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ESTRATEGIAS DE LECTURA EN INGLÉS

Estrategia 1: Ignora las palabras que no son importantes

Cuando lean van a encontrarse con palabras nuevas que no entiendan. Lo primero que tienen que hacer es determinar la importancia de la palabra en la oración. Si ven que la palabra no es importante deduzcan su significado o simplemente ignórenla.  No usen el diccionario cada vez que vean una palabra nueva ya que impide fluidez a la hora de leer. Si es que ven que la palabra es sumamente importante e impide que entiendan el mensaje principal entonces sigan con la estrategia 2. Muchas veces es posible entender el mensaje sin tener que entender cada palabra.

Estrategia 2: usen el contexto para adivinar el significado de la palabra

Supongamos que han detectado una palabra que es importante. Antes de usar el diccionario intenten adivinar su significado. Vean el contexto en la que la palabra es usada. Determinen rápidamente si es un verbo, sustantivo, preposición etc para hacer mas facil la deducción. Una vez tengan una idea pueden consultar a un diccionario. Verán que esta estrategia hará que las palabras queden mas en sus mentes.

Adivinar el significado es una habilidad que se tiene que practicar y existen muchas situaciones en las que tienen que tener cuidado. Este es el caso de “phrasal verbs” o “idioms” que son palabras que al juntarlas forman un significado muchas veces totalmente diferentes del significado individual de las palabras.

Estrategia 3: Escanear para encontrar información  específica.

“Scanning” es una técnica en la que el lector no intenta absorber toda la información sino que buscar información especifica. Para escanear correctamente uno debe empezar en la parte superiory rápidamente ir línea por línea. Es una buena técnica para buscar respuestas y es muy usado en exámenes donde tenemos actividades de lectura en inglés.

ACTIVIDAD

Reading Comprehension Practice Test

Questions 1 through 7 refer to the following passage:

In the 16th century, an age of great marine and terrestrial exploration, Ferdinand Magellan led the first expedition to sail around the world. As a young Portuguese noble, he served the king of Portugal, but he became involved in the quagmire of political intrigue at court and lost the king's favor. After he was dismissed from service by the king of Portugal, he offered to serve the future Emperor Charles V of Spain.

A papal decree of 1493 had assigned all land in the New World west of 50 degrees W longitude to Spain and all the land east of that line to Portugal. Magellan offered to prove that the East Indies fell under Spanish authority. On September 20, 1519, Magellan set sail from Spain with five ships. More than a year later, one of these ships was exploring the topography of South America in search of a water route across the continent. This ship sank, but the remaining four ships searched along the southern peninsula of South America. Finally they found the passage they sought near 50 degrees S latitude. Magellan named this passage the Strait of All Saints, but today it is known as the Strait of Magellan.

One ship deserted while in this passage and returned to Spain, so fewer sailors were privileged to gaze at that first panorama of the Pacific Ocean. Those who remained crossed the meridian now known as the International Date Line in the early spring of 1521 after 98 days on the Pacific Ocean. During those long days at sea, many of Magellan's men died of starvation and disease.

Later, Magellan became involved in an insular conflict in the Philippines and was killed in a tribal battle. Only one ship and 17 sailors under the command of the Basque navigator Elcano survived to complete the westward journey to Spain and thus prove once and for all that the world is round, with no precipice at the edge.

1. The 16th century was an age of great ______ exploration.

A. cosmic
B. land
C. mental
D. common man
E. None of the above

2. Magellan lost the favor of the king of Portugal when he became involved in a political ________.

A. entanglement
B. discussion
C. negotiation
D. problem
E. None of the above

3. The Pope divided New World lands between Spain and Portugal according to their location on one side or the other of an imaginary geographical line 50 degrees west of Greenwich that extends in a _________ direction.

A. north and south
B. crosswise
C. easterly
D. south east
E. north and west

4. One of Magellan's ships explored the _________ of South America for a passage across the continent.

A. coastline
B. mountain range
C. physical features
D. islands
E. None of the above

5. Four of the ships sought a passage along a southern ______.

A. coast
B. inland
C. body of land with water on three sides
D. border
E. Answer not available

6. The passage was found near 50 degrees S of ________.

A. Greenwich
B. The equator
C. Spain
D. Portugal
E. Madrid

7. In the spring of 1521, the ships crossed the _______ now called the International Date Line.

A. imaginary circle passing through the poles
B. imaginary line parallel to the equator
C. area
D. land mass
E. Answer not available