EXCELLENCE IN READING 4

EXCELLENCE READING 4 CONTENTS 2 6 Dangerous Topics 10 The Traits of Success 14 Follow Your Dreams 18 Exercise Addiction 22 Hoarding 26 1 Vegetarian Fastfood 30 The Paleolithic Diet 34 Unconventional Recycling 38 From Old To Gold 42 Ariad Rail Travel 46 Daycation 50 Worldwide Web 54 Hay Day 58 The Color Red 62 Human-Ape Hybrid The Nazi Ufo’s

UNIT 1 Dangerous Topics PRE-READING QUESTIONS A Look at the title of the article. Read and answer the question below. 2 1. What do you think the article is about? “Conversation should be pleasant without scurrility, witty without affectation, free without indecency, learned without conceitedness, novel without falsehood.” This quote by William Shakespeare basically says that a discussion should be pleasant, joyful and without boundaries on the condition that you don’t hurt or offend the other person. When you meet new people and are conversing with them for the first time there are certain topics that you should not discuss. Don’t ask about family. Talking about family and siblings may bring up a lot of happy memories as well as sad ones. Negative thoughts may appear in the minds of some of the people you come across when you ask about their family. If you do make the other person feel uncomfortable or sad, the discussion you are having is likely to be the last one you’ll ever have.

In the end unless the person you are having the conversation with opens 3 up the family topic, it would be best if you left it alone. Be discrete with your beliefs. Beliefs are also a topic that should not be opened up when meeting new people. A person’s belief or religion is a personal decision; people shouldn’t feel bad about what they believe in when having a discussion. Try to avoid the subject and keep it safe while meeting someone new. In short keep your beliefs to yourself in order not to hurt anyone’s feelings. On the other hand when you are at a place of worship what better to talk about than beliefs. Overall be sensitive and cautious about religious matters when having a discussion. Don’t talk about money. Money is a delicate matter when it comes to conversations. You may be used to talking about money with your friends and family but it’s not the same case with strangers. Money is a very personal matter so discussing money with someone new may make that person feel uncomfortable or inadequate. Therefore that person will not enjoy talking with you and will keep their distance. So it is a good idea to not talk with the people you meet about financial details. Leave out the health bit. Health is something people like to talk about but it actually isn’t a safe topic. It is best if kept away from. Healthy eating habits, organic food, fast food etc are among the many topics people generally bring up when having a discussion. Although health is an interesting issue it should still be avoided especially when talking with people we’ve just recently met. Overall health can be a depressing subject so keep away from it and don’t spoil the conversation. Stay away from politics. Politics is a subject that one might get carried away with and extremely offend others. For example asking someone for their point of view on a political matter can create controversy. Having the same opinions on an issue might bring two people closer together on the other hand having different opinions can do right the opposite. In general keep your political opinions to yourself until you are really acquainted with the person you are having a discussion with. Having a conversation with someone new is not an easy task. By keeping in mind the topics you should stay away from, you can have a great conversation with just about anybody. By following these simple tips you may even make a new friend.

Excellence in Reading 4 VOCABULARY QUESTIONS A Read the sentences 1-6 below and look at the underlined words. Then complete the sentences a-f with the underlined words. 1. The new regulations at the office created controversy. 2. The information she had about the project was inadequate. 3. They had opposite beliefs about the recent news about tax payments. 4. The man felt uncomfortable when his mother called and yelled at him. 5. She didn’t want to talk about her relationship as it was a personal matter. 6. He had found something interesting in the report about the yearly income. a. __________ means something exciting. b. __________ means contrary ideas or events. c. __________ means discomfort. 4 d. __________ means a private matter e. __________ means not sufficient f. __________ is a dispute about opinions. AFTER READING QUESTIONS A Read the sentences below and decide if they are true or false. 1. Talking about family and siblings may bring up a lot of happy memories. ___ 2. A person should sometimes feel bad about what they believe in. ___ 3. You can talk about politics with whomever you want since it is a safe topic. ___ 4. You may offend the person you are talking with when talking about money. ___ 5. Health can be a depressing subject to talk about when talking with people. ___

Excellence in Reading 4 B Scan Reading and circle the correct answers. 1. Why shouldn’t you talk about families when you meet new people? a) Because talking about family may bring up a lot of sad memories. b) Because talking about family may bring up a lot of interesting topics. 2. Why should you be discrete about your beliefs? a) Because a person’s belief or religion is common knowledge. b) Because a person’s belief or religion is a personal matter. 3. Why is money a delicate matter? a) Because you may offend the person you are talking with without even being aware of it. 5 b) Because you may compliment the person you are talking with without even being aware of it. 4. Why should you not talk about health when you meet new people? a) Because health is a safe topic to talk about at all times. b) Because health can be a depressing topic to talk about. 5. Why shouldn’t you talk about politics? a) Because politics is a subject that one might get carried away with. b) Because politics is a subject that one might enjoy talking about. 6. What can asking someone for their point of view on a political matter create? a) A friendship. b) Controversy.