E n g L i s h jenni Currie Santamaria

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of a big paycheck.

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Better Reading English
V. UNDERSTANDING GRAMMAR: COMPLEX SUBJECTS
A.
Read about complex subjects
{T}Writers form complex subjects in a variety ways. One of them is to use a 
prepositional phrase within the subject. Look at this sentence from the reading. 
The subject is underlined, the prepositional phrase is bracketed, and the verb is 
circled:
The cliché [about the game being you against the golf course] is only partly 
true.
This one has two verbs:
That feeling [of solitude and self-reliance] enhanced the game’s attraction 
for me and endures today.
 
B.
Identify forms
Read the sentences. Underline the subject. Bracket the prepositional phrase. 
Circle the verb or verbs.
1.
The top athletes in major sports make a lot of money.
2.
The book about his experiences growing up was very interesting.
3.
Driving under t
he inluence of alcohol is a serious offense.
4.
Several of the restaurants around town are offering special discounts this 
week.
5.
The lines on his forehead deepened as he got older.
6.
The witness’s explanation of the events didn’t make any sense.
VI. READ IT AGAIN
Read the excerpt again. Answer the question.
Why does Tiger Woods love golf?
THE INVENTION OF BASKETBALL
I. PRE-READING
A.
Background information
Most sports have ancient origins, but basketball is unusual because we know 
exactly when and where it was invented. In 1891, Dr. James Naismith wanted to 
invent a game to improve the physical itness of young athletes during the cold 
Massachusetts winters. The young men were not very interested in playing 
games in the gym, and Dr. Naismith tried a number of experiments. He wanted 

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Playing the Game
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something that would give the men plenty of exercise but would also be fun.
In this passage from his book 
Basketball: Its Origin and Development
, he 
describes t
he irst time he tried the new game.
B.
Words to know before you read
Match the words to their definitions.
____
1.
thumbtack a. 
a person who leads a group of people 
who are doing something wrong
____ 2.
bulletin board 
b. guess
____ 3.
tackle 
c. the sound of a bell to mark someone’s 
death
____ 
4.
ringleader 
d. a board for displaying notices
____ 
5.
surmise 
e. a list of students’ names
____ 
6.
death knell 
f. a short pin with a lat top
____ 
7.
roll 
g. a position in American football; the 
knocking down of another player
C.
Reading strategy
Quickly read the first paragraph looking for the name Frank Mahan. Answer the 
question.
Who was Frank Mahan?
II. READ
Read the text. Mark the words you don’t know, but don’t stop reading to look 
them up.
When Miss Lyons inished typing the rules, it was almost class time, and I was 
anxious to get down to the gym. I took the rules and made my way down the 
stairs. Just inside the door there was a bulletin board for notices. With thumb 
tacks I fastened the rules to this board and then walked across the gym. I was 
sure in my own mind that the game was good, but it needed a real test. I felt 
that its success or failure depended largely on the way that the class received it. 
The irst member of the class to arrive was Frank Mahan. He was a southerner 
from North Carolina, had played tackle on the football team, and was the 
ringleader of the group. He saw me standing with a ball in my hand, and 
perhaps surmised that another experiment was to be tried. He looked up at the 
basket on one end of the gallery, and then his eyes turned to me. He gazed at 
me for an instant, and then looked toward the other end of the gym. Perhaps
I was nervous, because his exclamation sounded like a death knell as he said, 
“Huh! another new game!”

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