How to use a dictionary effectively
Dictionaries are extremely important tools for anyone learning a new language. At a fundamental level, dictionaries can be used for looking up the meaning of English words you see or hear, or for checking the spelling of a word. Good dictionaries can also provide additional useful information such as the plural of a noun or past tense of a verb and other grammatical information about a word. If the dictionary is a bilingual one, then users can check the English translation of a word in their language. More advanced users may wish to use dictionaries to look up the collocations of words or find out about the register of a word. Dictionaries are also useful for checking the pronunciation of a word, something that is especially easy if the user has an electronic (talking) dictionary.
To be a good dictionary user, however, it is not enough to know what to use the dictionary for. Students must also decide which is the best dictionary for any of the purposes previously mentioned, and additionally students need to be able to find what they are looking for quickly; you need to be sure that you have found what you were looking for; and, most importantly, you need to know when to use your dictionary.
Electronic dictionaries are the best choice for ESL students, and most of them contain native-language equivalents and explanations, as well as definitions and example sentences in English. They can pronounce English words, and they are easy to carry around. However, on the down side, they are expensive and easy to lose. A more cost-effective alternative for students who regularly work at the computer is to use an online dictionary. Alternatively, if you open Google and type the target word, you will get a long list of different definitions. A good monolingual dictionary is recommended for students who already have a high standard of English and want to learn about word use.
This is a skill that students need to practise. All students need to know the English alphabet perfectly, so practise this, especially with elementary level students. Students should be encouraged to refer to the guidewords at the top of each dictionary page and keep practising until they can find any word within ten seconds. Students should also practise finding words in their own language in bilingual dictionaries, and if they are using an electronic dictionary, ensure students take some time at home to learn how it works, and encourage them to practise finding words quickly.
Very often when looking up a new English word, students find that it has more than one meaning. If they are unsure which meaning is correct, students should check through all the meanings and select the one that makes most sense in the context where they found the word. Guessing the meaning of unknown words using contextual clues is a very important skill in language learning. If they are still uncertain about the meaning, students can think what the word is in their own language and look it up in a bilingual dictionary. If one of the English translations is the original word they looked up, then they can be satisfied that they have found the correct meaning.
Another frequent problem facing many learners is that they want to check their spelling but can’t find the word they’re looking for. Bilingual dictionaries may help here, but it is essential that learners also try to develop their skills by predicting spelling, possibly through comparison with similar-sounding words or considering other (possibly shorter) words that they might expect to encounter in the same word family, and again, if all else fails, a bilingual dictionary can help.
When searching for a word in their own language in a bilingual dictionary, students will probably find that there is more than one English translation. If they have doubts over which to use, they could try a back translation. This involves looking up the English translations one by one in a monolingual dictionary, and if a word has a definition that matches the word in their language, it is safe to use.
If students hunt for every new word they see or hear, they may spend their whole day with the dictionary in their hand, and that’s not what they should be doing! Students have to be clever and choose the right words to check and the right time to do it. In order to become much more efficient language learners, students should not check meanings immediately. For example, when reading, they should finish the sentence (or better, the paragraph) before even thinking about the dictionary. If they haven’t guessed the meaning and it still seems important, then and only then should they look it up. To avoid interrupting their reading for too long, students should check meaning in their own language using a bilingual dictionary. In the classroom, if students hear a new word or the teacher has written it on the board, they should wait and continue listening. Typically, what the teacher says next may help them to understand the word without having to resort to dictionaries, and simply turning straight to the dictionary may result in students not hearing what follows, and this will make understanding the lesson more difficult.
Read the text and then choose the best heading from the list for each section of the text. Use each heading once only. You do not need to use every heading.
List of Headings
1 :
2 :
3 :
4 :
5 :
6 :
How to use a dictionary effectively
Dictionaries are extremely important tools for anyone learning a new language. At a fundamental level, dictionaries can be used for looking up the meaning of English words you see or hear, or for checking the spelling of a word. Good dictionaries can also provide additional useful information such as the plural of a noun or past tense of a verb and other grammatical information about a word. If the dictionary is a bilingual one, then users can check the English translation of a word in their language. More advanced users may wish to use dictionaries to look up the collocations of words or find out about the register of a word. Dictionaries are also useful for checking the pronunciation of a word, something that is especially easy if the user has an electronic (talking) dictionary.
To be a good dictionary user, however, it is not enough to know what to use the dictionary for. Students must also decide which is the best dictionary for any of the purposes previously mentioned, and additionally students need to be able to find what they are looking for quickly; you need to be sure that you have found what you were looking for; and, most importantly, you need to know when to use your dictionary.
Electronic dictionaries are the best choice for ESL students, and most of them contain native-language equivalents and explanations, as well as definitions and example sentences in English. They can pronounce English words, and they are easy to carry around. However, on the down side, they are expensive and easy to lose. A more cost-effective alternative for students who regularly work at the computer is to use an online dictionary. Alternatively, if you open Google and type the target word, you will get a long list of different definitions. A good monolingual dictionary is recommended for students who already have a high standard of English and want to learn about word use.
This is a skill that students need to practise. All students need to know the English alphabet perfectly, so practise this, especially with elementary level students. Students should be encouraged to refer to the guidewords at the top of each dictionary page and keep practising until they can find any word within ten seconds. Students should also practise finding words in their own language in bilingual dictionaries, and if they are using an electronic dictionary, ensure students take some time at home to learn how it works, and encourage them to practise finding words quickly.
Very often when looking up a new English word, students find that it has more than one meaning. If they are unsure which meaning is correct, students should check through all the meanings and select the one that makes most sense in the context where they found the word. Guessing the meaning of unknown words using contextual clues is a very important skill in language learning. If they are still uncertain about the meaning, students can think what the word is in their own language and look it up in a bilingual dictionary. If one of the English translations is the original word they looked up, then they can be satisfied that they have found the correct meaning.
Another frequent problem facing many learners is that they want to check their spelling but can’t find the word they’re looking for. Bilingual dictionaries may help here, but it is essential that learners also try to develop their skills by predicting spelling, possibly through comparison with similar-sounding words or considering other (possibly shorter) words that they might expect to encounter in the same word family, and again, if all else fails, a bilingual dictionary can help.
When searching for a word in their own language in a bilingual dictionary, students will probably find that there is more than one English translation. If they have doubts over which to use, they could try a back translation. This involves looking up the English translations one by one in a monolingual dictionary, and if a word has a definition that matches the word in their language, it is safe to use.
If students hunt for every new word they see or hear, they may spend their whole day with the dictionary in their hand, and that’s not what they should be doing! Students have to be clever and choose the right words to check and the right time to do it. In order to become much more efficient language learners, students should not check meanings immediately. For example, when reading, they should finish the sentence (or better, the paragraph) before even thinking about the dictionary. If they haven’t guessed the meaning and it still seems important, then and only then should they look it up. To avoid interrupting their reading for too long, students should check meaning in their own language using a bilingual dictionary. In the classroom, if students hear a new word or the teacher has written it on the board, they should wait and continue listening. Typically, what the teacher says next may help them to understand the word without having to resort to dictionaries, and simply turning straight to the dictionary may result in students not hearing what follows, and this will make understanding the lesson more difficult.
Complete the sentences using words from the text. Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Online dictionaries are more than electronic ones.
Higher-level students should use dictionaries.
Students should use clues to help them guess the meaning of words that they don’t know.
Working out the spelling of unknown words is for learners to develop.
Not immediately looking up the meanings of unknown vocabulary is an example of the behaviour of language students who are much .
Students need to when they hear a new word from the teacher in class.
When listening to a teacher, students may get help understanding a word by listening to what s/he .
Web-based Communication
The origins of the internet reach back to the 1960s when the US government undertook research to develop robust, fault-tolerant computer networks. Short for ‘internetwork’, the internet is free of any kind of centralised governance. This means that networks are free to develop and set their own policies regarding access and usage.
The only two guiding policies which govern all internet users are those regarding protocols for naming spaces on the internet. These policies specify that websites hosted in New Zealand will include the suffix ‘.nz’, for example, and that ‘.com’ sites are for commercial, or business, purposes.
The terms ‘internet’ and ‘world wide web’ are often used interchangeably in everyday speech. However, in reality the internet refers to the global computer network that connects millions of computers across the globe. The world wide web is just one (although probably the most used) of the many services that run on the internet. It refers to content, though, rather than hardware. Most internet users will be familiar with the abbreviated ‘www’ typically used at the start of website addresses. However, today it is becoming increasingly more common for websites not to require ‘www’ when users are connecting to sites (try it with Google!).
Probably the most used form of communication on the internet is email. The concept of email predates the internet, although early systems existed only within corporations and had limited usability. Today email forms one of the most common types of daily communication worldwide. It allows users to send information across the globe instantly at the click of a button. Emails enable users to share documents, pictures and other media by sending attachments. It also has the added benefit of allowing messages to be sent to multiple users at the same time.
Since it became popular in the late 1990s, internet usage has seen tremendous growth, experiencing a surge in popularity during the first decade of the new millennium. During this period, the number of internet users globally rose from 394 million to 1.86 billion. By 2010, 22 per cent of the world’s population had access to computers. There were 1 billion Google searches every day and 2 billion videos viewed daily on YouTube.
Globally, over 50 per cent of people now use the internet, and that figure is over 80 per cent for people in the developed world. English is clearly the dominant language of information on the internet, with over 50 per cent of website content in English. While this may not seem that dominant, the second most popular language for web content, German, makes up under seven per cent of content, and all other languages account for no more than five per cent of content each. English is also the most used language in emails and other social interaction on the web, making up 27 per cent of communication. However, the second most popular language, Chinese, already accounts for 23 per cent of communication and is rapidly closing the gap on English
Interestingly, men spend more time online than women, and their user habits also differed. Men were more likely to pay bills online or download music, whereas women tended to email or communicate on social network sites more. Surprisingly, men and women were equally likely to use the internet for shopping and banking.
Choose the correct answer.
14. Internet policies are governed by
15.‘The world wide web’
16. Email is
17. Between 2000 and 2010 the number of internet users
18. More than half of the people around the world
19. Most of the communication on the web
20. Men and women are just as likely to use the internet for
Web-based Communication
The origins of the internet reach back to the 1960s when the US government undertook research to develop robust, fault-tolerant computer networks. Short for ‘internetwork’, the internet is free of any kind of centralised governance. This means that networks are free to develop and set their own policies regarding access and usage.
The only two guiding policies which govern all internet users are those regarding protocols for naming spaces on the internet. These policies specify that websites hosted in New Zealand will include the suffix ‘.nz’, for example, and that ‘.com’ sites are for commercial, or business, purposes.
The terms ‘internet’ and ‘world wide web’ are often used interchangeably in everyday speech. However, in reality the internet refers to the global computer network that connects millions of computers across the globe. The world wide web is just one (although probably the most used) of the many services that run on the internet. It refers to content, though, rather than hardware. Most internet users will be familiar with the abbreviated ‘www’ typically used at the start of website addresses. However, today it is becoming increasingly more common for websites not to require ‘www’ when users are connecting to sites (try it with Google!).
Probably the most used form of communication on the internet is email. The concept of email predates the internet, although early systems existed only within corporations and had limited usability. Today email forms one of the most common types of daily communication worldwide. It allows users to send information across the globe instantly at the click of a button. Emails enable users to share documents, pictures and other media by sending attachments. It also has the added benefit of allowing messages to be sent to multiple users at the same time.
Since it became popular in the late 1990s, internet usage has seen tremendous growth, experiencing a surge in popularity during the first decade of the new millennium. During this period, the number of internet users globally rose from 394 million to 1.86 billion. By 2010, 22 per cent of the world’s population had access to computers. There were 1 billion Google searches every day and 2 billion videos viewed daily on YouTube.
Globally, over 50 per cent of people now use the internet, and that figure is over 80 per cent for people in the developed world. English is clearly the dominant language of information on the internet, with over 50 per cent of website content in English. While this may not seem that dominant, the second most popular language for web content, German, makes up under seven per cent of content, and all other languages account for no more than five per cent of content each. English is also the most used language in emails and other social interaction on the web, making up 27 per cent of communication. However, the second most popular language, Chinese, already accounts for 23 per cent of communication and is rapidly closing the gap on English
Interestingly, men spend more time online than women, and their user habits also differed. Men were more likely to pay bills online or download music, whereas women tended to email or communicate on social network sites more. Surprisingly, men and women were equally likely to use the internet for shopping and banking.
The passage has seven paragraphs A-G. Choose the correct heading for each paragraph from the list of headings below.
Top three languages
Massive rise in usage
How it got its name
Connectivity through mail
Web or net?
Different gender, different use
What you can call a site
Climate change: its causes and consequences
Climate change is not a new phenomenon. Our planet has been experiencing climate changes for billions of years, and over the last 450,000 years, it has moved through several ice ages, followed by warmer periods. Most of these climate changes occur due to slight alterations in our planet’s orbit, which in turn affect the amount of solar energy that reaches the earth. These changes have been important in the development of our ecosystems and organisms and are part of a natural process. As climate changes occur, ecosystems and organisms are forced to adapt themselves or face extinction. Animals and plants we know today have evolved over a long period of time under the pressure of a changing environment. While climates and habitats have inevitably changed in the past, the difference today is that these changes are happening faster than ever before. The evolution of organisms is normally a very slow process. However, the rate at which our environment is changing today allows organisms little or no time to adapt. While in the past climate change has occurred naturally and gradually, today it is largely due to human activity and is moving at an unprecedented speed.
Human activity across the world has destroyed the natural balance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Over the last two centuries, deforestation, urbanization, industrialization, large-scale agriculture and huge changes in people’s lifestyles have contributed to a dangerous increase in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). The rising population’s hunger for energy has resulted in the burning of more and more fossil fuels, like natural gas, coal and oil. These fossil fuels, which provide us with electricity and power our industries as well as our vehicles, produce CO2. In fact the world’s population releases more carbon dioxide than any other greenhouse gas. Another consequence of the world’s growing population is the expansion of large-scale farming which is required to provide the ever-increasing demand for food. Cattle and sheep produce CH4, the next largest form of greenhouse gases emitted across the world. Methane is released when livestock digest their food and their manure also releases amounts of CH4. Although emissions of CH4 may be less than CO2, it has around 23 times the global warming potential of CO2.
In order to understand the idea of climate change more clearly, we need to look at the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a natural process that keeps the planet warm. Without it, the earth would be a lifeless planet. The greenhouse effect is caused by certain gases in the atmosphere, like carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour. The effect works just like a greenhouse, as the name suggests. Energy from the sun travels through the atmosphere and directly heats the earth. Some of this heat is absorbed by the earth and oceans, but a lot of it returns into the atmosphere. The greenhouse gases prevent some of the heat escaping back into space and this keeps the earth warm. This natural process has sustained life on earth for millions of years. However, the increase in greenhouse gases due to human activity has now created a thick blanket over the atmosphere. This blanket traps more heat than the planet needs, thus raising the temperature of the earth. It is this rise in temperature that is now having a huge impact on our climate and environment.
Today we are continually coming into contact with the devastating effects of climate change in our world. A total of 950 natural disasters were recorded in 2010, killing hundreds of thousands of people and displacing many others. The earthquake in Haiti, floods in Pakistan and storms in Mexico were among these disasters. Since then we have seen heavy floods in Brazil and Australia and terrible earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan. As the oceans become warmer and glaciers melt, the sea level is rapidly rising. It rose by 15 to 20 centimetres during the last century and could rise by more than a metre by 2100. If the sea continues to rise at this rate, countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and many Pacific islands could lose land on the coast, making large numbers of people homeless. Climate change is destroying our ecosystems and endangering our wildlife. As the sea becomes warmer, fish are disappearing, making it hard for seals, larger fish and polar bears to find food. In the future, many animals will not survive the rapid change in climate. A warm and wet climate will increase diseases carried by mosquitoes and these could easily spread to western countries. Supplies of drinking water may be contaminated by rain and floods, and this is another way in which more diseases could be passed on. Hotter summers in many countries could cause more people to die of heat stroke or heart attacks. From all angles, the consequences of climate change do not look positive.
Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 3? Choose TRUE if the statement agrees with the information given in the text, choose FALSE if the statement contradicts the information, or choose NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this.
28.As the environment changes, many organisms change to cope with these new challenges.
29. Our modern environment continues to change in the same ways it has done in the past.
30. The increased emissions of CO2 and CH4 have changed people’s behaviour and the way they live.
31. Fossil fuels provide the population with many essential forms of energy.
32. In order to feed a growing population, there has been an increase in methane emissions from livestock.
33. CH4 is more damaging to the environment than CO2.
Climate change: its causes and consequences
Climate change is not a new phenomenon. Our planet has been experiencing climate changes for billions of years, and over the last 450,000 years, it has moved through several ice ages, followed by warmer periods. Most of these climate changes occur due to slight alterations in our planet’s orbit, which in turn affect the amount of solar energy that reaches the earth. These changes have been important in the development of our ecosystems and organisms and are part of a natural process. As climate changes occur, ecosystems and organisms are forced to adapt themselves or face extinction. Animals and plants we know today have evolved over a long period of time under the pressure of a changing environment. While climates and habitats have inevitably changed in the past, the difference today is that these changes are happening faster than ever before. The evolution of organisms is normally a very slow process. However, the rate at which our environment is changing today allows organisms little or no time to adapt. While in the past climate change has occurred naturally and gradually, today it is largely due to human activity and is moving at an unprecedented speed.
Human activity across the world has destroyed the natural balance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Over the last two centuries, deforestation, urbanization, industrialization, large-scale agriculture and huge changes in people’s lifestyles have contributed to a dangerous increase in greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4). The rising population’s hunger for energy has resulted in the burning of more and more fossil fuels, like natural gas, coal and oil. These fossil fuels, which provide us with electricity and power our industries as well as our vehicles, produce CO2. In fact the world’s population releases more carbon dioxide than any other greenhouse gas. Another consequence of the world’s growing population is the expansion of large-scale farming which is required to provide the ever-increasing demand for food. Cattle and sheep produce CH4, the next largest form of greenhouse gases emitted across the world. Methane is released when livestock digest their food and their manure also releases amounts of CH4. Although emissions of CH4 may be less than CO2, it has around 23 times the global warming potential of CO2.
In order to understand the idea of climate change more clearly, we need to look at the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is a natural process that keeps the planet warm. Without it, the earth would be a lifeless planet. The greenhouse effect is caused by certain gases in the atmosphere, like carbon dioxide, methane and water vapour. The effect works just like a greenhouse, as the name suggests. Energy from the sun travels through the atmosphere and directly heats the earth. Some of this heat is absorbed by the earth and oceans, but a lot of it returns into the atmosphere. The greenhouse gases prevent some of the heat escaping back into space and this keeps the earth warm. This natural process has sustained life on earth for millions of years. However, the increase in greenhouse gases due to human activity has now created a thick blanket over the atmosphere. This blanket traps more heat than the planet needs, thus raising the temperature of the earth. It is this rise in temperature that is now having a huge impact on our climate and environment.
Today we are continually coming into contact with the devastating effects of climate change in our world. A total of 950 natural disasters were recorded in 2010, killing hundreds of thousands of people and displacing many others. The earthquake in Haiti, floods in Pakistan and storms in Mexico were among these disasters. Since then we have seen heavy floods in Brazil and Australia and terrible earthquakes in New Zealand and Japan. As the oceans become warmer and glaciers melt, the sea level is rapidly rising. It rose by 15 to 20 centimetres during the last century and could rise by more than a metre by 2100. If the sea continues to rise at this rate, countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and many Pacific islands could lose land on the coast, making large numbers of people homeless. Climate change is destroying our ecosystems and endangering our wildlife. As the sea becomes warmer, fish are disappearing, making it hard for seals, larger fish and polar bears to find food. In the future, many animals will not survive the rapid change in climate. A warm and wet climate will increase diseases carried by mosquitoes and these could easily spread to western countries. Supplies of drinking water may be contaminated by rain and floods, and this is another way in which more diseases could be passed on. Hotter summers in many countries could cause more people to die of heat stroke or heart attacks. From all angles, the consequences of climate change do not look positive.
Write NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS AND/OR A NUMBER for each answer.
Life on earth would not exist without .
Some heat from the sun’s rays is soaked up by the .
The increase in greenhouse gases has created which prevents heat escaping.
Present climate change constantly puts countries up against .
The increased sea temperature may be indirectly linked to in countries like Haiti, Japan and New Zealand.
As the seas get warmer, it will be difficult for animals to .
Diseases may spread through drinking water which is .