Klas 1 - H5 - Les C Reading

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 1

Strategy

Determining text purpose (tekstdoel vaststellen)

De schrijver van een tekst wil bij de lezer iets bereiken. Hij wil bijvoorbeeld iets aan de lezer uitleggen of hij wil dat de lezer iets doet. De tekst die de schrijver schrijft, heeft dus een doel. Als je weet met wat voor soort tekst je te maken hebt, begrijp je sneller wat het doel van de schrijver is.

Does your pet have superpowers?

Does your pet have superpowers?

[parapgraph 1.] A Cambridge scientist, Dr Rupert Sheldrake, believes that animals know when certain things are about to happen.

[parapraph 2.] One of my neighbours in my home town of Newark-on-Trent, is a woman whose son is a sailor. He does not like to tell his mother when he comes home. He is afraid she is going to worry if he is late. But his mother always knows anyway - thanks to the family cat.

[paragraph 3.] This pet is very attached to the young man. And an hour or two before he arrives, it sits on the front door mat and begins to meow loudly; as if it has some sixth sense which tells it that he is on the way. The cat is never wrong. And this warning system gives my neighbour time to get her son's room ready and prepare him his favourite meal.

[paragraph 4.] This is just one of many examples. Many cats know, for example, when they are going to the vet. They hide away in the hope that their owners get bored of looking for them and give up on the idea.

[paragraph 5.] Research shows that in about fifty percent of dog-owning households and about thirty percent of those with cats, the animals can predict the arrival of a member of the family. And it is not just about dogs and cats. More than twenty other species show similar behaviour, especially parrots and horses.

[paragraph 6.] Many of the people in the research say that the animals' responses are not simply reactions to the sounds of familiar cars or footsteps in the street. They happened too long before the person's arrival. And often even when they came home by bus or train; it wasn't just routine. Some people were lawyers and taxi drivers who worked irregular hours, but still their pets were ready to welcome them when they got home.

[paragraph 7.] Animals can also predict natural disasters. In the case of the Asian tsunami in 2004, for example, they knew that something was wrong half an hour before the disaster happened. Villagers in Bang Koey, Thailand, say that a herd of buffalo were on the beach when suddenly they lifted their heads and looked scared out to sea, ears standing upright. They turned and went up the hill. Many villagers followed them and their lives were saved.

What kind of text is this?

1. article
2. email
3. interview

What is the purpose of this text?

1. to convince readers that animals have superpowers
2. to give factual information about animals
3. to teach readers how to take care of animals

What's the profession (beroep) of the author of the text?

1. lawyer
2. sailor
3. scientist

Read Pet avengers. 

Pet avengers

The Pet Avengers are a team of super-powered animals.
They have travelled through space and time to collect the Inifinity Gems and defeat Thanos. The members include: Lockjaw, a dog with teleportation abilities; Redwing, a falcon with telepathic powers and Throg, a frog with some of Thor the Thundergod's powers.

Writing

Write a short text about your pet. If you don't have a pet, make one up. Does it have superpowers too? If not, what kind of superpowers do you want it to have?