Summary Task II.

Dear students,

The second summary taks is on. You can read the text in link below, just click on the title of the article.
Try to write a brief summary, most of your summaries were very long; you should also pay attention to spelling, word order and verb pattern. I hope you enjoy the reading.

I look forward to reading your new summaries. They are due on Wednesday November 10th.

Text to summarize: "Great films that aren't really about Canada"

Summary techniques.

I enclose some hints regarding summarizing texts.

Hints for summarising written text

• Read the original text thoroughly to make sure that you understand its overall meaning.
   
• Be aware that sometimes you might have to 'read between the lines' in order to pick up 'hidden' information.
   
• Use a dictionary or ask someone who knows to help you find the meaning of any unfamiliar words.
   
• Underline or highlight the main points of the text, ignoring any unnecessary facts, descriptions or opinions. Make a note of the most important details - you could even draw a diagram or use pictures if this helps.
   
• Summarise by linking together the key points using sentences or paragraphs as appropriate. If images provide additional meaning then these can also be included in your summary.
   
• If you are shortening a very long text then it may be useful to summarise under headings or sub-headings.
   
• Read your draft to make sure that you haven't lost the overall point of the original information. Make amendments to your draft as necessary.

Remember!

• A written summary should be a brief, 'easy to read' version of a longer piece of writing.
   
• It must contain the main points of the original text and it should be written in your own words. Don't just copy out 'chunks' of the original version.
   
• You should write your summary using correct grammar, punctuation and sentences.
   
• A summary does not need to contain information, descriptions or opinions that do not support the general meaning of the text.

Reading Comprehension Practice

Dear students,
I enclose a reading comprehension activity. It is posted on October 24th and it is due on Tuesday November 9th. I encourage you to try to do this activity. It is very useful for the Term Tests.

I will post the correction on November 10th. Please, I am very interested in the writing task. You can send it by e-mail or hand in the writing task in class.

Enjoy the reading!

Text and activities:

Careless tourists scar ancient alpine rock art

Tens of thousands of ancient pictures carved into the rocks at one of France’s most important tourist sites are being gradually destroyed. Scientists and researchers fear that the 36,000 drawings on rocks in Mont Bego in the French Alps are being damaged so rapidly that they will not survive for future generations. The mountain, believed to have once been a site for prayer and worship, is scattered with 4,000-year-old drawings cut into bare rock. They include pictures of cows with horns, cultivated fields and various gods and goddesses. But as the popularity of the site increases, the pictures are being ruined by thoughtless graffiti. Jean Clottes is the chairman of the International Committee on Rock Art. He says ‘People think that because the pictures have been there so long they will always continue to be there. But if the damage continues at this rate there will be nothing left in 50 years.’ He describes seeing tourists stamping on the drawings, wearing away the rock and definition of the artwork as they do so. Some visitors, he says, even chop off parts to take home as souvenirs. ‘When people think they can’t take a good enough photograph, they rub the drawings to get a clearer picture,’ he said. ‘The drawings are polished by the weather, and if the sun is shining and the visitors can’t see them properly, they simply rub and scrape them to make them look fresher.’ Other researchers describe how people arrive carrying long sticks with sharp ends to scratch their own drawings, or even their names, in the rocks.

1. Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE.? Copy the evidence from the text.

1. Ancient alpine pictures are about to disappear for future generations.

b.  People rub and scrape the drawings because they want to take pictures.

2. In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following questions. Do not copy from the text.

a. How are the pictures being ruined?

b. Why can’t the visitors see the drawings properly?

3. Find the words in the text that mean.

a)       endure (paragraph 1)

b)      head ( paragraph 3)

c)       snapshot (paragraph 5)

d)      right (paragraph 5)

4. Complete the following sentences. Use the appropriate form of the verb in brackets, when given.

a) Scientist and researchers are complaining ………………… the destruction of alpine rock art.

b) If the damage ………………………………… (continue), the drawings ……………………………… (disappear) in 50 years.

c) Last weekend, I ……………………………………….. (watch) a documentary on the Alps rock art, when I …………………………. (bump) into  this article on the same topic.

d) The documentary ………………………………. (produce) by BBC Knowledge.

e) At the moment scientists ………………………………….. (have) a summit in order to ................................ out the survival of alpine rock art.

5.Write about 100 to 150 words on ONE of the following topics:

a) Why are tourists so distractive to landscape? Give reasons.

b) Are the museums the only place to preserve rock art? Do you think it should be preserved in museums or it should remain in the Alps? Discuss.