🎤 Comprehension: Reading

This lesson focuses on reading comprehension techniques for accurate interpretation and faster exam performance.

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Comprehension: Reading Comprehension

Given below are some statements from the essay. If you agree, give

reasons; if you don’t, state the reasons.

Nearly all the sports practiced nowadays are

competitive. International sporting contests lead

to orgies of hatred.

Even a leisurely game like cricket, demanding grace rather than

strength, can cause much ill-will.

In countries like India and Burma, it is necessary at football

matches to have strong cordons of polic e to keep the crowd from

invading the field.

Even then the spectators don’t intervene physically they try to

influence the game by cheering their own side and ‘rattling’ opposing

players with boos and insults. Playing games is simply a waste of

time.

Games have been built up into a heavily financed activity.

Big-scale sport is merely another effect of the causes that

have produced nationalism.

Answer the following

What is sport? Try to

define it. Who is a

sportsman?

What is sportsmanship?

What is meant by ‘the sporting spirit’?

What is the difference between ‘sporting’ and ‘sportive’?

Make a list of the sports mentioned in the essay. (There are more than ten.)

Do you regard the following as sports? Give reasons for your answer.

Chess, dancing, monopoly, knitting, fishing, cooking, bird

watching, motor -racing, gardening, shooting.

What are the differences between sports and hobbies? What is

your hobby? What is body-line bowling?

What is ‘ferreting for rat’?

What are your favorite outdoor activities?

What are your favorite week-end-activities?

Match the activity/sport with its dominant criterion.

Martial arts gives a great sense of rhythm

Parachuting builds up stamina

Dancing gives moderate exercise and helps

mobility Boxing teaches self- discipline and self

defense Ping- pong develops a sense of awe and

mental peace Jogging develops muscular strength

Say whether you like or dislike each one of the

activities/sports that you like/dislike. Make use of the list given

above and words like relaxing. Borin g, disgusting, interesting and

exciting.

a) playing cards b) digging in the garden c) mountain- climbing d) washing dishes

e) weight- lifting f) wrestling g) shopping h) gymnastics i)

learning languages j) rowing k) visiting relatives

Now give one reason for each of the activities/sports that you

like/dislike. Make use of the list given above and words like relaxing,

boring, disgusting, interesting, and exciting.

Example: I like washing dishes because it is relaxing.

a) Complete with be, camp, do, drive, eat, get, go, lose, make, meet,

spend, stay, watch, wear.

TEST YOUR PERSONALITY

Do you enjoy people?

Do you dislike late for appointments

Do you like expensive clothes?

Do you ever risked to parties to TV at a

home? Have you ever risked your job?

Do you enjoy new

friends? Do you like cars?

Do you prefer at a hotel to in a

tent? Do you like Chinese food?

Do you enjoy money? Do you enjoy unusual things? Do you like up early?

(If you have answered at leas t six questions with YES, proceed further.)

Fill in the blanks, with for, from, about, in, of, up, by, to, at. (Some

are to be use d more than once.)

Are you good organizing?

Are you usedworking hard?

Are up fond solving

problems?

Are you interested dealing with

people? Are you used making

decisions?

Are you tired being one in a

crowd? Are you good working

with numbers? Are you willing to give

smoking?

Can you influence people convincing them?

Do you take pleasure bringing people

together? Can you prevent others cheating

your friends?

Are you capable attracting crowds blah – blahing?

Can you make use of your experience gained blah-blahing

selling things?

Are you excited going places?

Do you feel confident traveling alone?

(If you have answered all the questions with yes, call us today! Bell School of

Management, Tel. 868084.)

GRAMMER GUIDE

Infinitive Phrases as Direct Objects:

Type I Examples: They hope to win

the game.

He claims to be a sportsman.

(In such cases, the ‘subject’ of the infinitive is the same as the subject of

the main verb, e.g. the subject of hope is the same as the ‘subject’ of win.)

Answer the questions, using a an infinitive phrase as the direct object

What do you hope to do after you graduation?

What do you sometimes neglect to do?

What do you sometimes refuse to do?

What do you sometimes offer to

do? What do you sometimes

pretend to do? What are the thing

you can’t afford to do? What are

the things you fail to do?

Infinitive Phrases as Direct Objects: Type II

Examples: The coach told us to an attacking game.

• The spectators encouraged us to misbehave.

In such cases, the ‘subject’ of the infinitive is not the same as the

subject of the main verb; the subject of told is the coach but the ‘subject’ of

play is us which is also the object of told.

2.7 Answer the following questions, using the verb + object + to = verb.

Who encouraged you to study

English? What to do your teachers

urge you to do? Who reminds you

to do your work?

What do your parents warn you not to do?

What do your friends persuade you to do?

Notes

George Orwell expresses his views on competitive sports in the lesson

War Minus Shooting, which also appeared as an article in Tribune in December

1945. He says that, in good olden days that is dur ing Roman Times and in 19 [th ]

century sports were not taken seriously. Some games like fishing, cockfighting

and ferrying of rats did exist lo ng ago, but they were unorganized and were

meant only for the rustic communities. The posh and the elite never gave any

importance to games Dr. Arnold, the founder of the Modern

Public School, viewed games as a more waste of time. It was later felt that some

type of

group activity is essential for the outlet of physical strengthen and sadistic

impulses. It is this opinion which brought the existence of a more decent word

“Sports”.

Then chiefly in England and in United States games were built up into a

heavily financial activity and attracte d the crows by rousing savage passions

and this infection spreaded country to country. Games are taken seriously in

London and New York. In the middle ages they were played with much

physical brutality and were not mixed up with politics nor a cause of group

hatreds.

Organized sports then started gaining momentum and flourished in the

Urban Communities also. The English public schools in the later part of the last

century became centers of several important sports. Countries like Rome,

Byzantium, London, New York, games were taken seriously. New sports

namely walking, swimming, snowballing, climbing and finding houses made

inroads in different parts of the world. England and United States w itnessed

costly games in savage passions aroused.

Sports then began to be linked with nationalism. At the same time they

were also said to be the cause of politics, brutality and group hatred. Rivalry

began to develop especially when the games were played between Jews and

Arabs, Germans and Czechs, Indians and British, Italians and Yugoslavs,

Russians and Poks. Sports have become one of the main reasons of

international rivalry. The author suggests that instead of making things worst

by sending forth a team of eleven men, labeled as national champions to do

battle against some rival team and allowing it to be felt on all sides that which

ever nation defeated “will loose face”.

The huge crowds in Boxing, Football and Cricket matches started rattling

the opposite players with boos and insults. Harsh and fiercer passions began to

be aroused in England and also several other countries. Even a gentleman’s

game like cricket, which is also called a leisurely game was under question.

The controversy was witnessed over bodyline bowling and over the

rough tactics of Australian team that visited England in 1921. A boxing

match between white and colored boxers gave a horrible sight. In countries

like India or Burma, it is necessary at foot ball matches to have strong cordons

of police to keep the crowd from invading the field. The first big foot ball match

that was played in Spain about some time ago led to an uncontrollable riot.

George Orwell says that with the passage of time International sports became

a mimic warfare. Sports began to be equated with war minus shooting. Instead

of promoting good will, they were resulted in much hatred and further

fostering the rivalry among the nations. Sports have become competitive

when they are played to win and the game has little meaning unless it is won.

As soon as the question of prestige arises players do every technique to win the

game as I think that their countries dignity would be lost if that are lost. The

attitude of the spectators is also important in creating much rivalry they forget

that victory gained through cheating is meaningless. Spectators definitely try to

influence the game by cheering their own side by insulting opposite players

with boos and insults. The authors feels that modern games have abundant

hatred, jealousy, boastfulness and ignoring of all the rules and wit nessed of all

the violence. The author strongly feels that it is a pressing need to inculcate

sports man spirit among all of us to promote peace and goodwill through sports.

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Summary Cheat Sheet

• Read for theme, argument flow, and author intention.
• Use passage evidence to justify answers.
• Separate factual details from value judgments.

References

1 source