AGREEMENT AND DISAGREEMENT

EXPRESSING AGREEMENT AND DISAGREEMENT

These expressions are used when you want to say something about a topic or a sentence, they are used in debates to express your opinions

 Stating an opinion

• In my opinion...
• The way I see it...
• If you want my honest opinion....
• According to Lisa...
• As far as I'm concerned...
• If you ask me...

Asking for an opinon

• What's your idea?
• What are your thoughts on all of this?
• How do you feel about that?
• Do you have anything to say about this?
• What do you think?
• Do you agree?
• Wouldn't you say?

Expressing agreement

• I agree with you 100 percent.
• I couldn't agree with you more.
• That's so true.
• That's for sure.
• Tell me about it!
• You're absolutely right.
• Absolutely.
• That's exactly how I feel.
• Exactly.
• I'm afraid I agree with James.
• No doubt about it.
• (agree with negative statement) Me neither.
• (weak) I suppose so./I guess so.

Expressing disagreement

• I don't think so.
• (strong) No way.
• I'm afraid I disagree.
• (strong) I totally disagree.
• (strong) I'd say the exact opposite.
• Not necessarily.
• That's not always true.
• That's not always the case.
• No, I'm not so sure about that.

 

ACTIVITY ABOUT PRESENT PERFECT

ACTIVITY

Write the sentences in present perfect in all ways

1. They ______  London this month. (leave)

 2. He ______  a lot of English papers. (bring)

 3. She ______  me about it. (tell)

 4. I ______ a long letter from father this week. (get)

 5. She ______; she will speak to you in a minute. (come)

 6. I _______ to Radio City. (be)

 7. I think the director _______  the town. (leave)

 8. I ______  my office. (paint)

 9. We________  her since she arrived to our city. (know)

 10. I ______ your name. (forget)

 11. He ­­­­­­______  the door. (close)

 12. He________  it since we left him. (do)

13. I________  him my last penny. (give)

 14. This order ________  to many misunderstandings. (lead)

 15. He _______  his name on my book. (write)

 16. She ________  a new umbrella. (buy)

 17. He_______  my exercise over and over. (look)

 18. I________  those books very cheaply. (buy)

 19. He ________  for two months. (work)

 20. She ________ a new job. (find)

 21. He ________ very well. (speak)

 22. The children _________ the whole pudding. (eat)

 23. You ________ many detective stories. (read)

 24. Our team _______ the first prize. (win)

 25. My little daughter _______ her finger with a knife. (cut)

READING COMPREHENSION

ACTIVITY

Read the text and answer the questions about it.

CHESS

Chess is called the game of kings. It has been around for a long time. People have been playing it for over 500 years. Chess is based on an even older game from India. The chess we play today is from Europe.

Chess is a two-player game. One player uses the white pieces. The other uses the White Chess Pieces black pieces. Each piece moves in a special way. One piece is called the king. Each player has one. The players take turns moving their pieces. If a player lands on a piece, he or she takes it. The game ends when a player loses his or her king. There are a few more rules, but those are the basics.

Some people think that chess is more than a game. They think that it makes the mind stronger. Good chess players use their brains. They take their time. They think about what will happen next. These skills are useful in life and in chess. Chess is kind of like a work out for the mind.

You don't always have lots of time to think when playing chess. There is a type of chess with short time limits. It's called blitz chess. In blitz chess, each player gets ten minutes to use for the whole game. Your clock runs during your turn. You hit the time clock after your move. This stops your clock. It also starts the other player's clock. If you run out of time, you lose. Games of blitz chess are fast-paced.

Chess is not just for people. Computers have been playing chess since the 1970s. At first they did not play well. They made mistakes. As time went on they grew stronger. In 1997, a computer beat the best player in the world for the first time. It was a computer called Deep Blue. Deep Blue was big. It took up a whole room. By 2006 a cell phone could beat the best players in the world. Chess sure has come a long way. Don't you think so?

QUESTIONS


1. What is the author's purpose in writing the second paragraph?

a. To explain the rules of chess                       
b. To compare different types of games

c. To talk about game pieces                          

d. To persuade people to play chess

 

2. Which is not a reason that chess is a good workout for the mind according to the text?

a. Good chess players think about what will happen next.

b. Good chess players take a lot of risks.

c. Good chess players take their time.

d. Good chess players use their brains.

 

3. How long have people been playing chess?

a. Over 100 years              
b. Over 500 years

c. Over 1000 years           

d. Over 5000 years

 

4. Where did the game that chess is based on come from?

a. Europe                       b. America

c. India                         d. All of these

 

5. Which best describes the main idea in the fourth paragraph?

a. This paragraph argues that players should think less.

b. This paragraph explains how blitz chess is played.

c. This paragraph explains time clocks work.

d. This paragraph describes many different ways to play chess.

 6. How does a game of chess end according to the text?

a. One player takes all of the other player's pieces.

b. One player makes it to the end of the board.

c. One player becomes king.

d. One player loses his or her king.

 7. Which happened first?

a. Computers did not play chess well.         
b. Deep Blue won an important game.

c. Cell phones got good at playing chess.  

d. Deep Blue took up a whole room.

8. How is blitz chess different from regular chess?

a. Each player has two kings.                          
b. Players are blindfolded.

c. Players only have ten minutes to play.                     

d. Players start from a random position.

 

9. If it's your turn in blitz chess, what happens when you hit the clock?

a. Both your clock and the other person's clock keep running.

b. The other person's clock stops running and yours starts.

c. Both clocks stop running.

d. Your clock stops running and the other person's clock begins.

 

10. When did a computer first beat a strong human player in chess?

a. 2006                         b. 1997

c. 1970                        d. 1976

 

Extended Response

 

How might playing chess be good for people? Refer to the text in your answer.

READING COMPREHENSION

ACTIVITY

Read the text and answer the questions about it.

JACOB THE GREAT

Jacob the Great Jacob hated finishing things almost as much as he loved starting them. As a result, he had gotten into a million hobbies and activities, but he never stuck with any of them long enough to get any good.

He begged his mother for months for a guitar so that he could play Black Eyed Peas songs to Angie, a girl he liked, but after he finally got one for Christmas, he found out that guitars don’t play themselves. He took a few lessons, but strumming the strings hurt his fingers and he didn’t like holding the pick, so now the five-hundred dollar guitar lives under his bed.

After reading an ad in the back of one of his comic books, Jacob decided that he wanted a WonderSweeper 5000 metal detector, so that he could find buried pirate treasure. So he mowed lawns all summer and didn’t spend his money on ice-cream like his younger brother, Alex. He saved it all in a shoe box in his closet. Then he shoveled driveways all winter, and he didn’t spend his money on candy and chips like his classmates. By the time spring came he had saved $200, and he purchased the Wonder-Sweeper 5000 metal detector. He beeped it around the park for a while, be he soon found out that no pirates had ever set sail in his neighborhood, and if they had they didn’t leave any treasure. Even though he found a key ring, forty-seven cents, and all the bottle caps he could throw, he buried the metal detector in his closest.

Given Jacob’s history with hobbies, it was no surprise that Jacob’s father was reluctant to buy him a magician’s kit for his birthday. “Geez, Jacob… You sure you wouldn’t rather I got you more guitar lessons?” He suggested. Jacob was insistent. “Dad, you’ve got to get me the magician’s kit. This time I’ll stick with it for real. I promise! Come on, Dad,” Jacob begged. Jacob’s father sighed and then replied, “Oh, I don’t know, Jacob. Things are awfully tight right now.” But Jacob’s father was reminded of his own youth long ago, when he quit football and started karate practice before hardly getting his equipment dirty. So when Jacob’s birthday came around, Jacob was both surprised and pleased to find the magician’s kit that he had desired so badly with a big bright bow on it.

Jacob opened up the box and unwrapped the many parts in the kit. As he did so, he imagined sawing his pet cat in half and putting it back together to the amazement of his friends and family. He took the many fake coins, trick cards, and rope pieces of varying length on the kitchen table and imagined pulling rabbits out of his hat and turning them into pigeons with a mysterious puff of smoke. As Jacob continued pulling plastic thumbs, foam balls, and giant playing cards out of the magic kit, a commercial on the TV caught his attention. “Hey kids! Have you ever wanted to go to space? Experience what it’s like to be an astronaut? Do you want to explore the universe? Well, now you can.” As the commercial continued playing, Jacob walked away from the magic kit on the kitchen table and stared at the TV screen longingly. “For only $195 you can go to space camp and live life like an astronaut for a whole weekend. Enroll now for a once in a life time experience.” Jacob’s cry rang throughout the house as he yelled, “MOM!” He now knew what his true purpose in life was.

Comprehension and Inferential Questions

Directions: After reading the story, choose the best answer for each question. Circle one answer.

1. According to the text, why does Jacob stop playing the guitar?

a. It hurt his fingers.

b. He’d rather play drums.

 c. It was too easy.

d. He failed math.

2. To whom did Jacob want to play Black Eyed Peas songs?

a. Alex

b. Angie

 c. Mom

 d. Dad

3. According to the passage, why does Jacob decide that he wants a metal detector?

a. He sees a man at the park with one.

b. His father had one as a child.

c. He saw a TV commercial for one.

d. He read an ad for one in a comic book.

 4. How does Jacob get the items that he wants in the story?

a. He asks his mom.

b. He asks his dad.

c. He shovels driveways and mows lawns.

d. He does all of these things to get what he wants.

5. When did Jacob buy the metal detector?

a. In the fall

b. In the summer

c. In the spring

d. In the winter

6. True or False: The metal detector was a good investment for Jacob.

a. True

b. False

7. Why doesn’t Jacob’s father want to get him the magician’s kit for his birthday?

 a. Jacob failed math class.

 b. Jacob quits too many expensive activities.

c. Jacob has been mean to his younger brother.

d. Jacob went to the park without permission.

8. Why does Jacob’s father buy Jacob the magician’s kit?

a. Jacob mowed the lawn.

b. Jacob reminded his father of himself.

c. Jacob bought ice cream for his brother.

d. Jacob found his father’s key ring.

 9. Which word is closest in meaning to the italicized word in the following sentence from paragraph four: “It was no surprise that Jacob’s father was reluctant to buy him a magician’s kit for his birthday”?

a. Happy

b. Willing

c. Proud

d. Hesitant

10. What distracts Jacob from the magician’s kit?

a. A TV commercial

b. His father

c. The kitchen table

d. A comic book

11. Based on the end of the story, Jacob is most likely to go on and do which of the following?

a. Become a great magician

b. Learn to play guitar well

c. Detect an incredible hidden treasure

d. Raise money to go to space camp

12. Which happened first in the text?

a. Jacob asked his dad for the magician’s kit.

b. Jacob got a guitar for Christmas.

c. Jacob mowed lawns.

d. Jacob shoveled driveways.

13. Which happened last in the text?

a. Jacob saved up $200.

b. Jacob found forty-seven cents in the park.

c. Jacob took guitar lessons.

d. Jacob was influenced by a comic book.

Literary Elements Questions

Directions: After reading the story, choose the best answer for each question.

14. Which character trait best describes Jacob in regards to his hobbies?

 a. Dedicated

b. Impulsive

c. Committed

d. Devoted

15. What was the author’s purpose in writing this text?

a. Inform

b. Persuade

c. Entertain

d. Confuse

16. In what genre is this story?

a. Fiction

b. Nonfiction

c. Folklore

 d. Poetry

17. In what subgenre is this story?

a. Biography

 b. Historical Fiction

c. Realistic Fiction

d. Fable

18. In which pattern is the text organized?

a. Problem and Solution

b. Chronological

c. Sequence

d. Cause and Effect