NOTING DETAILS

OBJECTIVE: Note significant details in a selection/passage.

Noting details is a reading comprehension skill that involves picking out, from a piece of
test, the particular piece or pieces of information to achieve a given purpose such as answering a
question in a test. It is paying attention to important details that can help you to better understand
a story. Detail can explain ideas, give information and reveal a character’s feelings. If you can
make a note of the detail as you read a story it can help you keep touch of what is happening.

To do this, you should be able to answer the questions what, where, when, and why.

Pointers:

1. Be definite about your purpose in reading a selection.

2. Read one passage slowly and carefully.
3. Remember the details in relation to ideas you want to remember rather than as isolated
bits of information.
4. Be able to distinguish main or big ideas from sub-ideas. When you know the main ideas,
it is easier to remember the supporting details.
5. The details of the paragraph describe, prove, or explain the main idea. These details
should be accurate and should support the main idea otherwise they would be irrelevant.

Read the following selections then answer the questions that follow.

A. On the basis of power, there are essentially three kinds of radio stations. First is the local
station, with a receiving range of about twenty-five miles, second is the regional station,
which may cover an entire state. The least common type is the clear-channel station, with
power up to 50,000 watts. It covers a sizeable portion of the country, and traditionally it
operates on a frequency where no stations are permitted (at least during evening hours).

1. How many radio stations are essential on the basis of power?

2. What are the three kinds of radio stations?

3. What is the least common type of radio station?

4. The radio station that covers the entire state is ______________ .
5. Why clear-channel station is considered the least common type?
B. Almost all the energy available to us today has a single source- the sun.
Light and heat reach us directly from the sun; food and wood owe their
energy contents to sunlight falling on plants; water power exists because
the sun’s heat evaporates water from the oceans to fall later as rain and snow on high ground;
wind power comes from the motions in the atmosphere due to unequal heating of the earth’s
surface by the sun. The fossil fuels coal, oil, and natural gas were formed from plants and
animals that lived and stored energy derived from sunlight millions of years ago. Only
nuclear energy and heat from sources inside the earth cannot be traced to the sun’s ray.

6. The major details of this passage are

a. light and heat.
b. light and fuels.
c. the many energy forms which come from the sun and those heat that do not.
d. from nuclear energy and heat from the earth.

7. The energy forms we get directly from the sun are

a. light and heat.
b. light and fuels.
c. fossil fuels and nuclear energy.
d. plants and animals.

8. Fossil fuels come from

a. unequal heating of the sun.
b. plants and animals.
c. nuclear energy.
d. stored energy.
9 – 10. What two forms of energy are not from the sun? _________ and ____________

C. Alcoholism can be attributed to two types of causes. First of all, heredity plays a definite part
in alcoholism. Thirty-five genetic factors account for a tendency to alcoholism. If more than
half of these factors are passed on from parent to child, the risk of acquiring the disease is
great. Environment can play also a part in alcoholism. Children who grew up in the home of
an alcoholic, for example, may experience many disappointments in family members. Having
learned to trust to one but themselves, they often turn to alcohol for comfort.

What two types of causes play a part in alcoholism?

11.
12.
13. How many factors account for alcoholism?
a. Twenty-five genetic factors
b. Thirty-five genetic genre
c. Thirty-five genetic factors
d. Forty-five generics
D. Michaelangelo

When Michaelangelo was a little boy in Italy, he wanted to be an artist. His father was
not pleased with Michaelangelo’s choice of work but he finally agreed to let his son be an
apprentice in the shop of a painter.
Michaelangelo was so interested in art that he thought of little else. When he was
working in a painting or a statue, his meals would usually consist of only a few slices of
bread. He would often sleep on the floor beside his unfinished work of art.
When Michaelangelo was thirty-three years old, he began working on his greatest
paintings – those on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The paintings covering the
ceiling of this chapel took more than four years to complete. Michaelangelo painted then
while lying on his back on a scaffold about seventy feet above the floor. Although he applied
his skill to painting and building design, Michaelangelo is, perhaps, best known for his
sculpture. To make his statues most lifelike than those of the past, Michaelangelo studied the
human body in great detail. He wanted to know how the muscles and bones inside the body
were put together. He thought that if he knows this, he could make his statues look more like
real people than the stiff sculptures of the past. Michaelangelo’s statues of Moses and David
are two outstanding examples of his ability as a sculptor.
Today, the woks of Michaelangelo are among the most treasured in the world.

In the sentences below, encircle the letter of the word or words that make the statement
correct.

14. Michaelangelo live in

a. France
b. Spain
c. Italy
d. Rome

15. He wanted to be
a. a sailor
b. an artist
c. a doctor
d. an engineer

16. When he grew older, Michaelangelo’s interest in art

a. increased
b. decreased
c. faded
d. aggravated

17. When he was working he often ate

 a. a full dinner
b. cake
c. only bread
d. spaghetti

18. Michaelangelo’s greatest paintings are thought to be those in the

a. Metropolitan Museum
b. Art Institute
c. Sistine Chapel
d. Basilica of the North

19. The paintings in the Sistine Chapel were completed in less than
a. two years
b. five years
c. three years
d. four and a half year

20. Michaelangelo is best known for his

a. sculpture c. writings
b. music d. church

21. To make his statues lifelike, Michaelangelo studied

a. old statues
b. art books
c. the human body
d. the skeleton

22. The Sistine Chapel is in a

a. Rome
b. Naples
c. Venice
d. Italy

23. One of Michaelangelo’s greatest statue is

a. Lincoln
b. The Swan
c. Moses
d. Art institute
E. After harvesting rice, the women of Benguet gather it to pound out the grains from the husks.
As they work, they sing traditional folk songs.

24. What do the women of Benguet do while they work?

a. they sing a song
b. they build houses
c. they harvest rice
d. they sing traditional folk song

25. After harvesting rice, the women of Benguet gather it to ________________ from the
husks.

a. pound out the husks

b. pound out the grains
c. pound out the rice
d. pound out the harvested rice

GETTING THE MAIN IDEA

OBJECTIVE: Get the main idea of the main passage or selection.

Main ideas refer to the central meaning, the focal point or the thesis of a sentence or
discourse.
It is the most important message that an author wants to say. The main idea of a selection
is the chief point an author is making about the topic. It sums up the author’s primary message.
The main idea tells what the paragraph is all about. The main idea is explicit if it is stated
in the paragraph. This means that the main idea is expressed in one of the sentences in the
paragraph.
The main idea is usually the first or the last sentence of the paragraph. Sometimes, the
main idea is not written explicitly but is only suggested. But there are also times that the main
idea is found in the middle of the paragraph, at the end or sometimes it is split – i.e. it is found at
the beginning and at the end of the paragraph. The sentence that restates the main idea at the end
of the paragraph is called clincher sentence.
In getting the main idea of a paragraph or story, there is always what we call “supporting
details”. Supporting details are the sentence that describes, explains, illustrates and proves the
main idea. These supporting details make the main idea stronger. These sentences have
information that helps explain and prove the author’s point.

Here are some instructions to get the main idea of a paragraph:

a. Look for the main idea in the first sentence.
b. Review the title of the main idea.
c. Study the last sentence for the main idea.
d. Review the material and think about whether the main idea is suggested but not
written.
e. Look for the main idea that is expressed in two sentences.

The main idea is found in different places in a paragraph:

a. In the beginning
b. In the middle
c. At the end
d. Two sentences may tell the main idea
e. The author may not write the main idea, but expects the reader to find it from the
details of the paragraph.

Pointers in Getting the Main Idea

a. Read the whole paragraph carefully.
b. As you read, try to see what the sentences have in common.
c. Try to state to yourself what the common meaning is.
d. Look for a sentence that states this meaning, the main thought of the paragraph.
e. Look for clues by which the author helped you find the main thought of the
paragraph.
 The following are exercises on getting the main idea. Read them carefully and answer the
questions that follow.

A. The Tambakols’s family went on a camping trip. They went to a park by the beach. They
rode their bikes around the park and cooked their food over a fire outside. They saw some
seashells. They came home Sunday afternoon.

1. What is the main idea of the passage?

a. They went to a park by the beach on a camping trip.

b. The Tambakol’s family went on a camping trip.
c. The Tambakol’s family went on a camp fire.
d. They went on a camping trip by riding on a bike.

B. Keep Your Teeth Happy

Brush your teeth two times every day. Use floss on your teeth before you go to bed.
Avoid eating things that stick to your teeth, like candy and syrup.Eat vegetables and fruits
that don’t cause cavities.

2. Identify the main idea of the short selection above.

a. Brush your teeth every day

b. Keep Your Teeth Happy
c. Use floss to keep your teeth healthy.
d. Eat vegetables and fruits every day.

B. Porpoises (or a common dolphin) lived in the earth’s oceans and sometimes bays and
rivers near oceans. Porpoises are mammals. Their babies get their food from their mother’s
baby. These animals live in the water, but they must come up for air. Porpoises are very
interesting animals.

3. The main idea in the paragraph is _________________.

a. Porpoises are mammals.
b. Porpoises live in the earth’s ocean.
c. Porpoises get tier food from their mother’s baby.
d. Porpoises are very interesting mammals.
C. Niagara Falls is one of the most beautiful sights in North America. It is on the Niagara
River halfway between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie. Niagara Falls is located on the
American and Canadian border. The American Falls is 167 feet high. On the Canadian side,
the Horseshoe Falls is 161 feet high.

4. What is the main idea?

a. Niagara Falls is one of the most beautiful sights in North America.

b. Niagara Falls is halfway between Ontario and Erie.
c. Niagara Falls is located in the American and Canadian border.
d. Niagara Falls is on the Canadian side.

D. Joan wanted to surprise Karen on her birthday. She decided to plan a picnic for her sister.
She prepared two hamburger sandwiches and put them in a bag. Then she put some cookies
and some bottles of Gatorade in the bag. When she told Joan about the surprise, Karen gave
her sister a big hug. Then the girls walk to the park.

5. The main idea in this paragraph is ______.

a. Joan wanted to surprise her sister.

b. Joan and Karen walked to the park.
c. Joan decided to plan a picnic to surprise her sister on her birthday.
d. Joan prepared hamburgers for her sister.

F. The dictionary is a very important reference. As a student, knowing how to find

information in it in the shortest time possible is essential. The words in the dictionary are
arranged alphabetically. It is important to know whether a certain letter is at the beginning,
middle, or end of the alphabet so no time will be wasted.

6. The paragraph is mainly about

a. arranging words alphabetically.

b. getting information in the shortest time possible.
c. the dictionary as an important reference.
d. the dictionary gives meaning of words.

7. The sentences directly stating the main idea is found at the

a. beginning of the paragraph

b. middle of the paragraph
c. beginning and end of the paragraph
d. middle and end of the paragraph
G. Leonardo da Vinci is best known as a painter, but he was also a sculptor and a musician.
He was a talented engineer and inventor and an important figure in the history of science.
Leonardo da Vinci was a man of many talents.

8. The paragraph is chiefly about the

a. many talents of Leonardo da Vinci

b. contribution of Lenardo da Vinci to science
c. painting of a famous man
d. talented engineer and inventor

9. The sentence directly stating the main idea as found at the

a. beginning of the paragraph

b. middle of the paragraph
c. end of the paragraph
d. middle and end of the paragraph

H. The Statue of Liberty is visited by thousands of people every year. The Statue of Liberty
is a 151 feet statue of woman holding a book and a torch. It was a gift of friendship from the
people of France. It has become the universal symbol for freedom.

10. The main idea of the paragraph is

a. It has become the universal symbol for freedom

b. The Statue of Liberty
c. The Statue of Liberty is 151 feet
d. The Statue of Liberty is a gift from France

11. The main idea of the paragraph is found at the

a. Middle of the paragraph

b. End of the paragraph
c. Beginning of the paragraph
d. Middle and end of the paragraph
I. Walking is considered one of the best exercises for losing weight, far better than
calisthenics, because walking moves the entire body over a distance rather than a single line in a
small circle. And it is in moving the most weight the greatest distance for the longest time that
one burns most calories. It is suggested that you spend an additional thirty minutes on your feet
everyday for it will burn off your additional fats in a week’s time. Walk an extra yard and take
stairs instead of elevators and feel good.

12. What is the main topic of the selection

a. It is better to walk than to exercise.

b. A lot of calories are burned when walking.
c. Walking is the best exercise in losing weight.
d. Walk an extra yard and take stairs instead of elevator.

J. The only thing that makes it possible to regard this world we lived in without disgust is
the beauty which now man create out of the chaos: the pictures they paint; the music they
compose; the books they write; and the lives they live.
All of these, the riches in beauty is a life well lived. That is the perfect work of art.

13. What is the main idea of the selection?

a. A perfect work of art is a thing of beauty.

b. Many people regard this world with disgust.
c. Man is capable of creating beauty out of chaos.
d. A life well spent is the best work of art that man can create.

K. Visible light is a form of energy. Man uses energy of light to see the things around him.
Since light supplies the energy which green plants use to make food for themselves, man
depends on light for the plant he grows and for the food he eats. In addition, it has many practical
applications in man’s everyday life. There are house lights, car lights, signal lights, and
decorative lights. Man’s cameras, mirrors, microscopes and projectors are useless without light.
Indeed, man could hardly live without light.

14. What is the selection mainly about?

a. The sources of light
b. Visible light
c. The importance of light
d. The different kinds of light

15. In what sentence is the main idea of the paragraph stated?

a. Sentence no. 2
b. Sentence no. 5
c. Sentence no. 6
d. Sentence no. 7
 Read the following paragraph then underline the topic sentence.

L.
16. Turn off the light in a room when no one is in. Never leave the light before sleeping.
When ironing clothes, turn off the electric iron when it becomes hot. There are many
other ways by which electricity can be conserved. Turning off the switch of an electric-
run machine after using it is also means of saving our electricity.

M.
17. The raindrops seemed to have one aim: to cleanse the earth. They washed away the guilt
of the sickly dog, the sorrow of the innocent rabbit. The drops fell with the gracefulness
of love, and the determination of a stubborn child. As they fell, they washed away the
sins of man. They left him a clean new slate, to clutter once again with his great mistakes.

N. Once there was no such thing as money. In the beginning of civilization, people had no
method of exchange. People made, killed, or grew everything they needed in prehistoric times.
There was no need for money or anything like it.

18. Which of the following sentence gives the summary of the paragraph?

a. Early people did not need money.

b. Prehistoric people planted and hunted for food.
c. People had simple lives in ancient times.
d. People need money in the beginning.

O. Crickets make their chirping sounds with their wings. They are really fiddlers and not
songsters. On one wing, they have a coarse membrane covered with ridges. On the other wing
are ridges which are notched like a saw. When crickets rub one wing over the other, they can
make several different tones just as a fiddler does when he drew his bow across the strings. On a
quiet, windless night, the sound of the cricket can carry for more than a mile.

19. What is the paragraph mainly about?

a. The characteristics of a cricket.
b. The abilities of cricket.
c. How crickets fly.
d. How crickets make sound.
 20. What is a good title of the paragraph?
a. Crickets are songsters
b. Crickets as fiddlers
c. Crickets and ridge
d. Crickets and strings

P.
Friendship is a happy thing.
It makes us laugh.
It makes us sing.
It makes us sad.
It makes us cry.
It makes us seek.
That’s the reason why.
It makes us take.
It makes us give.
Above all else
It makes us LIVE.

21. What is the whole poem all about?

a. life
b. happiness
c. friendship
d. sadness

Read the paragraph about the first Christmas and write the letter of your answer.

Q. Two thousand years ago, the Roman Emperor Augustus worked to count the people in his
land. He told the people to go back to the place where they had been born. Joseph and Mary
lived in Nazareth. But they have to go to Bethlehem because Joseph had been born there, Mary
was going to have a baby but she had to travel. It was a long, long trip.

22. What is the paragraph about?

a. How Joseph and Mary come to Nazareth.

b. Why Joseph and Mary had to go to Bethlehem.
c. What Emperor Augustus did to Joseph and Mary?
d. It was a long trip for Joseph and Mary.
R. When Joseph and Mary got to Bethlehem, the time came for the baby to be born. But
there were no rooms to stay at the inn. They went to a stable. There, Mary’s baby was born.
They named him Jesus. Mary made a bed for the baby in the manger.

23. What is the main idea of the paragraph?

a. The birth of Jesus

b. The problem of Jesus and Mary
c. The poor town of Bethlehem
d. A new baby was born in a manger

S. There were shepherds out in the field who were watching their sheep. Then an angel
appeared to the shepherds, “Don’t be afraid. I bring you good news. Today in town of
Bethlehem, a baby has been born. This baby is Christ, the Lord. You will find him in a
manger” the shepherds went to Bethlehem where they found the baby.

24. What is the best title of the passage?

a. The Manger in the Stable

b. The Shepherds’ Dream
c. The Good News of the Angel
d. An Angel Appeared

T. A bright star appeared in the sky. When the wise men saw it, they were sure that a new
king was born, so they decided to follow the star. The star went ahead of them. It stopped
over the place where the baby Jesus was born. The wise men saw the child with his mother.
They bowed down and offered gold, myrrh and frankincense to the newborn king.

25. What is the whole paragraph about?

a. The baby Jesus.

b. The wise man.
c. A bright light.
d. The star in the sky
 MAKING INFERENCE

OBJECTIVE: Make inference

Writers often feel you more than they say directly. They give you hints or clues that
help you “read between the lines”. Using these clues to give you deeper understanding of
your reading is called inferring. When you infer, you go beyond the surface details to see
other meanings that the detail suggest or imply (not stated). When the meanings of words are
not stated clearly stated in the context of the text, they may be implied – that is – suggested
or hinted at. When meanings are implied, you may infer them.

Making an inference is also known as “reading between the lines”. The reader must put
together the information the author provides and the information that the reader already
knows to come up with the answer. Inferring occurs when you mentally explore and take a
position in relation to the facts and related details.

Making inference means choosing the most likely explanation from facts at hand.

Pointers to remember in making an inference:

1. Read the selection carefully.

2. Take note of the explicitly stated data.
3. Ask yourself constantly why the author is saying this and that.
4. Make use of your prior knowledge or background of experience whether direct or
vicarious, in interpreting what you read.

a. Inferring character traits in a selection.

b. Inferring the mood and emotions of characters.
c. Inferring the general mood of a situation, passage or selection.
d. Inferring how stories or situations will turn out if some episodes were changed.
 The following paragraphs/passages are exercises in making inferences. Read them
carefully and do the exercises that follow.

A. Soda, Lime, and Sand

According to a legend, some Phoenician sailors once become lost in a storm and
unknowingly landed on the coast of Palestine. Having built a fire on the sandy beach,
they placed their cooking pots on blocks of nitron, a substance which contains soda. In
the morning, it is said that, the sailors were astonished to find rough pieces of glass that
had been made overnight by the sand and soda melting together in the heat of the fire.
This story may not be true, but it may give us clues about the beginnings of glassmaking.
Today we make glass by heating soda, lime, and sand up to 2,600 degrees. At this very
high temperature, the elements become liquid and mix together. In the process foreign
matter is removed. Then the hot liquid is allowed to cool. Once it cools, it is ready for
molding into different shapes.
Glass blowing, which is the ancient art of forming glass by blowing it through a
tube, was practiced thousands of years ago in Egypt, Babylonia, and China.
Today most glasses is not blown but is made by machines in factories.

1. From the first paragraph we can conclude that

a. Glass should be made in a sandy beach.

b. Glass first developed by accident.
c. Glass reveals when sand and soda are melted together overnight.
d. Glass should be made by allowing it through a tube.

2. It can be inferred from the second paragraph that

a. Glass is molded when the mixture is at 2,600 degrees.

b. Foreign matter in the mixture is melted in the heat.
c. Soda, lime, and sand become liquid at 2,600 degrees.
d. Glass is molded at a way high temperature.

3. The third paragraph implies that

a. Glass blowing was practiced thousands of years ago.

b. Today glasses are made by machine in the form of tubes.
c. Egypt and China produce nearly all the blown glassware today.
d. Glass blowing is the art of forming glass.
 4. The article as a whole is about

a. The origin of glassmaking.

b. The place of legend in the history of glassmaking.
c. The making of glass.
d. The blowing of glass-making.

5. Which two sentences are not true?

a. Most glass today is made by machines.

b. The sailors in the story landed on the shores of Phoenicia.
c. Ancient Chinese knew how to blow glass.
d. Foreign matter is removed from the glass mixture after it cools.

B. The plant in the corner looked like it was dying. The soil was still moist, so he knew it
didn’t need more water. And he had fertilized it just last week. Only a branch nearest the
window was lifted slightly. The rest of the plant was dropping.

6. What do you think will happen to the plants?

a. The plant will die soon because of too much water.

b. The plant will die soon because it lacks sunlight.
c. The plant had been fertilized.
d. The plant looked like it was dying.

C. Macky slowly climbed the slippery slope. Heavy rains had flooded the river, causing it to
change its path. Looking at the old map, he knew it would be even harder to find the spot
marked with an X.

7. What does the paragraph suggest about mark?

a. Macky is hiking for the day.
b. Macky is searching for something.
c. Macky is lost in the woods.
d. Macky is caught in a storm.

D. Suddenly the ground gave way and Marco slid back down the hillside. As he got, he
noticed a small opening between a two large rocks. Taking out his flashlight, he peered
inside. A sudden glimmer caught his eye. He quickly started to pull away rocks and branches
until he could fit through the opening. Inside was a large dark cave. Pulling out his flashlight
again, he wondered if he had only imagined that glimmer. Then he turned and spotted a small
gold coin glistening on the floor of the cave. So the tales was true!
8. What do you do think the sudden glimmer probably was?

a. It was a mineral.
b. It was a box in a cave.
c. It was a gold coin.
d. It was a glimmering sunlight.

E. The Beat Goes On

What happens if you give a baby a spoon and a pot to pound on? You have a
drum. Drums are among the earliest tools used by people. Drums have probably been
around for at least 8,000 years. Drums come in all sizes and shapes. Some are beautiful
instruments that take years to make. Others are hollow logs or garbage can lids. John was
the drummer of the music group, “The Kettles.” He first beat on biscuit tips with sticks
of wood!
Different types of drums make different sounds. A steel drum sounds unlike a
drum made of wood, leather, or clay. A drum shaped like a barrel sounds different from a
drum shaped like a box.
How drum is played also had to do with how it sounds. “Talking” drums are
played to sound like voices. Some drums are struck with padded sticks or thin wooden
sticks. Others are struck with the drummer’s hand.
With drums and drumming, the beat goes on.

9. Details in the article suggest that people may have used drums for

a. fewer than 7,000 years

b. more than 8,000 years
c. more than 10,000 years
d. exactly 9,000 years

10. You can tell from the article that a hallow log

a. can be used as a drum .

b. takes years to turn into a drum.
c. is hard to use as a drum.
d. is almost never used as a drum

11. From the article, you can figure out that drums
a. come in many shapes.
b. come in just a few shapes.
c. come in two shapes only.
d. come in one shape only.
 12. From the end of the article, you can figure out that a talking drum
a. is played with a stick.
b. is struck with the drummers hands.
c. is played to sound like it is speaking.
d. is played only at night.

Read the following sentences / passages carefully and answer the questions that follow.

13. She measured her shoulder, arm, bust, waistline and hips. She cut cloth according to the
measurement until she finish sewing it into a blouse.

Who is referred to?

a. cutter
b. tailoring
c. dressmaker
d. textile worker

14. Go to your post now! Smile and say cheese!

Who is speaking?

a. A director
b. A photographer
c. A journalist
d. A instructor

15. Oh my God! She paused breathlessly in the halfway to the master’s bedroom and her
heart failed her. It was a dark den.

What feeling is expressed?

a. contempt
b. fear
c. joy
d. sorrow

16. I love to see and watch the birds flying in the sky, the sea that roars the beautiful flowers
that bloom and the mountains at the hillside that surround us.

What would best describe the speaker?

a. A poet
b. A novelist
c. A nature lover
d. An actor
17. Oh I won! I exerted all my efforts just to win the game.

What feeling is expressed?

a. sorrow
b. regret
c. anger
d. happy

18. “Teach me to put another’s woe”.

The speaker is?

a. compassionate
b. humble
c. obedient
d. cooperative

19. I hold the world… but as the world a stage where every man must play a part, and mine a
sad one.

The trait rewarded is?

a. endurance
b. determination
c. resignation
d. pride

20. The man in the crew met many hardships on their long trip into the Atlantic Ocean, and
they were worried and discouraged. But whenever the admiral appeared, their burden
seemed easier and their hopes were lifted.

What kind of person is the admiral?

a. happy-go-lucky
b. understanding
c. wise and capable
d. dignified

21. Even a tiny speck of dust in his carefully-pressed polo shirt would irritate him and
receive his immediate attention.

What kind of person is he?

a. fashion conscious
b. smart dresser
c. sloppy dresser
d. meticulously neat
 22. She saw the woman with a candle in her hand. She slowly disappears down the road, the
candle light slowly faded.

What time of the day did the incident happen?

a. morning
b. night
c. noon
d. sunset

Read the following paragraph carefully and answer the questions that follow.

The only thing that makes it possible to regard this world we live in without disgust is the
beauty which now man create out of the chaos: the pictures they paint; the music they compose;
the books they write; and the lives they live.
Of all these, the riches in beauty is life well lived. That is the perfect work of art.

23. According to the selection, what saves a man from the chaos of the world?

a. His flexibility in times of crisis

b. His appreciation of the beauty of nature
c. His inability to create works of art
d. His ability to create a works of art

24. To what does the phrase “perfect work of art” refer?

a. The books men write.

b. The pictures men paint.
c. The life men spend well
d. The materials man make.

25. It can be inferred from the paragraph that

a. A perfect work of art is a thing of beauty

b. Man is capable of creating beauty out of chaos.
c. A life-well spent is the best work of art that man can create.
d. Many people regard this world with disgust.
 DRAWING CONCLUSION

OBJECTIVE: Draw conclusion on paragraph / selection read.

A conclusion is a judgment inferred from evidence. It is drawn from the information

given in the text and is usually stated in the manner of a theory or a general statement about the
subject. A conclusion must be based solely on the given pieces of evidence and not on any
extraneous details or assumptions.

In drawing conclusions, you are really getting at the ultimate meaning of things – what is
important, why it is important, how one event influences another, how one happening leads
to another. Simply getting the facts in reading is not enough – you must think about what those
facts mean to you.

Formulating a generalization or conclusion is in a sense of specialized form of

summarizing. The reader needs to note specific instances and then decide whether the data
presented are sufficient to a significant conclusion.

Pointers:

1. Know what the topic is being discussed.

2. Take not of the facts presented whether implied or directly stated.
3. Find out how the sentences are related to one another in content.
4. State a general idea that will include all the sub-ideas expressed in each sentence.

The following are exercises on drawing conclusions. Read each passage carefully and
select the best answer. Encircle the letter of your choice.

A. He had always wanted to serve his country, but this seemed like madness. He was
supposed to fight a war in a foreign land, helping to protect people whom he didn’t even
know. Mike had a strong sense of patriotism, but he was worried about the bombs, death, and
carnage that could await him in Iraq. He pondered whether he would ever see his family
again.

1. What conclusions can you draw about how Mike is feeling about going to war?

a. he regrets joining the military

b. he is afraid going into battle
c. he is looking forward for the challenge
d. he feels proud of his country
B. The detective had planned to pull all of the suspects into a room. He had already
questioned each of them thoroughly and it was something Mr. Santos had said that really
made him think. Santos had mentioned how horrible it was that Mrs. Santillan had been
killed with a knife while the information on the murder weapon was never public. When the
detective questioned him on how he knew about the murder weapon he said he just assumed
that was the case. Now, with all the possible suspects in the room, detective Abad was ready
to make an arrest.

2. Who most likely killed Mrs. Santillan?

a. Mr. Santos
b. Any of the Suspects
c. Any
d. Mr.Santillan

3. What conclusions can you draw about Mr. Santos feelings?

a. He thinks he had gotten away with the crime.

b. He is ready to run and try and get away.
c. He thinks that detective Abad will probably accuse him
d. He thinks Mrs. Santillan could have committed suicide.

C. Video gaming is one of the largest industries in America. Each day more and more
children and teenager are getting addicted to video games. There have been many video
game opponents accusing the industry or industry of becoming too violent. It is not common
to play a shoot’em up game where ten people are getting killed every minute. Yet, despite
societal pressures to eliminate violent video games, as each day passes, more gamers are
getting hooked.

4. What conclusion can you draw about the video game industry?

a. as time goes on, pressure to make games less violent will decrease the number of
shooting games.
b. as time goes on, more parents will prevent their children from playing violent video
games.
c. as time goes on ,the video game industry will lose money.
d. as time goes on, more and more children will play video games.
D. Jenny’s mother had just finished making her special baked-mac. She proceeded to wrap it
up, and set it aside for after dinner. She told Jenny, “Now don’t you go eating any of this
baked-mac. It will ruin your appetite”.
“Yes mom”, said Jenny with a very coy smile.
Later that afternoon, Jenny’s mother noticed that half of the baked-mac has been eaten.
She wondered what had happen to it. She called Jenny into the kitchen and noticed her fingers
were a reddish cola. Jenny’s mom look disappointed and said, “Now you won’t be hungry for
this wonderful dinner I have cooked”.

5. What happened to the half of the baked-mac?

a. Mice had come to devoured half of it.

b. Mother had only made half by accident.
c. Jenny had eaten it.
d. Jenny’s father had come home and thought it was free to be eaten.

6. What conclusion can be made about Jenny from the passage?

a. She follows directions well.

b. She is very hungry.
c. She doesn’t cook with her mother a lot.
d. She doesn’t follow the directions of her mother.

E.
My Life
By: Marcia Kane

My Life
A spider’s web
Running, weaving,
Back, and forth.
A mass of confusion,
and madness …

7. The poet describes her life as

a. simple and comfortable.

b. complicated and active.
c. interesting and exciting.
d. dull and boring.
8. How does the poet feel about her life?

a. happy and contented

b. sad and despondent
c. in complete control
d. disordered and senseless

F. Fad and hobbies are, in many cases, perhaps most, not a source of fundamental
happiness, but a means of escape from a reality, of forgetting for the moment some pain for
difficult to be faced. Fundamental happiness depends more than anything else upon what
may be called a friendly interest in persons and things.

9. What conclusion that can best be drawn from the paragraph?

a. Fads and hobbies do not cause happiness.

b. To be happy, forget painful experience and indulge in fads and hobbies.
c. Only people who have a friendly interest in what they can attain real happiness.
d. Fads and hobbies come in many forms.

G. Lightning is one of the most spectacular effects of electric charge. It is caused by the
build-up of charge on clouds. In the middle of the first century, Benjamin Franklin carried
out the very dangerous experiment of flying a kite into a thundercloud. He did this to show
lightning was the result of the same kind of electricity as that produced by rubbing things.

10. From the paragraph, we can conclude that

a. lightning is a form of electricity.

b. Benjamin Franklin experimented on flying a kite in a thunderstorm.
c. when one is struck by lightning he becomes electrocuted.
d. lightning is the result of the some kind of electricity.
H. The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we obtain too cheap, we
esteem too lightly; it is dearness only that gives everything its value. I love a man who can
smile in trouble, who can gather strength from distress and grow brave by reflection. ‘Tis the
business of little minds to shrink, but he whose heart is firm, and whose conscience approves
his conduct, will pursue his principles until death.

- Thomas Paine-

11. What conclusion can you draw from this passage?

a. A man with a firm heart must look for conflicts.

b. The most battered man is not necessarily the least blessed.
c. A man with clear conscience must pursue his principle unto death.
d. The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.

Read the following poem by Carl Sandburg. Then encircle the letter of the answer
in each question.

I. Fog

The fog comes

On little cat feet.

It sits looking
Over harbor and city
On silent haunches
And then moves on.

Haunches: the part of a four-legged animal from the uppermost part of the legs and backward.

12. Sandburg compares the way the fog moves to

a. the way a cat moves.
b. movement near a harbor
c. a city’s rhythm.
d. a little cat.
13. Through the comparison, Sanburg implies that the fog

a. sings
b. moves quickly and quietly
c. floats along like the water at a harbor
d. sits looking over harbor and city.

14. Sandburg continues the comparison in the second stanza with the wind.

a. harbor
b. city
c. haunches
d. feet

15. In the second stanza, Sandburg implies that the fog

a. never stays
b. stay too long
c. stays for a while and then leaves
d. keeps on moving

16. Sanburg’s poem portrays fog as

a. dangerous
b. bothersome
c. quiet
d. stormy

J. Have you ever seen a plant with its leaves curled up? Have you watered it and watched
its leaves spread out again? Almost as quick as that can be the response of a child’s mind to a
teacher who knows how to nourish it.

17. What do you think will happen to a child whose mind was not nourished well by well by his
teacher?

a. He will become juvenile delinquent and will be a threat to society.

b. He will grow up with inadequate knowledge of the world around him.
c. He is likely to solve things by himself and be very independent.
d. He is likely to grow up mentally retarded.
18. What major conclusion can you draw from the selection?

a. If a child is not educated he will not survive.

b. If a plant is not watered, it will wither and die
c. A plant and a child need an equal amount of loving care.
d. A good teacher nourishes a child’s yearning for knowledge.

K. Dayden always enjoyed her morning walk. It only took her fifteen minutes to reach the
oval area and her friends were there when she arrived. By the time the bell rang, they were
ready to go inside where at least on this day, it would be more comfortable.

19. Dayden always walked _____________.

.
a. to school
b. to the movie
c. to the restaurant
d. to the volleyball practice

20. Dayden most likely lived ________________.

a. far away
b. nearby
c. off the bus route
d. off the school area

21. On this day the weather was likely_____________.

a. good
b. not a factor
c. bad
d. fair

L. The whole barangay officials of Minien East were buzzing about the upcoming
celebration. The barangay officials would dress in their centennial costumes that were
fashioned after early Filipinos. All the floats entered in the parade would remind the
barangay of its past two hundred years of history. The teenagers would get together after the
parade to play native games. The grand finale would be a spectacular display of fireworks at
11:00 o’clock in the evening.

22. The barangay was celebrating _____________.

a. its fiesta.
b. its anniversary.
c. Independence Day.
 d. Mayflower Festival.
23. The barangay was established in the year ______________.

a. 1700
b. 1800
c. 1900
d. 2000

24. The celebration was held ___________________.

a. on the barangay two hundred birthday.

b. every year for 200 years.
c. for the first time in the barangay of Minien East.
d. for the 2nd time in the barangay.

M. As Mang Andoy trekked the trail back home on Labang’s back, he realized that the
sunset had started to come earlier than in the past days and that the afternoon wind was more
chilly that a week ago.

25. What do you think is the month described in the passage

a. It’s December again!

b. It’s April again!
c. It’s June again!
d. It’s March again!
 FACTS FROM OPINIONS

OBJECTIVE: Distinguish facts from opinions.

Facts are phenomenon that can be observed, proven, measured, or quantified with
numbers and statistics. Facts can be viewed the same way and agreed upon.

A fact is a statement that can be checked and proven through objective evidence. This
evidence may be in the form of the testimony of witnesses, agreed-upon observations, on the
written records of such testimony and observations.

A fact – a word from the Latin word factum, “something done” is an event or thing
known to have happened or existed, a truth that has been verified from experience or
observation.

Opinions are related to people’s feeling, values, thoughts, senses, aesthetics and people
view them differently. Opinions are sometimes expressed with words as “I believe, feel, or
think”, in my opinion; “in view point”, “should”, “ought”, etc.

An opinion – from the Latin Opinio, “to believe” – is a judgment or belief not founded
on certainty or proof. It may be prevailing or popular feeling or a public opinion. Opinions vary
from person to person.

An opinion is a statement that cannot be objectively proven true or false. Opinion usually
expresses the beliefs, feelings, of judgments that a person has about a subject.

Other Points about Fact and Opinion

There are several added points to keep in mind about distinguishing fact from opinion.

1. Statements of facts may be found to be untrue.

2. Opinions may be masked as facts.
3. Remember that value words by nature represent opinions.
Here are examples of value words:

best good beautiful

worst terrible bad

better lovely good

worse disgusting wonderful

These and other value words express personal judgments about the world. They are
subjective rather than objective. While factual statements, report or observed reality, subjective
statements evaluate reality.

4. Finally, remember that much of what we read and hear is a mixture of fact and
opinion. Being able to separate fact from opinion is important because much information
that at first sounds factual turns out to be opinion.

Now read the following statement, and decide whether each is fact or opinion. Put
an F (for fact) of an O (for opinion) besides each statement.

______ 1. No flower is more beautiful than the simply daisy.

______ 2. Medical statistics indicate that it is riskier for a woman to have a first child after age forty.
______ 3. There are too much violence in children’s television programs and computer games.
______ 4. Jenny’s favorite color is purple.
______ 5. No hobby is more peaceful than gardening.
______ 6. Manny Pacquiao was declared the Super Featherweight Champion by the WBC.
______ 7. People don’t spend enough time studying scripture.
______ 8. In Egypt, 96 percent of the land is desert.
______ 9. In fact, baseball is the only sport that deserves to be called “America’s game”.
______ 10. A university study shows that heavy drug use seriously affects teenager’s transition to
adulthood.
______ 11. The best sentence for convicted drug pushers is life imprisonment.
______ 12. Cheating on taxes isn’t as bad as some other crimes, such as robbery.
______ 13. It is unfair for elderly people living on fixed incomes to have to pay income taxes.
______ 14. Fat children are healthy.
Some of the sentences of the passage below state facts, and some express opinion. Identify each
Fact with an F and such Opinion with O.

1) Thousands of today’s teenagers earn spending money after school or weekend jobs.
2) Many people feel that any job provides teens with valuable experience both in handling money
and in taking responsibility. 3) Working more than ten hours a week, however, does more harm to
teenagers than good. 4) There are more important goals for the teen years than money. 5) Teenagers
should emphasize studying and interacting with family and friends, not working.

15 16 17 18 19
_________ _________ _________ _________ _________

Read the following conversation among a group of boys and girls and tell which of their
statements are based on facts and which are only opinions of the speaker by writing the word
FACT or OPINION before names.

Agoy: Do you know that great men attained their success because they work
hard?

Acer: That’s right. I heard that Thomas Edison said that “a genius is one percent
inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration”.

Jane: What does that mean?

Vic: Jane, it only means that a genius works hard to reach his goal in life.

Dan: In my point of view, a person is born or destined to be great without

working.

Yanny: Yes, but when you ask those great men, they will tell you that their
accomplishments are due to plain hard work. So we must work hard like
________ 20. Agoy
________ 21. Acer
________ 22. Jane
________ 23. Vic
________ 24. Dan
________ 25. Yanny
 READING COMPREHENSION SKILLS
ANSWER KEY

I. NOTING DETAILS

1. 3 stations
2. local, regional, clear- channel station
3. clear-channel station
4. regional station
5. because , it only covers a sizeable portion of the country
6.