1-3. Answers will vary.

Three times

Lesson 4A Click here to enlarge the passage

Vocabulary Lesson 4A

main (adj.) the most important thing

death (n.) the end of a person’s or an animal’s life

reach (v.) to arrive somewhere

return (v.) to go back to the place where you were before

condition (n.) the state something or someone is in

item (n.) a single thing in a group or list of things

believe (v.) to think that something is true

agree (v.) to have the same opinion or say that you will do something

instead (adv.) in place of something else

hope (v.) to want something to happen or be true

entire passage lines 1-2 lines 2-3

line 11 lines 18-19

lifelong dream dream main parts pair took away protection

deaths conditions believe

main reach returned

1. Geoff Banninger Colorado in the U.S. 4. walking to a park to see his sister play softball 5. nine years old

Lesson 4B Click here to enlarge the passage

Vocabulary Lesson 4B

heart (n.) the organ that pumps blood around your body

result (n.) something that happens because of another thing

happen (v.) to occur

further (adv.) to a greater extent or degree, at a greater distance

ensure (v.) to make sure or certain

rule (n.) an instruction that tells you what you are allowed to do

wait (v.) to spend time doing very little before something happens

likely (adj.) when something is probably going to happen

common (adj.) found or happening often

chance (n.) a possibility

lines 9-10 line 14

lines lines 23-26

c e d a b

chance heart wait

rule happen common further

likely result ensure

common mainly conditions reach

agree chance deaths ensure

Answers will vary. Some suggestions are given in the Reading Passage.

For More Information feature5/index.html ment/natural-disasters/lighting-profile/

Key Words for Internet Research lightning flashesshark attacks lightning strikesTitanic Robert Ballard sharks

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.

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.

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’

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.