At the beginning of this section we mentioned the importance of reading through
the most important the whole question paper. This means, of course, not only reading through the
points relating to
the overall meaning.
passages but also reading through the questions on those passages.
Gist: The substance A clear understanding of exactly what the question requires will help you to focus
or general meaning on those parts of the passage in which the relevant points can be found.
of a piece of writing. When you are reading a question, you may find it useful to underline the key
Key words: These words. For example, look at this summary question based on the passage ‘A Whale of
are words in a
a Time in Oz!’ (pages xx).
question that
either give clear Read carefully the passage ‘A Whale of a Time in Oz!’ and then summarise what it
instructions as to tells us about the behaviour of Southern Right Whales and why they were considered
what you should to be so suitable for hunting.
do to answer the From your skimming of this question, you will pick up that the passage is about
question (e.g. Southern Right Whales. The key words to underline as part of your scanning process
‘explain’, ‘describe’)
or which make
are the instruction summarise and then the specific details on which you are to
clear what should focus: behaviour and why they were so suitable for hunting.
be the focus of Read carefully the passage ‘A Whale of a Time in Oz!’ and then summarise what it
your answer (e.g. tells us about the behaviour of Southern Right Whales and why they were considered
a character’s to be so suitable for hunting.
behaviour, details of
a place, etc.).
Exercise 2
Identifying key words
Here are the stems of instructions to a typical question you might be asked. Some
key words have been underlined for you.
a) From paragraphs 1 and 2, give two facts that the writer gives …
b) What made …
c) By referring closely to paragraph 9, explain, using your own words, …
d) Using your own words, explain what you learn about …
e) Which word in paragraph 11 tells you …
f) By referring to paragraphs 3 and 11 explain, using your own words

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 1 Active reading

g) Re-read the passage and then, referring closely to the words and phrases used
by …
h) Explain how the writer conveys to the reader…:
i) Remember to use quotations from the passage in your answer.
j) Select four powerful words or phrases from each paragraph. Your choices should
include imagery. Explain how each word or phrase selected is used effectively in
the context.
1 With a partner discuss whether there are any other words that should also be
considered as key words, either in the list above or in any other questions that
you have seen.
2 Once you have decided on the key words, try to decide exactly what they mean
and why they are important to answering the questions correctly.

Skim, scan and select

Now we can look at how the process of skimming and scanning works when reading
the passage ‘A Whale of a Time in Oz!’.
Here is the question again, with the key words underlined:
Read carefully the passage ‘A Whale of a Time in Oz!’ and then summarise what it
tells us about the behaviour of Southern Right Whales and why they were considered
to be so suitable for hunting.
1 Skim the text.
You will notice that there is a title, followed by a smaller title (sub-heading).
There is also a photograph with a caption, and an extracted quote two-thirds of the
way through the article.
These all contain details which can be easily taken in when you first skim/scan
the page. They give you a quick, overall view of the subject of the text and the
writer’s attitude towards the subject. It is important that you make use of clues of
this sort when you set out to read the passage.
2 Scan the text.
Pick out details relevant to the question which you now have firmly fixed in your
mind.
3 Select the points you intend to use.
By scanning, you weed out those details which are not relevant to your purpose.
For this question you are being asked to identify facts about the whales and
about why they were hunted. It is important that you understand the distinction
between facts and opinions.
» Facts are objective details which can be supported by evidence.
» Opinions are subjective views held by the writer and cannot, therefore, be proved
as being either right or wrong.
Sometimes you may need to separate facts from opinions to show that you can
distinguish between them. Or you may simply have to identify one or the other.
Look again at the question. It asks only for factual details. You should, therefore,
include only those in your answer. Having a clear understanding of this difference
will make it easier to eliminate irrelevant opinions from your summary.
With these guidelines in mind, we will now look at the passage.

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 1.4 Skimming and scanning – getting the gist

A Whale of a Time in Oz!

In search of the Southern Right Whale ‘down under’
Helen Highwater
Southern Right Whale,
Nullarbor Plain South
Australia
Getting there wasn’t easy. First
there was a 500 kilometre
flight from Adelaide on a tiny
The first few paragraphs
plane shaped like a toothpaste set the scene. Although
tube. Then once we’d landed you will be taking the
we met up with Gary White, details in as useful
background information,
our expedition leader, and his you will also be aware
jeep. 200 kilometres along the that the Southern Right
Eyre Highway we entered the treeless Nullarbor Plain, a semi-desert populated mainly by Whale does not receive
a mention until the third
Aborigines.
paragraph. If you are
Our destination was the head of the Great Australian Bight, where we were to spend two reading actively, you will
days watching whales. On the way Gary told us what we wanted to know: immediately notice this
and be alert for further
‘Sadly, over 25,000 whales had been killed before whaling ceased in 1930. By this time information which is
Southern Right Whales were virtually extinct. They were known as “Right” whales because going to follow.
they were right for hunting in small land-based boats. They came close inshore, floated
when killed, and had thick blubber, which produced the valuable whale oil when it was
boiled down. This meant that the poor whales were hunted down in vast numbers by As you move on through
money-making shipowners.’ the passage, you will
find that it alternates
‘Right Whales feed on small creatures at or near the surface, gently swimming along with between giving facts
their mouths half open, allowing the sea water to flow in. The water is pushed back out about the whales’
with their tongues, leaving the food behind. Thankfully, they are now a protected species behaviour and details
about the scenery, and
and numbers have risen to nearly 800.’ the writer’s personal
This was a dismal tale but it had a happy ending – the whales were now safe from response to seeing the
whales as they frolic in
murderous whale hunters.
the water. The details
Two hours before sunset we arrived at our destination. The crumbling limestone cliffs of the scenery and
As you read through the writer’s opinions
dropped sheer into the deep blue of the bay. It was August, the height of the whales’
the third and fourth may make the passage
paragraphs, it is likely breeding season. Every three years the whales come from their home waters in the Antarctic interesting but you
that you will be asking to their Australian breeding grounds. Mature females weigh 80 tonnes. The females do not should be skimming
yourself questions such over them as they are
eat at all until they return to the Antarctic. By this time they will have lost 20 tonnes in
as ‘What do these details not details specifically
tell us about the whales’ weight.
connected to the
behaviour?’, ‘What was As the sun began to set behind us we looked out, but saw . . . nothing. Then boom! Right in questions which you are
it about their behaviour asking yourself.
which made them so front of us the sea erupted as a huge whale burst from the surface, thrusting its body out of
easy to hunt?’, and so the water and smashing down with a noise like a cannon firing. Again and again it surged
on. from the sea, a majestic and thrilling sight.
After a meal under the stars we talked some more. Gary told us that large numbers of
female whales and their calves had been in the bay the previous week. The calves are six
metres long at birth and they grow to three times that length.

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 1 Active reading

In general, the language

in which the passage is ‘This was Nature at its finest, awesome and strangely moving.’
written is not difficult Our final day began early. We packed up our camp, walked to the cliff edge and were
to understand and can
be read quite easily by
amazed! I counted 24 whales. Swimming parallel to the shore, very close in, was a long
an average student. The procession of mothers and their calves. They floated past on the surface. Some swam side
vocabulary, for the most by side, others lazily rolled over each other as they moved slowly along. They were
part, does not consist of
enormous. As they expelled the air from their blow-holes, great spouts of misty waters shot
long and complicated
words. However, in the upwards. This was Nature at its finest, awesome and strangely moving. We were silent
last-but-one paragraph watchers of a primeval, wonderful sight. How can people hunt such beautiful and truly
the writer uses some more amazing creatures?
complicated sentences.
Here, both the sentence All too soon we had to go. In October the whales would return home too, home to the
structures and the Antarctic. We said little. We’d been stunned by the size of Australia, climbed Ayers Rock
vocabulary are more and followed the tourist trail. These would become distant memories, but our two days
complicated. It is a good
whale-watching would remain alive in our hearts for ever.
idea to slow down your
skim reading at this point
and stop to consider
exactly what the words Task 1
mean. Do these sentences
contain information
Once you have read through the passage carefully, make numbered notes under the
relevant to the question? following headings: ‘The behaviour of Southern Right Whales’ and ‘Why Southern Right
If they do, then you need Whales were suitable for hunting’. Try to use your own words as much as possible.
to consider how best to
put the information into
your own words to show
a reader that you have
understood. (Lifting the
Exercise 3
sentences as they stand Now make a further list of points under the heading of ‘What the writer felt about
and transferring them her experience of visiting Australia and of watching the whales’.
directly into your answer
will be a sure sign that you
do not understand them!) As you can see from this example, selection of relevant details in your reading
Even if your understanding of a passage is vitally important to working under examination conditions. You
of the vocabulary used must have a clear idea of what you are looking for and then focus on finding it and
in these sentences is
not entirely secure,
ignoring irrelevant comment or detail (which teachers refer to as distractors).
your awareness of what The more swiftly you can select the facts and opinions that you actually need to
the question is actually answer the questions, the more time you will have for expressing your understanding
requiring you to look
for should convince you
of them as clearly as you can. Writing your answer will be dealt with in more detail
that these are references in Units 2 and 3.
to the writer’s feelings The reading you will be required to do in an examination will not always consist
or opinions. They do of non-fiction, factual material. Sometimes it will involve an extract from a short
not have a great deal
to do with the whales story or novel, such as the passage about Leela’s friend (pages XX–XX).
themselves, apart from
telling us how impressive Remember
they are, which is a point
made elsewhere in the Concentration and alertness help to make you a good reader. The more you practise your reading
passage anyway. You can skills, the better your examination performance is likely to be.
safely pass over them
and continue to read the
passage. It will not then Key term
take you long to finish, as
the remaining sentences
Distractors: Information and details in a comprehension passage which, although interesting in
may be of general themselves, are not relevant to answering any of the questions and should not be included in your
interest in helping us to answers.
understand the writer’s
feelings but are not
relevant to the material for
which you are searching.

10

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 1.5 Practise your active reading skills

Remember 1.5 Practise your active reading skills

When skimming
and scanning the Here are two examples of the different types of reading passages which you may be
passages try to given in an examination. Practise reading through them and see how easily you can
identify the main grasp their meaning.
points of their
content and to Informative writing
keep these clearly
in mind when
The extract below is a straightforward piece of informative writing.
answering the » Its intention is to explain something to you, and when you are reading it you are
questions.
likely to be scanning it for useful facts and details.
» Unlike the passage about spotting whales in Australia, it does not contain any
Key terms photographs or sub-headings which may help to convey the writer’s meaning. You
Informative writing: will, therefore, need to think carefully about the meaning as you read through it.
A type of non-fiction Try to identify the main points of the writer’s argument and separate them from
writing that gives
the examples he gives to illustrate them.
factual information
about something.
Study tip
Examples of
informational A useful tip when reading this type of writing is to assume that each new paragraph deals with an
writing can be found important new point. If you can identify the topic sentence in each paragraph, you will have found
in newspapers, and a good ‘hook’ on which to hang your understanding.
reference books. For example, in the third paragraph of this passage the opening sentence is clearly the topic
Topic sentence: sentence as it states the main point of the paragraph and then the following sentences develop
The sentence this point. Spotting the topic sentences helps you to keep a tight control over your understanding
in a paragraph of a writer’s argument.
that sums up the
main idea of the Points to consider:
paragraph. It is
often, but not » Skim through the passage and make a note of the opening words of each
always, the opening paragraph – do these give a clear pointer to what each paragraph is about? Is the
sentence of that
opening sentence of a paragraph in this article always the topic sentence?
paragraph.
» Have you noticed any words that the writer uses whose meaning you are not sure
of? Make a note of these words, but don’t worry about them.
» Now look at the closing sentence of paragraphs 2, 3 and 4; in what way do these
relate to and clarify the introductory point being made in the first paragraph?
» Now that you’ve thought about the overall structure of the writer’s argument, read
through the whole passage carefully and, while doing so, try to make sense of any
words whose meaning you are not sure of by using clues from their context.

Exercise 4
1 Using your own words, explain what the text means by:
• ‘Man is, pre-eminently, the animal who communicates’ (line x)
• ‘the electric telegraph was regarded as a superfluous novelty’ (line x)
• ‘a cocoon of copper wires around the world’ (line x)
2 From paragraph 2, using your own words explain why it was not possible to use
the early ‘submarine cables’ for telephone calls across the Atlantic.
3 Using your own words explain what were the ‘yet more problems’ mentioned in
paragraph 4 and say what solved them.

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 1 Active reading

Voice Across the Sea

Man is, pre-eminently,
the animal who
communicates, but
until little more than a
5 hundred years ago his
thoughts could travel
abroad no more swiftly
than the sailing ship or
the running horse.
10 The great change
began when lightning
itself became a
messenger for
mankind. At first, the
15 electric telegraph was
regarded as a
superfluous novelty, but within a single lifetime engineers had spun a cocoon of copper
wires around the world. In 1886 was laid the first successful Atlantic cable. From that
moment, Europe and America were only seconds, and no longer days, apart. However, even
20 when the telephone was invented in 1876 it was not possible to speak across the Atlantic;
the early submarine cables could carry only telegraph messages. They were too sluggish to
respond to the hundredfold-more-rapid vibrations of the human voice. Although a
transatlantic telephone service was opened in 1927, it depended entirely on radio, which
meant that even at the best of times conversations were liable to fadings and cracklings, and
to eerie, Outer Space whistles and wails.
25

The first transatlantic telephone cable went into service in 1956. As a result of the vastly
improved service, there was an immediate jump in the number of calls between Europe and
America. More cables had to be laid – first across the Atlantic and later across the still wider
expanses of the Pacific.
30 By the dawn of the Space Age, therefore, the problem of inter-continental telephone calls
had been solved – but it had been solved so successfully that it had raised yet more
problems. The cables could carry only a limited number of conversations, and it seemed
unlikely that they could keep up with the rising demand. Moreover, just as the Victorian
cables could not cope with the telephone, so the submarine cables of the 1950s were
35 unable to deal with the latest miracle, television – and for very similar reasons. The electric
signals involved in the transmission of TV pictures were a thousand times too complex to be
handled by a cable. A new breakthrough was needed and the satellites provided it in the nick
of time.
From Voice Across the Sea, by Arthur C. Clarke, Harper and Row, 1958

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 1.5 Practise your active reading skills

Key terms Newspaper article

Graphics/graphical The passage below is taken from a newspaper article. It contains some graphical
features: Graphics and layout features which are typical of this type of writing. When you practise
are diagrams and
other visual images
reading this article, focus on trying to get a clear picture of what actually happened
which help to clarify to Tony Bullimore. In order to make the article more immediate and dramatic, the
the meaning of what writer has not described the events in a strictly logical sequence.
has been written in
an article.
Layout: The layout
Exercise 5
of an article is the 1 Look at the article ‘Thank God . . . it’s a miracle’. What can you infer from the
word given to the headline, the sub-headings and the graphics?
way writing and/or 2 Now skim each section of the article and its sub-heading: what do you learn
pictures are set out
on a page.
about what happened to Tony Bullimore and about the man himself?

Before you start to read the passage carefully, think about any details which seem
to be unclear and try to make sense of these as you read in order to understand the
sequence of events as well as you can.

‘THANK GOD … IT’S A MIRACLE’

The thud of a fist and Briton is saved from cruel seas
Report by Ian Burrell
The rescue
It was the thud of a fist on
the hull of Tony Bullimore’s
overturned yacht that told him he
was not going to die.
5 The British yachtsman had
spent four days and four nights in
an air-pocket inside his capsized
yacht, praying that he would be
saved. ‘I started shouting, “I’m
10 coming, I’m coming”,’ he said. ‘It
took a few seconds to get from
one end of the boat to the other.
Then I took a few deep breaths
and I dived out.’ incredible feat of endurance freezing waters lapping at his
15 It was the culmination of one was an ability to remain calm feet and buffeted by 60ft waves,
of the most dramatic sea rescues and methodical in his thinking 30 he will have known only too
of all time. Mr Bullimore had 25 despite the most appalling well that he was more than 1,000
been stranded more than 1,500 circumstances. miles from the nearest land.
miles from the Australian coast Faced with the danger of being
and 900 miles from Antarctica.
The ordeal
20 dragged down with the boat,
The key to Tony Bullimore’s Trapped in darkness, with 35 most people would have been

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 1 Active reading

tempted to try and jump clear. there and lash myself in to get out The survivor
Mr Bullimore’s sense of calm, of the water and to get away from
90 The yachtsman said that
developed from years of solo everything.’
during the ‘horrific, traumatic
yachting, taught him otherwise. 65 Dr Howard Oakley, of the
experience’ he was ‘hanging on
40 He stayed with the yacht and Institute of Naval Medicine, said
in there and believing something
quickly took stock of the few keeping a clear head and a sense
would happen and just fighting.’
straws available for him to cling of order were vital. Once he had
95 Through four days of darkness
on to. decided to stay with the yacht,
and solitude, he depended on
Yesterday he described the 70 Mr Bullimore’s priorities were
‘sheer determination, a little
45 horrific conditions that he had to activate the distress beacon
water, a little chocolate’ to
endured. transmitter and to ensure he
sustain him.
‘Two-thirds of the hull filled was getting enough air. Perched
with water. There was a hole in in a makeshift hammock, Mr 100 ‘It was just
the bottom of the hull, in fact Bullimore was alone with his
75
determination, a little
50 really at the top, where one of thoughts, with nothing visible
the windows had come out. This to focus on. This is the kind water, a little chocolate
caused water to be sucked in and of situation that makes people … hanging on in there.’
out at a colossal rate, causing a motion sick. But even Mr Bullimore was at
kind of Niagara Falls, but upside 80 Yet the discomfort of sea- 105 his endurance limit.
55 down. sickness could not break Mr ‘I only just made it. Because
Bullimore’s remarkable spirit. of weather conditions, I was
‘This chap is not an ‘This chap is not an ordinary deteriorating at a reasonable
ordinary person like you person, like you or me,’ said rate,’ he said. ‘When I knew that
or me.’ 85 a clinical psychologist, Eileen 110 the rescue was actually going to
Kennedy. happen, I felt ecstatic.’
‘I had to find myself a spot as
‘The kind of person who
60 high up as possible and put nets   Adapted from an article in 
takes part in a solo yacht race   The Independent, 1998 
around it so that I could crawl in
welcomes challenge and risk.’

Exercise 6
Answer the following questions:
1 Give two facts about the ordeal undergone by Tony Bullimore.
2 Using your own words, explain what the text means by:
a) ‘the culmination of one of the most dramatic sea rescues of all time’ (line x)
b) ‘incredible feat of endurance’ (line x)
c) quickly took stock of the few straws available for him to cling on to’ (line x)
3 Re-read paragraph X, (‘I had to find … remarkable spirit.’) State three things
Tony Bullimore did to keep himself alive.
4 Re-read the section with the sub-heading ‘The Survivor’. Identify two phrases
that indicate Tony Bullimore’s state of mind at the end of his ordeal.
5 Using your own words, explain how the article shows that Tony Bullimore was
‘not an ordinary person like you or me’.

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 1.5 Practise your active reading skills

Unit summary
In this unit you have reviewed the objectives:
• demonstrate understanding of explicit meanings
• demonstrate understanding of implicit meanings and attitudes
• select and use information for specific purposes.
• organise and structure ideas and opinions for deliberate effect
• use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures appropriate to context
• make accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar.

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