272 Matching Annotations
  1. Jan 2024
    1. that I learned that people in the United States had protested against the war.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What were the actions that show that the American people were not supportive of the Vietnam War?

    2. But as we talked, I began to worry. I was alone in the middle of nowhere with a stranger who had been away from his wife for a long time. I raised my voice and began talking to him about moral values. “You are a woman,” he said, “but you are so abrasive.”

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) From her conversation with the soldier, what did she learn about the him?

      (ii) What could the soldier do to her in that circumstance which would worried her?

      (ii) What moral values would she have mentioned in the conversation?

    3. my main job was delivering first aid, I also hauled rice, and sometimes joined battles, fighting just like an actual soldier.

      Understanding the Passage:

      How many tasks did the writer had to perform? What can you tell of those tasks as they are being undertaken by a nurse?

    4. A piece of the bombshell lodged in my head, and I lost consciousness. Someone must have found me and taken me to the field hospital for treatment. My wounds healed, but I will never recover from the wound in my heart whenever I think about my friend.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) What kind of wounds she suffered was healed?

      (ii) Consider how she lost her friend and how she witnessed her friend's death. What kind of ‘wounds’ would she also suffer from?

    5. Some days we had nothing to eat but a fistful of roasted dry rice. We drank as much water as we could to fill our stomachs even though we knew the Americans’ release of toxic chemicals like the defoliant Agent Orange had poisoned our streams and groundwater. The alternative was to die of thirst.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) What made the writer and her comrades drink the water?

      (ii) What is the difference between dying from drinking poisoned water and dying of thirst and hunger?

  2. Apr 2023
    1. At that moment I knew—I absolutely knew without doubt—that Marley would fight him to the death before he would let him at us. I was emotional anyway as I held this young girl, wondering if she was dying in my arms. The sight of Marley so uncharacteristically guarding us like that, so majestically fierce, brought tears to my eyes.

      Understanding the Passage:

      How does the writer express Marley's protectiveness?

  3. Jun 2022
    1. The turnover at the Shamrock was not at all extensive, except for the occasional agricultural labourer who came from “beyond”-

      How was the business like and who were its customers? (Infer characteristics)

    2. one couch at the disposal of the weary wayfarer, and this, according to the few persons who had ever ventured to try it, seemed stuffed with old boots and stubble. It was located immediately beneath a hen-roost, which was the resting-place of a maternal fowl, addicted to nursing her chickens on the exhausted sleeper’s chest.

      How was the stay at the hotel like? (Infer characteristics)

  4. Jan 2021
    1. I believe that on the first night I went to Gatsby’s house I was one of the few guests who had actually been invited. People were not invited – they went there

      Understanding the Passage:

      What can you infer about the guests at the party? (inference)

  5. Dec 2020
    1. “You’re going to be okay,” I said, but I wasn’t sure I believed it.

      Why is the writer not honest with his opinion? (infer intention)

    2. “Go to the girl!” one of them shouted, pointing. “She’s been stabbed.” They sprinted off barefoot down the street in the direction the figure had fled.

      Understanding the Passage:

      In what ways do the two young men's actions tell us about the nature of the identified incident? (infer writer’s effect)

    3. The two young men who shared a rental house across the street from me burst outside, wearing nothing but cutoffs, and ran toward the screams.

      Understanding the Passage:

      In what ways do the two young men's actions tell us about the nature of the identified incident? (infer writer’s effect)

    1. “You know we lost one little one there” – she extended her hand towards the low, rambling repellent hills – “an’ found him dead a week after.”

      Understanding the Passage:

      What tone do you think the mother used? (Infer tone)

    1. Now, if it is believed that silence is golden, and speech is silver, which then would be a more highly sought after commodity?

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) What does it mean by ‘golden’ and ‘silver’?

      (ii) Which is more valuable?

    2. Ageing seniors who live alone may see silence synonymous to abandonment as much as teenagers who dread it perceive it as social rejection by their peers.

      Understanding the Passage:

      How do the different groups of people view silence?

    3. Some pay handsomely to be alone in the most reclusive of resorts, unplugged from all connections, to retreat from the clamour of the material world to do yoga or self-reflection, and meditate.

      Understanding the Passage:

      Why do people ‘pay handsomely’ to be alone in the most reclusive of resorts?

    4. It is not uncommon to watch police on US films reading the Miranda Rights to the suspect being taken into custody for questioning: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to speak to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you can’t afford to hire an attorney, one will be appointed to represent you before any questioning, if you wish one”.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What action do police take when taking a suspect into custody?

    5. silence is legally encouraged lest the suspect makes self-incriminating statements.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What action do police take when taking a suspect into custody?

    6. reported to have gone mad in a matter of time when removed from the oft-comforting noises of life around them.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What happens in solitary confinement?

    7. it breaks down the human spirit in solitary confinement,

      Understanding passage:

      What happens in solitary confinement?

    8. André Kostelanetz, another popular orchestral music conductor, arranger and pioneer of English easy listening music, considers utter silence as the greatest sound of all. 

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does Kostelanetz say about silence

    9. In the song lyrics of The Sound of Silence written by the American music duo Simon and Garfunkel, silence is referred to as sound. Here, the composers use words to allude to silence as something that can be ‘touched’ and ‘disturbed’, and as a receptacle for his visions and words.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does Simon and Garfunkel say about silence?

  6. Nov 2020
    1. Alas, she knew then, even before she had finished speaking that the boy was incapable of understanding her. His eyes were closed. And he seemed to be in this state forever. Whether the beautiful but expressionless eyes were open or closed, his mental faculties were in that dulled dormant state. Sadly, it might be said they slept.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (I) What was the outcome of Mrs Wilton’s narration?

      (II) What impact does this final paragraph have on the reader? (Recognize writer’s effect)

    2. The boy was standing at her knee, she holding his unresponsive hand. But, as she proceeded with her narration, he pressed gradually closer to her side. With a thrill of rapture, she looked at the drooped eyelids, hoping, praying to see a tear glisten on the dark curled lashes. Trembling, she reached the climax of her sorrowful tale, and bending over him, “Charlie,” she whispered, “Charlie, he was dead! Do you understand?”

      Understanding the Passage:

      How tension is built in this paragraph. (Recognize literary approach)

    3. supreme

      Understanding the Passage:

      How does the word ‘supreme’ reflect Mrs Wilton’s character? (Evaluate lexical value)

    4. She tried to teach him his childish lessons: she read to him, she talked to him, she even chanted in a low, sad voice the nursery rhymes that happy mothers sing.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What do you think she hoped to achieve by doing this? (Infer motivation)

    5. nobly

      Understanding the Passage:

      Explain why the adverb ‘nobly’ is aptly used here. (Analyze diction)

    6. And that day Lord Welbury made his will, leaving his immense fortune as he had said.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What had driven him to make his final decision? (infer details)

    7. “My own life is too precarious for me at this stage to delay longer the settling of my affairs.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What can you infer about Lord Welbury’s stage in life? (analyze character traits)

    8. “So, you came on the mere chance of the child being curable? And, do you suppose I am going to leave my money to him? No!” he cried vehemently.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What conclusion did he arrive at the visit of the 3 people? (identify speaker’s intention)

    9. Remember the shadow of his father’s death that so heavily rested on his mother just before his birth does not mean he has a hereditary taint!”

      Understanding the Passage:

      What are the possible reasons for Charlie’s condition? (Cause-effect)

    10. we must regard the matter from another point.

      Understanding the Passage:

      How does this sentence reveal that which was previously concealed? (evaluate juxtaposition)

    11. “No man who has seen that child as we have seen him can have the slightest doubt but that he is a half-wit for life.”

      Understanding the Passage:

      What tone is used here? (Infer Character’s attitude)

    12. For the sad premonition that first troubled me when I had seen Charlie at three, had received no confirmation until now.

      Understanding the Passage:

      How does this sentence reveal that which was previously concealed? (evaluate juxtaposition)

    13. “There is no doubt the boy is an imbecile,”

      Understanding the Passage:

      What can you conclude of his relationship with Charlie? (Infer character’s attitude)

    14. Lord Welbury turned pale. A look of disgust, not unmixed with anger, settled on his face.

      Understanding the Passage:

      Why do you think he reacted this way? (Make Connection; infer reason)

    15. But what a smile!

      Understanding the Passage:

      What is the intended effect of this statement? (Infer writer’s intention)

    16. his little lively playfellow

      Understanding the Passage:

      Who does the playfellow refer to? (Make connection)

    17. poor dulled senses of the child

      Understanding the Passage:

      Why do you think the word ‘poor’ is used here? (Infer writer’s word choice)

    18. “My darling, my darling! Has God no pity?” she cried, and carried him from the room.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) What is Mrs Wilton’s attitude towards her son? (Infer character’s attitude)

      (ii) What is the tone used here? (Infer character’s attitude

    19. Mrs. Wilton, running to her boy, shielded him with her arms.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What is Mrs Wilton’s attitude towards her son? (Infer character’s attitude)

    20. his features distorted into the ghastly semblance of a smile.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What is ironic about the description given here? (Understand literary device)

    21. The nanny dropped her knitting, and rose instantly. “I have seen this condition before,” she said, calmly confronting us. “Sir, the child is half an idiot.”

      Understanding the Passage:

      What is the significance of the nanny’s evaluation of Charlie Wilton? (recognise character trait)

    22. “Naughty boy, naughty boy! Send him away. He’s making faces at me,” cried the spoilt child in an outburst of passion,

      Understanding the Passage:

      How was the child spoilt judging from this context? (Justify with evidence)

    23. Lord Welbury, Mrs. Wilton and I sat apart in his room and kept up some superficial talk.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What was the atmosphere like in the room? (Infer mood)

    1. Wouldn’t one wonder if that price for fame is worthwhile at the end of the day?

      Understanding the Passage:

      What is tone of voice is used? Why is this so?

    2. Smosh, a YouTube channel that began posting parody videos, has garnered 9 billion viewers at the end of 2019 since it started in 2005. Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, better known as PewDiePie, is a Swedish vlogger who posts self-commentaries of online games on YouTube. His YouTube channel is the most subscribed channel since 2013. He has now more than 102 million subscribers and counting.

      Understanding the Passage:

      Take note of the cited examples of Vloggers.

    3. beauty queen Michelle Phan who has surpassed the 1.1 billion lifetime viewership.

      Understanding the Passage:

      Take note of the cited examples of Vloggers.

    4. Valentina Lisitsa, a Ukranian classical music maestro compares her rise to fame akin to Justin Bieber’s. Both had earlier done competitions and talent shows which did not bring stardom. Rather, both gained fame via the technological conduit. Lisitsa was filmed in one clip that showed her musical finesse as she sailed through the sonorous piece, Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata.

      Understanding the Passage:

      How did Valentina Lisitsa rise to fame?

    5. “In the future, everybody will be world-famous for fifteen minutes.” Half a century later, the now oft-quoted ‘15 minutes of fame’ proved to be prophetic as celebrity and notoriety are created in that time frame (sometimes literally much less) with the help of the Internet of Things or IoT.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) When was this quote coined?

      (ii) How is it applicable in today’s world?

    6. It evolves

      Understanding the Passage:

      What is the main topic of this passage?

    7. The amount of watch time of almost 5 billion videos each day adds up to a staggering total of 900 million hours each month. With such an extensive reach, it is easy to see how effective YouTube is in helping an ‘ordinary’ folk become an overnight sensation.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What is the phenomenon? Identify the cause-effect in the paragraph.

    8. Seek it; find it; lay claim to it; shoot for it; fall from it, build a house out of it; and even pay for it.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) What is the main topic of this passage?

      (ii) Read the paragraph aloud. How is the rhythm like? How does it make you feel?

    9. from good to bad, from basking on one end of the continuum to landing on the infamous on the other.

      Understanding the Passage:

      How is the rhythm like? How does it make you feel?

    1. but it was clear that Anna must really be someone to arouse so much interest, so much speculation.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What was the writer’s perspective of Anna in the end? (Infer writer’s view)

    2. And so I sat silently, a little amused, a little curious, listening to theories, hypotheses, and stories that Anna had been a Follies girl or a governess or a model.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What was the writer doing? (Identify action)

    3. I kept saying to myself, “Keep your mouth shut. Let her get away with it. Let her have her fun. It’s what she wanted… always.”

      Understanding the Passage:

      Why did the narrator feel compelled to keep quiet? (infer writer’s purpose)

    4. What I kept seeing was not the rich woman with the most famous emeralds in Europe, but a handsome girl of sixteen in a white shirtwaist and a rather threadbare skirt who came up from Lewisburg, Ohio, to occupy the seat opposite me in Latin class at the high school.

      Understanding the Passage:

      How is the writer related to Anna Bolton? (Connect information)

    5. I might have become a mild sensation and the center of attraction, but I was, for once at least, chivalrous and held my tongue.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What tone is used here? (infer writer’s attitude)

    6. Miss Godwin, who acted as a kind of sheep-dog.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What literary device is used here? What does it mean? (Identify and understanding literal device)

    7. She had appeared briefly in London a year or two earlier and made rather conservative, dowdy friends. None of the “right sort” of Americans seemed to know her or anything about her.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does this suggest of Anna Bolton’s life in London in the beginning? (infer condition)

    8. It was derived largely from those dubious stories which had begun to circulate concerning Anna’s wealth, her looks, her furs, her jewels and, of course, her mysterious background. It was all very vague and contradictory and coloured by the quality of fantasy which surrounds the personality of spectacular people who become legendary with time.

      Understanding the Passage:

      Identify all the words which might indicate how readers can tell if the descriptions of Anna Bolton were real or made-up ones? (recognize lexical significance)

      lexical (adjective) Definition: relating to the words or vocabulary of a language.

    9. And then they began to talk about Anna.

      Understanding the Passage:

      Why do you think the dinner guests would talk about Anna? (Infer reason)

    10. It was natural that Ruby should know her and refer to her as “Anna” rather than as Mrs. Bolton, for Anna was one of those who had to be included in dinners that Ruby gave. Ruby, of course, knew a great deal about her, for as a professional hostess she had made a kind of investigation although much of her information was wrong.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What can you infer about Ruby? (Infer Character traits)

    11. Even old Mostyn Jones, up from his retreat in Wales, rather perked up and said, “They say she’s a good-lookin’ woman.”

      Understanding the Passage:

      What is the impression the writer is implying about old Mostyn Jones? (infer perspective)

    12. It seemed that everyone in the room knew her, at least by name,

      Understanding the Passage:

      Why do you think ‘everyone in the room knew her’? (Infer reason)

    13. Ruby added, “Sybil Haddonfield is hosting the party with her.” “But Mrs. Bolton is paying for it,” said Lady Kernogan.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What tone is used in this conversation? (Infer attitude)

    14. We had been talking all evening in a tired way mostly about politics and abstract topics, and now suddenly a character had been projected into our midst, and mystery and gossip and the prospect of a good story.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What effect has Ruby’s announcement created among her guests? (recognise significance)

    15. She asked me to bring all of you after dinner.

      Understanding the Passage:

      In inviting everyone at her dinner party to Anna Bolton’s party, what role is Ruby Hillyer performing that evening? (identify character trait)

    16. When the ladies rejoined the gentlemen in the big high-ceilinged drawing-room after dinner, Ruby Hillyer said, “We’re all invited to a party Anna Bolton is giving at Haddonfield House.”

      Understanding the Passage:

      In inviting everyone at her dinner party to Anna Bolton’s party, what role is Ruby Hillyer performing that evening? (identify character trait)

    1. These non-alcoholic fragrance oils are increasingly becoming popular and highly sought after in the West for their permanent shelf life and their scents smelling better as they age.

      Understanding passage:

      What advantages are there for using traditional ittars?

    2. Despite the stiff competition, the most exotic and expensive perfume in the world is Oudh ittar which is extracted from the Aquilaria (Agar) tree.

      Understanding passage:

      What advantages are there for using traditional ittars?

    3. According to rough estimates, perfumers like Anwar rake in at least US$400 of sales a day.

      Understanding passage:

      Consider Anwar’s perspective as an entrepreneur.

    4. is a twenty-two-year-old entrepreneur, Anwar Azam Khan. He, however, is not bothered about the dying culture of old-school ittar-making as he believes the need to constantly innovate as per demand in order to move with the times.

      Understanding passage:

      Consider Anwar’s perspective as an entrepreneur.

    5. There are around 500 ittar varieties available in the market sold under luxurious foreign labels like Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, El Paso and Red Door – yes, you have read it correctly. These foreign brands also have ittar avatars which are actually copies of their original perfumes.

      Understanding passage:

      How did the information about the number of varieties make you feel?

    6. Mukarram rues that during his grandfather’s time, ittar was chemical-free, but today, chemicals are the most important ingredients in the entire process of making the fragrance.

      Understanding passage:

      (i) What does the word ‘rues’ suggest about how Mukarram feels?

      (ii) Why do you think he feels that way?

    7. Desi ittar was an all-time favourite fragrance. However, for the past 15 to 20 years, customer preferences gradually started to change, leaning more towards foreign brands like Burberry, Azzaro Loris, Escada and Lomani.

      Understanding passage:

      (i) What impression do foreign brands give to consumers?

      (ii) How does this impression differ from that of ittar’s?

    8. Together with other wholesale shops found around the vicinity, these businesses rake in around US$80 billion for the local economy, according to rough estimates provided by the ittar dealers association.

      Understanding passage: What idea is the writer trying to convey with the information?

    9. You also cannot miss the traditional businesses that are run by the third or perhaps the fourth generations today. Be it the masala, plastic, or cloth market, all have been flourishing in the vicinity for at least five decades or maybe even more.

      Understanding passage:

      What makes the Bazaar an old-fashioned one?

    1. saplings were growing between the deserted holes of the diggings, and agriculture had superseded the mining industry in those parts.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What happened to the mines? (Infer characteristics)

    2. became as silent as a morgue

      Understanding the Passage:

      What mood is suggested about Shamrock from this simile? (Identify language effect)

    3. like busy ants, delved into the earth and covered its surface with red, white, and yellow tips.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does the simile suggest about the diggers? (Interpret literary device)

    4. the banks of the creek, for a distance of two miles, were denuded of their timber, torn up, and covered with unsightly heaps.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What happened in the end? (Cause-effect)

    5. an enterprising prospector wandering that way, and liking the indications, put down a shaft, and bottomed on “the wash” at twenty feet, getting half an ounce of nuggets to the dish.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What sort of enterprise took place there? (Identify idea)

    6. Once upon a time, when the Shamrock was first built, the creek was a beautiful limpid rivulet, running between verdant banks;

      Understanding the Passage:

      How was Shamrock like in the past? (Infer condition)

    7. These were the residences of a colony of squalid, gibbering Chinese fossickers1, who herded together like hogs in a crowded pen, as if they had been restricted to that spot – on pain of death.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does the simile suggest about the Chinese? (Infer characteristics)

    8. The only other dwellings within sight of the Shamrock were a cluster of frail, ramshackle huts, compiled of slabs, scraps of matting, zinc, and gunny-bag.

      Understanding the Passage:

      From the description, what does it suggest about Shamrock’s surroundings? (Infer setting)

    9. But that sign was most unreliable

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) Why does this sentence begin with ‘But…’? (evaluate detail)

      (ii) What purpose do these words ‘most unreliable’ serve? (recognise feature)

    10. a moody, grumpy goat rubbed her ribs against a shattered trough roughly hewn from the butt of a tree, and a matronly old sow of spare proportions wallowed complacently in the dust of the road, surrounded by her squealing brood.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What mood does this description gives to the reader? (Identify impact)

    11. ungainly

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does the word ‘ungainly’ suggest about the fowls? (Infer characteristics)

    12. The Shamrock was built of sun-dried bricks, of an unhealthy, vomit-grey tint. Its dirty, shattered windows were plugged in places with old hats and discarded female apparel, and draped with green blinds, many of which had broken their moorings, and hung despondently by one corner.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) What imagery has been used to the Shamrock? (recognize literary devices)

      (ii) What feeling does this description gives to readers? (Identify impact)

    13. having been designed by an amateur artist in a moment of drunken frenzy.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does the metaphor suggest about the look of Shamrock Hotel? (Interpret Literary device)

    14. It reached out in several well-defined angles, and had an extended building stuck on here and there; numerous outdoor toilets were dropped down about it randomly; its walls were propped up in places with logs, and its moss-covered shingle roof, bowed down with the weight of years and a great accumulation of stones, hoop-iron, jam-tins, broken glassware, and dried possum skins, bulged threateningly, on the verge of utter collapse.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) Identify the literary devices used by the writer to achieve the effects of his descriptions (recognise features)

      (ii) What impression does this description give about Shamrock Hotel? (Infer setting)

    15. set well back from a dusty track that started nowhere in particular and had no destination worth mentioning,

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does the description suggest about the Shamrock Hotel? (Infer setting)

    1. Clearly, this research has implications for the workplace, for relationships, and for education. Noting the dependence of young adults on their smartphones, the researchers highlighted: “Given that many of them are in school, the potential detrimental effects of smartphones on their cognitive functioning may have an outsized effect on long-term welfare. As educational institutions increasingly embrace ‘connected classrooms’, the presence of students’ mobile devices in educational environments may undermine both learning and test performance—particularly when these devices are present but not in use.”

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) Why do educational institutions embrace ‘connected classrooms’?

      (ii) How does this finding contradict their use of mobile devices in teaching?

    2. dumbphones (stripped-down basic devices) made people smarter in that they did not create the same gravitational pull or drain on mental resources.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What can one do to prevent the effects of the phone?

    3. defined and protected periods of separation may allow consumers to perform better not just by reducing interruptions but also by increasing available cognitive capacity.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What can one do to prevent the effects of the phone?

    4. The fact that our phones are the source of so many satisfying stimuli creates a stronger gravitational pull than a book on our desks, for instance. So, even if we’re not using the cell phone, attentional resources are being used up in resisting its pull.

      Understanding the Passage:

      Why is it difficult to resist being distracted by the phone?

    5. We are losing our minds…to our smartphones.  In other words, the mere presence of a smartphone reduces a person’s ability to focus.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does it mean to lose one’s mind in this context?

    6. I am about to start lying to myself. I’m not going to check my phone, I tell myself. (My wife’s phone has appeared face-down on the table, too.) I’m just going to have this right here in case something comes up.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) What is he lying to himself about?

      (ii) Why would he lie to himself?

    7. I don’t really enjoy this, but this uncontrollable act of checking is almost second nature to me, despite the indignant and submerged part of my psyche moans that I am making myself dumber every time I look at it. In fact, I am.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What is the contention the writer experienced in this paragraph?

    8. I sit down at the table, move my napkin to my lap, and put my phone on the table face-down. I am at a restaurant with my wife, I am relaxed, and I am about to start lying to myself. I’m not going to check my phone, I tell myself. (My wife’s phone has appeared face-down on the table, too.)

      Understanding the Passage:

      Read the highlighted text aloud. How did it make you feel?

    1. On the mantel stood an electric clock, precisely like that in Mr. Fogg’s bedchamber, both beating the same second at the same instant.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does Passepartout and Mr Fogg have in common? [ Identify similarities]

    2. lighted and warmed by gas,

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does the description suggest how he felt about the mansion? [Infer mood]

    3. So clean, well-arranged, solemn a mansion pleased him.

      Understanding the Passage:

      Why was he pleased? [Infer reason]

    4. scouring it from cellar to garret.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does the word “scouring” suggest about how he inspected the place? [Infer connotative meaning]

    5. his life was one of unbroken regularity, that he neither travelled nor stayed from home overnight

      Understanding the Passage:

      Why did Passepartout think Mr Phileas Fogg is the person he would want to work for?[Infer character’s intention]

    6. desirous of respecting the gentleman whom he served, ventured a mild remark on such conduct

      Understanding the Passage:

      What was Passepartout’s intention when he ‘ventured a mild remark’? [Infer Character’s intention]

    7. His last master, young Lord Longferry, Member of Parliament, after passing his nights in the Haymarket taverns, was too often brought home in the morning on policemen’s shoulders.

      Understanding the Passage:

      How was Passepartout’s last master like? [Infer character trait]

    8. with annoyance, he found his masters invariably whimsical and irregular, constantly running about the country, or on the lookout for adventure.

      Understanding the Passage:

      Why did he find annoying about his masters? [Infer reason for character’s feeling]

    9. Passepartout had been a sort of vagrant in his early years, and now yearned for repose; but so far he had failed to find it, though he had already served in ten English houses.

      Understanding the Passage:

      How was Passepartout’s life an unsettled one? [Identify evidence]

    10. His brown hair was somewhat tumbled

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does the word “tumbled” suggest about his hair? [Infer meaning]

    11. his complexion rosy, his figure full and well-built, his body muscular

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does the description suggests about Passepartout’s appearance? [Infer meaning]

    12. He was an honest fellow, with a pleasant face, lips a trifle protruding, soft-mannered and serviceable, with a good round head, such as one likes to see on the shoulders of a friend.

      Understanding the Passage:

      From the description, what kind of a man is Passepartout? [Infer character trait]

    13. Passepartout was by no means one of those small-sized, attractive but slow and stupid persons depicted by Mohliere, with a bold gaze and nose held high in the air.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What point is the writer trying to make when he described Mohliere’s depiction of a Parisian? [Infer writer’s intention]

    14. never

      Understanding the Passage:

      How is the idea of ‘precision’ emphasized in this paragraph? [Infer effects of language use]

    15. he knew that in this world account must be taken of friction, and that friction retards, he never rubbed against anybody.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What is Mr Fogg’s view about social relations? [Infer Character’s views]

    16. went to his destination by the shortest cut.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What other quality that stands out in Mr Fogg? [Infer character trait]

    17. economical alike of his steps and his motions.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What other quality that stands out in Mr Fogg? [Infer character trait]

    18. he was never in a hurry, was always ready,

      Understanding the Passage:

      What other quality that stands out in Mr Fogg? [Infer character trait]

    19. was never seen to be moved or agitated.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What other quality that stands out in Mr Fogg? [Infer character trait]

    20. As for Passepartout, he was a true Parisian of Paris. Since he had abandoned his own country for England, taking service as a valet, he had in vain searched for a master after his own heart.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) Who is Passepartout?

      (ii) What is his occupation?

      (iii) What kind of employer is he looking for? [Identify character]

    21. exact

      Understanding the Passage:

      How is the idea of ‘precision’ emphasized in this paragraph? [Infer effects of language use]

    22. exact

      Understanding the Passage:

      How is the idea of ‘precision’ emphasised in this paragraph? [Infer effects of language use]

    23. never

      Understanding the Passage:

      How is the idea of ‘precision’ emphasised in this paragraph? [Infer effects of language use]

    24. always

      Understanding the Passage:

      How is the idea of ‘precision’ emphasised in this paragraph? [Infer effects of language use]

    25. always

      Understanding the Passage:

      How is the idea of ‘precision’ emphasised in this paragraph? [Infer effects of language use]

    26. never

      Understanding the Passage:

      How is the idea of ‘precision’ emphasised in this paragraph? [Infer effects of language use]

    27. always

      Understanding the Passage:

      How is the idea of ‘precision’ emphasised in this paragraph? [Infer effects of language use]

    28. never

      Understanding the Passage:

      How is the idea of ‘precision’ emphasized in this paragraph? [Infer effects of language use]

    29. the way he moved his hands and feet,

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) From the description, what kind of a man is Mr Fogg?

      (ii) What are the descriptions that tell us so? [Infer Character trait]

    30. indicative of one’s feelings.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) From the description, what kind of a man is Mr Fogg?

      (ii) What are the descriptions that tell us so? [Infer Character trait]

    31. being perfectly well-balanced, as exactly regulated as a Leroy chronometer.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) From the description, what kind of a man is Mr Fogg?

      (ii) What are the descriptions that tell us so? [Infer Character trait]

    32. precision in the flesh.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) From the description, what kind of a man is Mr Fogg?

      (ii) What are the descriptions that tell us so? [Infer Character trait]

    33. a perfect type of that English composure

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) From the description, what kind of a man is Mr Fogg?

      (ii) What are the descriptions that tell us so? [Infer Character trait]

    1. The finest of dining became an event with the silver utensils flanking place settings of beautiful porcelains and crystals. These were items that separated the wealthy of society from those not so fortunate.

      Understanding passage:

      What manners of the past are still relevant today?

    2. Bread was served with a specially designed fork. There were numerous styles of ice-cream forks, corn scrapers, orange spoons, mango forks, and implements designed specifically for serving olives, peas, baked potatoes, berries, and tinned fish such as sardines and herring. Pickled foods had ornately adorned forks, spears and tongs, along with pickle castors to hold them in. Even crackers had their own scoop-like serving spoon.

      Understanding passage:

      Which of the listed items are considered ‘unnecessarily extravagant’?

    3. Books on courtly manners and customs were also being written and read more frequently, though much of the general European public was oblivious to them. Silver utensils of all sorts, along with Chinese-inspired tableware, were created for the wealthy.

      Understanding passage:

      What could be the likely status difference between the general European public and the people in the courts?

    4. man’s need for sustenance to survive took precedence.

      Understanding passage:

      Why was table manners not a priority?

    5. when Catherine de Medici brought several dozen small dining forks with her when she arrived in France to marry King Henry II. Notably, she is the first to have used them in Western Europe. Considered a novelty at first, the forks were slowly popularized in European Courts.

      Understanding passage:

      Who introduced the use of fork? What is her status? What sort of influence does this person have?

    1. A chauffeur in a uniform of robin’s egg blue crossed my lawn early that Saturday morning with a surprisingly formal note from his employer – the honour would be entirely Gatsby’s, it said, if I would attend his “little party” that night. He had seen me several times and had intended to call on me long before but a peculiar combination of circumstances had prevented it – signed Jay Gatsby in a majestic hand.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What can you conclude about how the writer feels at being properly invited? (respond to opinion)

    2. Sometimes they came and went without having met Gatsby at all, came for the party with a simplicity of heart that was its own ticket of admission.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does this suggest how the guests behave before and after they were introduced? (Infer characteristics)

    3. Once there they were introduced by somebody who knew Gatsby and after that, they conducted themselves according to the rules of behaviour associated with amusement parks.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does this suggest how the guests behave before and after they were introduced? (Infer characteristics)

    4. A momentary hush; the orchestra leader varies his rhythm obligingly for her and there is a burst of chatter as the erroneous news goes around that she is Gilda Gray’s understudy from the “Follies”.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) What does the writer have in mind when he uses contrast here? (evaluate literary device)

      (ii) What were the guests’ attitude towards the performers? (Infer attitude)

    5. one of these gypsies in trembling opal seizes a cocktail out of the air, dumps it down for courage

      Understanding the Passage:

      How did the gypsy feel? What did she do? (Identify emotion; cause-effect)

    6. excited with triumph glide on through the sea-change of faces and voices and colour under the constantly changing light.

      Understanding the Passage:

      How is the setting congruent with the movements of the guests? (Understand nuances)

    7. The groups change more swiftly, swell with new arrivals, dissolve and form in the same breath

      Understanding the Passage:

      How is this description effective in describing the movements of the guests? (infer impact)

    8. The lights grow brighter as the earth lurches away from the sun and now the orchestra is playing yellow cocktail music and the opera of voices pitches a key higher. Laughter is easier, minute by minute, spilt with lavishness, tipped out at a cheerful word.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What mood does this description suggest and how has it changed? (Infer setting)

    9. the orchestra has arrived – no thin five-piece affair but a whole pit full of oboes and trombones and saxophones and violas and cornets and piccolos and low and high drums. The last swimmers have come in from the beach now and are dressing upstairs; the cars from New York are parked five deep in the drive, and already the halls and salons and verandas are gaudy with primary colours and hair shorn in strange new ways and shawls beyond the dreams of Castile. The bar is in full swing and floating rounds of cocktails permeate the garden outside until the air is alive with chatter and laughter and casual innuendo and introductions

      Understanding the Passage:

      What mood can be detected at this point of time? (evaluate effect)

    10. a corps of caterers came down with several hundred feet of canvas and enough coloured lights to make a Christmas tree of Gatsby’s enormous garden. On buffet tables, garnished with glistening hors-d’oeuvre, spiced baked hams crowded against salads of harlequin designs and pastry pigs and turkeys bewitched to a dark gold. In the main hall, a bar with a real brass rail was set up and stocked with gins and liquors and with cordials so long forgotten that most of his female guests were too young to know one from another.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) What literary devices are used here to describe the party?

      (ii) How would you respond to the description? (Identify & interpret literary devices; Language impact)

    11. Every Friday, five crates of oranges and lemons arrived from a fruiterer in New York – every Monday these same oranges and lemons left his back door in a pyramid of pulpless halves.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What do you think is the writer’s response to what he saw? (Identify impact)

    12. There was a machine in the kitchen which could extract the juice of two hundred oranges in half an hour

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does this description suggest of the machine? (Identify impact)

    13. I watched his guests diving from the tower of his raft or taking the sun on the hot sand of his beach while his two motor-boats slit the waters of the Sound, drawing aquaplanes over cataracts of foam. On weekends his Rolls-Royce became an omnibus, bearing parties to and from the city, between nine in the morning and long past midnight, while his station wagon scampered like a brisk yellow bug to meet all trains. And on Mondays eight servants including an extra gardener toiled all day with mops and scrubbing-brushes and hammers and garden-shears, repairing the ravages of the night before.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) From the description, what kind of lifestyle does it show?

      (ii) How is this idea expressed? (Infer characteristics; Identify language impact)

    14. In his blue gardens, men and girls came and went like moths among the whisperings and the champagne and the stars.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does the simile used here suggest about the men and girls? (Interpret literary device)

    1. I fretted that he missed me, and was tossing and turning in bed. I felt guilty. Later, I learned he had been sneaking into my spot in the double bed. He was sleeping just fine, just not where he was supposed to be. A smarter cookie than his mother.

      Understanding the Passage:

      How is the son a ‘smarter’ cookie?

    2. The technology could have allowed me to stalk a child that was up too late on the iPad, but this seemed like spying and I worried about being too nosy. I made a concerted effort not to be too intrusive or judgmental, but it is hard to avoid this when so much information is instantly available.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What information do the cookies provide that seems to invade one’s privacy?

    3. alerting you that the children have returned home

      Understanding the Passage:

      What information do the cookies collect to be seen as ‘innovative’?

    4. to check that an elderly relative is taking his tablets regularly and keeping to his routine.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What information do the cookies collect to be seen as ‘innovative’?

    5. The cookie on the watering can had been instructed to send me an email if it had not been picked up for more than five minutes every afternoon

      Understanding the Passage:

      What information do the cookies collect to be seen as ‘innovative’?

    6. I could also find out at any hour if the bedrooms were too warm or cold.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What information do the cookies collect to be seen as ‘innovative’?

    7. to brim with perceptive devices that knew you better than you knew yourself – right down to the fridge that had restocked itself with milk before you had run out.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) What does the word ‘brim’ suggest?

      (ii) What does the word ‘perceptive means?

      (iii) From the details, what does it suggest about what the devices will know about you?

    8. Yet, though a steady stream of smart devices – light bulbs, locks, sensors, cameras – has arrived, many have seemed far from bright.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What does ‘far from bright’ mean? What is the connotative meaning behind this expression?

    9. found that 71% of people fear their personal information may be stolen and 64% fear their data will be collected and sold.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What do the statistics imply about people’s attitude and worries about smart technologies?

    10. “The time has come,” proclaims the marketing blurb, “for devices to learn to live with us instead of us learning to live with them.”

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) Which part of the text in paragraph 3 tells you about what Sen.se thinks of their product?

      (ii) Which word in the text suggests a confident attitude?

    11. The cookies, which are slightly smaller than the lozenge-shaped Biscoff biscuits Europeans take with their coffee, contain an accelerometer and a thermometer.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What aspect of the cookies is highlighted here? Why do you think it is so?

    1. nothing remained of his childhood except a series of bright lit tableaux occurring against no background and mostly unintelligible.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What do you think could have happened to have caused him to have difficulty remembering his childhood? (Infer cause-effect)

    2. He tried to squeeze out some childhood memory that should tell him whether London had always been quite like this.

      Understanding the Passage:

      Why do you think he has to ‘squeeze out’ the childhood memory? (infer reason)

    3. a fruity voice was reading out a list of figures which had something to do with the production of pig-iron.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) How is the voice like?

      (ii) Why is ‘voice’ mentioned repeatedly?

      (iii) What role does ‘voice’ play in these sentences? (identify literary device; infer function)

    4. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What makes the Thought Police so formidable? (infer cause-and-effect)

    5. the meagreness of his body merely emphasized by the blue overalls which were the uniform of the party.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What is the effect created with this contrast? (infer language impact)

    6. Down in the street, little eddies of wind were whirling dust and torn paper into spirals, and though the sun was shining and the sky a harsh blue, there seemed to be no colour in anything, except the posters that were plastered everywhere.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What can you tell about the condition of the city Winston lived in? (Evaluate condition)

    7. a helicopter skimmed down between the roofs, hovered for an instant like a bluebottle, and darted away again with a curving flight.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) Identify the literary device.

      (ii) In what way are the 3 verbs effectively used? (recognize figurative language; evaluate effectiveness)

    8. BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the caption beneath it ran.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What is the purpose of the capitalized caption beneath the poster? (Infer effect)

    9. On each landing, opposite the lift-shaft, the poster with the enormous face gazed from the wall. It was one of those pictures which are so contrived that the eyes follow you about when you move.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What effect does the poster on every lift landing create? (Identify emotion evoked)

    10. Winston, who was thirty-nine and had a varicose ulcer above his right ankle, went slowly, resting several times on the way.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What can you tell of Winston’s health? (evaluate condition)

    11. It was no use trying the lift. Even at the best of times it was seldom working, and at present the electric current was cut off during daylight hours. It was part of the economy drive in preparation for Hate Week.

      Understanding the Passage:

      Why do you think the lift seldom worked? (infer connection)

    12. It depicted simply an enormous face, more than a metre wide: the face of a man of about forty-five, with a heavy black moustache and ruggedly handsome features.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What effect does the description of the face gives you? (Infer language impact)

    13. he vile wind, slipped quickly through the glass doors of Victory Mansions, though not quickly enough to prevent a swirl of gritty dust from entering along with him. The hallway smelt of boiled cabbage and old rag mats. At one end of it a coloured poster, too large for indoor display, had been tacked to the wall.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) What literary device is used in this paragraph?

      (i) How do they contribute to the setting of this passage? (recognise imagery; infer supporting details)

    1. A whopping 72 % of those questioned say they can predict how a person will act in a relationship based on how they treat their pets. It was found that 32% of dog owners would dump their dates if they were convinced that their canine companion did not like their dating partners. 27% of cat owners would do the same.

      Understanding passage: What does it mean by to ‘whopping’ mean? How is the word used in the sentence?

    2. While dating a pet owner may give one an inkling of the person’s character, it should not be the key determiner.

      Understanding passage:

      Which are the key words in this sentence? Think of synonyms for those key words.

    3. On the other hand, naysayers turn up their noses at the suggestion that dog owners make better prospective partners. They are adamant that cat owners make indisputably hotter partners than any other owners of rabbits, snakes, birds, or even dogs.

      Understanding passage:

      (i) What is the writer's view about the naysayers who 'turn up their noses'?

      (ii) What does it mean to 'turn up your nose'?

    4. They also argue that dog owners prefer clingy, over-enthusiastic partners, while cat owners admire partners who are independent just like their felines.  Other arguments hint that dogs are like little kids because everything in their lives must be regulated, but cats are like old men who do not give a hoot about another living soul in the universe. Hence, cat owners are more likely to allow more latitude in their partners than dog owners.

      Understanding passage: (i) What does ‘like old men who do not give a hoot’ suggest?

      (ii) What attitude are they showing? How is it similar to a cat’s character trait?

      (iii) What does ‘allow more latitude in their partners’ mean?

    5. Dogs get you out in the fresh air in all weathers and are a great conversation starter. Almost half (46%) of the participants surveyed found that walking a dog is one of the easiest ways to make friends. It may explain why 29% of dog owners have met lifelong friends whilst walking their pooch.

      Understanding passage: Where in the passage that tells you dog owners are better date partners?

    6. Proponents of dog ownership firmly posit that dog owners are definitely more attractive than people who own cats. In fact, a study of 1000 singletons showed that 63% of people find dog owners most attractive, in comparison to 18% of people who fancy cat owners.

      Understanding passage: Where in the passage that tells you dog owners are better date partners?

    7. the more attached the person was to an animal as a teenager and young adult, the more empathetic and confident he or she would be.

      Understanding passage: How can a teenager or young adult become ‘more attached’?

    8. Researchers also found that people who showed greater care for animals were also more likely to be involved in their communities and serve in leadership roles.

      Understanding passage: (i) Why would one show greater care for an animal?

      (ii)What qualities must one possess to want to be involved in communities and leadership?

    9. the figures were reflective of singletons believing that selfish people would struggle to raise and keep a pet properly. This is because raising pets – particularly active animals like dogs – requires a lot of commitment and dedication, hence, singles with pets are often perceived to be kind, friendly and ready to commit to a long-term relationship.

      Understanding passage: What does the word ‘believing’ suggest? How are beliefs formed?

    1. and the one-horned cow meditating at the door as on the previous evening. I detected a look of pathetic reproach in the eye of the cow as I passed her. Tea that evening consisted mainly of roast onions.

      Why do you think the cow has been mentioned twice in this passage? (judge validity)

    2. appeared in front of the house leading his deplorable horse. He was bound for the mine, he said. I put in that day exploring the tunnel, examining the immovable mill, hunting for specimens in the quartz-tip, and listening to Leen’s cheerful weather prophesies; and Jeans and his soured quadruped dragged logs to the mine from a patch of timber about a mile2 off, which the men alluded to largely as The Gum Forest.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What do these descriptions tell you about the setting? (draw conclusion)

    3. We had fried onions and bread and tea for breakfast, and immediately the meal was over.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What can you tell of the breakfast? (infer quality)

    4. his apathy under the circumstances was simply appalling.

      Understanding the Passage:

      Which words sum up Larry’s attitude towards his own children? (identify evocative words)

    5. The incident did not appear to have affected her in any way; she looked as tired and as despondent as on the previous evening,

      Understanding the Passage:

      In what way does this echo how Steve’s parents have been described in the previous paragraph? (infer similarities)

    6. Incensed by some indignity that had been imposed on him during the afternoon, he had “run away from home,” he said, and slept all night in a wombat’s hole about 200 yards1 from the house. There his mother found him, returning from her long, weary search.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What can you infer about Steve’s actual character trait? (Infer Character traits)

    7. How he was not missed till nearly midnight on this occasion I cannot say, unless the father and mother were really as ignorant of the extent and character of their family as they appeared to be.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What is the writer’s view about Steve’s parents? (Infer character traits)

    8. Steve, I gathered, was the one enterprising child in the household, and was in the habit of going alone upon voyages of exploration along the range, where, being a very little fellow, he usually lost himself, thus providing his parents with a night’s “entertainment” searching for him in the barren gorges and about the boulder-strewn spurs.

      Understanding the Passage:

      What is the writer’s impression of Steve? (Infer Character traits)

    9. the little boy was careful to warn me not to throw it away when I was through with it.

      Understanding the Passage:

      In what way does the boy’s warning reinforce your deduction? (analyse details; connect evidence)

    10. a scantily-attired small boy generously provided me with a small metal pan three-quarters full of water. The water was for my morning bath,

      Understanding the Passage:

      What can be deduced from the descriptions of the boy? (Infer character traits)

    11. Half a dozen of the children was blubbering, and I could hear the heavy tread of Larry, and the equally heavy tread of his wife, moving about the house.

      Understanding the Passage:

      (i) Identify the words used to describe the auditory imagery in these lines.

      (ii) What effect do these words leave on the reader? (recognise sensory imagery; identify reader’s impact)

    12. Failing to open it, she tried the walls and the roof, but could not break her way in, so she camped under the cover of the structure, and lowed dismally at intervals till day-break.

      Understanding the Passage

      What impression has the writer created about the cow? (infer character quality)

    13. The room had been carefully furbished up and deeply carpeted with scrub ferns. But the cow was not to be denied.

      Understanding the Passage:

      Whose room does it belong to? (Making Reference)