th
5 Year
Spanish
Higher Level
Lisa Fitzpatrick
A Practical Approach
to Reading
Comprehensions
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Ref: 6/sp/h/lf/practical approach to comprehensions
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Spanish Leaving Certificate Written Paper
Reading Comprehensions
4 in total
Section A – 70 marks – 17.5%
Question 1 Long Comprehension (a) or (b) – 50 marks – 12.5%
Question 2 Short Comprehensions (a) and (b) – 20 marks – 5%
Section B – 100 marks – 25%
Question 1 Long Comprehension Questions 1 – 4 – 50 marks – 12.5%
Question 5 – Opinion – 50 marks – 12.5%
Section A – Question 1
Answer the questions on either:
(a)
PRESCRIBED LITERATURE (Sin Noticias de Gurb por Eduardo Mendoza)
or
(b)
JOURNALISTIC TEXT.
It goes without saying that unless you have read the novel Sin Noticias de Gurb you must not
even try to do Question 1 (a). Question 1 (b) is for all the candidates who have not read the
novel but should also be considered as an option for students who have prepared the novel.
There is very much a right way and a wrong way to doing the reading comprehensions.
©The Dublin School of Grinds
Page 2
Lisa Fitzpatrick
Section A
Question 1 (b)
Journalistic Text
50 marks
12.5%
Marking Scheme
Q.1 5 x 4 marks = 20 marks
Q.2 3 x 4 marks = 12 marks (No extra words accepted)
Q.3 3 x 4 marks = 12 marks
Q.4 6 marks [Note: any mark from 0 to 6 may be awarded for this question.]
20 + 12 + 12 + 6 = 50 marks
The journalistic text has a very simple marking scheme; all answers are worth 4 marks each
with the exception of the final question, question 4 worth 6 marks.
Extremely important!!!!
Remember! The comprehension texts have been written and published for native Spanish
speakers. Therefore you, as a foreign speaker of Spanish, are not expected to understand
every word! Nevertheless, you are expected to comprehend enough in order to answer the
questions correctly. This is a far easier task than the latter.
When you read an article in the comprehension section a common sense approach is as
important if not more important than your knowledge of the Spanish language itself.
©The Dublin School of Grinds
Page 3
Lisa Fitzpatrick
Note
The State Examinations Commission (SEC), the guys who set your exam, have very kindly spilt
the text itself into sections and for questions 1 3 it is indicated in which section you will find
the answer. Furthermore, where there are two or more answers in any given section the
answers go in order of appearance i.e. the answer to part (i) will appear in the text before the
answer to part (ii).
Here are my 4 Steps to approaching the journalistic comprehension in a more practical way;
Before reading the Journalistic text in its entirety….
Step 1
Take a few moments to assess the image/picture/photo provided Ask yourself;

What do I see?
 Who is in the photo?
 What subject/topic is being depicted?
 Where is it set?
Step 2
Questions 1 (a), (b), (c), (d) & (e) are expressed in English and therefore, these questions
inadvertently provide invaluable information; the article’s topic/subject is outlined in the question
as well as the majority of its content. Very often it is easy to paint a picture just from reading these
questions. As you read these questions try and anticipate potential answers.
Step 3
Read the article’s headlines & do your best to link any unknown phrase, noun or verb, to…
(a) the image you have briefly assessed &
(b) question 1 (a – e)
Step 4
Once you have established the text’s subject matter it is then very easy to anticipate the kind of
vocabulary that will most likely appear throughout the text.
©The Dublin School of Grinds
Page 4
Lisa Fitzpatrick
You need to know!
Understanding/Deciphering unfamiliar vocabulary through context is an invaluable
skill that should gradually replace (a misplaced & fatal) overreliance on dictionary
translations!
The Golden Rule!
Question’s in SPANISH answer in SPANISH
Question’s in ENGLISH answer in ENGLISH
Let’s take the 2005 exam paper and examine the journalistic text and
comprehension questions.
©The Dublin School of Grinds
Page 5
Lisa Fitzpatrick
(b)
JOURNALISTIC TEXT. Read the article and answer the accompanying questions.
ASÍ ENCONTRÉ A MI HERMANA GEMELA
1. Tamara Rabi y Adriana Scott son idénticas físicamente, y su carácter es tan
parecido que cuesta creer que se conocen sólo desde el pasado mes de diciembre. Las
gemelas nacieron en Guadalajara (México) y fueron adoptadas por dos familias
norteamericanas cuando tenían unas semanas de vida. Pero el destino hizo que
llegaran a vivir, por casualidad, a menos de 40 kilómetros de distancia y que un día
sus caminos se cruzaran. Cuando Tamara y Adriana vinieron al mundo el 20 de
noviembre de 1982, su madre biológica, que tenía 21 años, era soltera y ya tenía un
niño de tres años. Por eso decidió que no podía mantener a más hijos. Al mismo
tiempo en Estados Unidos, la pareja formada por Peter y Diane Scott estaba intentando adoptar un bebé a través
de la Asociación de Padres Adoptivos. La Asociación les remitió a un abogado mexicano.
2. Al llegar a Guadalajara preguntaron Peter y Diane si podían adoptar a las dos niñas, pero la madre biológica
dijo que no y que quiso quedarse con Tamara. Así que los Scott volvieron a Long Island, con Adriana. Sin
embargo, dos semanas después, la madre biológica se puso en contacto con otra familia, la de Judy y Yitzhak Rabi,
también de la ciudad de Nueva York, la que adoptó a Tamara. Al año de la adopción Diane Scott regresó a
Guadalajara para ver si podía obtener alguna noticia de Tamara. Pero todo lo que descubrió era que su nueva
familia vivía en Nueva York y que su apellido era algo parecido a “rabbi”. Diane Scott no dijo nada a Adriana
sobre la existencia de su gemela para ahorrarle la tragedia de una búsqueda imposible. Así que las dos niñas,
alejadas la una de la otra por sólo media hora de coche, comenzaron sus vidas separadas.
3. Llegó el final de la escuela secundaria y, cuando decidían a qué universidad ir, Adriana eligió la Universidad
de Adelphi, en Long Island, y Tamara la de Hofstra, también en Long Island y a pocos kilómetros de distancia de la
de Adelphi. Al comienzo, Tamara notó que le saludaba gente que no conocía y que algunos estudiantes se ofendían
si ella no les reconocía. Un día, los compañeros de Tamara le prepararon una fiesta de cumpleaños. Uno de ellos
invitó a Justin Latorre, que había salido con Adriana unos días antes. Cuando Justin entró en la habitación y vio a
Tamara, la confundió con Adriana. Se preguntó qué hacía ella allí, hasta que su amigo le dijo que se llamaba
Tamara y que era su fiesta. Justin no daba crédito. “Enseguida pensé que debían ser hermanas,” recuerda.
4.
Al principio Tamara creía que la posibilidad de que tuviera una gemela idéntica era una idea totalmente
descabellada. Al día siguiente Tamara se puso en contacto con Adriana y esa misma tarde estaban enviándose
mensajes al móvil sobre su aspecto físico. Diane Scott le dijo a Adriana que le preguntara a Tamara su apellido.
Cuando “Rabi” apareció en la pantalla, Diane le aseguró: “Es tu hermana gemela”, y le contó a Adriana toda la
historia.
5.
Tamara y Adriana quedaron en verse el fin de semana. Adriana salió del coche, vio a Tamara y se quedó
helada. “Me resultó muy extraño ver a alguien que caminaba como yo” recuerda. Descubrieron sorprendentes
similitudes: de pequeñas tenían las mismas pesadillas, comenzaron a tomar clases de danza a los 5 años, medían
exactamente lo mismo y tenían los ojos oscuros. Las dos están recuperando el tiempo perdido.
1. Answer the following questions IN ENGLISH
(a)
What part did fate play in the lives of the twins? (Give two examples.)
(para 1)
(b)
Why was the twins' mother prepared to have her daughters adopted? (Give full details.)
(para 1)
(c)
(d)
What did Diane Scott discover about Tamara when she returned to Guadalajara?
What unusual occurrences did Tamara notice when she began University?
©The Dublin School of Grinds
Page 6
(para 2)
(para 3)
Lisa Fitzpatrick
(e)
2.
3.
4.
How did Diane Scott become certain that Tamara was Adriana's twin sister?
(paragraph 4)
Escribe EN ESPAÑOL en los espacios correspondientes las frases del texto que tengan el mismo
sentido (más o menos) que las siguientes.
(a)
por coincidencia
(paragraph 1)
(b)
se dio cuenta
(paragraph 3)
(c)
tenían la misma altura
(paragraph 5)
Explain IN ENGLISH the meaning of the following in their context:
(a)
Diane Scott no dijo nada a Adriana sobre la existencia de su gemela para ahorrarle la
tragedia de una búsqueda imposible.
(paragraph 2)
(b)
Al principio Tamara creía que la posibilidad de que tuviera una gemela idéntica era una idea
totalmente descabellada.
(paragraph 4)
(c)
Tamara y Adriana quedaron en verse el fin de semana.
(paragraph 5)
Explica (o expresa de otro modo) EN ESPAÑOL una de las frases siguientes:
Regresó a Guadalajara para ver si podía obtener alguna noticia de Tamara.
(paragraph 2)
O
Justin no daba crédito.
©The Dublin School of Grinds
Page 7
(paragraph 3)
Lisa Fitzpatrick
Step by step approach to comprehensions
1) Take a few moments to assess the photo provided;

What do I see?
A deserted road, two hitch-hikers, travelling, daytime etc

Who is in the photo?
Two young girls. They are appear to be twins

What subject/topic is being depicted?
Something linked to being a twin or a story about these
twins sisters.
2. Questions 1 (a), (b), (c), (d) & (e) are expressed in English and therefore, these questions
inadvertently provide invaluable information; the article’s topic/subject is outlined in the
question as well as the majority of its content. Very often it is easy to paint a picture just
from reading these questions. Once you have read the questions try and anticipate
potential answers
2005 Journalistic Text
(a) What part did fate play in the lives of the twins? (Give two examples.)
(b) Why was the twins' mother prepared to have her daughters adopted? (Give full details.)
(c) What did Diane Scott discover about Tamara when she returned to Guadalajara?
(d) What unusual occurrences did Tamara notice when she began University?
(e) How did Diane Scott become certain that Tamara was Adriana's twin sister?
3)
Read the article’s headlines and do your best to link any unknown phrase, noun or verb, to
the image you have briefly assessed. ASÍ ENCONTRÉ A MI HERMANA GEMELA
From reading the headline we can extract the adjective “gemela” and from the context alone
provided by the photo, it is absolutely feasible to determine what this means in English.
© The Dublin School of Grinds
Page 8
Lisa Fitzpatrick
4) Once you have established the topic dealt with by the article you can easily anticipate the
kind of vocabulary that will most likely appear throughout the text.
Mentally or physically make a list of English words associated with the story of separated twins
being brought together by fate. The majority of these words if not all of them are bound to
appear in an article about this topic.
Look at the kind of vocabulary you can pick out from paragraph 1 alone!
English
Spanish
English
twin sister
destiny
identical (fpl)
their paths crossed
Spanish
_________________________
by chance
the couple
by coincidence
© The Dublin School of Grinds
Page 9
Lisa Fitzpatrick
SEC Marking Scheme
50 marks
Q.1 5 x 4 marks = 20 marks
Any answer which conveys the meaning of the following is accepted.
If answer is mostly correct, deduct 1 mark for each incorrect /omitted piece of information.
(a) They lived less than 40 kilometres from each other. [2m]
One day their paths would cross. [2m]
(4 marks)
(b) Four of: She was single / she was only 21 years of age / she already had a child
(of three years) /she (decided she) couldn't support any more children. (1+1+1+1 marks)
(c) Tamara's new (adopted) family lived in New York [2m]
Their surname sounded something like 'rabbi'. [2m]
(4 marks)
(d) People she didn't know were greeting her [2m]
Some students became annoyed (offended) if she didn't recognize them. [2m]
(4 marks)
(e) When the surname 'Rabi' appeared on the mobile (screen) she was sure Tamara was her
sister or when Diane discovered that Tamara’s surname was Rabi.
(4 marks)
Q.2 3 x 4 marks = 12 marks (No extra words accepted)
(a) por casualidad (4 marks)
(b) notó (4 marks)
(c) median (exactamente) lo mismo (4 marks)
Q.3 3 x 4 marks = 12 marks
Any answer which conveys the meaning of the following is accepted. To gain marks, the meaning
of the answer must be clear. (If answer is mostly correct, deduct 1 mark for each incorrect/omitted
piece of information.)
(a) Diane Scott said nothing to Adriana about the existence of her twin (sister) in order to save her
the tragedy of pointlessly searching for her sister or in order to avoid a tragic and impossible search
for her sister or to save her the tragedy of an impossible search . (4 marks)
(b) At first Tamara thought that the possibility that she might have an identical twin was totally
crazy. (4 marks)
(c) Tamara and Adriana arranged or agreed to meet at the weekend. (4 marks)
Q.4 6 marks
[Note: any mark from 0 to 6 may be awarded for this question.]
20 + 12 + 12 + 6 = 50 marks
© The Dublin School of Grinds
Page 10
Lisa Fitzpatrick