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Activities, exercises, and tips to help catch up, keep up, and get ahead. Skip to content. Each volume provides more than 45 factual stories with related teaching materials. Hall Publisher: Jossey-Bass ISBN: X Category: Education Page: View: For classroom reading teachers and specialists, this unique resource is one of two volumes of "Reading Stories for Comprehension Success" packed with ready-to-use story lessons and activities for building students' reading, comprehension, and writing skills in grades 1 through 6.

The story lessons and activities in both volumes are designed with modifications for the learning disabled built in. They can be used with all regular and special students in any basal or whole language reading program, and help increase students' confidence, interest, and involvement in learning while growing comprehension skills.

You'll find 15 story lessons at each grade level. Each story lesson is organized into the following sections: About the Story: A brief overview introduces the story's topic, e. Elmo's Fire" Reading Level 4. Giovanni Blanco. A short summary of this paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data: Reading comprehension success in 20 minutes a day.

ISBN paper 1. Reading comprehension—Problems, exercises, etc. Title: Reading comprehension success in twenty minutes a day. C45 Please note that although each chapter can be an effective skill builder on its own, it is important that you proceed through this book in order, from Lesson 1 through Lesson Each lesson builds on skills and ideas discussed in the previous chapters. As you move through this book and your read- ing skills develop, the passages you read will increase both in length and in complexity.

The book begins with a pretest, which will allow you to see how well you can answer various kinds of read- ing comprehension questions now, as you begin. The text is divided into four sections, each focusing on a different group of related reading and thinking strate- gies. Each lesson provides several exercises that allow you to practice the skills you learn.

Additionally, you will find practical suggestions in each chapter for how to continue practicing these skills in your daily life. The most important thing you can do to improve your reading skills is to become an active reader. The fol- lowing guidelines and suggestions outlined will familiarize you with active reading techniques.

Use these techniques as much as possible as you work your way through the lessons in this book. Highlight or underline key words and ideas. Circle and define any unfamiliar words or Critical reading and thinking skills require active read- phrases. Being an active reader means you have to engage 3. Record your reactions and questions in the with the text, both mentally and physically. Notice how the text is broken down, what the ful but not so important minor or supporting ideas.

Skimming An effectively highlighted text will make for an through the text beforehand will prepare you for what easy and fruitful review. If to remember. When you finish your reading, jump back. Review the summaries, headings, and highlighted informa- Circling Unfamiliar Words tion in the text. Notice both what the author high- One of the most important habits to develop is that of lighted and what you highlighted. By jumping back, circling and looking up unfamiliar words and phrases. It is not uncommon for the meaning of an into the whole, how ideas and information are con- entire sentence to hinge on the meaning of a single nected.

Use these three from its context—that is, the words and ideas around strategies to mark up text: it. Even if you know very an active participant in a dialogue. Here are some examples of the kinds of reac- sentences and paragraphs; any repetition of words or tions you might write down in the margin or in your ideas; important details about people, places, and notebook: things; and so on.

They because your observations what you notice lead you may be answered later in the text, but by that time, to logical inferences about what you read. Inferences are you may have forgotten the question!

And if your conclusions based on reason, fact, or evidence. Write desk, you might infer that she likes gardening. The pretest consists of 50 multiple-choice questions covering all the lessons in this book. This book will show you how to read more effectively, step by step. You should use this pretest to get a general idea of how much you already know. If you get a high score, you may be able to spend less time with this book than you originally planned. If you get a low score, you may find that you will need more than 20 minutes a day to get through each chapter and improve your reading skills.

Or, if you prefer, simply cir- cle the answer numbers in this book. Take as much time as you need to do this short test. When you finish, check your answers against the answer key at the end of this lesson. Each answer offers the lesson s in this book that teaches you about the reading strategy in that question.

Director Leah Martin announced Monday that beginning in September, three new classes will be offered to the Allendale com- munity. The latter course will not be held at the Allendale Cul- tural Center but instead will meet at the Allendale Public Library. Staff member Tricia Cousins will teach the yoga and hip hop classes.

Cousins is an accomplished cho- reographer as well as an experienced dance educator. She has an MA in dance education from Teachers Col- lege, Columbia University, where she wrote a thesis on the pedagogical effectiveness of dance education.

The journaling class will be taught by Betsy Milford. Milford is the head librarian at the Allendale Public Library as well as a columnist for the professional journal Library Focus. According to Martin, this project is a direct result of her efforts to make the center a more integral part of the Allendale community. Over the last several years, the number of people who have visited the cultural center for classes or events has steadily declined.

Project Teen is primarily funded by a munificent grant from The McGee Arts Foundation, an organization devoted to bringing arts programs to young adults. Martin oversees the Project Teen board, which consists of five board members. Students who complete the hip hop class will be eligible to participate in the Allendale Review, an annual concert sponsored by the cultural center that features local actors, musicians, and dancers.

All classes are scheduled to begin immediately following school dismissal, and transportation will be available from Brookdale High School to the Allendale Cultural Center and the Allendale Public Library.

The office is located on the third floor of the Allendale Town Hall. The Creative Journaling for Teens class will be 2. Which of the following statements is correct? Tricia Cousins will teach two of the new a. The Allendale Public Library. The McGee Arts Foundation.

The new classes will begin on June 1. Brookdale High School. People who want a complete fall catalogue d. Betsy Milford.

According to Leah Martin, what was the direct 6. Tricia Cousins, the talented choreographer a. Community organizations were ignoring local c. The McGee Arts Foundation wanted to be d. She wanted to make the cultural center a more 7. Which of the following correctly states the important part of the Allendale community. Which of the following factors is implied as adults another reason for Project Teen?

The number of people who have visited the Allendale Cultural Center cultural center has declined over the last c. The cultural center wanted a grant from The d. The young people of Allendale have com- 8. Leah Martin thinks classes for teenagers are a.

From the context of the passage, it can be background and details. What strikes one at first glance, however, are the commonalities. Both undergo great hardship to make the trek. But the two sagas differ distinctly in origin. Yet, it is they, the pioneers, whom our history books declare the heroes. From the context of the passage, it can be Suppose that the author is considering following in , was followed ten years later by A.

The language in the paragraph implies that overland to the Platte. They will find a means to practice their frequent repairs. They will be declared national heroes. They will not find the jobs they were months, getting anywhere. The Joad family, in The Grapes of Wrath, loses d. They will make their livings as mechanics both grandmother and grandfather before the rather than as farm laborers. Now the sights and sounds of this ceremony are broadcast instan- taneously to billions around the world.

Communications and commerce are global. Investment is mobile. Tech- nology is almost magical, and ambition for a better life is now universal. We earn our livelihood in America today in peaceful competition with people all across the Earth. Profound and powerful forces are shaking and remaking our world, and the urgent question of our time is whether we can make change our friend and not our enemy. This new world has already enriched the lives of millions of Americans who are able to compete and win in it.

But when most people are working harder for less; when oth- ers cannot work at all; when the cost of healthcare devastates families and threatens to bankrupt our enterprises, great and small; when the fear of crime robs law-abiding citizens of their freedom; and when millions of poor children cannot even imagine the lives we are calling them to lead, we have not made change our friend. What is the central topic of the speech so far?

By comparing our times with those of George Washington, Bill Clinton demonstrates Assuming that Clinton wants to add something a. George could at least count on one thing. He knew that his family was safe from crime.

A statistical analysis of the overall growth in crime rates since would reveal that a sig- nificant increase has occurred.

There, on the borders of a creek that runs into the Yadkin River, in a cabin that was chinked with red mud, I came into the world a subject of King George the Third, in that part of his realm known as the province of North Carolina. The cabin reeked of corn-pone and bacon, and the odor of pelts. It had two shakedowns, on one of which I slept under a bearskin.

A rough stone chimney was reared outside, and the fireplace was as long as my father was tall. These once belonged to my mother. Among them was a gown of silk, of a fine, faded pattern, over which I was wont to speculate. The women at the Cross-Roads, twelve miles away, were dressed in coarse butternut wool and huge sunbonnets. But when I questioned my father on these matters he would give me no answers. My father was—how shall I say what he was?

To this day I can only surmise many things of him. He was a Scotchman born, and I know now that he had a slight Scotch accent. At the time of which I write, my early childhood, he was a frontiersman and hunter. I can see him now, with his hunting shirt and leggins and moc- casins; his powder horn, engraved with wondrous scenes; his bullet pouch and tomahawk and hunting knife. He was a tall, lean man with a strange, sad face.

They occurred only when a passing traveler who hit his fancy chanced that way, or, what was almost as rare, a neighbor. Many a winter night I have lain awake under the skins, listening to a flow of lan- guage that held me spellbound, though I understood scarce a word of it. Why did the narrator enjoy it when his father The father spoke brilliantly at those times. The boy was then allowed to do as he pleased. These were the only times when the father was b.

The boy was allowed to sample the drink d. The mention of the dress in the second Which of the following adjectives best describes paragraph is most likely meant to the region in which the cabin is located?

The author most likely uses dialect when quoting women of the region dressed. It can be inferred from the passage that Alec a. Trimble is b. What is the meaning of the lines of verse quoted in the passage?

Men who pretend to be virtuous are actually vicious. Moderate amounts of virtuousness and viciousness are present in all men. Virtuous men cannot also be vicious. Whether men are virtuous or vicious depends on the difficulty of their circumstances. There are plenty of chew toys around the house.

Whenever she starts gnawing on anything illegal, just divert her with one of those. She generally settles right down to a good hour-long chew. She gets really frustrated because what she wants is to bury the thing.

I usually show her the laundry basket, mov- ing a few clothes so she can bury her toy beneath them. You have to understand, my own son is practically grown up. Give her a bowl once in the morning and once in the evening. No more than that, no matter how much she begs. She needs to go out several times a day, especially last thing at night and first thing in the morning. Let her stay out for about ten minutes each time, so she can do all her business.

The game she loves most is fetch, but be sure to make her drop the ball. Now, for the other two, Rex and Paws… letter continues The tone of this letter is best described as According to the author, his or her attachment to a. The information in the note is sufficient to deter- would likely prefer mine that there are three animals. They are a. Given that there are three animals to feed, which Women struggled for suffrage as did all minorities.

Eighteen-year-olds clamored for the right to vote, saying that if they were old enough to go to war, they should be allowed to vote. Yet Americans have a deplorable voting history. Interviewing people about their voting habits is revealing. There are individuals who state that they have never voted.

Some people blame their absence from the voting booth on the fact that they do not know enough about the issues. In a democracy, we can express our opinions to our elected leaders, but more than half of us sometimes avoid choosing the people who make the policies that affect our lives. This argument relies primarily on which of the Which of the following sentences best summa- d. Americans are too lazy to vote. Women and minorities fought for their right to vote.

Americans do not take voting seriously enough. Americans do not think that elected officials take their opinions seriously. Well-developed vegetation also allows bank soils to absorb extra water during spring runoff, releasing it later during drier months, thus improving late-summer stream flows.

In many parts of the arid West, trees and shrubs are found only in riparian areas. Woody plants are very important as winter cover for many wildlife species, including upland game birds such as pheasants and turkeys.

Often this winter cover is the greatest single factor limiting game bird populations. Woody vegetation also provides hiding cover and browse for many other species of birds and mammals, both game and nongame.

Woodpeckers, nuthatches, brown creepers, and other birds eat the insects that decompose the wood. These insects usually pose no threat to nearby living trees. Occasionally a disease organism or misuse of pesticides will weaken or kill a stand of trees.

If several trees in a small area begin to die, contact your local extension agent immediately. Assume that the author has done some other a. It gives the article an authoritative, scientific writing on this topic for a different audience. The tone. It causes confusion, since both streams and walked along a stream? No doubt thick vegeta- rivers could be viewed as riparian.

It seems condescending, as if the author was effect on the reader of this opening? By listing the specific birds that live in riparian c. The main subject of the second paragraph of this passage is a. Overall, the assertions of this passage seem to be It provides a sense of the generally high alti- b. It signifies a change in subject from the d. Eastern United States to the West. It clarifies the reason that trees and shrubs are found only in riparian areas.

My mother points this out frequently. I sometimes take the prize for a grade-A dork. It was Sunday morning, 7 a. Nobody was up yet in the neighbor- hood, and I thought there would be no harm in backing the car out of the garage and cruising around the block. I could ride my bike. Which description best explains the structure of What device does the author use to illustrate the the story so far? The narrator attributes her inability to sleep The main argument the narrator has been having with her mother is over whether she should The first-person point of view in this story a.

It appears that the mother has alienated her characters. What most likely happened with the car? The narrator stole it from her father and drove The narrator attempted suicide through b. Lesson 1 Lesson 9 2. Lesson 1 3. Lesson 9 Lessons 6 and 10 4. Lesson 16 Lesson 3 5. Lesson 3 Lesson 6 6. Lesson 12 Lesson 18 7. Lesson 2 Lesson 2 8. Lessons 6 and 7 Lesson 12 9.

Lesson 8 Lesson 13 Lesson 4 Lesson 11 Lesson 17 Lessons 6, 7, and 10 Lesson 19 Lesson 14 Lesson 18 In their search for the truth, they do not let opin- ions sway them; they want to know what actually happened. They collect tan- gible evidence and facts and use this information to draw an informed conclusion. Separating fact from opinion is essential during a crime scene investigation. It is also a cru- cial skill for effective reading. What is this pas- sage about?

What is this writer saying? What is his or her message? At times, it may seem like authors are trying to hide their meaning from you. But no matter how complex a piece of writing may be, the author always leaves plenty of clues for the careful reader to find. It is your job to find those clues. Be a good detective when you read. Open your eyes and ask the right questions.

In other words, read carefully and actively. The five lessons that follow cover the basics of reading comprehension. Like a good detective, start with the basic facts.

To get the facts, be an active reader and look for clues as you read. I magine, for a moment, that you are a detective.

You have just been called to the scene of a crime; a house has been robbed. Get the basic facts of the case. The answer, of course, is c, get the basic facts of the case: the who, what, when, where, how, and why. What happened? To whom? How did it happen? And why? As a reader faced with a text, you go through a similar process. The first thing you should do is establish the facts. What does this piece of writing tell you?

What happens? When, where, how, and why? A fact is: if the writing is dense or complicated. What am I to learn or be happened aware of?

What is true? What exists? Read the passage carefully, and then facts. You may read, for example, about a new office answer the questions that follow.

Remember, careful procedure that you must follow; about how the new reading is active reading see the Introduction , so computer system works; about what happened at the mark up the text as you go. Underline key words and staff meeting.

On Friday, October 21, at approximately a. Additionally, the cash register had been pried open and emptied of money. The thieves attempted to open the safe as well, but were unsuccessful. Reynolds used her cell phone to report the crime to the police. She also phoned the proprietor of Primo Pizza, located at Broad Street, as she noticed that the door of that restaurant showed signs of forced entry. The police department is asking anyone with information to call What happened to The Cupcake Factory?

What was stolen? When was the crime discovered? Who called the police? Where did it happen? What other businesses were affected? Did you mark up the passage? If so, it may have looked something like this: when who On Friday, October 21, at approximately a.

She also phoned stolen another the proprietor of Primo Pizza, located at Broad Street, as she noticed that the business door of that restaurant showed signs of forced entry. The police department is was affected asking anyone with information to call Judith Reynolds, owner of have all been underlined, because these are the key The Cupcake Factory. But here are the answers in a more conventional form.

Possibly Primo Pizza. It was robbed and vandalized. Notice that these questions went beyond the basic who, what, when, and where to include some of the 2.

At A. This is because details in reading com- prehension, as well as in detective work, can be very 3. Money from the cash register. Read it carefully and answer the questions that follow. A renewal application is sent approximately five to seven weeks before the expiration date listed on the license.

Individuals who fail to renew within three years of the license expiration date are not eligible for a renewal and must repeat the initial licensing process. To renew a license, you must visit a Motor Vehicles Agency. You must also pay the required fee. If all the documents and payment are in order, your photo will be taken and a new license will be issued.

What documents does one need to renew a How does one obtain the renewal form? What documents represent proof of social by mail. Before you look at the answers, look at the next 9. A renewal application is sent be mailed approximately five to seven weeks before the expiration date listed on the license.

To renew must go in person. Every four years. False: You can only renew by visiting a and address Motor Vehicles Agency. Proof of social security Money to pay required fee 8.

What documents represent proof of social security? Again, read carefully and answer the questions that follow. Mail that used to take months to move by horse and foot now moves around the country in days or hours by truck, train, and plane. If your letter or package is urgent, the U. Priority Mail is guaranteed to go anywhere in the United States in two days or less. Express Mail will get your package there overnight.

Who or what is this passage about? How long does Priority Mail take? How was mail transported in the past? How long does Express Mail take? How is mail transported now? How long does first-class mail take? Mail that then used to take months to move by horse and foot now moves around the country What a in days or hours by truck, train, and plane.

First-class mail usually moves from now long time! New York City to Los Angeles in three days or less. If your letter or package is d— 3 services liste re urgent, the U. First class—3 days Are the 2 days other Priority Mail is guaranteed to go anywhere in the United States in two days or Priority— s— Overnight? Expres services less. Fastest You can see how marking up a text helps make it Three days easier to understand the information a passage conveys.

The U. Two days or Postal Service. By horse By truck, train, and plane. Because active reading forces you to really to really comprehending what you read. Skill Building until Next Time Here are some suggestions for practicing the skills covered in this chapter throughout the day and even the rest of the week.

Try them! Under- line the key terms and ideas; circle and look up any unfamiliar words; write your reactions and ques- tions in the margins.

If possible, share these reactions with the writer and see if you can get answers to your questions. The more observant you are in daily life, the more enriched your life will be and the easier it will be to comprehend everything you read.

This lesson shows you how to determine the main idea of what you read. W hen Lesson 1 talked about establishing the facts—the who, what, when, where, and how—it omitted one very important question: Why? All writing is communication: A writer writes to convey his or her thoughts to an audience, the reader: you. Just as you have something to say a motive when you pick up the phone to call someone, writers have some- thing to say a motive when they pick up a pen or pencil to write.

What idea is he or she trying to convey? Similarly, in writing, the main idea also determines the who, what, when, and where the writer will write about, as well as how he or she will write. Main Idea cast over the other sentences. The main idea must be general enough to hold all of these ideas together. To see the difference, look again at the passage about the postal system. Read the passage country in days or hours by truck, train, and plane. If your letter or the whole paragraph. Then answer the following package is urgent, the U.

Express Mail will get your package 1. Which of the following sentences best summa- there overnight. Mail service today is more effective and For this passage, you might be tempted to answer: dependable. First-class mail usually takes three days or less. Mail—it cannot be the main idea. The main idea cover Priority Mail or first-class mail. Answer c is also must say something about this subject.

The main idea very specific. It tells us only about first class mail, so it, of a text is usually an assertion about the subject. An too, cannot be the main idea. And the rest of the sentences support its subject, but it is something more: It is the idea that the idea that this sentence asserts: Each sentence offers also holds together or controls the passage.

You might think of the main idea as a net that is service. Many different classes are offered by the one, that clearly expresses the main idea of a para- health club. Pilates is a popular class at the health club. In many cases, as in the postal service paragraph, d. The yoga class is offered on Saturday the topic sentence is at the beginning of the paragraph. You will also frequently find it at the end. Whatever the case, the topic sentence—like offered by the health club.

The proof is found in the facts and ideas that make up the rest of the passage. Not all passages provide such Practice 2 a clear topic sentence that states the main idea. Less Now look at the following paragraph. Underline the obvious passages will come up in later lessons. Suzanne always played the main idea of a passage; it must be general enough school as a little girl; today, she is a high-school to encompass all the ideas in that passage, and it usu- math teacher.

Kara always played store; today, she ally makes an assertion about the subject of that pas- owns a chain of retail clothing shops. Long before sage. Which sentence did you underline? The first three sentences—about Erik, Suzanne, and Kara—are specific examples of these lucky people.

Notice that the topic sentence is found at the end of the paragraph. For example, there is a pool on the sentences. The other sentences are supporting sen- top floor. In addition, the lobby has a dry cleaner, an tences. Circle the two topic sentences. Then write the ATM machine, and a coffee shop. Finally, there is a numbers of the supporting sentences that go with each concierge on duty 24 hours a day.

You might have noticed the supporting sentences 1. Finally, there is a concierge on duty 24 hours a day. These 2. Some police offer duties, like writing reports, words are often used to introduce examples. The sec- have no risk at all.

For example, there is a pool on the top floor. Not all police duties are dangerous. Others, like traffic duty, put police officers at very Here are some words and phrases often used to little risk.

Tenants of the luxury apartment building enjoy For example In particular many amenities. For instance Some In addition Others 7. Still other duties, like investigating accidents, Furthermore leave officers free of danger. In addition, the lobby has a dry cleaner, an ATM a paragraph, you might try eliminating the sentences machine, and a coffee shop. Sentences 4 and 6 are the two topic sentences because both make an assertion about a general subject.

Now you can answer the last question—the why. Some duties, like writing reports, have no risk at all. Others, like traf- fic duty, offer very little risk. Still other duties, like investigating accidents, leave officers free of danger. As you read today and the rest of the week, notice how texts are divided into paragraphs. What idea holds each paragraph together?

Can you identify any topic sentences? Make assertions about these people, places, and things. For example, you may eat in the cafeteria every day.

Then, support your assertions. Why do you say the cafeteria needs remodeling? Is there paint peeling off the walls? Is it still decorated 60s style? Is it not wheelchair accessible? What evidence do you have that June is a hard worker? Is she always at her computer? Does she ask informed questions in staff meetings? Does she look like she needs more sleep? Instead, you can use the context to help you determine the meaning. S ometimes in your reading, you come across words or phrases that are unfamiliar to you.

The answer is that you can use the rest of the passage, the context, to help you understand the new words. Read it carefully, marking it up as you go—but do NOT look up any unfamiliar words or phrases in a dictionary. Most reality TV shows center on two common motivators: fame and money. The shows transform waitresses, hairdressers, investment bankers, counselors, and teachers, to name a few, from obscure figures to household names.

A lucky few successfully parlay their 15 minutes of fame into celebrity. Even if you are not interested in fame, you can probably understand the desire for lots of money. Watching people eat large insects, reveal their innermost thoughts to millions of people, and allow themselves to be filmed 24 hours a day for a huge financial reward makes for interesting viewing. Whatever their attraction, these shows are among the most popular on television, and every season, they proliferate like weeds in an untended garden.

The networks are quickly replacing more tradi- tional dramas and comedies with reality TV programs, which earn millions in advertising revenue.

Whether you love it or hate it, one thing is for sure—reality TV is here to stay! As you read, you may have circled some words called determining word meaning through context. Did you circle obscure and prolif- Like detectives looking for clues at a crime scene, we erate?

If must look at the passage for clues that will help us you do a little detective work, you can determine their define this word. Well, since the shows transform waitresses, hairdressers, investment bankers, coun- What Does Obscure Mean?

How is this word used? Now you can take a pretty good examining the words and ideas surrounding it. This is guess at the meaning of obscure. Before they become household names, the What Does Proliferate Mean?

Whatever their attraction, these shows are among c. The correct answer, of course, is b. The reality shows will make them famous, means, you can still tell what kind of word it is by the but until that happens, they remain obscure.

Answer c way it is used. Therefore, passage that these people are waitresses, hairdressers, you can answer this question: investment bankers, counselors, and teachers. Now, these are all very respectable jobs, but they are fairly 3. Furthermore, we can tell that b is the cor- b. The answer, of course, is growth.

How can you tell? Well, we all know that weeds have a tendency to Review: Finding Facts grow wherever they can. However, another reason people by looking for more clues in the sentence.

It also tells us that they proliferate like weeds in 2. Just imagine a neglected garden, b. Weeds will c. Based on the words and phrases surrounding it, an active reader should have no problem determining the meaning of the word proliferate.

Proliferate in this passage means a. As reality TV increases in pop- are things associated with reduction, not growth. And ularity, network executives will begin canceling more everyone knows that weeds in an untended garden will traditional dramas and comedies and replacing them grow fast and aggressively.

And b is not an appropriate with the latest in reality TV. In the passage, adversely most nearly means addition, you can tell that c is the right answer because a. It tells you b. Hence, the meaning of prolif- mine the meaning of adversely. In some cases, however, your will occur. Can you no facts in this sentence to support the assumption understand the following sentence, for example, with- that changes will occur immediately.

Thus, c is the best out knowing what adversely means? You may also have noticed that adversely is very Reality TV shows will adversely affect traditional similar to adversary. And if you know that an adversary dramas and comedies. Or, if you know What does adversely mean in this sentence? Is it the word adversity—hardship or misfortune—then something good or bad?

All these words share the same root— tell you what this word means. But a passage with more advers. Only the endings change. The writer says money is not important to ing of the words from their context. The answers appear him. If money is not an issue, it is okay that immediately after the questions. Although social work is not a particularly lucrative 7. Shifting, shaking, and stuttering are all obvious, not hidden signs of nervousness. Lucrative means.

She may also be c, exhausted, but the context c. When you are in an interview, try not to show any overt signs that you are nervous. Overt means. The ability to determine the meaning of unfamiliar a. Sometimes, there will be unfa- c. But more often than not, a care- By the time our staff meeting ended at , I was ful look at the context will give you enough clues to ravenous.

Ravenous means a. Instead of looking them up in a dictionary, try to figure out the meanings of these words from their context. Then, look them up in a dictionary to make sure you are correct. Many peo- ple feel insecure about their reading and writing skills because they have a limited vocabulary.

The more words you know, the easier it will be to understand what others are saying and to express what you have to say. This lesson tells you how to distinguish what someone knows for certain from what someone believes. It matters a great deal, especially when it comes to reading comprehension. Part of becoming a critical reader means realizing that opinions are not evidence; for opinions to be valid, they must be supported by cold, hard facts. Now and opinion lies in the difference between believing that paragraph is much more effective than something and knowing.

Opinions may be based on facts, but they like this: are still what we think, not what we know. Opinions are debatable; facts are not. James is a terrible boss. And he has stupid ideas about politics. The second paragraph is all opinion. Every assertion about his or her subject supported by facts sentence is debatable; every sentence tells us what the or other evidence. Perhaps you made an assertion vide any evidence to support why he or she thinks that like this: James is such a lousy boss.

James is a terrific boss. After the initial opinion, assertion about the subject, James. And it is also an the writer provides facts—specific things James does opinion. It is, after all, debatable; someone could just which can be verified by other observers that make as easily take the opposite position and say: him a good boss.

You may still not agree that James is a great boss, but at least you can see exactly why this James is a terrible boss. For example: When you read academic materials, very often you will James is a terrific boss. He lets us leave early or come in late when we between what the writer thinks and how the writer have to take care of our children. He always gives supports what he or she thinks, between what is proven holiday bonuses.

And he offers tuition reimburse- to be true and what needs to be proved. Is this known for certain to be true?