1 and 2. Answers will vary. There’s an excitement to finding something valuable.

gold objects commander soldiers The Spanish captured the lnca king and tried to get their gold, their treasure.

Lesson 9A Click here to enlarge the passage

Vocabulary Lesson 9A

deal (n.) an agreement with someone

demand (v.) to ask for something in a strong, forceful way

amount (n.) hoe much there is of something

receive (v.) to get something when someone gives or sends it to you

kill (v.) to cause another living thing to die

account (n.) a report, an explanation

instructions (pl. n.) information on how to do something

describe (v.) to say what something is like or what happened

incredible (adj.) unbelievable, amazing

author (n.) the person who wrote something like a book or poem

letter (n.) a written or printed message that is usually put in an envelope and sent by mail

entire passage line 2 line 5

line 6 lines 17-19

receive amount deal demand describe

killed instructions accounts

incredible receives letters

Africa U.S.A. New York (U.S.A) and Thailand Japan

13 people of whom 9 had bad luck King Louis XVI and his wife, Francis Hope and his family, Evalyn Mclean and her family, James Todd and his wife

Lesson 9B Click here to enlarge the passage

Vocabulary Lesson 9B

quality (n.) the measure of how good or bad something is

naterial (n.) what something is made of

expensive (adj.) costs a lot of money

link (v.) to connect two things or pieces of information

financial (adj.) having to do with money

opportunity (n.) a chance, a possibility to do something you want to do

present (adj.) about things and people who exist now

supposed (adj.) accepted as true, but doubtful

reject (v.) to disagree or say no to something

accept (v.) to agree or say yes to something

entire passage line 11 lines 18-19

line 19 lines 20-21

b d e a

supposed accepted expensive presently financial

quality accept opportunity link reject material finally

incredible qualityamount

instructions demanded opportunity described

1 and 2. Answers will vary.

For More Information ncient/lost-inca-gold.html /2002/03/01/html/ft_ html

Key Words for Internet Research Atahuallpadiamond deposits Pachacuti Amber roomGold minesPizarro Anne FrankHope DiamondValverde’s Gold Bactrian HordeInca Empire

Reading Skills

Understanding the Main Idea Once we've determined the text type of a passage, and what it's generally about, we usually then read on to understand the main idea of the passage. In other words: What is the writer basically telling us? Or, What is the writer's main message? Understanding the main idea of a text means being able to identify the most important point or information in the passage.

Identifying Details Identifying details in a text to answer specific questions (eg: who, what, when, where, why) is often achieved through a strategy known as ‘Scanning’ for details. This is actually a technique often used in daily life when looking up a word in the telephone book or dictionary. Also when you read a newspaper, you're probably not reading it word-by-word, instead you're scanning the text for important information of interest.

Understanding Reference Understanding reference in a text is an important reading skill which involves focusing on specific meaning of ‘pronoun references’ used throughout a passage (eg: this, those, their, it). This is an important skill to help develop full comprehension of significant details of a section of a passage which refer back to previous statements made.

Paraphrasing Paraphrasing involves the skill of identifying a restatement of a section in a passage that retains the basic meaning while changing the words, often explained in a more simplified form. A paraphrase often clarifies a more ambiguous original statement in the text by putting it into alternative words that are often more easily understood.

Reading for Gist Reading for gist is reading to get a general sense of what a reading passage is basically about. In other words, we read to understand the main topic, or theme of the passage. For example, a reading passage might basically be about a new type of technology, or a tourist's vacation trip, or a story about a fictional character.

Recognizing Sequence Recognizing sequence refers to the specific reading skill of being able to organize the events of a story in time order which can help you understand the information more easily. It is common to use ‘graphic organizers’ to more clearly and visually list the order or sequence of events in a passage or a story in chronological or time order.

Making Inferences When we read a text, the author does not tell us everything. Therefore, we must be able to guess some things and make clear assumptions from the information, facts, opinions and author’s feelings presented in the passage. Such a process of guessing and critical thinking is called ‘Making inferences’