Universidad de La Sabana

Departamento de Lenguas y Culturas Extranjeras

Level 2

READING WORKSHOP
ACTIVITY 1
What strategies do you follow when you have a reading exam?

PRE-READING
STRATEGY:

Scanning is a useful strategy because you don’t have to read the text completely. Scanning is to find
information quickly; it is not useful if you need a profound reading.

Definition: It is quickly reading and moving your eyes like a radar on a part of a text.

Function: When you need to find specific information or key words in a text.

ACTIVITY 2
a. Look at the text, scan it for 40 seconds to answer the questions below:

Lady Diana was a princess and an iconic figure of the

20th century. She was never prepared for the fame and
glamorous life of a British princess. Many people
admired her strong interest in many charities and
important causes, especially her work with AIDS victims.
She married to prince Charles in 1981and she had her
first son one year after the wedding.

1. What country was she a princess from?

2. Why did people admire Lady Diana?

3. When did she get married?

b. Compare your answers with a partner.

Copyright © 2019. Universidad de La Sabana, Department of Foreign Languages and Cultures. Created by Villamil, A (2019). All Rights Reserved. No part of this material shall
be reproduced, transmitted, distributed or commercially exploited, except with express written permission from the copyright holders. Enquiries for permission to reproduced all
or parts of this material should be directed to fld@unisabana.edu.co
 Universidad de La Sabana
Departamento de Lenguas y Culturas Extranjeras
Level 2

TIPS
 Read the instructions - carefully
 Know the permitted time for the test, Reading (20 mins)
 Eliminate options you know are incorrect.
 If time allows, review both questions and answers: it is possible you did not read questions correctly the first
time.

WHILE-READING
ACTIVITY 3
VOCABULARY
Now, scan the text to find vocabulary.
a. Read the questions to identify key words. Write down 3 words you don’t know, look them up in a dictionary.
b. Identify the context: look at the title or pictures. What is the text about? Compare with your partner.
Lady Diana, Princess of Wales

Taken from https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&source=images&cd30

Diana was born on July 1st, in 1961, in Norfolk, England. Her father was Earl Spencer. She had two older sisters and a
younger brother. When she was eight, her parents got divorced and started a dispute for the kid’s custody. Her father
won, but later he got married and Diana got a stepmother, which made her life a lot more difficult. As a child, Diana
completed her education in Switzerland. She was a kindergarten teacher when she met the love of her life. After a
couple of years, she married him in July 1981, this was Prince Charles. One year after, she had Prince William, the first of
her two sons.
She was a shy woman who didn't like to appear on pictures; but Diana was very popular. British people loved her for her
generosity and beauty. They called her “the People's Princess” because she cared so much about sick and poor people all
over the world. One of her important causes was to help people who did not have a home. Anyway, Diana´s life wasn't
as happy as it appeared, she and Charles had problems with their marriage and divorced in 1996. Some years later she
found happiness with an Egyptian film producer, Dodi Al-Fayed, but paparazzi followed her all the time. Unfortunately,
she died in a car accident on the 31st of August, 1997. She was only thirty-six. Today British people remember her with
lots of love.

Copyright © 2019. Universidad de La Sabana, Department of Foreign Languages and Cultures. Created by Villamil, A (2019). All Rights Reserved. No part of this material shall
be reproduced, transmitted, distributed or commercially exploited, except with express written permission from the copyright holders. Enquiries for permission to reproduced all
or parts of this material should be directed to fld@unisabana.edu.co
 Universidad de La Sabana
Departamento de Lenguas y Culturas Extranjeras
Level 2

Strategies for making Inferences

You cannot find the answer of an inteferential question literally and explicity in the text or audio, for example: the
general idea of a text or a paragraph or the author's purpose. In these cases, you need to analyze the text or audio and
infer the answer.
Remember that …
 we need to read the question carefully.
 consider the complete text or passage to answer the question.
 we need to find clues to find the answer.
 we need to add those clues to what we already know or read before.
 you can also use a graphic organizer for more difficult questions including information about: It Says… I Say…
And So…
Let’s practice!!!
1. What happened after Diana’s parents got 5. Why did British people follow her? Because...
divorced? a. she was popular.
a. She went to live with her mom. b. she was shy.
b. She went to live with her dad. c. she was rich.
c. Her parents married again. d. she was attractive.
d. The kids started a dispute.
6. Why was Diana called “the people’s princess”?
2. Diana’s life was more problematic because… Because…
a. her mother won her custody. a. she helped people from around the world.
b. she had to travel to Switzerland. b. she helped people with nutrition problems.
c. her father got a new wife. c. she helped people with health problems.
d. she was little during the divorce. d. she helped people with a poor home.
7. What does the word “shy” mean in paragraph 2?
3. According to paragraph 1, Diana’s childhood … a. happy
a. was easy and happy. b. timid
b. had a lot of obstacles. c. nice
c. simple but miserable. d. ugly
d. had frustrated memories.
8. What was Diana´s problem during her next
4. What happened to Diana when she was a teacher? relationship?
a. She changed her career. a. She did not have privacy.
b. She met a prince. b. She did not want to marry him.
c. She lost her stepmother. c. She followed him all the time.
d. She had two sons. d. She was very unhappy.
9. What is the purpose of the text?
a. To describe Diana´s extraordinary life story.
b. To show how Diana suffered in life.
c. To mention about Diana’s family life.
d. To show how much people loved Diana.

Copyright © 2019. Universidad de La Sabana, Department of Foreign Languages and Cultures. Created by Villamil, A (2019). All Rights Reserved. No part of this material shall
be reproduced, transmitted, distributed or commercially exploited, except with express written permission from the copyright holders. Enquiries for permission to reproduced all
or parts of this material should be directed to fld@unisabana.edu.co
 Universidad de La Sabana
Departamento de Lenguas y Culturas Extranjeras
Level 2

POST-READING
ACTIVITY 4
a. We looked at Diana’s biography. Now, it is time for you to share some of your memories from your life. Write down
the best memories you have about your life (childhood, family, school, high school…).

Copyright © 2019. Universidad de La Sabana, Department of Foreign Languages and Cultures. Created by Villamil, A (2019). All Rights Reserved. No part of this material shall
be reproduced, transmitted, distributed or commercially exploited, except with express written permission from the copyright holders. Enquiries for permission to reproduced all
or parts of this material should be directed to fld@unisabana.edu.co