Scanning is when you are looking for a particular piece of information, for example, some specific words or phrases. This could be a name, a date, a price or a specific feature of a product. For example, you are looking for a laptop and you know you need one with at least a 512GB hard drive. When reading the information about different computers, you only need to look for 512GB or higher. You do not need to look at the size, price, etc.

Skimming is getting a general idea, or gist of a text. To do this you might look at the title, subtitle, pictures and captions, the first and the last paragraphs, and the first sentence of each paragraph. You can also look for keywords, which are often nouns or verbs. When you read a newspaper it is common to skim just the headlines to see which articles interest you and then skim the subtitle to see if you want to continue reading.

Read the leaflet and answer the questions.

1. Which of the following is the most appropriate description of the leaflet?

A. An ad for computers

B. An ad for Lucas Electronics Store A B C

C. An ad for computers at Lucas Electronics Store

2. Sam needs a new laptop but can’t afford more than $2,500. Which one is he interested in?

3. Melanie wants the largest screen possible. Which one is she interested in?

Reading

S k i l l : S c a n n i n g a n d s k i m m i n g

E x e r c i s e

Lucas Electronics Store

Our prices can’t be beaten! Great new laptops are now in stock.

Logan Mini J 8GB memory 12-inch screen Only $2,400

Pacific XK 16GB memory 16-inch screen

$4,000

Cree 200C 8GB memory 14-inch screen A steal at $3,000 Store opens seven days a week from 9 am to 8 pm.

3/F Richmond Mall

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You are doing a project about travel. Your teacher gave this poem to the class and asked you to read it.

Read the poem and answer the questions.

T a s k

This poem is written in rhyme, i.e. when the word at the end of one line has the same sound as the word at the end of another line.

Examples are time and climb, delight and flight, and stay and hay.

Reminder

Poems and Songs

Travel

If I had both the money and time

I’d head on out and find mountains to climb New cultures to study and great sights to see As happy as a lark I know I would be

Travel to me is the ultimate delight

Watching planes at the airport, awaiting my flight Then arriving far off in a place unknown

Whether with my friends, or just on my own I’m not at all fussy about places to stay Hut, hostel, hotel, I’ll even sleep in the hay I’ve stayed at resorts and lived like a king And in a temple, waking to the bell’s ding ding When I travel it brings out my curiosity Like trying a thousand different types of tea And wondering how these monuments were built Or why certain people walk around in a kilt They say that travel broadens the mind

But don’t go around like the mouse that is blind Don’t just go to the hot spots where all tourists go Get off the beaten track and let your mind grow I learn so much from the people I meet

Whether sat in a restaurant or walking the street In France I met a woman, Michelle was her name Two years later my wife she became

It’s not all plain sailing I have to admit

Like the time that a roommate started throwing a fit Or that hidden gem you so wanted to see

Overrun with hordes all shouting with glee

1

5

10

15

20

25

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51 Unit 4 • Travel

Write the correct answer. Choose the best answer and blacken the circle.

1. In the first stanza, the poet would be happy if he could . A. become a mountaineer

B. study more

C. travel a lot A B C D

D. see better

2. Look at the word ‘sights’ in the first stanza. Now look at the dictionary entry for ‘sight’ below. Which meaning corresponds to the word in the poem?

1. (n) the ability to see

e.g. Although she is seventy years old, her sight is very good.

2. (n) the act of seeing something

e.g. The sight of Julian made her very happy.

3. (n) a famous or interesting place

e.g. Donald showed me the sights of London.

4. (v) to suddenly see something

e.g. The boar was sighted near the village after getting lost for a week.

A. 1 B. 2

C. 3 A B C D

D. 4

3. In stanza 2, what does the poet like to do at airports?

4. In stanza 2, there is an example of inversion. What is it?

5. Which literary device is ‘the bell’s ding ding’ (line 12) an example of?

6. Based on stanza 3, decide whether the following statements are True, False, or the information is Not Given. Blacken ONE circle only for each statement.

T F NG

(i) He is very particular where he stays.

(ii) He never stays in expensive places.

(iii) His favourite place to stay is a hostel.

(iv) He once stayed in a temple.

S^kill

HKDSE

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7. In stanza 4, how many types of tea has the poet probably tried?

8. A kilt (line 16) is .

A. something you wear B. a circle

C. a square A B C D

D. a group

9. What does ‘hot spots’ (line 19) refer to?

A. a sunny place B. a kind of stew

C. a place people do not go to A B C D

D. a popular place

10. Which literary device is ‘off the beaten path’ (line 20) an example of?

11. In stanza 6, why does the poet like meeting people?

12. In stanza 6, who is Michelle?

A. the poet’s friend

B. a woman the poet met in a restaurant

C. the poet’s wife A B C D

D. a French woman

13. What does ‘that hidden gem’ (line 27) refer to?

A. a crowded place

B. a very nice place that few people know about

C. a place that is hard to find A B C D

D. a precious stone

14. In the last stanza, there is an example of a metaphor. What is it?

HKDSE

S^kill

S^kill HKDSE

S^kill

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81 Some of the steps you take when you write a speech are similar to what you learnt in the speaking section in Units 1 and 3.

Reminder

Before you write a speech, you have to know its aim and who your audience is. Most speeches are informative or persuasive. An informative speech gives information to the audience to enrich their knowledge, while a persuasive speech aims to make the audience believe something or change their points of view.

Structure of a speech

Writing

T e x t t y p e : S p e e c h

• Introduction

Start with an appropriate greeting and a self-introduction. Then tell the audience the aim/purpose of your speech.

• Background information

Provide some background information about the topic.

• Body paragraphs

This is where you present your information. Remember to use interesting facts to engage the audience.

• Conclusion

End with a conclusion or a summary. Then thank the audience.

As regards grammar, persuasive language is used to engage the audience’s interest.

Descriptive adjectives and adverbs can be used to appeal to emotion. Imperatives and modal verbs can be used to call for action.

Read the excerpt from a speech about smartphones. Complete the sentences.

E x e r c i s e

Introduction

Good . My name is and I am going to

talk about .

Conclusion

To , I think smartphones are

and I .

Background information

Nowadays it seems that everybody , but go back ten

years and smartphones as we now know them .

Unit 6 • Technology

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You are interested in music. You have been invited to give a speech at your local youth centre about how the way we listen to music has changed over the past few decades. You received an email from your aunt and she gave you some background information. Read the email and write the speech.

You may use some of the ideas from the email below and/or your own ideas in your writing. Write the speech in about 180 words.

T a s k

classical music, pop music, vinyl records, quality, replace, decline, collection, available, download, subscription, convenient, flexible

Useful vocabulary

Think of the speech you will write and fill in the table.

What are you going to write in the introduction?

What are you going to write in the background information?

What are you going to write in the body paragraphs?

What are you going to write in the conclusion?

From: Sandra Kwok

To: Linda Chang

Subject: Your speech Hi Linda,

That’s very brave of you to give a speech at your youth centre. Your grandparents still have a large collection of vinyl records. These came out in the 1950s and stayed around until the early 1990s. One problem with vinyl is that they scratched easily, although many people, including your grandparents, say that the quality of vinyl is better than digital music. Vinyl records were replaced by CDs, which arrived in the 1980s. I know your parents have a big collection of CDs, as do I. Anyway, sales of CDs declined once MP3 came along in the late nineties. I still like to listen to my CDs — I know, I’m old fashioned — but I understand how you youngsters like the convenience and flexibility of digital music.

You can create your own playlists and share music so easily. And you can get anything you want from the Internet.

Good luck with the speech.

Aunt Sandra

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83

Start with an

appropriate greeting and a self-introduction.

End with your opinion about these changes.

State the purpose of your speech and give some background information about the topic.

Give details of the changes in two to three paragraphs.

Useful expressions

• Music is…for a lot of people.

• They like nothing more than…

• Back then the only option was…

• …is/are still popular but…

• You no longer need…

Unit 6 • Technology

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In Part A of the HKDSE Paper 4 exam — group discussion, you are given 10 minutes to prepare for an 8-minute discussion. You will be given a short reading text. You can make use of it to give some background information about the topic. Below are some useful expressions for starting and ending a discussion.

Starting a discussion

Introduce the topic of the discussion We are organising…

Give some background information First, let’s talk about…

Let’s start by saying why it is important to…

Make a statement Most people say/agree that…

There are various ways to…

Ask for an opinion What do we all think about…?

Ending a discussion

Summarise It seems we all agree that…

State a conclusion In short / To conclude,…

The following sentences are extracted from a discussion script. The discussion is about some ways that older people can keep their brains active. Put the sentences in the correct order they would appear in the discussion.

Speaking

S k i l l : S t a r t i n g a n d e n d i n g a d i s c u s s i o n

E x e r c i s e

A. Various studies have been done about this topic.

B. However, it looks like we agree to disagree about the best ways.

C. We are organising some activities to help older people keep their brains active.

D. John, what are some ways you can think of for older people to keep their brains active?

E. So we are all in agreement that older people need to keep their brains active.

F. Most people agree that it is important for older people to keep their brains active.

    

The 8-minute discussion is among 4 candidates.

If there are only 3 candidates in the group, the discussion time is 6 minutes.

Reminder

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29 Unit 2 • Healthy body, healthy mind

Your principal has decided to change the menu in the school canteen. He is asking the Student Union for students’ opinions.

The following is the menu in your school canteen.

T a s k

HKDSE

Monday – fried rice Tuesday

– wonton noodles with vegetables

Wednesday

– mashed potatoes with bacon Thursday

– seafood pasta with broccoli Friday

– rice with steamed fish

You and three other committee members of the Student Union are talking about the food in the canteen.

You will be given 5 minutes to prepare. The time allowed for the group discussion is 4 minutes. You may want to talk about:

• things you like about the current food

• things you don’t like about the current food

• the variety and quality of the food

• what changes you would like to see

• anything else you think is important

Hong Kong Secondary School

Canteen Menu

$30 each Hot food

Fruit salad $22

Egg salad $20

Tuna salad $25

Ham sandwich $10 Tuna sandwich $12 Toast with butter $8 Toast with jam $8

Squid $8

Siu mai $6 Fish balls $6

Distilled water $5 Fruit juice $10

Ribena $8

Milk $7

Salad Snacks

Drinks Sandwiches

and toast

Contents

1 Helping others

Listening for main ideas

• Noting references

• Story

Biography

Starting and ending a presentation

2 Healthy body, healthy mind

Listening for details to support main ideas

• Making inferences

• Agony Aunt letters

Informal letter

Starting and ending a discussion

3 Drugs

Listening for specific information

• Working out the meaning of unfamiliar words

• Information leaflet

Article

Engaging the audience

4 Travel

Listening for responses: positive, negative or neutral

• Recognising literary devices

• Poem

Informal email

Asking for and giving clarification

5 Entertainment

Listening for the use of literary devices

• Identifying facts and opinions

• Film review

Blog entry

Showing preferences

6 Technology

Listening for a connection between ideas

• Scanning and skimming

• Poster and information sheet

Speech

Encouraging others to speak

7 Law and order

Making inferences

• Paraphrasing

• Article

Formal letter

Making suggestions

8 Work

Integrated skills

• Identifying the writer’s tone, mood

and views

• Blog

Letter of advice

Keeping a discussion going

Glossary

Exam Strategies Mock Papers

Answer Key

C ontents

Unit Theme Listening skill Reading skill & text type Writing text type Speaking skill

sample

1 Helping others

Listening for main ideas

• Noting references

• Story

Biography

Starting and ending a presentation

2 Healthy body, healthy mind

Listening for details to support main ideas

• Making inferences

• Agony Aunt letters

Informal letter

Starting and ending a discussion

3 Drugs

Listening for specific information

• Working out the meaning of unfamiliar words

• Information leaflet

Article

Engaging the audience

4 Travel

Listening for responses: positive, negative or neutral

• Recognising literary devices

• Poem

Informal email

Asking for and giving clarification

C ^ontents