WORD FORMATION

The students will be given one text with several gaps. They should complete these gaps changing the word given in capital letters at the end of the line, usually by adding prefixes and suffixes, so that it fits into the text in meaning and part of speech. They will always need to make some changes, and sometimes more than one.

Example:

John´s comment was ____________________.      MEAN

John´s comment was meaningful / meaningless.

Pay attention to it:  Just inserting the word given will never be suitable. The students need:.

1 - Read the text for general understanding.

2 - Decide which type of word is needed for each gap (noun, adjective, etc).

3 - Look at the whole sentence, not just the line including the gap.

4 - Look at the word in capitals on the right of the gap. You may need to add a prefix or a suffix or make other changes to this word.

5 - Check the meaning of the text to see if the word is singular or plural.

6 - The word you choose must make sense in the context of the text as a whole.

7 - When you have finished the task, read through and check that the text makes complete sense with your answers in place.

Exercise:

Use the word given in capital letter at the end of some lines to form a word that fits the gap in the same line:

The sky at night

For anyone with a (0) fascination for the study of the night sky,                                 FASCINATE

Hawaii is one of the best places in the world to get a clear view of                                                 

the stars and planets. This is because of the island´s geographical setting.

Beacause it is a (1) ______________ area, situated in the middle of a                        MOUNTAIN

large expanse of ocean, Hawaii is much less affected by light

(2)_____________ than most other parts of the world.                                               POLLUTE

If you are (3) _______________ enough to go to the top of the dormant volcano           FORTUNE

known as Mauna Kea, the view is even more (4)_____________. The volcano,             IMPRESS            

which rises to a (5) _____________ of 4205 metres is one of the best places              HIGH

in the world to get (6) ____________ views of the night sky and therefore is the           INTERRUPT

location for more than a dozen of the world´s finest telescopes.

Of special significance is the WM Keck Observatory where there is a pair of

extremely large and (7) _____________ telescopes. In recent years these                   POWER

telescopes have been responsible for the (8) ___________ of around  forty  new           DISCOVER

planets  beyond  our  solar  system.  By proving the (9) ______________ of these        EXIST

planets, astronomers have increased the (10) _____________ that one day another      PROBABLE

inhabited planet like our own will be found.

Answers:

1 - mountainous
2 - pollution
3 - fortunate
4 - impressive
5 - height
6 - uninterrupted
7 - powerful
8 - discovery
9 - existence
10- probability