Advanced Reading

LANGUAGE
AND LEARNING
NATIVE AMERICANS •
English is the official language of the United States and one •
Of the two official languages of Canada French is the other •
But many people born in these countries do not grow up •
speaking it. For them, English is a second language that they •
learn at a later time •
In some cases this is because their parents are immigrants •
or because they grow up in an ethnic neighborhood where •
Spanish, Chinese, or another language is spoken by almost •
everyone. For a small percentage it is because their ancestors •
were the original natives of this continent, the Indians who •
were here before the arrival of the European settlers in the •
sixteenth century •
Part A •
Try to guess the meanings of unfamiliar words as you read •
Skimming a selection first reading very quickly for main ideas •
helps a great deal. Other ways of understanding a new word are •
breaking it apart into smaller words, prefixes, and suffixes, and •
finding a synonym or explanation near the word. Practice these •
skills by writing your own definitions for the italicized words in •
the following sentences taken from the selection. Use the hints to •
.help you •
We are born into a cultural preconception that we call reality" .1 •
and that we never question." Hint: Do you know the meaning •
of the prefix pre- and the word concept •
Part B •
If you cannot break a word apart or find a nearby synonym •
Or explanation, you simply have to guess a likely meaning •
to fit the context. Choose what you think is the best word •
to substitute for each italicized word in the following sentences •
from the selection •
The bird had a very particular significance to me because I" .1 •
desperately wanted to be able to fly too •
a. beauty b. meaning c. appearance d. name •
When I was ten years old, my life changed very drastically" .2 •
I found myself adopted forcefully and against my parents' will •
a. slowly b. happily c. easily d. violently •
They were considered inadequate parents because they . . ," .3 •
could not make enough money to support me •
a. unintelligent b. wealthy •
c. not suitable d. not interesting •
I was even more confused when I found out that the . . . " .4 •
meaning of the verb "to duck" came from the bird and not vice •
versa •
a. the other way around b. from something else •
c. with many meanings d. written in a different way •
Thanks•