SECTION C

Reading Comprehension and

Summary

(Notes)
Teacher’s Notes

1 Ask the students to read the summary question first (Question 31) before they
read the passage in Section C. The summary question normally allows them to
get some ideas of what the passage is all about. It is an advantage for weak
students to know the general idea of the passage before they read it. Teachers
must remind the students that they should not write the summary first but after
reading the summary question, they should read the passage and answer all the
comprehension questions.

2. Advise the students to read the passage paragraph by paragraph. After reading
each paragraph, they should read and try to answer the question that is based on
that paragraph. By doing so, the students will be more focused in finding the
correct answer.

3. Students should be able to identify the keywords in each question. The keywords
will be clues for them to find the correct answer in the passage.

4. Students should only copy out the sentence from the text once they have
identified the sentence containing the answer. Of course, they must also be
reminded that pronouns such as I, me, mine, my, our, us and ours must be
changed accordingly.

5. Students must be taught to differentiate a word and a phrase. So, if there is a

question asking for a word, they must only write a word for their answer. On the
other hand, if they are supposed to write a phrase, they must only write down a
group of words which is not a complete sentence such as ‘uncomplicated
deIivery or ‘indispensable part of our lives’. Similarly, if the question requires
students to write words as the answer, teachers should guide students to copy a
part of a sentence. Make sure they do not lift the whole sentence. In short,
teachers must ensure students are aware of the differences of these terms: word,
words, phrase and sentence.

6. Students must attempt to check the accuracy of all their answers.

 READING COMPREHENSION

READING SKILLS

Prediction

 To state what you think might happen

Skimming

 To get the general idea of the text

Scanning

 To search for information

 To cover a vast amount of reading material in short time

Finding the meaning of new / unfamiliar words and expressions

 To look for contextual clues


 SUMMARY WRITING

Graded approach Summarizing Skills

 Word level -use the mnemonic BRUME

- word substitution

 Sentence level
- sentence shortening B- bracket the relevant lines

 Paragraph level R- read the questions again

-identifying the topic
U- underline the points
-identifying the main idea
M- make notes
-identifying important
E- expand the notes. Write
Practice 1

Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

Blogs

Blogs are websites with commentary or news on a particular subject. The bloggers (the
creators of these blogs) write about their personal lives and experiences .Many bloggers publish
blogs for self-expression and entertainment. Their opinions of the bloggers or online diarist may
not be based on expertise, accurate information or knowledge. Blog sites are not checked by
experts. However, choose the right blogs to visit and you will find a wealth of information.

Direct Questions

1. What do bloggers write about?

They write about ____________________________________________________

2. Why do people keep blogs?

(a) __________________________________ (b) ______________________________

Vocabulary Questions

3. What are blogs?

Websites _______________________________________________________________

4. Give another name for bloggers.

Inference Questions

5. Why do you want to be a blogger?

I want to ________________________________________________________________

6. What is your opinion of people who blog?

I think they are ___________________________________________________________

Practice 2

Summarize each paragraph in one sentence. Use the words in the brackets to help you.

1. People in different parts of the world – Malaysia, Japan, Indonesia, England, Canada, the United
States, and other places- saw the live telecast of the Olympic Games on television. (live telecast,
Olympic Games)

People throughout the world _____________________________________________

2. There are only an estimated 500 tigers left in Malaysia. Habitat loss and poaching are the main
reasons for the decline of tigers. (fewer tigers, habitat loss, poaching)

There are ____________________________________________________________

3. There are many potholes along the main roads. The heavy traffic wears down the roads faster than
the authorities can pave them. Accidents involving motorcyclist are increasing because of the
potholes. Motorcyclists usually slow down when they see the potholes but the car coming form
behind would not be able to brake in time sometimes. (are increasing, potholes)

Motorcycle accidents ___________________________________________________

4. I could not believe my ears. My name was announced as the first prize winner! My heart skipped a
few beats. Finally, something wonderful and unexpected had taken place in my life. I kept
wondering, “it is really me?” (unbelievable, the first prize winner)

It was _______________________________________________________________

5. They were all gathered at the railway station. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips talked as if everything was fine.
Deep down, they felt very sad that their son was leaving for college, many miles away. They were
going to miss him very much. He was their only son. (sad, college)

Mr. and Mrs. Phillips ___________________________________________________

Answers

Practice 1

1. personal lives and experiences

2. a) self-expression
b) entertainment
3. website with commentary or news on a particular subject
4. online diarist
5. Accept any relevant answers
6. Accept any relevant answers

Practice 2

1. People throughout the world watched the live telecast of the Olympic Games.
2. There are fewer tigers in Malaysia due to habitat loss and poaching.
3. Motorcycle accidents are increasing because of potholes.
4. It was unbelievable to be selected as the first prize winner.
5. Mr. and Mrs. Phillips were sad as their son was leaving for college.
Practice 3

Read the passage and answer the questions that follow.

Saved

When I regained consciousness, I found myself lying on thick, soft blankets. My eyes caught my uncle’s.
He was watching me. His eyes were fixed intently on me. There was a grave expression on his face and
his eyes were moist. I was not sure if they were tears or just extra moisture due to the strain. I did not
take long to ascertain that those were the beginning of tears. As soon as I made a sound, he took hold of
my hand. When he saw my eyes open, he uttered a loud cry of joy.

“She’s alive! She’s alive!”

“Yea, uncle”, I whispered.

“My dear girl”, he said clasping me to his heart, “you are saved!” I was deeply touched by his
gesture, tears and the tone of his voice. My uncle was one of those men who rarely permit themselves
any display of affection or emotion. At this moment, our guide joined us. He noticed my hand in that of
my uncle’s. There was a sense of surprise in his expression but his eyes beamed with joy.

1. Where did the girl find herself when she was awakened?

She was lying _________________________________________________________

2. Suggest a reason why her uncle’s eyes were ‘fixed intently’ on her.

He wanted to know _____________________________________________________

3. What does a grave expression tell us about her uncle’s feelings for her?

He felt __________________________________________________________________
4. When did he utter a cry of joy?

When he saw ____________________________________________________________

5. What single word show that her uncle seldom showed any affection or emotion?

6. How do we know that the guide was pleased?

Quote an expression to show this.

________________________________________________________________________

Practice 4

Summarize the paragraph in not more than 40 words.

Child abuse is on the increase and countless children are suffering great physical and emotional
pain. The scars left behind usually never fade. These children live with the scars- mental and physical –
forever while some others die from the abuse. We wonder how and why some parents act in such an
uncontrolled and uncivilized manner. People blame it on stress and illness. But, for those who abuse and
do not know exactly what they are doing, they are in need of help. For those who abuse out of stress,
they need to deal with stress and not look at child abuse as a form of releasing stress. Action must be
taken by all members of society to prevent the occurrence of child abuse.
Steps to follow

1. B- Bracket the relevant lines

2. R- Read the questions again

3. U- Underline the points. Use these questions to help you.

 What is increasing?
 What happens to the children?
 Give reasons for child abuse.
 Who should take action to prevent child abuse?

4. M- Make notes. Refer to the underline points.

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________

5. E- Expand the notes. Use the notes to write the summary.

__________ _______________ is increasing. Children suffer ___________ and _____________ pain.

Some die too. The reasons for child abuse are ___________ and _______________. ____________
____________ ____________ ______________ should take action _____________
_______________ __________________ ___________________.

(33 words)
Answers

Practice 3

1. She was lying on thick, soft blankets.

2. He wanted to know about writer’s condition/ response/ reaction.

3. He felt worried.

4. When he saw the writer opened her eyes.

5. rarely

6. his eyes beamed with joy

Practice 4

Child abuse is increasing. Children suffer physical and emotional pain. Some die too. The reasons for
child abuse are stress and illness. All members of society should take action to stop child abuse.
SECTION D
 SECTION D (NOVEL)

QUESTION 1

“Good values bring positive effects.”

How far is this true in the novel you have read? Support your answer with close reference to
the text.

Point 1 : We need to be a responsible person (Chapter 1)

 Every morning, Newt would prepare a breakfast for his family. Since last year, Newt
offered to take over on making breakfast for his family because his mom, Mary
Newman, seemed to be very busy with her work and phone calls.
 As a responsible kid to her parents, Newt offered to help his mom prepared breakfast
every day.

P.O.V :

 In my opinion, Newton has shown a good lesson by showing his responsibility towards
his family by helping his mom to make a breakfast. If I were a 10-year-old Newt, I could
hardly boil myself water! My mother wouldn’t allow me to be near the stove as she is
frantic that I might cause a disaster.

Point 2 : We must always help those who are in need. (Chapter 12 , 13)

 Newt was feeling excited after he helped Cecil to take a big bass drum when someone
from behind a stack of cupboard boxes pile grabbed him by his ankle.
 It was Mr.Clay, who was a locksmith that suffered from amnesia.
 He forgot his way back home and got lost.
 Newt helped to walk him home.
P.O.V :

 In my opinion, Newt has shown a good lesson in helping others by helping his friend
Cecil, to take a big bass drum and walked Mr.Clay to his house. From this event, I have
learnt that the value of helpful is need in one’s to build a prosperous community.

Point 3 : We must be brave to face our fear. (Chapter 11)

 Newt has acrophobia. When Cecil asked him to climb the dumpster to take the drum for
him, he was hesitated at first. But when Cecil reminded him that he was Captain Nobody
and he should not have fear, he started to feel confident with himself and climbed up to
the dumpster.

P.O.V :

 No matter who we are, we should face our fear to be braver to face any circumstances
in life. As a good friend to Cecil, he fulfilled his friend’s wish to have the drum bass.
Though he was afraid of height, he was willing to forget all that and crawled up to get it
for him. He valued their friendship more than his own acrophobic. His determination to
accomplish his friend’s wise is admirable and should be considered as admirable.
QUESTION 2

Write about an event that has shown you the importance of making a responsible decision.
Support your answer with close reference to the text.

AN EVENT : When he decided to save Reggie Ratner.

 When Reggie Ratner climbed up to the water tower to spray encouragement words for
his school, his leg got stuck between the two beams on the water tower.
 People at the ground thought that Reggie wanted to kill himself. So Newt climbed up to
the water tower to save Reggie Ratner.
 Even though height was the problem on that time, but he ignored it and faced his fear
to save a life.
 With the help of his friends, Newt climbed up to the water tower. The water tower
seemed old. Newt almost fell down when his leg reached one of the rotten rung.
 Every time Newt looked down, he felt scared and his fears started to embrace him.
 But, since he felt that this was his responsibility to save Reggie, he continued climbing
up.
 He wanted to do so because he was the only one that knew what actually happened
during the Big Game.
 When he reached the water tower, he tried to talk to Reggie.
 He told Reggie that he knew what really happened in the Big Game.
 It was not Reggie Ratner who put Chris in coma. It was Daryl Peeps’s head that bumped
onto Chris’s head.
 Reggie Ratner was shocked to hear that because he was trying to say the same thing to
the people but no one believed him.
 Newt promised that when they got down, he would tell people the truth.
P.O.V :

 In my opinion, it was a right decision when Newt decided to help Reggie Ratner. After
the Big Tackle, everybody blamed Reggie for knocking Chris down into coma. He had
such a tensed life after that. His tire was slashed and his house was sprayed with paints.
People were fumingly mad over Reggie. Reggie, on the other hand, kept quiet and did
not fight back. He knew it was pointless to tell people the truth because they would
never listened to him. When he decided to climb on the Appleton Water Tower,
everybody expected he wanted to kill himself. Everybody panicked! Seeing this, Newt
thought that it was his responsibility to rescue Reggie and tell him he knew what had
happened and that he was not the person who knocked Chris down. At first, Newt
hesitated because he was so afraid to climb up the water tower. However, since Newt
determined to save Reggie and tell him what he saw during the game, he climbed up
being himself (Newt Newman) not Captain Nobody. This incident shows that Newt’s
decision on climbing up made him a new person: braver, more confident and not afraid
of height. Newt overcomes his fear of height. In this situation, by helping others has
made Newt helped himself as well. Therefore, it is wise that Newt has made the
responsible decision because the decision he made saves people’s life, changed him to
be a better person and showed people that violence is not the core solution to
problems. His action taught us the importance of making a responsible decision: to
believe in oneself, to believe in the truth and to not blame people solely over mistakes
he/she has made.
QUESTION 3

“We can learn so much from a person”

Based on the novel you have studied, discuss the lessons you have learnt based on one main
event. Support your answer with close reference to the text. (Selangor , SPM Trial 2017)

Newton Newman / Captain nobody

EVENT : Newt helped Cecil in getting the big bass drum from the top of the
dumpster.

Point 1 : The Value of Friendship

 After school, Cecil saw a big bass drum and he summoned Newt so that he could get it
down for him.
 At first, Newt refused since he was afraid of height and thought that Cecil was only
joking around.
 However, when he knew how much Cecil wanted the drum bass (since he is a music
instrument lover), he climbed up the dumpster and handed him the bass.
 He managed to bring the drum bass down which brought joy to Cecil’s life.

P.O.V :

 From this event, it taught me that we have to be helpful with our friends because one
day they will help us when we are in our hard times.
 Through this event, it shows how Newt cares for his friend so much that forgets his own
fear.
 He sacrifices himself to fulfill his friend’s wish.
 We should make Newt’s action as exemplary, in order to achieve our goals, we also
need to support our friends when they really need our help.
Point 2 : Courage to achieve goals in life

 Through this event, we have learnt that Newt was afraid of height.
 He hesitated at first when he saw how tall the dumpster was. However, he still pushed
himself nonetheless for the sake of his friend’s dream.
 Newt succeeded in taking down the drum for Cecil which resulted to Cecil’s happy face.
 Although, Newt was unknown during this time, but this is the event that first sparked his
courage.

P.O.V :

 In my opinion, no matter what kind of challenges that we might face, we must face it
with courage. We need to believe in ourselves and move forward to overcome any
circumstances. If I were Newt, I will definitely do the same just to overcome my fear in
order to help people.

Point 3 : Determination is the essence of success

 Newt had climbed up the dumpster to get the drum for Cecil
 Even though he afraid of height, but remembering himself as Captain Nobody made him
became brave to face his fear.
 Newt crawled up to the dumpster without fear. But to fulfill his best friend wish, he
pushed himself up.

P.O.V :

 In my personal view, every effort that is followed by determination will ease us in

achieving success. Through this event, it is undeniable that determination can help us
chasing our mission.