Advanced English Reading and Comprehension
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PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT® Advanced English Reading and Comprehension Also by Diane Engelhardt Practice Makes Perfect: Intermediate English Reading and Comprehension Perfect Phrases for ESL: Conversation Skills PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT® Advanced English Reading and Comprehension Diane Engelhardt New York Chicago San Francisco Athens London Madrid Mexico City Milan New Delhi Singapore Sydney Toronto Copyright © 2013 by McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher. ISBN: 978-0-07-179887-7 MHID: 0-07-179887-0 The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-0-07-179886-0, MHID: 0-07-179886-2. All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. 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Contents Preface vii 1 Ecotourism: Another way to see the world 1 2 The Human Genome Project: Writing the book of life 14 3 Near-death experiences: Fact or fantasy? 29 4 Genetically modiied organisms: Breadbasket or Pandora’s box? 41 5 Men and women: Long live the difference 55 6 Electric cars: Greener, cleaner driving 68 7 DNA ingerprinting: Condemning evidence 82 8 Eco-cities: Building sustainable urban communities 99 9 Solar energy: Power for the future 114 10 Healing circles: A gentler justice 128 11 Medical technology: New frontiers in health care 142 12 The Enneagram: Understanding our personalities 157 13 Artiicial Intelligence: Can machines think? 174 14 Voluntary simplicity: Making more out of less 188 15 Future directions: Ecology or technology? 201 Answer key 215 v This page intentionally left blank Preface Practice Makes Perfect: Advanced English Reading and Comprehension contains 15 reading texts based on contemporary subjects. he book is designed to: ◆ Build academic and nonacademic vocabulary ◆ Develop reading comprehension skills at an advanced level ◆ Stimulate creative thought on the subject matter and the problems that each topic poses to human society Each chapter is between 1,450 and 1,900 words long and contains the follow- ing sections: 1. Pre-reading As an introduction to the topic, you can use the questionnaire provided to interview classmates, colleagues, family, and friends. Column heads A, B, and C are provided for you to record the answers of each person you interview. In a brief exercise, you will predict the content of the reading text. 2. Reading text Following the theme of “think about it,” the texts in this book cover a broad range of current topics having to do with technology and human interest. he reading text is followed by a short “Ater reading” exercise, in which you will conirm your predictions about the text. 3. Vocabulary Understanding and learning vocabulary can be a daunting task. In addition to its academic and nonacademic vocabulary, each reading text contains many other useful words and phrases that may be new to you. Because not every new word can be included in a vocabulary list or exercise, I encourage you to use an English language dictionary and to keep an independent vocabu- lary journal to record new words that are not included in the vocabulary exer- cises. he vocabulary exercises are broken down as follows: ◆ Thematic vocabulary In this exercise, you will write down 10 words or phrases that relate to the subject matter of the reading text. ◆ Academic vocabulary Each chapter focuses on 20 academic words (in boldface type) and 10 nonacademic words (in boldface italic type). he aca- demic vocabulary comes from the Academic Word List (AWL) developed at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. he AWL contains the 570 word families that students need to know how to use when studying at the university level. Here’s an example: theory (n.), theoretical (adj.), theorize (v.): a set of ideas intended to explain something vii In the academic word exercises, you will be required to write down the noun, verb, or adjec- tive form of each word and its dictionary deinition. In other exercises, you will write down the part of speech and a dictionary deinition. ◆ Using vocabulary You will complete each sentence of these exercises with the correct word, or form of the word, from the academic word list. ◆ Nonacademic vocabulary You will identify each word’s part of speech and match the word with its dictionary deinition or with a synonym. 4. Reading comprehension his section tests your comprehension of the text under the fol- lowing headings: ◆ Reading for main ideas ◆ Reading for details ◆ Reading for interpretation and inference 5. Reading strategies In this section, you will practice various techniques that will help you process what you have read and enable you to take notes, paraphrase, organize information, and summarize a reading text. 6. Critical thinking It is important not only to understand what you read but also to engage in critical thinking, that is, to evaluate information in the reading text and relate it to other issues. An answer key is provided at the end of the book. If speciic answers cannot be provided for some exercises, suggested answers are given where possible. ◆ ◆ ◆ Reading is a great source of knowledge, but—more than providing facts, igures, and a wealth of information—reading can broaden our minds and make us relect on issues that afect our lives and our future. he reading texts in this book were written not only for your skill development, but also for your pleasure. Read them and share your thoughts! Acknowledgments I thank my editor, Holly McGuire, for the opportunity to write this book, and my husband, Erich, for his considerable support. viii Preface PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT® Advanced English Reading and Comprehension This page intentionally left blank Ecotourism · · Another way to see the world 1 Pre-reading Using the following questionnaire, interview your classmates, colleagues, family, and friends. Questionnaire ABC What kind of vacation do you prefer? a. All-inclusive b. A package deal that includes hotel and transportation c. Traveling on your own How do you like to travel on vacation? a. By airplane b. By car c. By bus or train Where do you go on vacation? a. To a foreign country that is far away b. To a foreign country that is close c. To a place in my own country Where do you stay? a. In an international chain hotel b. In a small, locally owned hotel or inn c. In a hostel or bed-and-breakfast d. Other (specify: ) What do you like to do on your vacation? a. Relax and have a good time b. Visit famous buildings and historic sites c. Travel and enjoy the scenery d. Other (specify: ) When you travel to a foreign country, do you learn some of the language in advance? Yes | No do you get information about the culture in advance? Yes | No do you eat local food? Yes | No do you buy local products? Yes | No do you always clean up after yourself? Yes | No 1 Predicting content Considering the title of the chapter, predict the content of the reading text.