Glaiza F. Pablo Date reported: May 07, 2012BEEd-IV Date submitted: May 16, 2012English 135 Remedial Instruction in EnglishDr. Alicia SP. Gomez

STRATEGIES IN READING

Below is a list of strategies to try. Keep in mind that any strategies may be enough to make you a better reader. Experiment with different methods and see what works for you. The goal is to develop a reading system which will help you in the long term, not just in the class, but for life.

1. Read sitting up, with a good light, at a desk or table.

2. Keep background noise to the minimum. Loud rock and roll music will not make you a better reader.

3. Keep paper and pen within reach.

4. Before beginning to read, think about the purpose for the reading.

5. Survey the reading. Look at the title of the piece, illustrations or graphs.

6. Read the introduction and conclusion, then go back and read the whole assignment.

7. Scan the entire reading, then, focus on the most interesting parts to read in detail.

8. Pay attention to when you skim and when you need to understand every word.

9. Write as you read. Take notes and talk back to the text.

10.When the going gets difficult, and you don’t understand the reading, slowdown and reread sections.

11.If it is a long material to read, break it into segments. Read one half of the pages, then do something else, later read the next pages and so on.

12.Answer the questions at the end of the chapter.

MASTERY TEST IN READING COMPREHENSION

Read the following selection and answer the questions that follow.

THE PATH OF THE DODO?

The dodo, a flightless bird bigger than a turkey, once thrived in Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean. Then human beings came along. Within 80 years of its discovery in 1958, the last dodo had disappeared. The species was extinct.

Many other animals, birds, and fishes have followed in the path of the dodo. In the fast 400 years (a very short time in the nature’s clock) at least 36 mammals and 94 birds have become extinct.

In the United States at least one animal species a year has become extinct. And hundreds more are in danger of joining the list. What happened to our wildlife? The answer is people.

Some species, such as dinosaurs, have disappeared through the process of natural evolution. Living things either adapt to their natural environment or are slowly replaced by other forms of life, which are better adapted. This process takes thousands of years, and goes on continuously.

But human beings have speeded up the timetable. Panda bears and whales, tigers and alligators, eagles and wolves are all faced with the threat of extinction today. How have human beings been able to make life impossible for so many wild creatures in so short a time? These are the three principal ways: loss of habitat, hunting, and widespread use of chemicals.

Every living things has a habitat to which it is suited. But human beings have come in and change the land, water, and vegetation which make up an endangered species home. They have cut down forest, plowed the prairies, filled the marshes, dammed rivers. In the United States, the destruction of the swamplands where alligators live has wiped out 95 percent of all U.S. alligators in the past several years. In the Philippines, the destruction of the rain forest of Mindanao has diminished the population of the Philippines eagle to less than 70. Today the Philippine eagle is in the list of the world’s most endangered species.

Hunting is the second major cause of animal extinction. From the earliest days, human-beings have been hunters. They very nearly wiped out the buffalo, killed birds for feathers to decorate hats, shot the big cats to make fur coats, and slaughtered alligators for shoes and bags.

Passenger pigeons had the misfortune of flying the huge flocks, which made them an easy target. They were killed by the hundreds of thousands, and the last one died in a Cincinnati, Ohio zoo in 1914.

The widespread use of chemicals and pesticides is threatening several species of birds with extinction. Many scientists believe that pesticide residues in the bodies of birds affect their ability to reproduce.

Does it really matter to human beings if there are no more brown pelicans or cheetahs or black-footed ferrets? Yes, scientists say, because human beings themselves are a part of the process of natural evolution. They say that it is dangerous for human beings to so alter the environment that they cause the extinction of any species.

Each living things is unique and carries within in its own secrets of life. It is unlike any other species. All species are important in the total ecology. If any one is lost, the whole natural environment changes. Some people see a warning to human beings in the disappearance of so many living things.

George Laycock, author of several books on wildlife writes: “Human beings must develop a concern for wild creatures and a determination that these will not perish. Then, we just might save some from joining the dodo and the other extinct species. And in the process, we also save ourselves”

Encircle the best answer.

1. The reading selection was written to a. describe many extinct animals b. explain how animals become extinct c. persuade the reader to save endangered animals d. enumerate the causes of animal extinction2. The writer organized this selection by a. giving specific examples and buildings towards a generalization. b. beginning with a generalization and supporting it with specific examples c. comparing and contrasting various ideas. d. narrating different stories that support the main idea.3. This selection does NOT contain a. generalizations b. abstract terms c. figures of speech d. specific examples

4. The diction (choice of the words) of this selection is a. formal and abstract b. informal and concrete c. symbolic and philosophical d. slangy and emotional5. The dodo become extinct because a. they could not fly b. human beings hunted them down c. they disappeared 80 years ago d. of a reason not given by the author6. Human beings have caused the extinction of the animal listed below EXCEPT a. the dodo b. the passenger pigeon c. the Philippine eagle d. the dinosaur7. Many wild animals have become extinct because a. human beings have destroyed the places where these animals live. b. human beings have killed these animals for various reasons c. human being have carelessly used chemicals and pesticides d. of all the reasons listed above8. The word habitat means a. a place to live in b. a repeated act c. a piece of land d. a constant companion9. All the statement below are true EXCEPT a. Natural evolution is a continuous process that takes thousands years. b. Human beings have accelerated the process of natural evolution c. The dinosaur became extinct because it could not adapt to its natural environment d. The Philippine eagle is becoming extinct because it cannot adapt to its natural resources10. Passenger pigeons became extinct because a. humans killed by the hundreds of thousands of them. b. the last one died in 1914. c. they flew in huge flocks d. the last one died in Cincinnati Ohio11. Chemicals and pesticides caused the extinction of a. pelicans, cheetahs, and ferrets b. American alligators c. several species of birds d. passenger pigeons12. When human beings hasten the extinction of animal and plant species they

a. lose an important source of food. b. endanger their own survival on earth. c. change the natural environment when they live. d. allow the process of natural evolution to continue.13. Human beings profit from the survival of plant and animal species because a. by saving these species they also save themselves. b. these species can teach human beings many secrets of life. c. by helping these species survive, they also save the environment. d. these species are forms of life that are beneficial to human beings.