Reading: Reading for Detail (Complex Texts)
B2 Lesson 3: Understanding Technical Explanations
Before You Read 🧠
Key Vocabulary
These terms will help you understand the concepts in this lesson.
Reading Strategy & Application
To understand texts that explain *how* something works, you need a clear strategy.
A 4-Step Strategy for Technical Texts
- Skim for the Goal: Read the title and first paragraph to understand the overall purpose.
- Identify Key Terms: Notice the important, specific nouns and verbs related to the topic.
- Follow the Logical Flow: Pay close attention to sequence words (First, Next) and cause-and-effect words (As a result, Therefore).
- Visualize the Process: Create a mental picture or a simple diagram of the steps.
Practice with a Technical Explanation
Let's apply this strategy to a text explaining a technology we use every day.
A Quick Response: Understanding QR Codes
A QR (Quick Response) code is a type of two-dimensional barcode that can store various kinds of information. Unlike a traditional one-dimensional barcode with vertical lines, a QR code's complex pattern of black and white squares allows it to hold significantly more data, including website links, contact information, or payment details for apps like ABA.
The process of using a QR code is straightforward. First, a user must open a camera or a specialized scanner app on their smartphone. Next, they point the camera at the QR code, ensuring it is clearly in focus. The app then instantly analyzes the unique pattern of squares. This pattern is essentially a map that corresponds to specific data. As a result of this analysis, the software decodes the information. Finally, it performs an action, such as opening a website in a browser or initiating a payment, making it a highly efficient way to bridge the physical and digital worlds.
Guided Analysis
- Question 1: What is the main advantage of a QR code over a traditional barcode?
→ Answer: It can hold significantly more data due to its two-dimensional pattern. - Question 2: What is the first step a user must take?
→ Answer: They must open a camera or scanner app on their smartphone. - Question 3: What is the direct result of the app analyzing the pattern?
→ Answer: The software decodes the information stored in the code.
Practice What You Learned 🎯
Quiz: Analyze a Scientific Process
Read this short text explaining photosynthesis, then answer the questions.
"Photosynthesis is the crucial process that allows plants to create their own food. It begins when the plant's leaves absorb sunlight. The plant uses the energy from the sunlight to convert two main ingredients, water and carbon dioxide, into a type of sugar called glucose. This glucose is the food that provides energy for the plant to grow. As a byproduct of this process, the plant also releases oxygen into the atmosphere."
1. According to the text, what are the two main ingredients a plant needs for photosynthesis?
- A. Sunlight and oxygen
- B. Water and carbon dioxide
- C. Glucose and water
→ Answer: B. The text states the plant converts "water and carbon dioxide".
2. What is the final food product that gives the plant energy?
→ Answer: A type of sugar called glucose.
Key Vocabulary Reference
- Technical Text A text giving a detailed explanation of how a technology or scientific process works.
- Academic Context The environment or situation related to higher education and study.
- Precise Comprehension Understanding the details of something exactly and correctly.
- Process A series of actions or steps taken to achieve a particular result.
Your Reading Mission ⭐
Analyze a Process!
Find a simple set of instructions or a short explanation of a process in English. This could be a simple recipe, the instructions for a game, or how to use a feature on an app like TikTok or Facebook.
- Write down the overall goal of the process (e.g., "To post a video," "To cook rice").
- Write down the very first step and the very last step.
- List any technical words or sequence words (First, Next, Then) you find.