Vocabulary and reading skills (3): study guide

The topic explained

Period 5 / Vocabulary and reading skills

Context matters: Whether a word has positive or negative connotations can depend on its context or on the feelings of the person using it.
A short holiday may be not long enough, but a short visit to the dentist is probably a good thing.
A long walk in the mountains may be good or bad, depending on whether you enjoy walking in the mountains.

Complete the table with the words from Activity 2. Then compare your table with another pair. Are there any differences?

POSITIVE (+) NEUTRAL (?) NEGATIVE (–)

Are there any differences between the way the words are used in the sentences and where you put them in the table?

How can you explain the differences?

Note

Activity 5: opinions about globalisation

Cheap imports from countries in Asia and other places harm local industries.
One effect of globalisation is that poorer countries are becoming richer.
Thanks to the Internet, it’s much easier now for new ideas to spread around the world.
Large multinational companies work through factories in low-income countries where pay and working conditions are very bad.
You get the same big names in shopping centres all over the world. Local differences are disappearing.
Globalisation is making it very difficult for smaller national film industries to compete.
It’s great to be able to watch the latest Hollywood films on your tablet.
The benefits of globalisation tend to go to the richest people in any country, so the gap between rich and poor is getting wider.
We can buy products in the shops from all over the world, and they’re often very cheap.
Transporting products all round the world is bad for the environment.
Easier communication is bringing different cultures closer together, which increases international understanding.

Read the opinions about globalisation. Then discuss how true they are in relation to your own experience and Palestine in general.

Which of the opinions in Activity 5 are for (F) globalisation? Which are against (A)?

Why are the two ideas in each sentence presented together?

Which two words or phrases are used to join the ideas?

Take two more pairs of ideas from the opinions in Activity 5. Join them in the same two ways.

A preview of “Vocabulary and reading skills” from the unit “The global village” in English (Additional Reading): 1 lesson section, 3 definitions.