 Turning Red Now That’s Embarrassing
A S E L I G F Y N C R J J Z H E J X Y H I N X E D
N M Z M R X B E O O W P D V C M K C F A A X Z G B
T Y E I B L I N L C I O N N S U S P I C I O N A Q
I K E E Z A T W O G F T A T P G N C J Y S V C R Y
C F W E B E R H F R M T A E L H X M M E E J R U O
I J U I M W T R U U P F A N V H J Y O C C Q V O O
P B K P F R E S A E S F A J G O V F F N U H X C S
A T T X I R T T C S Y P L U S I L M T E R L X F Q
T A P Z D R P C N R S I L Q H G D C Y D I C M U W
I N W D A W A A Q K Y M I U O N D N G I T O T E G
O S Z T L T O U T I O F E C C B P I I F Y B H Z G
N F I J H Y W M W I P U M N K J O Y Z N H Y J L Z
W O A N G E R T C E E S V V T I Y P H O S L I V F
N Y T S E D O M P B Q N O E B D W D N C V R K B G
L E U S M B R O K N N V C U A Y W T C C M U M U B
K Z U D U N H Z V D I L B E N Y D N A Y Z S A B R
R E N T E G T Y K Y V N E A H N J E V T W M M D Q
K J X O L B S I S X D B B L W D G U I I L N T M E
A J N S K I Q I U M T S P F E Q P F P P P F X B V
Z P I I U H U E D P D U V B U X S S W E U H Y U Q
E C N E L O V E N E B A B M B K X E H O J T W W A
S Z M I K K S K C U O A E A O G W Y D A I T W Q D
V T U P C I G Y D J A F O N K S I Q H M M V D B U
B G L J J Q S Q T B C A D O V G J L N S H E O D A
N S L V A O D K J M S X K A J J J E L F U L L Y U
Your teacher will now divide the class into three groups and assign each group one of the categories of words listed above. Discuss the meanings, using dictionaries if necessary, and then share your findings with the rest of the class. Instructions: Complete the following questions using sentence format. 1. When might a person feel “grief”? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 2. In your opinion, what provides a person with a “sense of security”? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ 3. What can you tell a classmate to increase his/her sense of “confidence”? ___________________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________________ Instructions: Read the text and complete the comprehension and writing questions that follow. I must confess that I’ve always had that endearing and sometimes embarrassing, ability to blush. I simply can’t control when my mind decides to trigger that tell-tale red hue that starts with a tingling in my ears and progresses until my face is bright red. It has been suggested that blushing stems from embarrassment, but this does not account for those times when even praise causes us to turn beet red. To make matters worse, when I hear people say: “you’re blushing”, that just seems to make me turn even redder! Why do we blush? Blushing is a universal phenomenon which is caused by an involuntary response of the sympathetic nervous system. Physiologically, blushing is caused by the dilation of small blood vessels in the face, which in turn leads to increased blood volume. It appears that self-consciousness is the primary feeling associated with blushing. 1 An individual can feel conspicuous if (s)he is the centre of attention due to embarrassment, gratitude or pleasure. Blushing first becomes evident during the kindergarten years when we begin to develop a social consciousness. Blushing reaches its peak during adolescence when social acceptance and anxiety motivate most of our actions. 2 Although blushing is universal, there are marked differences between genders and cultures. Women tend to blush more than men; and Europeans tend to blush more than Asians. Because there are no discernable physiological differences to account for this variation in blushing, it suggests that there is some social component to this physiological response. Blushing occurs when an individual who is the object of attention, transgresses some social norm and (s)he desires to appease the other members of a group. In other words, you are seeking forgiveness or approval. When a person is caught doing something that (s)he is ashamed of, blushing is an admittance of fault and an appeal for forgiveness. 3 This would account for why babies do not blush because they have no concept of what is socially right or wrong. Intense scrutiny and receiving undue amounts of attention can also trigger a person to blush. It doesn’t matter if this attention is positive or negative, the result is the same. 4 So whatever the cause, blushing is the body’s nonverbal way of saving face. 1. The word “evident” (in the 2nd paragraph) is: (a) an adjective (b) a verb (c) a noun (d) an adverb 2. Find an antonym in the last paragraph for the word “remove”. ________________________ 3. What does the phrase “saving face” mean? Restate in your own words. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 4. All of the following statements are true EXCEPT: (a) Blushing continues to plague the author of this article. 5. The author has removed the following sentence from the article: For instance, just imagine your teacher pointing out to the rest of the class that you had the highest mark on the test, or conversely, the worst mark. Indicate where this sentence logically belongs by circling the square # to add the sentence to the paragraph. 6. What does the phrase “this physiological response” (in the 2nd paragraph) refer to? __________________________________________________________________________ ? Extension Questions for Writing top Answer the following questions using sentence format. 7. Briefly describe an event in your childhood that made you blush. __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ 8. The fear of public speaking causes many people to blush; do you share this dread? __________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________ Working with idioms related to the face. Instructions: Match the idiom on the left with the correct definition on the right.
Instructions: Answer the following questions based on the idioms listed above. 1. If you pass a test “by the skin of your teeth”, have you demonstrated a profound knowledge of the subject? YES NO 2. Do adversaries “see eye to eye”? YES NO 3. When might someone have to “face the music”? ________________________________________________________________________ 4. Would a long lost friend be “a sight for sore eyes”? YES NO 5. When is it important to “keep your eyes peeled”? ________________________________________________________________________ 6. Use the idiom “to be nosy” in your own sentence. ________________________________________________________________________ |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
