GRADE FIVE ENGLISH

Hello boys and girls of Grade Five!

This week you will be expected to read a passage and answer questions, spell words and write a business letter to a newspaper editor. So sit quietly at your desk and work carefully.

COMPREHENSION

Read the passage carefully then answer the questions which follow.

Almost every one reads daily newspapers. Some of the most popular ones sell several million copies each day! The coming of radio and television has not wiped out the press, as it was feared they might. This is probably because newspapers are cheap, and can be picked up and read when the reader wishes.

The content of most newspapers is roughly the same. There will usually be a sports page, a special page for women, some advertisements, some items of political news (both home and abroad) and news of general interest.

So why is there not just one newspaper, which everyone will buy, instead of several? It would be very dangerous if that were the case. People could easily be given false news and have no way of knowing it was untrue. Some items of news could be omitted altogether, and no one would know. It is very easy to control what people think, if you control the information that is

“free” given to them. In most countries, therefore, there are many newspapers, and other ways of getting news, too.

There is another reason why a single newspaper is not a good idea. This is that people have very different reasons for reading the newspapers. Some may want lengthy and serious articles on matters of interest; others may want only a sketchy account of serious news. Some may want only the sports pages; others may enjoy reviews of books, films, exhibitions. In other words, for some people, a newspaper is just entertainment, while for others it is the main way of knowing what is going on in the world. (Practising Comprehension: A Skill- Based Approach Level 5)

Questions Read each question carefully, then draw a heavy black line through the letter (A,B, C or D) which is near the answer you choose.

1. What has caused newspapers to continue to do well? A) Newspapers are cheap and easily available. B) People like to read many types of news. C) Different newspapers tell different stories. D) Newspapers aim to tell the truth.

2. In what ways are newspapers roughly the same? A) They are cheap and appear daily. B) They all compete with radio and television. C) News and entertainment are provided for every

one’s interest. D) They all carry sports, political, advertisements,

general and special news items.

3. According to the passage, why is it better to have many newspapers? A) Competition may be a good thing. B) We may want to read about books and films. C) Each newspaper will ensure its news is correct. D) People will have choices about what they want to

read. “omitted” 4. According to the passage, the word

means A) changed B) excluded C) re-written D) twisted

5. According to the passage, which one of the following statements is true? A) All newspapers sell millions of copies. B) Newspapers do what they want. C) Nearly everyone reads newspapers. D) Radio and television try to wipe the newspapers out of the market.

SPELLING/ VOCABULARY

- Spell these words. - Write the meanings of the strange words in your special dictionary.

newspapers advertisement dangerous reason

popular political omitted exhibition

television interest information entertainment

CREATIVE WORK

- Read as many letters to the editor as you can and pay attention to the structure of the letters.

- In about 120-150 words, write a letter to the editorin-chief of a newspaper discussing three important

reasons why you enjoy reading this particular newspaper.

Goodbye boys and girls!