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Reading: blogs, reviews and articles
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A blog post: experience plus reflection
- Two years ago, I couldn't run for five minutes without stopping. A friend invited me to join her running group, and everything changed. We met every Saturday morning, rain or shine. Now I run ten kilometres a week. I sleep better, I think more clearly, and I've made real friends. If I can do it, anyone can.
- A blog tells a story and says what it means: then (couldn't run) → now (ten kilometres a week) → lesson (anyone can).
What changed the writer's running?
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“A friend invited me to join her running group, and everything changed.”
A review: opinion with reasons
- App Review: WordHop ★★★★☆ — WordHop teaches vocabulary through short games. The games are fun and the daily reminders actually work. However, the speaking exercises feel repetitive, and the free version has too many ads. Still, for the price of a coffee a month, it's worth trying.
- A good review gives both sides (fun and useful however repetitive and ads) and a verdict (worth trying).
True or false? The review gives WordHop five stars.
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The review gives four stars (★★★★☆), not five.
What is the review's criticism of the free version?
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“The free version has too many ads.”
Translate into English: 这款游戏值得一试。
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“be worth + -ing” means it is a good idea to do it.
An article: two sides of a question
- Should schools ban mobile phones? Those in favour say phones distract students from lessons and from each other. Opponents argue that phones are useful tools: students can look up information, take photos of the board, and learn to manage technology. Perhaps the real question is not whether to ban phones, but how to teach students to use them well.
- Spot the structure: question → one side → the other side → the writer's view.
For the ban, against it, or the writer's view?
An article separates the two sides from the writer's own conclusion.
What is the writer's own view in the phone article?
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“The real question is not whether to ban phones, but how to teach students to use them well.”
A profile: a life in time order
- Marie Curie was born in Warsaw in 1867. She moved to Paris to study, because women could not attend university in Poland. Working in poor conditions, she discovered two new elements and won two Nobel Prizes, in Physics and in Chemistry. She remains the only person to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences.
- A profile follows the life in time order: born → moved → worked → discovered → remains.
Complete: Marie Curie won Nobel Prizes in Physics and ___.
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She won in Physics and in Chemistry — two different sciences.
True or false? Marie Curie studied at a university in Poland.
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Women could not attend university in Poland, so she moved to Paris.
One paragraph, one idea
- Each paragraph usually carries one main idea, often in its first sentence.
- Read the first sentence of each paragraph first — you get the whole map before the details.
- Then read once more for the details that matter to your question.
Common traps
- ❌ rain or shine = about the weather → ✓ whatever happens / every week.
- ❌ hardly anyone came = many came → ✓ almost nobody came.
- ❌ used to run = is used to running → ✓ a past habit that has stopped.
- ❌ it's worth trying = it costs money → ✓ it is a good idea to try it.
Write a short review (3–4 sentences) of an app or a café you know: one good point, one bad point, and your verdict.
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Example: “The coffee is great and the seats are comfortable. However, it closes early. Still, worth a visit.”
Your turn
- Read the blog again. Say the change and the lesson in your own words — two sentences.
- Write a short review (3–4 sentences) of an app or a café you know: one good point, one bad point, and your verdict.
Keep the reading working
- Tomorrow, before you reopen this page: read one short English post or review and say its verdict in one sentence.
- Next in this course: conditionals. Reading one level down: emails, notices and short stories.