Friday, January 18, 2013

Selected Reading Material 1: A Robbery(1)

What is 'Selected Reading Material'?

Mentioned in my earlier post 'Tips for Struggling Writers', students who have problems expanding content are often told to "read more widely".

'Selected Reading Material' are carefully selected resources to help struggling readers widen their knowledge in areas often useful in composition writing. i.e. what happens during a robbery, accidents, kidnap etc.

After reading and using the resources, students will have more relevant ideas to use in their composition assignments & examination!



Read the following passage and take note of the underlined content.
DO NOT skip reading as it is important to see how the underlined content is used in the news article.

A Robbery

When jobless Muhammad Noh Mohammad Jais, 26, attacked a pregnant Mrs Jane Tan, in a lift, she stood her ground and refused to give in.

He tried to snatch her bag, containing $3,000, but fled empty-handed.

Two days later on Nov 14, he struck again and snatched a handbag with items amounting to $515 from Ms May Lee .

The 29-year-old victim was also pregnant and the incident also occurred in a lift.

He admitted to the theft yesterday in a district court and was sentenced to two years in jail and four strokes of the cane.

For the attempted robbery, he was jailed for four years and ordered to be caned 12 times.

In total, he will serve six years behind bars and be caned 16 times.

The man, who was diagnosed as having moderate mental illness, committed the first offence in Tampines and the second in Simei between 4pm and 5pm.

Both women are believed to be housewives.

Police responding to Ms Lee’s call, found her purple handbag and personal documents strewn at a staircase landing together with a $2 note.

She was carrying about $15 in her handbag.

Through surveillance camera footage from the lift, the police established the thief’s identity and Muhammad Noh, who is single, was arrested an hour later in Tampines Central. 


He led police to a rubbish bin where Ms Lee’s iPhone, valued at $500, was found.

The prosecutor said that Muhammad Noh had picked on very vulnerable victims and should be punished severely.

In 2010, he was jailed for three years and caned 12 times for robbing a pregnant woman.

For stealing from Ms Lee , he could have been jailed between a year and seven years and was liable for caning.

The penalty for attempted robbery is a jail term of between two and seven years and caning with not less than six strokes.

Modified from Robber Hit and Choke Mum-to-be', The Straits Times, 9 Jan 2013




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Using the above underlined content, fill in the missing details in the composition below:


         The sky was a clear azure blue. Mrs Tan had just returned home from her usual shopping trip from the market. She waited patiently at the lift lobby for the lift to arrive. As she was thinking about what to prepare for dinner that evening, she did not notice a man peeping at her from behind a nearby pillar.

          When the lift arrived, Mrs Tan stepped in quickly. Suddenly, the man rushed in and ________________________________________. Mrs Tan was a brave and stubborn woman. ________________________________________. The robber took out a knife and threatened," Give me your bag now!" Mrs Tan was so frightened that she screamed at the top of her voice. The alarmed robber decided to give up and so he _________________________________. 

          Mrs Tan was relieved that she was unhurt. She did not know if she should call the police. When she got back home, she called her neighbour, Mdm Yati and told her what had happened. "You too? I was also robbed last week in the lift! Maybe we should go to the police together?" The women could not believe that the robber ________________________________ so soon after robbing Mdm Yati. They decided to lodge a police report immediately.

          At the police station, Mrs Tan and Mdm Yati were shocked to learn that they were not the first to report about the lift robbery. The police recorded their statement and assured the women that they were already taking action. Through ________________________________________________. The police ambushed outside the robber's flat and he was ______________________________ when he was about to enter his home. The robber ____________________________ where all the stolen goods were stashed. Mdm Yati was informed by the police that they had _________________________________________________________________ and would be returning them to her once the items were recorded as evidence.
          
         The following day, the series of robberies was reported in the news. The robber ______________________________________________ and was ________________________________. Mrs Tan and Mdm Yati were so relieved that the robber was caught. They also agreed to be more attentive and always to be on the look-out for suspicious characters in the future.

          ######################################

Are you able to use the underlined content to build on the composition? 
Remember that the underlined content can be used in other composition related to robbery (but not stealing in school) and need not be occurring in a lift. E.g. snatch thief, robbery at the car park, toilet, staircase landing, void deck, outside the school etc
If you would like the answers to the above passage, do not hesitate to contact me. 

Since someone has requested for the answers, I think I should just post it here!

I'd like to emphasize that this is not a comprehension cloze exercise. The activity attempts to draw the student into using the content learnt from the selected reading material. : )

Answers:

1) Suddenly, the man rushed in and (tried to snatch her bag)
2) Mrs Tan was a brave and stubborn woman. (She stood her ground and refused to give in.)
3) The alarmed robber decided to give up and so he (fled empty handed).
4) The women could not believe that the robber (struck again ) so soon after robbing Mdm Yati.
5) Through (surveillance camera footage from the liftthe police established the thief’s identity).
6) The police ambushed outside the robber's flat and he was (arrested an hour later) when he was about to enter his home.
7) The robber (led police to a rubbish bin) where all the stolen goods were stashed. Mdm Yati was informed by the police that they had( found her purple handbag and personal documents)  and would be returning them to her once the items were recorded as evidence.
8) The robber (admitted to the theft yesterday in a district court) and was (sentenced to two years in jail and four strokes of the cane).

Did you get your answers right?

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