Predicting
AdvancedPredict from the title and pictures.
- Predicting starts before reading: title, pictures and the first paragraph give the direction.
- Predict the gist and direction, not tiny details.
- Clues like an unattended stove invite predictions — but they may not come true.
文體小知識：Guess what comes next.
§Text Passage
1The phone rang loudly in the quiet flat, and Jenny, who was cooking noodles in the kitchen, wiped her hands and picked it up. “Hello?” she said. A deep, familiar voice replied, “Jenny, it's your father. I need your help. I had an accident.” Jenny's heart stopped. “Where are you?” she asked. “I'm at the hospital in Kwun Tong,” he said. “I fell off a ladder at the building site, but the doctor says my leg is only broken.” “Don't panic — but please come tomorrow morning.”
2Jenny hung up and rushed out of the flat, leaving the stove still burning. On the street, she waved down a taxi and told the driver, “United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong, please.” As the taxi crossed the harbour tunnel, her mind raced. Her father was sixty-two; why had he climbed the ladder himself? That morning he had promised to be careful, and now he was lying on a hospital bed. Outside the window, the city lights blurred into long golden lines.
3At the hospital, a nurse led Jenny to a bed near the window, where her father lay with his leg in a cast. He was pale, but he smiled the moment he saw her. “See? I told you not to panic,” he said weakly. Jenny wanted to scold him, but the tears came first. She held his hand and whispered, “You scared me.” He patted her shoulder and said, “I know. Next time, I'll leave the climbing to the young workers.” The nurse smiled and reminded them that visiting hours would end in half an hour.
4On the way home, Jenny thought about that terrifying phone call. She had been so frightened because she had predicted the worst — yet the truth was not as terrible as her imagination. That evening she learned that fear often speaks louder than facts. A scary beginning, she realised, does not always lead to a sad ending.
§Sentence-by-sentence translation Sentence-by-sentence translation
The phone rang loudly in the quiet flat, and Jenny, who was cooking noodles in the kitchen, wiped her hands and picked it up.
電話在寧靜的家大聲響起，正在廚房煮麵的 Jenny 抹了下手，拿起聽筒。
“Hello?” she said.
「喂？」她說。
A deep, familiar voice replied, “Jenny, it's your father. I need your help. I had an accident.”
一把低沉又熟悉的聲音答：「Jenny，是爸爸。我需要你幫忙。我出了意外。」
Jenny's heart stopped.
Jenny 心頭一沉。
“Where are you?” she asked.
「你在哪裡？」她問。
“I'm at the hospital in Kwun Tong,” he said.
「我在觀塘的醫院。」他說。
“I fell off a ladder at the building site, but the doctor says my leg is only broken.”
「我在地盤由梯跌下來，不過醫生說我的腿只是骨折。」
“Don't panic — but please come tomorrow morning.”
「不要慌——不過明早來探我。」
Jenny hung up and rushed out of the flat, leaving the stove still burning.
Jenny 掛斷電話就衝出住所，連爐火都沒有熄。
On the street, she waved down a taxi and told the driver, “United Christian Hospital in Kwun Tong, please.”
在街上，她截了一輛的士，對司機說：「麻煩去觀塘聯合醫院。」
As the taxi crossed the harbour tunnel, her mind raced.
的士穿過海底隧道時，她的思緒不停飛轉。
Her father was sixty-two; why had he climbed the ladder himself?
爸爸已經六十二歲，為什麼還要自己爬梯？
That morning he had promised to be careful, and now he was lying on a hospital bed.
那天早上他還答應過會小心，現在卻躺在醫院的病床上。
Outside the window, the city lights blurred into long golden lines.
窗外，城市的燈光化成一條條模糊的金線。
At the hospital, a nurse led Jenny to a bed near the window, where her father lay with his leg in a cast.
到了醫院，護士帶 Jenny 到窗邊一張床，爸爸躺在那裡，腿上打了石膏。
He was pale, but he smiled the moment he saw her.
他臉色蒼白，但一見到她就笑。
“See? I told you not to panic,” he said weakly.
「看，我都說了不必慌。」他虛弱地說。
Jenny wanted to scold him, but the tears came first.
Jenny 想罵他，但眼淚先流了下來。
She held his hand and whispered, “You scared me.”
她握住爸爸的手低聲說：「你嚇死我。」
He patted her shoulder and said, “I know. Next time, I'll leave the climbing to the young workers.”
爸爸拍拍她的肩膀：「知道。下次爬梯，留給年輕工人做。」
The nurse smiled and reminded them that visiting hours would end in half an hour.
護士微微一笑，提醒他們探病時間還有半小時就結束。
On the way home, Jenny thought about that terrifying phone call.
回家途中，Jenny 想起那個嚇人的電話。
She had been so frightened because she had predicted the worst — yet the truth was not as terrible as her imagination.
她這麼驚，全因為她預想了最壞的情況——但真相沒有她想像中那麼恐怖。
That evening she learned that fear often speaks louder than facts.
那晚她學到，恐懼往往比事實喊得更響。
A scary beginning, she realised, does not always lead to a sad ending.
她明白到，一個驚嚇的開頭，不一定通向悲傷的結局。
1Summary 重點摘要
Predict from the title and pictures.
2Vocabulary cards Vocabulary
Guess next.
Title.
Picture.
Surrounding.
Hint.
Expect.
Check.
Fix.
3Step by step Steps
- BeforeThe title and pictures are your first clues: the passage opens with “The phone rang loudly in the quiet flat” — a late-night call, an accident and a hospital instantly suggest a family crisis. Example: seeing words like hospital and ladder, predict that someone at home is hurt.
- AskAsk yourself three questions: what kind of text is this? What does the main character want? What will happen next? Example: at “leaving the stove still burning”, ask — will the stove cause a fire? That question is a prediction.
- DuringConfirm or revise as new information arrives: the father has only a broken leg and even smiles, “I told you not to panic” — the disaster prediction must be revised at once. The stove never causes a fire; it only shows how frightened Jenny was.
- AfterAfter reading, compare “prediction vs reality”: Jenny “predicted the worst”, yet her father is fine. Note the theme line “fear often speaks louder than facts” — a scary beginning does not always lead to a sad ending.
- Look for cluesClues are hints the writer plants: the burning stove, a sixty-two-year-old father climbing a ladder, his promise that morning — all lead you to predict the accident and his guilt. Example: “her mind raced” means the character is guessing, so guess along.
- Predict the gistPredict the main idea and direction, never tiny details: “a family crisis and a father-daughter bond” is on track; “the exact minute the stove explodes” is off. Use the vocab: predict (verb) and clue (noun).
- Exam useIt works in the DSE too: scan the title, pictures and first paragraph, circle keywords like “accident” and “hospital”, and predict the theme. Keep the spirit of revise — the text decides, not your first guess.
5Worked example Example
What can you predict after paragraph two — 'leaving the stove still burning'? And how should a prediction be revised as the story goes on?
- Step 1: Use the title and paragraph one to predict: a late-night call, an accident, a hospital — the story will be a family crisis.
- Step 2: Spot the warning sign: 'leaving the stove still burning' invites a prediction of fire.
- Step 3: Check at paragraph three: father has only a broken leg and smiles at Jenny — the crisis is milder than imagined.
- Step 4: Revise: the stove never causes a fire; it only shows how frightened Jenny was.
- Step 5: Confirm with the last paragraph: 'she had predicted the worst' and 'fear often speaks louder than facts' — that is the theme.
- Answer: Paragraph one lets us predict a family crisis: a father has fallen from a ladder at a building site and is in hospital. Paragraph two plants an obvious clue — the stove left burning — which invites us to predict a fire. But the story never uses that thread; the stove only measures Jenny's panic, so the prediction must be revised as we read. The ending is mild: a broken leg, an apology and a promise never to climb again. The final paragraph states the theme openly — Jenny 'had predicted the worst', yet 'fear often speaks louder than facts'. A scary beginning does not always lead to a sad ending, and good readers keep adjusting predictions to match the text.
6Common mistakes Mistakes
7Quick check Quick check
Q1What is predicting?
Q2Use what?
Q3After?
Q4Wrong?
Q5Tip?
Q6Purpose?
Q7What will happen next?
Q8Who is calling?
Q9How does Jenny feel?
8Recap Recap
- Predicting starts before reading: title, pictures and the first paragraph give the direction.
- Predict the gist and direction, not tiny details.
- Clues like an unattended stove invite predictions — but they may not come true.
- Confirm or revise predictions the moment new information appears.
- Comparing your prediction with the actual ending makes the story stick.