1. SILENT READING

(a) Read the following extract carefully, and answer the questions .

TRAINING YOUR CAT

Contrary to popular belief, cats can be trained - although it does take a little patience. The most important rule to remember is that rewards are much more effective than punishment. Your punishing her for misbehaviour can easily damage the delicate relationship between you and your kitten. A stern "No!" can be effective, but more physical expressions of disapproval are almost invariably counter-productive. You should approach training by taking a step at a time, continually rewarding desired actions and offering no encouragement for bad behaviour.

No kitten will come to an owner if she expects to be punished. Only love and reward can persuade your kitten to come when you call her name. Use your kitten's name regularly at mealtimes and play sessions. Once she begins to associate her name with pleasant experiences, try adding the word "come" just after it. Use this technique just before you set down her feeding dish. Once she has begun to grasp the meaning of the new command, reinforce her behaviour with a reward and affection.

Once a kitten learns to use furniture and curtains to sharpen her claws, it will be hard to convince her to stop. Start training her as soon as possible on a scratching post. As with litter tray training, the secret is to show the kitten what to do. Hold her near the post and scratch her claws on the surface. She'll soon form an attachment to her new exercise toy.

Although cats, unlike dogs, do not take naturally to walking on a lead, they can be trained to do so - provided you start while your cat is still a kitten. For this purpose, you'll need a lead and a harness (collars are too easily slipped off). Begin with short walks in you kitten's familiar surroundings before venturing out of doors. Let your kitten wander where she likes - provided she stays out of danger. Don't try to make her heel like a dog; let her follow along in your footsteps if she likes. With a few training sessions a week, you'll find that your cat will look forward to brief outings with you on a regular basis.

(b) Answer the following questions by underlining the correct answer.

(i) To train your cat takes

(ii) To punish a cat can

(iii) When you want to persuade your kitten to come to you

(iv) To prevent your kitten from sharpening her claws on your curtains and furniture

(v) If you want to take your cat on regular outings

(vi) Find words in the extract with the same meaning as

(vii) Below are various signs used by the cat to indicate two of its moods. Write the number of the sign below the correct mood:

1. Whiskers are drawn back.

2. Eyes are half-closed.

3. It waves its tail.

4. The ears are upright.

(viii) Is the following statement TRUE or FALSE?

Yawning is a way of showing friendly intentions to lions and tigers.

(c) Cloze procedures. Below is the story of how a cat helped to make motoring safer. Read the extract and fill in the missing words:

One dark night, a man was _____________ his car along a steep, narrow road

which was full of twists and bends. On ____________ side of the road was a wall

of solid rock and on the other side there was nothing, only a sheer ___________

The man ran into such thick ____________ that he could not see where he

was going nor could he see the edge of the road. But then two pin-points of

________shone through the fog. The lights of the _______ had been

reflected in the ___________ of a cat sitting on the fence. He was able to see

the side of the road and was saved from ____________He thought, "I need

hundreds of ___________sitting along the road to help me home." When

he reached the main road, his lights shone on metal tram lines that ran along the

middle of the_________. He remembered the cat's eyes and thought,

"Why not invent road studs with glass ___________ like cats’ eyes in them

and put them in the _____________ of the road?"

The man's name was Percy Shaw. Every motorist who has to drive at night is

__________to him. The cats’-eyes have made roads all over the world

____________to drive along after _____________ .

(d) Cloze procedure.

Read the following extract and write the words on the following page.

LIGHTS OUT

Beverley Hutt of Hamilton in Canada was home (1) one night studying when the lights (2) out. She knew a (3) hadn't blown out because she heard the (4) turn off. Turning (5) , she saw Jojo sitting on the (6) beneath the light switch. She (7) the light back on, and (8) her cat. He then (9) up, stretching his (10) legs straight, crossing one paw carefully (11) the other. Jojo judged the jump so that his (12) were just above the switch when they hit the wall, thereby enabling him to pull the switch as he (13) down.

Jojo isn't the only cat who enjoys (14) with electricity. Another cat, Sammy, also switched on the touch-lamp next to a little (15) bed. Sammy was reaching up to the (16) , touching it to low, then to (17) , and then to high and then finally to the (18) position. He did that (19) times. The (20) had the last word in this nocturnal conversation: she (21) the bulb so that she could (22) peacefully to sleep.

2. WRITTEN WORK

Pretend you are your own cat. Think of all the situations you don't like. Write a letter to your owner, listing your grievances. Write from your heart and try to get as much sympathy from your owner as possible. Explain why you climb up the curtains, scratch the couch, leave hairs on the lounge suite and do all the other things which drive your owner crazy.

You may also write down a few ideas about the things that would make your life brighter, such as tastier food, getting rid of the dog and having more cat treats. You may subtly bribe your owner into making these changes. But don't forget to confess your undying love to your owner, just to keep him/her happy.

(a) The following words all start with the letters "cat". The meanings have been supplied. Can you think of the word?

(i) A list of books in the library, arranged in alphabetical order.

(ii) A series of underground tunnels leading to rooms or graves.

(iii) A boat with two parallel hulls.

(iv) A slingshot used for hurling stones.

(v) A growth on the lens of the eye, causing blindness.

(vi) A great and sudden calamity or disaster.

(b) Study the pictures below.

CAT RESCUE

(i) In pairs, work out a dialogue to act out in front of the class.

Figure 1

(c) Match the words with the balloons.

(d) Rewrite the sentences in the DIRECT SPEECH. Remember to use the correct punctuation marks.

James said, "Mum, Bimby's stuck up the tree."

e) Now rewrite the sentences in the INDIRECT SPEECH.

James told his mother that Bimby was stuck up the tree.

Comprehension

(i) …recorded / written and painted on the walls of the tombs of Pharaohs

(ii) … worshipped as a sacred animal.

(iii) … worshipped because of their ability to get rid of pests …

(iv) … mummified / embalmed, and buried in coffins decorated with gold.

(v) … for smuggling cats out of the country.

(vi) … not revered or respected as before, and used for evil purposes / not seen as gods

(vii) … groups of people in Germany used the cat for evil purposes.

(viii) … dreaming about days gone by when he was revered.

(ix) wild domestic

modern ancient

(x) holy divine

unlawful illegal

very small miniature

(xi) An old cat knows fresh milk: experience counts

There are more ways of killing a cat than choking her with cream: there is more than one way of doing something / completing a task, than only one way.

Limericks

Limerick has 5 lines

Rhyme scheme: aabba

Spelling exercise

Words in order: died; cried; die; cry; denied; magnified; tried; satisfied; decried; vilified; lied; implied / replied; mortified; dried; pacified; eyes; wise

Silent reading

b. (i) a little patience

(ii) easily damage your relationship

(iii) reward and love her

(iv) train her to use a scratching post

(v) train her with a lead and a harness

(vi) coaching - training

destroyed - damage

vulnerable - delicate

well-known - popular / familiar

taking a risk - danger

(vii) and (viii) for discussion

Cloze

(c) The following answers listed, serve as a guide. More than one answer may be correct, as long as it is used in context.

… was driving his … … either side … … a sheer drop.

… such thick mist / fog that … … pin-points of light shone … … lights of the car / vehicle had … … in the eyes of … … was saved from injury / death.

… hundred of cats sitting … … middle of the road.

… studs with glass centres like … … in the middle / tar / covering of …

… night is grateful … … world safer to drive along after dark.

Cloze

(d)

1. late

2. went

3. fuse / bulb

4. electricity

5. around

6. floor / chair

7. turned

8. watched

9. jumped

10. front

11. over

12. paws

13. dropped

14. playing

15. boy’s / child’s

16. switch / lamp

17. medium

18. off

19. many

20. cat

21. controlled

22. drift

‘cat’ words

(i) catalogue

(ii) catacombs

(iii) catamaran

(iv) catapult

(v) cataract

(vi) catastrophe

Cat Rescue

There is more than one correct answer for this task. By dramatizing this situation, the learners should cover all the possibilities. As long as the dialogue makes sense and the learners can justify their choices, the answers are correct.

Direct and Indirect Speech

(d) Direct Speech [in order as listed in (c)]

(e) Indirect Speech (in order as above)