METU/SFL Spring 2023

DBE
SUPPLEMENTARY READING UPPER-INTERMEDIATE GROUP
MATERIAL 3 (Student's Copy)

SKILLFUL 3
UNIT 3 READING 2
SKILL: Paraphrasing
Paraphrasing is rewriting information using different words. You can paraphrase texts by changing word order,
using synonyms, negatives or opposite expressions, and different grammatical structures, combining or
dividing sentences, and nominalization (using nouns, noun phrases, and noun clauses to replace verb/adjective
forms and sentences). You can also do better at gap-filling tasks. Take a look at the following example:
Example:
Read the text, and fill in the gaps in the paraphrased version according to the information in the text.
Include all the relevant information. USE CORRECT GRAMMAR.
Text:
Before we examine the diverse forms a family can take, we need a definition of family that gives us a common
starting point for analysis. We can say that a "family" consists of a group of people related to one another
through marriage, descent, or legal adoption. Family members have institutionalized roles that describe what
they can expect from one another and what duties they owe each other. The nature of these rights and duties
is determined by cultural values.

Adult family members have a legal duty to take care of their dependent children. This means meeting their
basic survival needs, like food and shelter. Ideally, it includes providing love, comfort, and a sense of security.
Good families also teach their children the language, customs, beliefs, norms, skills, and values they will need
to fit into their society.

Paraphrased version:
Before examining the possible different forms of families, we need to (1)____define family____ so as to have
a common starting point for analysis. It can be said that a “family” includes (2)_(a group of) people_ who are
related to each other through marriage, descent, or legal adoption. Family members have institutionalized
roles. These roles (3)__describe what they can expect __ from each other and what their duties towards each
other are. (4)___Cultural values determine___ the nature of these rights and duties.

It is the legal duty of adult family members to (5)___take care of their dependent children___. Within this
context, adult family members must meet their children’s (6)__basic survival needs___, such as (7)___food
and shelter___. The ideal is that parents (8)__provide__ their children with (9)__love, comfort, and a sense of
security___. Moreover, good families teach their children the language, customs, beliefs, norms, skills, and
values they need to know so that they can (10)___fit into their society___.

Be careful:
 In paraphrasing tasks, it is sometimes enough to lift pieces of missing information and put them in the
blanks without changing their forms (as in blanks 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 9, and 10), but some other times, you need to
adjust pieces of information to make sure that they are grammatically correct within the sentence (as in
blanks 1, 4, and 8). Knowing derivatives of words (as in blank 1) and a variety of grammar structures (as in
blanks 4 and 8) helps you fill in such blanks correctly.

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 In some paraphrasing tasks, you may be limited as to the number of words you are expected to use in the
blanks. Make sure you follow the instructions about word limits, such as “Write NO MORE THAN THREE
WORDS in each blank.”

DERIVATIVES
Derivatives are words that come from the same root, like electrical and electricity from electric, or inactive,
actively, and activity from act. An awareness of derivatives helps you paraphrase information, boost your
vocabulary, and guess the meanings of unknown words while reading.
The following is a list of common prefixes and suffixes, i.e., small additions to the front or back of a word
that change the meaning of the word. These may help you recognize some derivatives:

PREFIX MEANING EXAMPLE

un-, non-, dis-, negative, not unhappy, nonsense, disagree, impatient,
im-, il-, in-, ir- illegal, inactive, irregular
mal-, mis- wrong malformation, misuse
anti- against anti-nuclear
bi- twice, having two biannual, bilingual
de- reverse or change de-classify, demotivate, degrade
pre- before pre-lunch, premature
post- after postgraduate, post-war
inter- between international
intra- within, inside intrafamily, intracity
multi- many multinational
over- too much overwork, overweight
out- being bigger, further, or greater outperform, outnumber
re- again rewrite
sub- under, below sub-zero
semi- half semi-final
under- not enough underpaid, underestimate
up- make or move higher upgrade, upload, uphill

 Please visit https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/prefixes for a longer list of prefixes.

SUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLE

-er, -or performer singer, actor
-ism a particular belief or behavior Buddhism
-ist with a particular belief or behavior feminist
-ition, -ation referring to an action or condition repetition, admiration
-ence, -ance referring to an action or state absence, performance
-ment referring to an action, process, or development
result

-ness referring to a quality or condition loneliness

-ful having an amount or quality, full of colorful
-able, -ible having a capability, can be likable, edible
-ous having a quality, full of famous

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 -less without homeless
-ant a person who / inclined or tending to participant, observant

 Please visit https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/suffixes for a longer list of suffixes.

HANDS ON WITH THE SKILL (pages 51-52)

Read the text and fill in the gaps in the paraphrased version according to the information in the text. Include
all the relevant information. USE CORRECT GRAMMAR.

(para. 5) Emotional thinking plays a significant role in the workplace as it has an (1) _______________ the
way people decide what to do. Studies show that emotions have four key functions in the decision-making
process:
 Emotions give you information on whether what you (2) _________________ is likely to be positive
or negative.
 As you feel an emotion faster than you engage in logical thinking, your emotions will make you give
faster decisions. The response you give to a situation will be faster when you are (3) ______________
than when you aren’t.
 They evaluate relevance. A person’s past experiences of regret and disappointment will affect that
person’s (4) _________________ of an event in the present.
 They reinforce commitment to others. People (5) _________________ emotions like guilt, love, and
empathy to help the other members of their group. This is because community and personal
connection have (6) _________________ in social groups.

(para. 7) Research into emotion in the workplace has shown that anger, for example, prevents a person from
noticing danger. Also, when people are angry, they are not (7) _________________ to admit making a
mistake as they are when they are not angry.

(para. 8) While anger makes people (8) _________________, fear causes people to lose confidence.

(para. 9) Though happy people are less likely to take risks, this does not mean that they will make good
decisions. Studies have shown that happy people put (9) _________________ on quality than they do on
appearance. That explains why a candidate is more likely to get the job if the overall atmosphere of the job
interview has been positive.

(para. 10) What, then, can be done? While people cannot avoid emotional thinking, there are steps that they
(10) _________________ to add rational thinking into the decision-making process. This can be done by
(11) _________________ into one’s decision-making process, and giving oneself enough time to make a
(12) _________________ of the situation.

(para. 11) When you (13) __________________, you will better understand other people’s behaviors. With a
better understanding of who is approaching a task with anger or fear, you’ll be able to make better
(14) _________________ about how they will act.

(para. 12) Different people feel different emotions in reaction to the same event or circumstance. For
example, almost everyone becomes (15) _________________ when they have a deadline to complete a task.
Some people feel anxious right away, once the task has been assigned. For others, the
(16) _________________, the bigger the anxiety. The former will start working immediately so that
(17) _________________ or lessen the sense of anxiety while the latter won’t begin until the anxiety of the
nearing deadline begins.