Active Skills for Reading 1 (Unit 11: Look into the Future)


CHAPTER 2 - Predicting Earthquakes

Vocabulary Skill - The Suffixes -ness

The suffix -ness is used to change certain adjectives into nouns. When we add the suffix -ness to the adjective strange, the adjective becomes the. noun strangeness. For adjectives of more than one syllable that end in -y, change y to i before adding -ness.

A. Add the suffix -ness to the adjectives in the box to form nouns. Use the nouns to complete the sentences below.

shy
kind		 happy
dark		 useful
weak

  1. There is a common saying that money doesn't buy you
  2. Mother Theresa's was clear in the way she cared for thousands of street people.
  3. I wish I could stick to a healthy diet, but I have a for chocolates.
  4. The entire street is in because the electricity was cut off.
  5. My brother gets really nervous when a pretty girl talks to him. He can't seem to overcome his
  6. Before I moved overseas, I wasn't sure about the of learning another language.

B. Write the noun form of each of the adjectives below. Not all of them use the suffix -ness. Use your dictionary to help you.

1. formal
2. forgetful
3. convenient
4. valuable
5. curious
6. open
7. flashy
8. loud

Can Animals Predict Earthquakes?

Dear Scientist Sam,

I noticed my dog acting very nervous only a few minutes before a recent earthquake shook the house. Is it possible that my dog knew the earthquake was going to happen?
Janet

Sam's reply:

Well, Janet, people have believed for many centuries that animals can predict earthquakes. In fact, we can look back to records from the ancient Greeks. They noticed that animals acted oddly in the hours before earthquakes. Even now, people talk about dogs that won't stop barking and cats that won't come out of hiding before an earthquake. Furthermore, strange behavior like this before earthquakes isn't limited to pets. People have also reported seeing chickens stop laying eggs, bees leaving their homes, and big groups of fish dying mysteriously in the;hours before a natural disaster hits.

It's hard to answer your question, since not all seismologists1 or animal experts agree that animals can predict earthquakes. Those that disagree claim that we should take into account other things that affect animal behavior, such as hunger. On the other hand, many people who believe that animals can predict earthquakes often have records of very strange animal behavior right before_the ground shakes. To them, this is evidence that animals can indeed predict earthquakes.

In short, the truth is that we aren't sure. Animals might be able to sense earthquakes before they happen, but there is no solid evidence that they can. However, one thing that most seismologists can agree on is that more research is needed. Animals may be the key to predicting earthquakes before they happen, and could help save many lives.

1 A seismologist is a scientist who studies earthquakes and movements of the earth

Chapter - 2: Vocabulary Comprehension B - Words in Context Chapter - 2: Real Life Skill - Doing Research on the Internet

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