SCHOOL NAME

English Worksheet Reading Comprehension

10th Form

I
A.

Read the following texts carefully.

E-mails: a sign of progress or of laziness?

Ten years ago, e-mails were considered a
Text A
very sophisticated method of communication.
Didnt you get my e-mail?
Nowadays, however, e-mail messaging has
become a normal way of communicating, not
only between working people but also between
people at home. Text messaging and chatting on
a mobile phone are still the most frequent
methods of communication among teenagers,
but e-mails are fast becoming more and more
common in this age group.
This little flying yellow envelope on the
screen
changed
the
world
of
communication.
Words like stamps, post office or postman no longer belong to a teenagers vocabulary.
New words are born: e-mail, sent items, received items, recipient, attachment and
symbols too. These words have replaced the old ones. Your pen friend, or should we say
key pal, is only a click away.
Nevertheless, not everyone approves of the spread of e-mails. Teachers are in two
minds. On the one hand, it is good that students spend a lot more of their free time
exchanging e-mails and as a result get more practice at writing. On the other hand, there is
very little attention to correct spelling, punctuation and grammar. What is more, e-mails
tend to be very sloppy. Many older people, who are more used to formal business letters,
feel also that the style of writing is too informal. For instance, it is quite common to use
first names even though one has never met the person.
I would say that e-mails are a good invention although they will probably never replace
either telephone calls or ordinary letters. As far as I am concerned, they are just another,
very efficient, means of communication.

Text Messaging :-) or :-(?

Text B

The latest thing among British teenagers is text-messaging sending little

e-mails by phone to their friends.
96% of British students under 16 who have a mobile phone use their
phones to send text messaging. Texting is great for teenagers who have
pay-as-you-go phones because its cheaper and more private than making calls.
The craze has also produced its own language: GR8 2CU (Great to see you);
RUOK (Are you Okay?); THX (Thanks); :-( (No) and : ( (Im sad) Nosy
parents or teachers cant understand it. For most adults this language is a
code that only teenagers can handle. Text messaging is cheaper so I use it

a lot more than phoning, says Rachel. The coolest thing is that my parents cant read my
messages. Isnt that XLNT and GR8? :-)?

B. Now find in Text A words that mean the same as:

Source: In Focus and Cool Zone (adapted)

1. complex/ complicated (parag. 1)2. a person

1. complex/ complicated (parag. 1)2. a person
who receives something (parag. 2)3. the act of
who receives something (parag. 2)3. the act of
joining one thing to another (parag. 2)4. increase/
joining one thing to another (parag. 2)4. increase/
expansion (parag. 3)5. careless (parag. 3)
expansion (parag. 3)5. careless (parag. 3)
C. Say what these words refer to in Text B.

1. their (l.2)
4. I (l.10) 2. it
1. their (l.2)
4. I (l.10) 2. it
(l.5)5. it (l. 10)3. it (l.8)
6.
(l.5)5. it (l. 10)3. it (l.8)
6.
my (l.11)
my (l.11)
D. Now reread Text A and say whether
these statements are True or False. Correct the
false ones using your own words.
1. E-mail writing became a very popular method of communication as soon as it was introduced.
2. Teenagers no longer use words connected with traditional mailing.
3. The increasing use of e-mail writing is a controversial issue.
4. One of the advantages of e-mail writing for teachers is that students improve their spelling,
punctuation and grammar.
5. Addressing a person we have never met before by his/her first name shows the degree of
informality used in e-mail writing.

E. Reread Text B and complete the following sentences.

1. Calling your friends is more . and less .
2. Teenagers have .. For example, when they want to say , they write
3. Its difficult for the code teenagers use.

F. Now answer this question on the texts.

1. What are the advantages and disadvantages of e-mail messaging and texting?

II
A. Now that you have finished these activities, evaluate your performance as a reader.
Did I
use the titles and the pictures to make it easier to understand the
texts?
understand the global message of the texts?
identify the sequence of ideas in the texts?
guess the meaning of unknown words through the context?
use the dictionary to solve lexical problems?
use the dictionary to solve grammatical problems?

Yes

No

 use different reading techniques: underlining, skimming and

scanning?
find the reading activities easy?
The easiest exercise...A

The most difficult exercise A

Vieira, F. e Moreira, M.A. (1993).

ParaE
Alm dos Testes. Braga.
(adapted)

F
NAME: _______________________________________________________ N.: ______ CLASS: ____