Can baking make you happier ?

  ? Can baking make you happier

Today's reading activity revolves around the topic of food and health, mental health. It is based on the BBC's article Can baking make you happier? by Farhana Dawood.

Read the article on the BBC's webpage and then answer the multiple choice questions below.

1 Comfort food…

a)    is a fashionable diet these days.

b)    cures depression.

c)    is supposed to be healing.

2 For John Whaite,…

a)    baking makes him more erratic.

b)    feeling in control is important.

c)    prescribed medication has been useful.

3 The Depressed Cake Shop…

a)    sells grey cakes in London.

b)    helped people with mental health problems.

c)    has its headquarters in Brick Lane.

4 Denyer...

a)    was a good cook when she fell ill.

b)    has feared for her life on occasion.

c)    found out what her illness was 15 years ago.

5 Which statement is correct, according to the text?

a)    The East London NHS Foundation Trust has published a book about healthy cooking.

b)    Mental illness increases the patient’s short memory.

c)    Baking has positive associations in our culture.

6 For Dr Cosmo Hallstrom...

a)    the therapeutical effects of baking are unknown.

b)    any structured non-stressful activity will cure depression.

c)    artists with mental health problems understand their condition better.

7 Which statement is correct, according to the text?

a)    Denyer finds sharing fulfilling. 

b)    Baking might give you a sugar high.

c)    It’s not advisable to have sugar if a person has a depression.

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Why tough teachers get good results

 Why tough teachers get good results

This is an adaptation to the Wall Street Journal article Why Tough Teachers get good results, by Joanna Lipman published on 23        September 2013 and which I came across through 

The Prop Rom

We are going to do a multiple matching reading comprehension activity based on the article. You will be given a number of headings and you will have to match each heading with the corresponding paragraph. There is one heading you don’t need to use and another heading is used as an example.

A) A little pain is good for you. – 0

B) Creativity can be learned. 

C) Drill, baby, drill. 

D) Failure is an option. 

E) Praise makes you weak. 

F) Resolve and determination trump talent. 

G) stress makes you strong.

H) Strict is better than nice.  

WHY TOUGH TEACHERS GET GOOD RESULTS 

The conventional wisdom holds that teachers are supposed to tease knowledge out of students, rather than pound it into their heads. Projects and collaborative learning are applauded; traditional methods like lecturing and memorization are dismissed as a surefire way to suck young minds dry of creativity and motivation. 

But the conventional wisdom is wrong. And the following eight principles explain why.

0. 

True expertise requires teachers who give "constructive, even disturbing, feedback," as Dr. Ericsson put it in a 2007 Harvard Business Review article. He assessed research on top performers in fields ranging from violin performance to surgery to computer programming to chess. And he found that all of them "deliberately picked unsentimental coaches who would challenge them and drive them to higher levels of performance." 

1. 

Rote learning, long discredited, is now recognized as one reason that children whose families come from India (where memorization is still prized) are creaming their peers in the National Spelling Bee Championship. This cultural difference also helps to explain why students in China (and Chinese families in the U.S.) are better at math. Meanwhile, American students struggle with complex math problems because, as research makes abundantly clear, they lack fluency in basic addition and subtraction—and few of them were made to memorize their times tables. 

2. 

Kids who understand that not succeeding is a necessary aspect of learning actually perform better. In a 2012 study, 111 French sixth-graders were given anagram problems that were too difficult for them to solve. One group was then told that not getting the problems right and trying again are part of the learning process. On subsequent tests, those children consistently outperformed their peers. 

3. 

What makes a teacher successful? To find out, starting in 2005 a team of researchers led by Claremont Graduate University education professor Mary Poplin spent five years observing 31 of the most highly effective teachers (measured by student test scores) in the worst schools of Los Angeles, in neighborhoods like South Central and Watts. Their No. 1 finding: "They were tough," she says. "None of us expected that." 

The researchers had assumed that the most effective teachers would lead students to knowledge through collaborative learning and discussion. Instead, they found disciplinarians who relied on traditional methods of explicit instruction, like lectures. 

4. 

The rap on traditional education is that it kills children's' imagination. But Temple University psychology professor Robert W. Weisberg's research suggests just the opposite. Prof. Weisberg has studied inventive geniuses including Thomas Edison, Frank Lloyd Wright and Picasso—and has concluded that there is no such thing as a born genius. Most geniuses work ferociously hard and, through a series of incremental steps, achieve things that appear (to the outside world) like epiphanies and breakthroughs.

The bottom line, Prof. Weisberg told me, is that originality goes back in many ways to the basics. "You have to immerse yourself in a discipline before you innovate in that discipline. It is built on a foundation of learning the discipline, which is what your music teacher was requiring of you." 

5. 

In recent years, University of Pennsylvania psychology professor Angela Duckworth has studied spelling bee champs, Ivy League undergrads and cadets at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y.—all together, over 2,800 subjects. In all of them, she found that grit—defined as passion and perseverance for long-term goals—is the best predictor of success. 

Prof. Duckworth believes that grit can be taught. One surprisingly simple factor, she says, is optimism—the belief among both teachers and students that they have the ability to change and thus to improve. In a 2009 study of newly minted teachers, she rated each for optimism (as measured by a questionnaire) before the school year began. At the end of the year, the students whose teachers were optimists had made greater academic gains.

6. 

Stanford psychology professor Carol Dweck has found that 10-year-olds being complimented became less confident. But kids told that they were "hard workers" became more confident and better performers. 

"The whole point of intelligence recognition is to boost confidence and motivation, but both were gone in a flash," wrote Prof. Dweck in a 2007 article in the journal Educational Leadership. "If success meant they were smart, then struggling meant they were not."

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I was trapped in my car hanging off a motorway bridge

I was trapped in my car hanging off a motorway bridge

I was trapped in my car hanging off a motorway bridge is The Guardian article from the series  Experience for our reading test.

Today we are going to practise the covert grammar and vocabulary type of task, which is very much favoured in the EOI exam.

The sentences below have been taken out of I was trapped in my car hanging off a motorway bridge. Choose the option a, b or c which best completes each sentence.

1 It was early November, and it had been raining hard the previous day and night. As we drove along the M6, it was ................. raining solidly. 

a) already b) yet c) still

2 Three and a half hours into the journey we ........................ Haydock, Merseyside. 

a) arrived to b) reached c) got at

3 The car then continued sliding and spinning, as the front and sides sheared off the vertical posts. Then it swivelled until my wife's side impacted on one of the posts. I shut my eyes and then realised we ......................... .   "Thank God that's over," I thought. 

a) have stopped  b) stopped c) had stopped

4 I checked Olivia. She said she was OK but ................. sleepy.  

a) sounded b) sounded like c) sounded as if

5 A guy ran towards the car and started pushing down on the bonnet. I thought that was strange: why wasn't he trying ......................  us out? 

a) to get b) getting c) get

6 We could feel the vibrations created by the lorries .................... they drove over the flyover. 

a) since b) as  c) because

7 There were strong winds and I worried that something big ................ drive past while the wind blew and buffet us backwards off the bridge.

a) will b) would c) was going to

8 ........................ the way the car had impacted, they couldn't just drag us forwards on to the road, 

a) Because b) Because of c) Given

9  About an hour later they cut me out, using hydraulic cutters that ......................... huge lobster claws.

a) looked b) looked like c) looked as if

10 I was desperate to walk around, but the ambulance crew wanted ................... on a stretcher quickly

a) that I lay b) me lying c) me to lie

11 I wasn't aware of any pain, ..................... it turned out I'd shattered my collarbone.  

a) despite b) even though c) in spite of

12 I realised that ......................  had been spent creating the illusion of security and safety.

a) the most of my life b) most of my life c) most my life

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How do we really make decisions ?

 ?How do we really make decisions

In this week's reading comprehension activity we are going to practise a different kind of multiple choice activity. Read the article How do we really make decisions? on the BBC's web page and say whether the statements below are true (T), false (F) or the information in the sentence is not mentioned in the article (NM).

1 We always make our decisions using solid reasoning.

2 We are aware of the mistakes we make, but we can’t help making them over and over again. 

3 The ‘stranger within’ or ‘hidden autopilot’ is a recent discovery in psychology.

4 Most of the mistakes we make come from decisions taken by our intuitive mind.

5 Our logical mind has nothing to do with our biases. 

6 The example of the chocolate box shows how irrational some of our decisions are. 

7 Confirmation bias means that negative events are more easily remembered than positive ones. 

8 Behavioural economics is the part of psychology that studies the way we respond to economic losses. 

9 Loss aversion is very much to blame for the current economic crisis. 

10 The evolutionary origins of the logical and intuitive systems have been studied for long.

11 As humans cannot change themselves, they’ll continue making the same mistakes.

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Horoscopes can be bad for you

 Horoscopes can be bad for you

For our bi-weekly reading activity we have selected a Telegraph article on the negative effect of horoscopes on people.

Seven sentences have been taken out of the text. Insert them in the corresponding gap in the article. There is a sentence you do not need to use, and 0 is an example.

Astrology may seem like harmless fun , 0… . 

Consumers who read their horoscope daily were found to be more likely to exhibit impulsive or indulgent behaviour when their zodiac was negative, the research suggested. The reason why is  1…  . The study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, showed that those who believed their fate could change were more prone to erratic decision-making following bad news in their zodiac. 

It has long been thought that reading your star sign can improve mood and encourage people to undertake selfless activities. However, 2… . A number of participants were presented with unfavourable star sign readings and asked to choose between either going to a party or cleaning their home.  Participants who selected going to a party were seen as having made an indulgent decision and those who chose to clean their home were categorised as having made a virtuous one. 

The study found that 3… were more likely to choose going to the party over the more virtuous activity.  Researchers had expected participants to choose a more virtuous action to prevent the unfavourable outcome presented in their horoscope. 

“Conventional wisdom might suggest that for people who believe they can change their fate, an unfavourable horoscope should result in an attempt to improve their fate,” the authors of study, Hyeongmin Kim of Johns Hopkins University, and Katina Kulow and Thomas Kramer of the University of South Carolina, said.  “Our results showed that 4… .”  The researchers found that those who believe they have a fixed fate 5… and instead remained focused on their day ahead. 

Earlier this month, Arch Crawford, a former Merrill Lynch trader who earned the nickname “crash Crawford" after predicting the “flash crash” of 1962, revealed that he has used astrology to guide his trades.  A study released in November this year suggested 37 per cent of the public read their horoscopes before making big decisions. The same study revealed6… .  

The psychic industry in the United Kingdom is worth an estimated £100 million a year.  Madonna is said to be a keen advocate of horoscopes and psychics, 7… .  Naomi Watts, who played Princess Diana in the recent film adaptation, has also spoken about using psychics and claimed she had received permission from the late princess to play the part. 

Example: 0-C

A although they seem to be reluctant at first and have to be helped in the process. 

B because reading a poor outcome in your star sign makes you more susceptible to temptation, it is believed 

C but a new study suggests following your star sign could be bad for you 

D having been said to have consulted a psychic before adopting her daughter 

E reading an unfavourable horoscope actually has the opposite effect on a person 

F scientists at the University of South Carolina and Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, found the opposite effect 

G showed little change in their decision making 

H those who had read a negative horoscope before making their choice 

I women were also found to be twice as likely to visit a psychic than men 

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Reading test: teaching in prisons is where I can make a real difference

Reading test: teaching in prisons is where I can make a real difference

This week's reading test is based on The Guardian article 

Teaching in prisons is where I can make a real difference.

Reading the article here and then choose the option a, b or c which best answers the question or completes the sentence.

1 Which sentences is true, according to the text?

a) The inmates are encouraged to receive education in prison.

b) The inmates themselves decide to receive education in prison.

c) The inmates who receive education find a job when they are released. 

2 Which sentences is true, according to the text?

a) The writer of the article is a vocational teacher.

b) The writer’s family discouraged him from being a teacher.

c) The writer first worked as a teacher at a rehab centre.

3 Which sentences is true, according to the text?

a) The most difficult part of teaching in a prison is handling the prison students’ language.

b) Most students are reluctant to do any work in class.

c) Surprisingly enough, prison students have a lot of things in common.

4 The London football hooligan…

a) left the class the first day because he didn’t like the teacher.

b) returned three weeks later and showed the teacher that he could read.

c) ended up helping other inmates.

5 The man in his 50’s…

a) was reluctant to learn.

b) used to freeze in exams.

c) had no memory at all.

6 The hardest thing of studying in prisons is…

a) that students can only study for three and a half hours.

b) the fact that students find it hard to connect with their education.

c) that the results aren’t usually good.

7 Which sentences is true, according to the text?

a) Schools are to blame for the number of people who end up in prison.

b) Some difficult children are hopeless.

c) Second chances sometimes present themselves.

 

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Reading test: The best way to win an argument 2014

 2014 Reading test: The best way to win an argument

The best way to win an argument is an article by Tom Stafford published on BBC Future. We are going to use it to practise the kind of reading comprehension activity that puts to the test our knowledge of vocabulary and grammar.

Read the article and choose the option a, b or c that best fits in each blank.

How do you change someone’s mind if you think you are right and they are wrong? Psychology (1) … the last thing to do is the tactic we usually resort to. 

You are, I'm afraid to say, mistaken. The position you are taking makes no logical sense. Just listen up and I'll be more than happy to elaborate on the many, many reasons why I'm right and you are wrong. Are you feeling ready to be convinced?

(2) … the subject is climate change, the Middle East or forthcoming holiday plans, this is the approach many of us adopt when we try to convince others to change their minds. It's also an approach that, more often than not, (3) … the person on the receiving end hardening their existing position. Fortunately research suggests there is a better way – one that involves more listening, and less trying to bludgeon your opponent into submission.

A little over a decade ago Leonid Rozenblit and Frank Keil from Yale University suggested that in many instances people believe they understand how something works when in fact their understanding is superficial at best. They called this phenomenon "the illusion of explanatory depth". They began (4) … asking their study participants to rate how well they understood how things like flushing toilets, car speedometers and sewing machines worked, before asking them to explain what they understood and then answer questions on it. The effect shown was that, on average, people in the experiment rated their understanding as much worse after it had been put to the test.

What happens, argued the researchers, is that we (5) … our familiarity with these things for the belief that we have a detailed understanding of how they work. Usually, nobody tests us and if we have any questions about them we can just take a look. Psychologists call this idea that humans have a tendency to take mental short cuts when making decisions or assessments the "cognitive miser" theory.

Why would we (6) … expending the effort to really understand things when we can get by without doing so? The interesting thing is that we (7) … hide from ourselves exactly how shallow our understanding is.

It's a phenomenon that will be familiar to anyone who has ever had to teach something. Usually, it only takes the first moments when you start to rehearse what you'll say to explain a topic, or worse, the first student question, for you to realise that you don't truly understand it. All over the world, teachers say to each other "I didn't really understand this until I had to teach it". Or as researcher and inventor Mark Changizi quipped: "I find that (8) … badly I teach I still learn something".

Explain yourself

Research published last year on this illusion of understanding shows how the effect might be used to convince others they are wrong. The research team, led by Philip Fernbach, of the University of Colorado, reasoned that the phenomenon might (9) … as much for political understanding as for things like how toilets work. Perhaps, they figured, people who have strong political opinions (10) … more open to other viewpoints, if asked to explain exactly how they thought the policy they were advocating would bring about the effects they claimed it would.

Recruiting a sample of Americans via the internet, they polled participants on a set of contentious US policy issues, such as imposing sanctions on Iran, healthcare and approaches to carbon emissions. One group was asked to give their opinion and then provide reasons for why they held that view. This group got the opportunity to put their side of the issue, in the same way anyone in an argument or debate has a chance to argue their case.

Those in the second group did something subtly different. (11) … provide reasons, they were asked to explain how the policy they were advocating would work. They were asked to trace, step by step, from start to finish, the causal path from the policy to the effects it was supposed to have.

The results were clear. People who provided reasons remained as convinced of their positions as they had been before the experiment. Those who were asked to provide explanations softened their views, and reported a correspondingly larger drop (12) … how they rated their understanding of the issues. People who had previously been strongly for or against carbon emissions trading, for example, tended to became more moderate – ranking themselves as less certain in their support or opposition to the policy.

So this is something worth (13) … in mind next time you're trying to convince a friend that we should build more nuclear power stations, that the collapse of capitalism is inevitable, or that dinosaurs co-existed with humans 10,000 years ago. Just remember, however, there's a chance you might need to be able to explain precisely why you think you are correct. (14) … you might end up being the one who changes their mind.

1 a) conceals   b) sustains   c) reveals

2 a) if   b) whether   c) providing

3 a) results from   b) leads to   c) give rise

4 a) by   b) when   c) on

5 a) take   b) mistake   c) misinterpret

6 a) bother   b) disturb   c) care

7 a) are able   b) succeed in   c) manage to

8 a) despite   b) no matter how   c) nevertheless

9 a) pervade   b) keep up   c) hold

10 a) would be   b) would have been   c) were

11 a) Rather than   b) Instead   c) In place of

12 a) of   b) in   c) on

13 a) bearing   b) bear   c) to bear

14 a) Otherwise   b) All the same   c) Nonetheless

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