Reading for comprehension
STUDENTS, FOR this week’s lesson, we will look at prose comprehension of the narrative variety. Let me remind you that you may get a comprehension passage based on a narrative extract in Section 2 of Paper 02. You usually get two extracts in this section, with a time limit of 40 minutes. Use the time given wisely.
Now, as you prepare to respond to the prose passage based on a narrative extract, please note the following:
Read the questions first, in order to get an idea of what to look out for while reading.
Read the passage at least twice and note areas of the passage that can be used to answer specific questions.
Follow the question directives. For example, if you are asked to quote a sentence, give a word or write a phrase, DO JUST THAT. Use your own words as needed. Leave out questions that prove too challenging and move on to the ones you can manage. However, ensure that you complete the challenging questions you put on hold once you have done the manageable ones.
Be as clear as possible in your responses and use the given lines in the exam booklet wisely.
There are several types of questions you must be prepared to answer for a narrative passage. These questions often require you to:
State the effect the use of sentences (short/long) or words may achieve or have on readers.
Give the impression the reader may form of a specific character.
Demonstrate your knowledge of narrative devices, figures of speech, parts of speech and punctuation marks.
Explain why particular actions are done or why a particular character behaves a specific way. Give details to show evidence. Quote words, phrases, expressions or sentences. Explain what a word or expression means. Justify the use of a word or say what the use of a specific word or expression may suggest.
Identify the attitude a particular character may have towards another character or situation within the narrative.
Demonstrate a knowledge of mood, atmosphere and tone.
State the purpose of sentences, literary devices or words.
State the writer’s purpose. Reading for comprehension requires that you function not only at the literal, but at the inferential and evaluative levels. Performing well at the questions you will be given, based on a passage, demands that you are aware of the types of questions that may come your way.
COMPREHENSION PRACTICE
Read the passage below and note the questions that follow. The passage was a part of the May/June 2009 CSEC examination.
It was six o’ clock on Friday evening, about fifteen years after Rose’s departure, and exactly a fortnight since her return. Mother Barton lay supine on the bed. The counterpane was drawn up to the neck, leaving her heels and toes exposed at the other end. Her eyelashes were damp and she squinted continually. The lingering stains of witch-hazel had given her cheeks a quiet subdued warmth. Her sight had improved and now she seemed perfectly happy.
The door of her room opened and Angela entered on tiptoe. She kissed her on her eyes, squeezing her hand, and pressing her mouth to her ear whispered something. Mother Barton came to a sitting position, and peering from half-shut eyes spat out her disapproval into Angela’s face. Angela protested. Mother was violent in her insistence. She refused to act against her will. The conflict proceeded into a crescendo of gasps and whispers. Angela persuaded. Mother Barton rebuked. Their patience was at an end, and Angela, in a fever of indignation, flung the door open and summoned Rose to the room. Mother Barton lay back quietly, her lids pressed to her eyes, her hand locked across her breast. Rose entered, and knelt beside the bed, remembering for a split second that it was their second reunion.
Angela left the room, and for a while Mother Barton felt empty and dejected. It was seldom that Angela displeased her, but today she seemed unbearably callous. In spite of all that happened she had insisted on seeing Rose again, and now she and Rose, whom she thought so hateful and wretched, were in the same room. If she were young and strong, she would have avenged herself, but now she could only lie and think and hate. No word was spoken until Mother Barton craned her body up, and groped about the room. Of thorns and thistles West Indian Stories, pp. 48-49 – George Lamming,
a. What did Angela do that indicates that she did not want to disturb Mother Barton too much?
Ans: Angela shows that she does not want to disturb Mother Barton by entering the room on tiptoe.
b. What effect does the use of short sentences in the middle paragraph 2 have?
Ans: The short sentences speed up the actions of Mother Barton and Angela, and this makes their disagreement more heated and filled with tension and conflict.
c. What was Mother Barton’s normal attitude to Angela?
Ans: She usually likes and approves of Angela.
d. What kind of atmosphere existed in Mother Barton’s bedroom?
Ans: The room’s atmosphere was tense.
e. What did Mother Barton think of what Angela whispered in her ears?
Ans: It made her very angry and she did not approve of it.
f. What does the author suggest about Mother Barton by describing her change of posture?
Ans: It suggests that Mother Barton had given up and was now resigned to seeing Rose. She is preparing herself for the inevitable.
g. Why was Mother Barton unable to avenge herself?
Ans: She was unable to do so because she was frail and old and bed-ridden.
h. What do the phrases ‘squinted continually’, ‘peering from half-shut eyes’, ‘groped about the room’ tell us about Mother Barton?
Ans: The phrases tell us that she has poor vision/sight problems.
You will notice that most of the questions above require you to function at the inferential level. This means that you need to improve your ability to read between the lines so as to identify meaning that is not explicitly stated. Also, you need to develop the habit of using your own words to respond to questions, instead of just
lifting sentences from the passage. If you are not asked to quote, use your own words in your responses.
I cannot restate enough that vocabulary development and increased reading efforts on your part play a huge role in making reading for comprehension less difficult.
Next week, you will be given another passage and a vocabulary development activity.
Until then, take care!