Skills for Life Entry 3 Reading: Referencing Questions

Teacher’s Notes

Description
This activity reviews referencing words and familiarises students with the type of referencing questions they
will encounter in the Entry 3 Reading exam.

Teacher’s Notes

Aims of the lesson • to review referencing words as used in referencing tasks

• to familiarise students with the type of referencing
questions they may encounter in the Entry 3 Reading exam

Time needed 45 minutes

Materials required • A picture of London likely to be familiar to your students –

to project on to a screen or put up on the wall
• Student’s Worksheet 1 – one copy for each student
• Student’s Worksheet 2 – one copy for each student
• Student’s Worksheet 3 – one copy for each student
• Student’s Worksheet 4 – one copy for each student (this
text is adapted from a text in Part 3 of Entry 3 Reading
exam Past Paper 2005 Version 051 from
www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-qualifications/skills-
for-life/how-to-prepare)
• Student’s Worksheet 5 – one copy for each student

Procedure
1. Project or put up a picture of a well-known London scene, which your students are likely to be familiar
with. Ask your students to tell you about London – where it is/weather/food/culture/geography/etc.
2. Write a few sentences about London on the board, preferably including some of the points mentioned
by students. Make sure the sentences include a referencing word. For example:
London is the capital of the UK. It is a very big city.
Underline/highlight the word ‘it’ and write London, the UK and city as a shortlist on the board.
3. Ask students the following questions:
• What does ‘it’ mean in this sentence? (London) Draw a line connecting London and it.
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 • How do you know? (we can replace ‘it’ with ‘London’ and the sentence still makes sense; it
wouldn’t make sense if it was replaced by ‘the UK’ or ‘city’)
• Why do we use ‘it’ in this sentence and not ‘London’? (so that we don’t repeat the same word)
• Can you think of other words like ‘it’? (subject, object and possessive pronouns, e.g.
he/she/we/you/they/him/her/us/them/his/our/their/etc.)
4. Repeat with one or two of the other sentences, or pairs of sentences, that you have written on the
board.
5. Hand out Student’s Worksheet 1. You may need to do an example or two with the students. Monitor
students doing the task then check answers. (See Key to Student’s Worksheet 1.)
6. Explain that referencing questions at Entry 3 can be a little more difficult as they can refer to a phrase
or sentence rather than just a single word. Hand out Student’s Worksheet 2 and ask students to try
questions 1 and 2 in pairs. Encourage students to underline/highlight phrases in the text as they
tackle the questions. Check answers and ask students to justify their answers. (See Key to Student’s
Worksheet 2.)
7. Explain that in Questions 3 and 4, students working in pairs are to set the task. They should identify
the phrase they think the highlighted word refers to, but also two other phrases that are plausible but
incorrect alternatives. They must then write three options (one correct and two incorrect) on the dotted
lines. They should then compare what they have done with other pairs. Check answers with the whole
group. (See Key to Student’s Worksheet 2.)
8. Hand out Student’s Worksheet 3. Explain that the Entry 3 Reading exam can also have some
referencing questions which focus on single words (as in Student’s Worksheet 1). Encourage
students to underline/highlight relevant words in the text as they answer questions 1, 2 and 3. Monitor
students doing the activity and check answers. Ask students to justify answers. (See Key to
Student’s Worksheet 3 and Key to step 8.)
9. Hand out Student’s Worksheets 4 and 5. Explain that the Entry 3 Reading exam also has
referencing questions which focus on phrases, not just single words (as in Student’s Worksheet 2).
Encourage students to underline/highlight relevant phrases in the text as they answer questions 1 to
4. Monitor students doing the activity and check the answers. Ask students to justify answers. (See
Key to Student’s Worksheet 5 and Key to step 9.)

Additional information
In the real Entry 3 Reading exam students are unlikely to have to answer several consecutive referencing
questions. They are usually scattered around the paper.

Suggested follow-up activities/questions (and answers)

1. See also activity Skills for Life Entry 3 Reading: Multiple-choice questions for an example of a
referencing question in an Entry 3 Reading exam.
2. For more referencing questions, see Past Papers at: www.cambridgeenglish.org/exams-and-
qualifications/skills-for-life/how-to-prepare

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Skills for Life Entry 3 Reading: Referencing Questions Answer Keys

Key to Procedure steps

Step 8:
Question 1
people were full of plastic bottles, take-away food containers, cans and other rubbish This doesn’t make
sense
shops were full of plastic bottles, take-away food containers, cans and other rubbish This might make
sense but not in this sentence which says that People came out of the shops and just dropped litter in the
streets
streets were full of plastic bottles, take-away food containers, cans and other rubbish This makes sense in
this context.

Question 2
They must refer to local people because it says local people did all the work. They cleaned the streets and
the park, etc. The work was cleaning the streets and the park, etc.

Question 3
it must refer to the town because people don’t live in a park or a playground.

Step 9:
Question 1
The word that should be read as part of the complete phrase: I had very little time to do any exercise before
that.
Replacing that with her son starting nursery makes sense. She was too busy looking after her son to do any
exercise but once he was at nursery she had time for exercise.
Replacing that with doing exercise would mean I had very little time to do any exercise before doing exercise
– this doesn’t make sense.
Replacing that with putting on weight would mean I had very little time to do any exercise before putting on
weight – this also lacks logic; putting on weight might be a consequence of not doing exercise.

Question 2
These should be read as part of the complete sentence: These fitted in with our children’s timetables.
Replacing these with special classes makes sense.
Replacing these with mornings doesn’t make sense, i.e. mornings fitted in with our children’s timetables.
Replacing these with children doesn’t makes sense, i.e. children fitted in with our children’s timetables.

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Question 3
The word this should be read as part of the complete phrase: this is followed by a forty-five-minute lesson.
Replacing this with forty-five-minute lesson doesn’t makes sense, i.e. forty-five-minute lesson is followed by a
forty-five-minute lesson.
Replacing this with the instructor doesn’t makes sense – the instructor would need he or she as a referencing
pronoun.
Replacing this with an hour’s lesson does makes sense.

Question 4
The word that should be read as part of the complete phrase: that made me feel very satisfied with myself.
Replacing that with looking healthier and thinner might make sense, but that refers backwards rather than
forwards.
Replacing that with swimming a full width of the pool makes sense and is a backwards reference.
Replacing that with getting ready for the Olympics doesn’t makes sense – she isn’t getting ready for the
Olympics because she has only just learned to swim.

Key to Student’s Worksheet 1

These sentences have repeated words. Try to replace them with words like it, they, etc.
1. London is the capital of the UK. London It has a population of over 10 million people.
2. London has many theatres. The theatres They are very popular with tourists.
3. There are always lots of tourists in London. Many of the tourists them visit museums and old buildings
there.
4. My brother would like to live in central London. My brother He wants to go to university there.
5. My aunt lives in south London. My aunt She works in an office. My aunt’s Her husband is a builder.
6. London is famous for the red double-decker buses. I like the red double-decker buses them very much.
7. My friend Ali lives in west London. I stayed in Ali’s his house last year. I visited some very interesting
places with Ali him.
8. My brother and I went to the centre of London two weeks ago. It was my brother’s and my our first time
there. My brother and I We went on the London Eye. Going on the London Eye it was a great experience
for my brother and me us.

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Key to Student’s Worksheet 2
1. It means the game was sold out. It needs to be understood as part of the whole phrase: It was such a
pity.
We wanted to see a football match … It was such a pity. This doesn’t make sense.
We went to the cinema … It was such a pity. This doesn’t make sense either.
the game was sold out. It was such a pity. This makes sense because they wanted to see the game but
couldn’t.

2. It means going to a park. It needs to be understood as part of the whole phrase: it seemed like a good
idea.
walking round museums didn’t seem like a good idea because they were tired of this.
looking at shops didn’t seem like a good idea because they were tired of this too.
going to a park did seem like a good idea as an alternative to museums and shops.

3. this means They often close some underground stations.

Possible incorrect options include:
travelling around London
starting to go home from work
stopping the stations getting too crowded
preventing accidents

4. That should be read as part of the whole phrase That was our plan. That means We decided to get there
early in the morning.
Possible incorrect options include:
We didn’t want to leave London without visiting the Tower of London.
It took us a long time to get tickets.
We didn’t see very much of it.

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Key to Student’s Worksheet 3
1. Look at Paragraph A. What does they mean? Tick (√) one box.
people
shops
streets √

2. Look at Paragraph B. What does they mean? Tick (√) one box.
the council
local businesses
local people √

3. Look at Paragraph C. What does it mean? Tick (√) one box.

the town √
the park
the playground

Key to Student’s Worksheet 5

1. Look at Paragraph A. What does that mean? Tick (√) one box.
her son starting nursery √
doing exercise
putting on weight

2. Look at Paragraph B. What does These mean? Tick (√) one box.
special classes √

mornings
children

3. Look at Paragraph C. What does this mean? Tick (√) one box.
a forty-five-minute lesson
the instructor
an hour’s exercise √

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4. Look at Paragraph D. What does that mean? Tick (√) one box.
looking healthier and thinner
swimming a full width of the pool √
getting ready for the Olympics

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Skills for Life Entry 3 Reading: Referencing Questions
Student’s Worksheet 1

These sentences have repeated words. Try to replace them with words like it, they, etc.

1. London is the capital of the UK. London has a population of over 10 million
people.

2. London has many theatres. The theatres are very popular with tourists.

3. There are always lots of tourists in London. Many of the tourists visit museums
and old buildings there.

4. My brother would like to live in central London. My brother wants to go to

university there.

5. My aunt lives in south London. My aunt works in an office. My aunt’s husband is

a builder.

6. London is famous for the red double-decker buses. I like the red double-decker
buses very much.

7. My friend Ali lives in west London. I stayed in Ali’s house last year. I visited some
very interesting places with Ali.

8. My brother and I went to the centre of London two weeks ago. It was my
brother’s and my first time there. My brother and I went on the London Eye.
Going on the London Eye was a great experience for my brother and me.

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Skills for Life Entry 3 Reading: Referencing Questions
Student’s Worksheet 2

1. We wanted to see a football match while we were in London but when we got to the stadium the game was
sold out. It was such a pity, but we went to the cinema instead.
What does It mean? Tick (√) one box.
We wanted to see a football match.
The game was sold out.
We went to the cinema.

2. After a couple of days in London, Phil suggested going to a park for a while. We were all tired of walking
round museums and looking at shops, so it seemed like a good idea.
What does it mean? Tick (√) one box.
going to a park
walking round museums
looking at shops

3. Travelling around London isn’t always easy because it’s such a busy city. They often close some
underground stations in central London between 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. when lots of people start to go home from
work. They do this to stop the stations getting too crowded and to prevent accidents.
What does this mean? Tick (√) one box.
…………………………….
…………………………….
…………………………….

4. We didn’t want to leave London without visiting the Tower of London. It’s very popular with tourists so we
decided to get there early in the morning. That was our plan anyway but it took us a long time to get tickets to
go in and we didn’t see very much of it in the end.
What does That mean? Tick (√) one box.
…………………………….
…………………………….
…………………………….

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Skills for Life Entry 3 Reading: Referencing Questions
Student’s Worksheet 3

Ten years ago my town was really dirty. Everyone felt bad because the town looked
terrible. People came out of the shops and just dropped litter in the streets all the
time. So they were full of plastic bottles, take-away food containers, cans and other
rubbish. The park was dirty too and the swings and slides in the playground were
broken so it wasn’t safe for children.
Then a group of people living there decided to do something about it. We had a big
party in the summer and made about two thousand pounds. We also asked the
council and some local businesses to support us. But local people did all the work.
They cleaned the streets and the park, put litter bins everywhere and fixed the
equipment in the playground.
Now the town is really nice. The streets are clean, the park is beautiful and the
playground is safe for kids. Now it’s a great place to live in.

1. Look at Paragraph A. What does they mean? Tick (√) one box.
people
shops
streets

2. Look at Paragraph B. What does they mean? Tick (√) one box.
the council
local businesses
local people

3. Look at Paragraph C. What does it mean? Tick (√) one box.

the town
the park
the playground

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Skills for Life Entry 3 Reading: Referencing Questions
Student’s Worksheet 4

I started swimming when my son started at nursery school. I had

Paragraph A very little time to do any exercise before that actually, but I realised
I was putting on weight.
Then some of the mothers from the school suggested taking
Paragraph B lessons at our local swimming pool. They had special classes for
ladies in the mornings. These fitted in nicely with our children’s
timetable. It was very cheap and because there was a group of six
of us we got a special reduction.
It’s great fun. First, we have an hour’s exercise and this is followed
Paragraph C by a forty-five-minute lesson. It’s very relaxed because you can go
at your own pace. The instructor’s very nice and doesn’t shout at
you if you do anything wrong. Two of my friends are quite good
swimmers but I didn’t learn to swim when I was a child so I was a
complete beginner when I started.
I have actually made some progress! Last week I swam a full width
Paragraph D of the pool. I’m not getting ready for the Olympics just yet but that
made me feel very satisfied with myself. Also, my husband says I
am looking healthier and thinner!

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Skills for Life Entry 3 Reading: Referencing Questions
Student’s Worksheet 5

1. Look at Paragraph A. What does that mean? Tick (√) one box.
her son starting nursery
doing exercise
putting on weight

2. Look at Paragraph B. What does These mean? Tick (√) one box.
special classes
mornings
children

3. Look at Paragraph C. What does this mean? Tick (√) one box.
a forty-five-minute lesson
the instructor
an hour’s exercise

4. Look at Paragraph D. What does that mean? Tick (√) one box.
looking healthier and thinner
swimming a full width of the pool
getting ready for the Olympics

© UCLES 2014. For further information see our Terms and Conditions.
Information is correct as of January 2015