READING COMPREHENSION Activity for 11° grade

Read the following texts and answer the questions about them

SHEFFIELD

Sheffield is a city and metropolitan borough in the north of England. The population of the City of Sheffield in 2002 was estimated at 512,242. It has grown, from its industrial roots to encompass a wide economic base and is now the third largest city in England, the fourth largest in Great Britain, and the only one in South Yorkshire.

The city boundaries of Sheffield include a significant area of the countryside which surrounds the main urban region. One third of Sheffield is within the Peak District National Park (no other English city has a national park within its boundary), and Sheffield is generally recognized as England's greenest city, containing 150 woodlands and 50 public parks.

Sheffield is largely unparished, but Bradfield and Ecclesfield have parish councils and Stocksbridge has a town council.

The present boundaries were set in 1974, when the former county borough of Sheffield merged with Stocksbridge urban district and part of Wortley Rural District.

Questions about the text

1. Sheffield has a population of less than half million people.
a. True.
b. False.
c. We don't know.

2. It is the third largest city in
a. England.
b. Great Britain.
c. South Yorkshire.

3. Half of the city is part of a national park.
a. True.
b. False.
c. We don't know.

4. Sheffield has not many green areas.
a. True.
b. False.
c. We don't know.

5. The present boundaries were set in 1974.
a. True.
b. False.
c. We don't know.

CORONATION STREET

Coronation Street is Britain's longest-running television soap opera, and the UK's consistently highest-rated show. It was created by Tony Warren and first broadcast on the ITV network on Friday December 9, 1960. The working title of the show was Florizel Street, but Agnes, a tea lady at Granada Television, Manchester, (where Coronation Street is produced) remarked that "Florizel" sounded too much like a disinfectant. Jubilee Street was another option considered.

Coronation Street (commonly nicknamed Corrie, and also Coro St, Corra or even Corruption Street) is set in a fictional street in the fictional industrial town of Weatherfield which is based on Salford, now part of Greater Manchester (a Coronation Street does exist in Salford). Its principal rival soap operas are ITV1's Emmerdale and BBC1's EastEnders.

The show's iconic theme music, a brass-band throwback to the sounds of the 1940s, was written by Eric Spear and has been only slightly modified since the show's beginning.

Coronation Street can be seen on ITV1 on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. There is also an extra episode on Monday night at 8:30 p.m.

Granada and ITV executives, as well as the people in charge of distributing the show overseas, have called (and still call, as of 2006) Coronation Street the world's longest-running soap opera. The Guinness Book of Records recognises American soap opera Guiding Light as the world's longest-running soap opera, with over fifty years on television and an extra fifteen on radio.

Questions about the text

1. Coronation Street was first broadcast in 1960.
a. True.
b. False.
c. We don't know.

2. Florizel Street was the first title thought for the programme.
a. True.
b. False.
c. We don't know.

3. Sometimes people refer to the show as Corrie.
a. True.
b. False.
c. We don't know.

4. The programme can be seen on ITV1.
a. True.
b. False.
c. We don't know.

5. It is the world's longest-running soap opera according to the Guinness Book of Records.
a. True.
b. False.
c. We don't know.