Catching Up

Future 4
Unit 1 Reading
Be College and Career Ready

You will learn to:

• Recognize different text elements
• Identify the main idea and key information
• Discover the meaning of words
• Answer questions about key information and cite evidence from the article
• Interpret the information from the article
• Summarize the article

CCR R5 B
READING TIP
A Read the tip.

Preview the text

Before you read a text completely, preview to get a general idea of what it is about. Look
at the text features such as the title, the heading of each section, and the illustrations,
photos, or tables. This preparation will help you understand the reading.

B What can you learn from previewing a text? Choose the correct answer. There may be
more than one correct answer.

a. The topic
b. The details
c. The type of text it is
d. The focus of each section

C Look at the title and the heading of the first section of this article. Choose all the
statements that are probably true.

Educational Level, English Proficiency, and Economic Success

Educational Level and Income

a. The article discusses the connection between three things: a person’s educational level,
English ability, and economic success.
b. The first section of the article focuses on the connection between educational level and
how much money a person makes.
c. The article probably tells a story about one person’s success after learning English.
d. The article probably provides factual information.

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CCR R5 B
BEFORE YOU READ
PREVIEW THE ARTICLE. Look at the article. Choose the correct answer. There may be
more than one correct answer.

1. What text features do you see in this article?

a. Title and Subheads
b. Illustration
c. Table
d. Photo

2. What topics are covered by the data in the table?

a. English proficiency and weekly earnings
b. Educational level and weekly earnings
c. English proficiency and educational level
d. Educational level and unemployment rates

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CCR R2 C
READ
LISTEN AND READ. Then choose the main idea.

Educational Level, English Proficiency, and Economic Success

25 among people with high school diplomas, a
limited-English speaker is almost as likely as an
English-proficient person to have a job. However, that job
often pays much less. Overall, those who can speak
English well earn 35 to 40 percent more than people with
30 limited English. For example, high school diploma holders
who speak English well make about $10,000 more a year
than those who don’t.

A Lasting Effect
Better English and more education don’t just translate
35 into higher earnings for an individual. These
achievements have a long-lasting effect. Children with
economically successful parents are more likely to
become economically successful themselves. The
immigrant who learns English well and increases his or
You already know that getting a good education is her level of education is making a difference for future
40
important. You also know that learning to speak and generations. So keep your eyes on that goal. The road
write English well is important. But trying to achieve may not be easy, but the rewards are real.
those goals can take a long time and may seem too
5 difficult. You may begin to wonder exactly how much all
your effort is worth. So let’s look at the numbers. How Earnings and unemployment rates
much difference will your education really make? How by educational level in 2018
important is your English ability?
Unemployment Median weekly
Educational Level and Income Education rate earnings
10 In the United States, around 90% of the people between Master’s
2.1 1,434
the ages of 25 and 29 have a high school diploma. Of degree
these people, the majority have some college. Of course, Bachelor’s
as a person's level of education increases, so does his or 2.2 1,198
degree
her income. But exactly how much of an increase in
earnings can a person expect? As shown in Table 1, a Associate’s
15 2.8 862
college degree can make a big difference. People with a degree
bachelor’s degree earn more than twice the income of Some college,
3.7 802
people with less than a high school diploma. They are no degree
also far less likely to be unemployed. High school
4.1 730
diploma
20 English Proficiency and Income
Where does English level fit in with this information? Less than a
Once you get that high school diploma, how important is high school 5.6 553
it to speak English well? After all, most immigrants are diploma
able to find jobs, even if their English is limited. In fact, Source: U.S. Department of Labor

The main idea of the article is that getting more education and improving your English .
a. is the desire of most immigrants in the United States
b. is difficult but leads to economic success
c. is helpful for the next generation
d. is good for society
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CCR R4 C
VOCABULARY 1
Choose the correct answer.

1. In the title, proficiency means .

a. salary
b. skill
c. professionalism
d. education

2. In Line 6, the word effort means .

a. time
b. money
c. hard work
d. intense study

3. In Line 24, the word limited means .

a. controlled
b. short
c. restricted in size, amount, or extent
d. larger in size, amount, or extent

4. In Line 35, the word individual means .

a. one person
b. a unique person
c. an independent person
d. money that a person gets for working

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CLOSE READING 1
Read the article again. Answer the questions.

1. What does the article say about high Where is this information?
school diplomas? a. Lines 10–11
a. They do not have a strong effect on b. Lines 16–18
unemployment rates. c. The table
b. They do not have any effect on
income.
c. A person who has one earns twice as
much as a person who doesn’t.
d. Most 25- to 29-year-olds in the U.S.
have one.

2. Compared to someone without a Where is this information in the article?

high school diploma, a person with a a. Lines 12–14 and the table
bachelor’s degree makes . b. Lines 14–15
a. about half as much c. Lines 16–18 and the table
b. the same amount
c. more than twice as much
d. almost three times as much

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 3. According to the article, people with Where is this information in the article?
limited English proficiency . a. The table
a. earn 35–40% less than someone who b. Lines 28–30
speaks English well c. Lines 31–33
b. earn 35–40% more than someone who
speaks English well
c. have a high rate of unemployment
d. are less likely to have a high school
diploma

4. The article states that the children of Where is this information?

economically successful parents . a. Lines 34–35
a. are also likely to be economically b. Lines 36–38
successful c. Lines 41–42
b. don’t have to work as hard as
other children
c. have to work harder than other
children
d. are likely to be less successful than
their parents

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VOCABULARY 2
Find the words in the article. Write the words next to the correct meaning.

generations majority overall

lasting median translate into

1. as a whole, including everything

2. result in
3. groups of people born and living at the same time
4. the middle of a group or range of numbers
5. most, or more than 50%
6. continuing for a long time

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CCR R4 C
VOCABULARY 3

Proficiency in the title is the noun form of the adjective proficient. The
word noun means name. We use the noun form when we want to name
proficiency as a thing; for example: English proficiency is important.

Find the noun forms of these words in the article. Write the nouns on the lines.

1. successful
2. different
3. able
4. increase
5. earn
6. achieve
7. unemployed

CCR R1 C
CLOSE READING 2
Read the article again. Answer the questions.

1. The writer of the article assumes that readers .

a. don’t know that English proficiency is important
b. know that people with a higher education earn more
c. don’t know that educational level affects earnings
d. don’t know exactly how much education affects income

2. The sentence “So let’s look at the numbers” in Line 6 suggests the writer believes .
a. numbers will help readers understand and accept the main ideas
b. readers highly value money and income
c. numbers are difficult for readers to understand, so they need explanation
d. readers already know and understand these numbers

3. Why is the last paragraph titled “A Lasting Effect”?

a. Because individuals with a higher education earn more for many years
b. Because future generations of economically successful people also do better in life
c. Because being economically successful makes a difference for all immigrants
d. Because individuals with a higher education keep learning throughout life

4. Look at the table. What is true about people who have a high school diploma?
a. They earn about 1/3 more than people without a diploma.
b. They earn about the same as a person with an Associate’s degree.
c. Their unemployment rate is lower than the rate for people with some college.
d. They have the highest unemployment rate of any group.

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CCR R4 C
FOCUS ON LANGUAGE 1
Read the excerpt. Then choose the correct answer.

In fact, among people with high school diplomas,

a limited-English speaker is almost as likely as an
English-proficient person to have a job. However, that
job often pays much less.

1. What does is almost as likely as mean?

a. probably will not have
b. is never going to have
c. has about an equal possibility
d. has less chance of getting

2. What does that job refer to?

a. a job held by someone who speaks English well
b. a job held by someone who does not speak English at all
c. a job held by someone who does not speak English well
d. a job held by a native speaker of English

CCR R4 C
FOCUS ON LANGUAGE 2
Read the excerpt. Then choose the correct answer.

Better English and more education don’t just

translate into higher earnings for an individual. These
achievements have a long-lasting effect. Children
with economically successful parents are more likely
to become economically successful themselves.

1. What does these achievements refer to?

a. children with successful parents
b. higher earnings for an individual
c. better English and more education
d. successful parents

2. Who does themselves refer to?

a. parents with better English
b. children with successful parents
c. earnings for an individual
d. the effects of education

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CCR R2 C
SUMMARIZE
Which 4 sentences could be used in a summary of the article? Check (✓) the
correct answers.

a. Getting an education and improving your English are important, but not easy.
b. About 90% of young people in the United States have a high school diploma.
c. Most people with a high school diploma are likely to have a job.
d. People with higher levels of education earn a lot more money and have less
unemployment.
e. People who speak English well earn a lot more money than people with limited English.
f. People with a Bachelor’s degree earn a lot more and are less likely to be unemployed
than people with a high school diploma.
g. When people earn more money, their children and grandchildren also earn more
money.
h. People with a Master’s degree earn the most and are least likely to be unemployed.

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 Catching Up
Future 4
Unit 1 Writing
Be College and Career Ready

You will learn to:

•  Examine the ideas in the article on p. 3 and in the reading on p. 10 of the Student Book
• Collect information from discussion with your classmates
•  Explain your plans in a short essay using your ideas and the collected information

CCR W8 C
EXAMINE
A Review the articles. In your opinion, what are the three most important or persuasive
points that the articles make?

1.
2.
3.

B Complete the statements.

1. My life or educational goal(s) is / are
.
2. At this time, my English proficiency is .
I plan to improve my English by .
3. At this time, my education level is .
I plan to improve my education by .

CCR W8 C
COLLECT INFORMATION
Work with a partner or small group. Discuss the questions with your partner. Write your
partner’s answers on the lines.

1. Which points from the articles were the most persuasive for you?

2. What is your English proficiency level? What steps do you plan to take to improve it?

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 3. What is your education level? What steps can you take to get more education?

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EXPLAIN
Write a paragraph explaining the following points:
•  your life or professional goal and why it is important to you;
• your English proficiency and education level, and the steps you can take to
improve them;
•  how improving your English and education will benefit you in the future.

Include ideas from the articles and from your discussion. In your writing, use the outline
below or choose your own organization.

My goal is . . . This is important to me because . . .

My English level (proficiency) is . . .
My education level is . . .
To reach my goal, I need to take the following steps.
First, I need to . . . I plan to . . .
Second, . . .
In the future, . . .

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