 As-Salaam-Alaikum. Welcome to virtual university. So far the main reading activity that you have had practice in has been the usual reading comprehension. It required you to concentrate on certain sections of the reading passage. In today's lesson, you will be introduced to another procedure for developing reading comprehension, which is known as the Close Procedure. Close is spelled C-L-O-Z-E. Now, you would like to know what is this close? A passage is selected from which words are deleted at regular intervals. These could be every ninth word, every thirteenth word, every ninth word, every seventh word, every fourth word. And you, the reader, will have to fill in the missing words. Very easy you will say. Well, let us see if it is all that easy. The deletion of words at regular intervals ensures that the learner concentrates on a wider proportion of the text. The close is different from the earlier comprehension passages. There you were required to concentrate on a smaller section of the text. Here in close, the close requires the reader, that is you, to make inferences as well. Now, the deleted words, they usually comprise grammatical or lexical words. And it is the student's choice, choice of words to fill in the gaps, that reveals his or her grasp of the language, understanding of the text. Now, the close is a well known procedure of teaching comprehension. It has several points in its favor. The first is that it encourages fluent reading. Number two, it requires the reader to use a range of reading skills to complete one single task, the task of completing or filling in the gaps with words of his or her choice. Number three, it is thought provoking at the same time because it trains the student to explore within a semantic field or area for related concepts. The student begins to think in a certain, after reading the passage, he gets an idea that this is what the passage is about. And he starts to explore within the field for the appropriate words. And number four, it trains the reader to look carefully at all the structural clues. Now, these were a few points which go in favor of the close. And we have introduced this close to you, so that you get another procedure of developing comprehension. It develops the habit of concentrated reading in the students. It develops the habit of going beyond the immediate sentence for drawing meaning. It helps the student in skimming, skimming the passage to recap on what has been read. And it also helps in scanning for unspensified information, so that he can predict. So, you notice that the close is a very interesting way of developing comprehension. It helps you to concentrate, it helps you to skim, it helps you to scan, and it even helps you to predict what is going to come in the next sentence. Now, the close is essentially a mental task. It is a cognitive, you have heard the word cognitive. It is a mental activity which requires the completion of meaning based on understanding and reason. You do not guess, you have to read and understand and then you make your choice. It involves the reader in active interaction with the text to predict the missing word while making use of context clues. Now, once you have grasped the basic techniques, you will begin to enjoy close as a guessing game. Not wild guesses mind you, but informed guesses. And it is a very enjoyable activity. Look at the following passage quickly. Just skim through the passage. You can see one on your screen, so that you get a rough idea of what it is about. Now, notice that in the passage, the first two sentences and the last sentence, they do not have any gaps. Why is this so? This is to help you understand the overall meaning of the passage. When you read through it, never mind the gaps, just keep reading. And the first two sentences are complete without any blank. That will give you an idea, this is what the passage is about. And again at the end, the last sentence is without any missing words. This is just to help you. Help you understand the overall meaning of the passage. Now, remember what you, the next thing that you have to remember is each gap stands for just one word, not two. You fill the gap, fill the gap in each gap with one word. And if you have had an idea, if you have gone through the passage, you will have some idea of what the passage is about. It is something to do with education and exams. So, you know what the semantic field is. It is something related with exams and education. And in the close, usually it is the small words that are missing. And sometimes content words like nouns etcetera, can also be missing. Now, the next thing that you have to remember is that a word can only be acceptable if it fits in the context without changing the meaning of the passage. Let me explain it again that it is a word that can fit into the context without changing the meaning of the passage. You can sometimes come up with more than two words, but you have to see that does it fit in that context. Now, look at the passage, exercise one. Read it quickly. Just glance through it. A good education should, among other things, train you to think for yourself. The examination system does anything but that. What has to be learnt? Now, notice there are more than ten gaps. The first two sentences were without a gap. What has to be learnt? Dash strictly laid down by dash. So, the student dash only what is prescribed. So, what can you have over there? So, what has to be learnt is strictly prescribed, strictly laid down by and you have got the word syllabus. So, it has to be the syllabus. So, the student, you can either use the word does or you can use the word learns. Both are appropriate. Both fit into the context. So, the student does learns only what is prescribed. The next sentence, examinations not motivate a student read widely. They his reading. So, what could we have over here? Examinations not appropriate. So, it has to be do. Examinations do not motivate students. Small word to, to read widely. They what do they do? They do two things to his reading. They could either restrict his reading or they could curb his reading. So, you have got a choice. If you use the word restrict it would be correct. If you use the word curb that would be correct or you if you can think of another word, a word like limit even that would be appropriate. What you have to see is does the word fit into the context? Is it not, is it violating any grammatical rule? If it is then you should not. Number four, the next sentence. They use the word they do and they means they is referring to exams. They do encourage him to seek knowledge. They narrow the dash of study. So, the passage is talking about the examination system in what way it discourages students from reading. So, you will have to use the word they do not encourage him because the earlier sentence was in the negative. So, this one also will be in the negative. You can use two words. You can use the word further and you have a choice of another word. You can use more. They can, they do not encourage him to seek further knowledge. They do not encourage him to seek more knowledge. So, either would be correct. They narrow the of study. So, it is usually the word field, the field of study. The next sentence. They lower standards of teaching for deprive the teacher of all freedom. They lower the standards of teaching for they deprive the teacher of all. You can use the word his or her freedom or you have got three. All freedom, his freedom or her freedom. Any one of these would be correct. The next sentence. Teachers themselves are judged by examination results. Take one word at a time. Teachers themselves are often or you can have the word usually. Even that would be correct. Or often judged by examination by the results. The next gap you can use two words. So, instead of teaching there you can either use the word so or you can use the word and. So, instead of teaching their subjects they are reduced to training their students in the art or technique of taking examinations. Which despise? Who despises? That is students. So, you write the word either you write they or you which they despise. It is not students it is more teachers. So, you can use the word which they despise or you can fill the gap with the word teachers despise. They would be correct. Teachers would be correct. And the next sentence. The most successful are not always the educated. So, since it is dealing with the superlative the most successful the most successful teachers are not always the it has to be best, best educated. They are merely and the last sentence tells you they are merely the best trained. So, you can you get a clue from there. They are merely the best trained. So, it has to be the best educated in the technique of working under strain and stress. Now, I did this exercise with you just to help you see how you fill in the gaps. Read the passage quickly once you get a general idea then you take one gap at a time. Look at all the grammatical clues whether it is a verb that is required or one of the small words as we call them words like is or the it is usually these small words that have to be filled in alright. Now, let us look at another exercise. Read the passage quickly. It is about global warming a very familiar topic these days. And again notice that the first two sentences first three sentences do not have any blanks in them. There are no words missing and that will help you in understanding the trend of the passage which way the passage is going. Global warming is by no means a new phenomena. It has been around since the creation of planet earth itself. At first the process was beneficial. It brought earth out of the ice ages into a time when humanity could survive on it. Now, however it has become a problem. So, you have got the hint he is going to talk about the passage is going to be about the problems. The passage has happened in ways the runaway effect and ozone depletion. Now, if you have been reading papers and if you have been reading magazines because these are very common words the first gap will be filled with the word this because this refers back to because remember in the past lectures we have been talking about how you use references how you use connectives. So, here he is talking about the problem. How has it become a problem and he is talking the word will be this. This has happened in ways it has to be and he is mentioned if you read ahead the runaway greenhouse effect and ozone layer depletion. You have all heard about the ozone layer being depleted. So, it is 2. So, gap number 1 is this the word this number the gap number 2 will be filled with the word 2. This has happened in 2 ways. One is the runaway greenhouse effect and the other is the ozone layer depletion. This is the greenhouse effect ordinarily energy from sun that you can fill in very easily it has to be the determiner the article the sun reaches and is reflected into space. So, it has to be sun reaches the earth and is reflected back into space. But greenhouse gases forming layer around the planet the reflection process cannot take place. So, it has to be the preposition with but with greenhouse gases forming a layer around the planet the reflection process cannot take place and the energy is trapped heating up the atmosphere. If you will go back and look at number gap number 5 that is to be filled with the word how. This is how the green house effect works it is explaining what was said in the first in the in the previous sentence alright. Now, we have looked at the usual this is the usual sample of regular closed passage. These two samples that you had exercise 1 and exercise 2. They were samples of regular standard type of closed where the gaps or the blanks they occur after a fixed number of words and these blanks may be filled with any word that is appropriate in terms of linguistic and contextual criteria. Now, there are many variations of the standard close. Now, I shall pace you through some alternative forms and show you the different types of close that we have. You will now read a letter it is a very interesting letter and this is what they called the selected deletion close. Here the blanks are not after a fixed number of words. You will see this on your screen just notice that the blanks are not after a fixed number of words they are at random. This is entirely a question of the writer which words he wants to he or she wants to delete. Quickly read the letter it is from a mom to her children and she is describing something funny that happened and as you read it read right till the end and you will notice that it is really one of those funny incidents that happen once in a million John I mean it does not happen every day but things can happen things of this type do happen. Now, my dear children it is hard to believe that I have been here for a month. The time passes so quickly and there is so much to do I have managed to see all the members of the family I as much time as I can with the children. So it has to be I spend I spend as much time as I can with the children and then she goes on to describe something that happened the previous week. Last week I mark and Michelle to the circus so it has to be I took mark and Michelle to the circus. Never been before as they live quite far from the nearest city and their parents have time to drive them there. So, well for number three gap number three never been before because the lady is referring to the children in the previous sentence mark and Michelle. So, it will have to be they she is referring to two children mark and Michelle. So you will have to use the word they they have never been before they had never been before, but this is used as one word as a contraction they had never been before as they live quite far from the nearest city and the parents have time to drive them there. Well it is in the negative so their parents never have time to drive them there. I that is what grandmas are for I you can choose two words you can have the words suppose I suppose that is what grandmothers are for you can have the word I think that is what grandmothers are for both are correct at any Susan let me her car. So, it has to be at any rate because there are certain what you say fixed phrases we always use at any rate. So, it has to be rate at any rate Susan let me her car it is a brand bright red mini. Now what could you use in the blank over there it is a brand I am sure you know it it is brand new it has to be a brand new bright red mini. We left early in the morning so as to make a day of and the sentence ends there a day of it you cannot have any other word there except it. They want to make a day of it in the morning we to the zoo and in the afternoon to the circus. So, it has to be the verb the past tense went in the morning we went to the zoo and in the afternoon to the circus as can imagine the children were very excited now who has to imagine it it is you the person the lady is addressing in her letter as you can imagine the children were very excited they loved everything Mark the wild animals the most exciting. So, what about the wild animals he found them he found the wild animals the most exciting and Michelle is to be an acrobat when she grows. So, it is something about the future the children are so excited going to the circus that the girl wants to be an acrobat when she grows up. So, you will have the words found and going gap number 12 will be filled with the word going. So, Michelle is going to be an acrobat when she grows up after we had been there for about two hours we an announcement over the loud speaker. So, what do you when you when there is something being said on the loud speaker you hear it and since she is describing something that took place in the last week the past week. So, it has to be in the past tense we heard an announcement over the loud speaker the owner of the red mini number P you are 727 V dash requested to come to the manager's office dash. Now, how have you filled these were these gaps the owner of the red mini this number was requested not is please do not write is it was requested because the lady is describing an event that took place in the past was requested to come to the manager's office and I am sure you got the word immediately naturally I did not know the number of car. So, I left the children and went to the manager's office too and you have got the clue out if it was our car. So, when it says I did not know the number of and the other word at the end of the gap is car. So, it has to be the number of the car or you can even use Susan's car both would be correct I did not know the number of Susan's car. So, I left the children and went to the manager's office too out to find out if it was our car the manager looked very upset and something. So, what could he be if you are upset what happens you are either disturbed or you are embarrassed. So, you can have you can fill the gap with either of these words you can write the manager looked very upset and embarrassed or you could say the manager looked very upset and disturbed. Now, notice the there is no gap in the next sentence and the next gap number 20 it is at the beginning of the sentence. Now, read that I left the lights on or parked in way I was not concerned, but I did not know why the manager looked so disturbed. Now, you have got a number of choices over there you can have the word imagining you can have the word thinking, fearing and even assuming. Imagining that I left the lights on or thinking I left the lights on or fearing I left the lights on or assuming that I left the lights on any one of these four words fits very well in that gap and if you choose any one of these you would be perfectly alright you would be correct that I had left the lights on or parked in way you park in someone else's way. So, you got the word someone's way someone's way I was not concerned I was not too concerned I was not very concerned and then gap number 23 he began to what happened and it took me some time to understand confused explanation you have got a hint over there he is talking about explanation. So, you can fill gap number 23 with the word explain he began to explain what happened and it took me some time to understand confused explanation and the word would be his. Now, now number 25 gap number 25 again it is at the beginning of the sentence appears that the elephants are trained to sit on red boxes you can have only one word and that is it appears that the elephants are trained to sit on red boxes one of the elephants escaped and when he saw the red car he promptly sat on. So, one of the elephants had escaped the next you just need an auxiliary verb had escaped and it is a past tense so it has to be had one of the elephants had escaped and when he saw the you already got red and you got car. So, you have to have the word little. So, he saw the go back to the beginning of the text and you know it is the word little. So, when he saw the little red car he promptly sat on it as you can imagine the car looked a mess one side was squashed things are either squashed badly or you can say it was squashed flat two words either would be correct but it was still possible to drive the manager assured who me this is the lady who is writing the letter the manager assured me that the circus would pay for the damaged for the damages it is the word damages he could not have been more apologetic. The children were very and you can understand use your knowledge of the world the children were very amused and giggle it is the word amused you cannot have the word happy well if you put the word happy it would be wrong but it would not be so appropriate because they are giggling and you giggle when you are amused the children were very amused and giggled about the incident all the way home. Now, number 33 also begins at the it is at the beginning of the sentence. So, before we got there we just before we got there that is home or you can have the word but either just or but both would be correct before we got there meaning home we the scene of a serious accident. So, it has to be passed we passed the scene not passed it is P A double S E D we passed the scene of a serious accident about a mile on of they pass this scene of the accident a mile down the road a mile further further on a policeman stopped us and asked if we had involved in the accident because why why did he ask he asked because he saw that the car was damaged if we had been involved in the accident. I wish I had a of his picture when I told him what had happened to the car a picture the word is picture of his face when I told him what had happened to the car right and the last the second last sentence I think he wanted to arrest me for driving fortunately the were there to back me up. Now, who were there to back the old lady it was it were those children. So, you will fill gap 39 with the word children fortunately the children were there to back me up her story and then the last bit of the letter are you managing without me the question mark tells you it is that gives you the clue how are you managing without me please do not to water my plants she is reminding them of something that they have to do and that is do not forget to water my plants I am planning to leave here the end of the month preposition at I am planning to leave here at the end of the month my love to you all mom that was a very interesting letter and a few more in your reading passage if you can fill such a exercise if you can do such an exercise easily you will find that your grasp of the language has definitely improved. Now, there is another type of close and that is the multiple choice close here you find words are provided and you have to choose and write in each blank the word you think belongs there as it tells you multiple choice there are gaps and each gap has 1 2 3 words and it is for you up to you to choose the correct one quickly read through the passage and it is something to do with over population and we all know how we in Pakistan are facing this serious problem over population is one of the most serious problems facing the world today the worlds exploding population and in the first gap you have got 3 choices experiences signals predicts choose one which would be appropriate the worlds exploding population even more growing pains for already crowded areas you cannot have experiences that is out you have got 2 more words signals and predicts the worlds now in a in a close exercises you have to keep going back and forth back and forth just to see that you are moving in the you are choosing the right words. So, you choose either the word signals or the word predicts the worlds exploding population signals even more growing pains before now ahead growing pains ahead because it is looking forward you can use the word predicts you can use the word signals ahead for already crowded areas the next sentence begins with this gap and notice the 3 let the 3 words that are given you are all in capitals the new united nations study you can either use the word the or you can use the word some or you can use the word ahead now it has to be a new united nations study signals forecast tells that by the year 2000 to 01 to 015 5 billion persons will be again you have got 3 choices added to the 6.5 billion million thousand in the world today now use your discretion I am not going to tell you you have to fill this exercise you have to fill this passage on your own will be added to the 6.1 billion million thousand in the world today and again look at the next sentence it begins with a word it is the beginning of the sentence and you have got 3 choices even far know so you can you cannot have the word know so it has to be either even or far then the big small increasing number of inhabitants are estimate of where they will be concentrated now you do this exercise on your own I shall not help you with it let us look at another type of close and that is the inflectional close in this kind of close it is only this is usually done to practice grammar in a connected passage because usually you will find a your grammar books they deal with sentences grammar grammar books usually deal with sentences but the same thing can be presented in a connected longer passage and in this type of close it is the ending of words the ending of words that are deleted examples such as the plural endings there is a gap at the end of the word for instance if the word is tables they will not they will leave a gap where you are supposed to put at the plural marker the s it is for example it is the plural endings of nouns it could be the past form of the verb these are the endings that you have to fill in and as I said earlier this type of close is good for practicing grammar in a connected passage now read the passage on your screen and it is about one glance the first sentence and you know what it is about if there were a perfect robot what would it be like imagine a and you have got the next word the word is machine in such a passage you have to see whether the word that is filled in is filled in correctly does it need a plural marker if it is a noun does it need a tense ending a tense ending an ending to mark the tense so in this one imagine a machine able to wax the car wash the dish now here the word dish is correct but it is the wrong form it has to be wash the dishes and you will have to add e s over there and iron the clothes you have to add the e over there not to not to mention the fact that it would be able to entertain learn and perform several other you just have to see if the word that is that has been filled in has been filled in correctly or not so you would add the letter s over there and perform several other jobs what a time saver a self ambulatory robot would be who would not want to sit back and relax while a robot did the house chores now that was a short passage just to show you that how you can get a passage where the inflectional endings are left out now there is another type of close in which you do not fill the gaps with a single word here you are asked to fill the gap with phrases now this type of close is usually for advanced learners and usually for the development of creativity in language use on your screen you will see a passage in which there are blanks which may be filled with a word or a phrase right insert the word or phrase that make sense according to the meaning of the passage it is a very interesting passage it is about oliver oliver twist if you read the passage it is about a novel written by Charles Dickens and this is about the film oliver is a film about an often often boy often child it is entirely up to you you can even have about a boy who lived in London you can fill in anything the story is written by Charles Dickens the famous novelist number three it takes place in England during or it is about an area in England it is about you can fill in anything over there it is entirely up to the student how creative he is with his use of language during the Victorian period during the Victorian times during the 9th century. So, you have got so many choices you can use anything as long as it fits into the context oliver escapes from a work house oliver who and you can write something a phrase describing what he does escapes from a work house and goes to London runs off to London number seven where he meets the villain Bill Sykes and Nancy his girlfriend the pick pocket Faggin artful Dodger and Faggin the old beggar and then you have got you can fill it up I will not continue with this you can do it entirely on your own and and before we end I would like to introduce you to another type of close this was a close with blank with a close with which you could fill with phrases. Now, the last type is close without blanks this is again an advanced level exercise here a word is omitted from each line or sentence without a blank marked on the page and you the reader are required to first mark the place where you think the word has been omitted you can do it with a stroke and then write the word that has been omitted in the right hand margin. Now, let me tell you this is an advanced level exercise you notice that we moved from lower level to higher level exercises the last one in which you were asked to fill in the gaps with phrases was also an advanced level and this one is also an advanced level close you do two things you first there are no there are no blanks you have to read the passage mark a line with a line the place where you think the word has been left out and then you fill in now notice in the passage on your screen the first two have been done for you and you continue with the next a robot is a machine designed to do tasks designed to do tasks usually and there is that slash mark done by people usually done by people robots already do jobs and you have to find out that it is over here that a word is missing robots already do slash many jobs and the word first you mark the place where the word is missing first you mark it with a with a line and then in the margin in the right hand margin you have space to fill in the word that should have been there the first two sentences have been done for you. Let us look at the next one they weld parts they meaning robots they weld parts and spray paint in car factories they do dangerous work they do dangerous work they do dangerous work such as handling explosive so you have got number one already marked for you you can put the word such over there they can do they do dangerous work such as handling explosives some even in space and under the ocean some even work so you can put the slash either after even or you put it before the word in and that is number two some even work in space and under the ocean hard working machines usually and you can understand that there is something missing over there some hard working machines usually you know sorry it is such hard working machines usually do not have human ships if I were to design my own robot it would need to do just it would need to do than just household chores it would need to do more than and it is the word more for number four you put in a slash between it would need to do between do and than you put a slash and in the margin the fourth word is need to do more than the word more in the same way my robot will be a masterpiece to perform almost now there is something missing something wrong with that sentence my robot will be a masterpiece and you put a slash between the comma and two between masterpiece and two and the word would be able my robot will be a masterpiece able to perform almost any task with agile precision it will be able to solve tough problems a matter of seconds now there is a clue for you tough problems in a matter of seconds so you put a slash between problems and a solve tough problems in a matter of seconds that would that would normally human beings ours to complete that would normally take and you put a slash between normally and human normally take human beings ours to complete right number eight my robot will be made my business partner and my library so you have got clues over there plenty of clues you have got the word my business partner and you have got my library so there is something missing my robot will be my made so you can put a slash between be and made my robot will be my made my business partner and my library rolled into some into unique machine into and put a slash between into and unique into a unique machine the word is a will be and my library rolled into a unique machine there is but problem number ten there is there is but one problem and you put a slash between but and problem there is but one problem how many decades until this ideal robot is actually built. Now you have seen that this is a new kind of we have introduced you to have to a new kind of exercise in which your reading comprehension is developed here you have to keep referring back and forth you keep going read the passage look at it and plenty of clues are given you we moved from simple exercises to more complex difficult ones and with this we come to the end of our lesson I hope you found it useful and you learnt yet another way to improve your reading comprehension abilities I am sure if you practice this you will find it not only interesting but it will improve your comprehension abilities Allah Hafiz.