Proofreading Exercise

S.2/ Proofreading Ex./ P.1

Form 2

proofreading exercise

Teacher’s Copy

Form 2 proofreading exercise 1

Lee, Moira; Daniels, Ben. Longman Express Grammar Book 2A. 2nd Edn. Hong Kong: Longman. p. 33

Read the following e-mail message. There is one mistake in each numbered line. Correct the mistakes.

Underline a word that is incorrect and write the correct word above it.

Mark the position of a missing word with a ‘Λ’ and write the missing word above it.

1. I had a great time tonight. Our school had a inter-class drama competition.

1. The theme of the night was ‘Our school’. We choose this theme because this

1. year is your school’s 50th anniversary.

1. All the classes took part in the competition. Did our class win some prizes?

1. Unfortunately we won none. Although our class did quiet well, a lot of the other

1. classes did even better. Their costumes were more beautiful than us and

1. their props were more real – one class had a life-sized model a dinosaur

1. and none brought a real dog onto the stage! It was a shame that our class

1. didn’t win any prizes. However, we all had a lot fun preparing for the event.

1. Tomorrow our class teacher is going to treat us for lunch. I have no idea

1. where she is going to take us but she promised that it be somewhere

1. good. Some of us think it will be the restaurant that her father own.

1. Her father owns a cha chan teng in Wanchai. A few my friends went

1. there last week and they said the foods was really good. I will let you

1. knew tomorrow where we go.

The End

Form 2 proofreading exercise 1 – key

1. I had a great time tonight. Our school had an inter-class drama competition.

1. The theme of the night was ‘Our school’. We chose this theme because this

1. year is our school’s 50th anniversary.

1. All the classes took part in the competition. Did our class win any prizes?

1. Unfortunately we won none. Although our class did quite well, a lot of the other

1. classes did even better. Their costumes were more beautiful than ours and

1. their props were more real – one class had a life-sized model ofa dinosaur

1. and one brought a real dog onto the stage! It was a shame that our class

1. didn’t win any prizes. However, we all had a lot of fun preparing for the event.

1. Tomorrow our class teacher is going to treat us to lunch. I have no idea

1. where she is going to take us but she promised that it will be somewhere

1. good. Some of us think it will be the restaurant that her father owns.

1. Her father owns a cha chan teng in Wanchai. A few of my friends went

1. there last week and they said the food was really good. I will let you

1. know tomorrow where we go.

The End

Form 2 proofreading exercise 2

Lee, Moira; Daniels, Ben. Longman Express Grammar Book 2A. 2nd Edn. Hong Kong: Longman.p. 41

Your friend wrote an article about the lost boy Jackie Chow. There is one mistake in each numbered line. Correct the mistakes.

Underline a word that is incorrect and write the correct word above it.

Mark the position of a missing word with a ‘Λ’ and write the missing word above it.

1. Last night, the police were still unable to find parents of the lost boy

1. Jackie Chow. ‘We have tried to contact the boys’ parents. However,

1. when we rang their numbers, no one answer the phone. We even

1. have any idea whether the numbersare right,’ reported Officer Chan.

1. Yesterday morning, Radio Hong Kong interviewed Jackie. She said

1. that he very scared and wanted to go home immediately. He also

1. said that he doesn’t know if his parents were in Hong Kong or not.

1. Jackie, who is blind, said that his parents are doctors and worked

1. for a charity ORBIS.

1. The ORBIS flying eye hospital was in Hong Kong in Monday evening.

1. It stayed for three hours to collect any medicine and some new equipment

1. for the operating rooms. In a recently interview, a spokesperson

1. for the airport said that it possible that Jackie got off the plane.

1. He told reporters to contact the Airport Authority for further informations.

The End

Form 2 proofreading exercise 2–key

1. Last night, the police were still unable to find the parents of the lost boy

1. Jackie Chow. ‘We have tried to contact the boy’s parents. However,

1. when we rang their numbers, no one answered the phone. We even

1. have no idea whether the numbersare right,’ reported Officer Chan.

1. Yesterday morning, Radio Hong Kong interviewed Jackie. He said

1. that he was very scared and wanted to go home immediately. He also

1. said that he didn’t know if his parents were in Hong Kong or not.

1. Jackie, who is blind, said that his parents were doctors and worked

1. for the charity ORBIS.

1. The ORBIS flying eye hospital was in Hong Kongon Monday evening.

1. It stayed for three hours to collect some medicine and some new equipment

1. for the operating rooms. In a recent interview, a spokesperson

1. for the airport said that it was possible that Jackie got off the plane.

1. He told reporters to contact the Airport Authority for further information.

The End

Form 2 proofreading exercise 3

Leung, Leo C.F. Summer Vacation Exercise, F. 2 English Competency.Hong Kong: Hong Kong Exam & Research. p. 67

Read the following message. There is one mistake in each numbered line. Correct the mistakes.

Underline a word that is incorrect and write the correct word above it.

Mark the position of a missing word with a ‘Λ’ and write the missing word above it.

1. Everyone knows the small insect called ‘mosquito’. It is possible find

1. mosquitoes in almost every parts of the world except in the place where it is rather

1. cold or where it is very dry. During summer, it is almost certainly that you can

1. find many mosquitoes near brooks, ponds and lake.

1. Mosquitoes have a interesting life cycle. The female mosquito bites a

1. person or animal in order to get some bloods. She needs this blood before she can

1. lay her eggs. Second, she flies to area with water and lays her eggs in the water.

1. In a few days, the eggs open, and the baby mosquitoes, call the larvae, come out.

1. In a short time, they become mature and fly.

1. It is interesting note that the female will bite for blood. She has a

1. special mouth can go into an animal’s skin or a person’s skin. On the

1. other hand, the man mosquito can only drink plant sap with his mouth.

The End

Form 2 proofreading exercise3–key

1. Everyone knows the small insect called ‘mosquito’. It is possible to find

1. mosquitoes in almost every part of the world except in the place where it is rather

1. cold or where it is very dry. During summer, it is almost certain that you can

1. find many mosquitoes near brooks, ponds and lakes.

1. Mosquitoes have an interesting life cycle. The female mosquito bites a

1. person or animal in order to get some blood. She needs this blood before she can

1. lay her eggs. Second, she flies to an area with water and lays her eggs in the water.

1. In a few days, the eggs open, and the baby mosquitoes, called the larvae, come out.

1. In a short time, they become mature and fly away.

1. It is interesting to note that the female will bite for blood. She has a

1. special mouth which can go into an animal’s skin or a person’s skin. On the

1. other hand, the male mosquito can only drink plant sap with his mouth.

The End

Form 2 proofreading exercise 4

Lee, Moira; Daniels, Ben. Longman Express Grammar Book 2A. 2nd Edn. Hong Kong: Longman. p. 66

Read the following letter. There is one mistake in each line. Correct the mistakes.

Underline a word that is incorrect and write the correct word above it.

Mark the position of a missing word with a ‘Λ’ and write the missing word above it.

1. Daer Mr Smith,

1. Re: Rule and regulations

1. Thank you for your enquiry asking information about breaking world records. On the

1. phone, you said that you were interested in break the world record,

1. who Mr Ashrita Furman set on 22nd and 23rd April, for the greatest distance walked by

1. a person balancing the milk bottle on his head. Below are the rules and regulations

1. that we must follow:

1. 1. Make the attempt on your own. Do not ask anybody help you.

1. 2. Uses a full milk bottle.

1. 3. Do not take a break. If you did, you will have to start again.

1. 4. Do touch the bottle more than once every twenty minutes.

1. 5. Do not use some tape.

1. 6. A judge must watch your attempt you are doing it.

1. You can find a judge or you can ask us find one for you.

1. If you have no questions, please write to us.

The End

Form 2 proofreading exercise 4 –key

1. Dear Mr Smith,

1. Re: Rules and regulations

1. Thank you for your enquiry asking for information about breaking world records. On the

1. phone, you said that you were interested in breaking the world record,

1. which Mr Ashrita Furman set on 22nd and 23rd April, for the greatest distance walked by

1. a person balancing a milk bottle on his head. Below are the rules and regulations

1. that you must follow:

1. 1. Make the attempt on your own. Do not ask anybody to help you.

1. 2. Use a full milk bottle.

1. 3. Do not take a break. If you do, you will have to start again.

1. 4. Do not touch the bottle more than once every twenty minutes.

1. 5. Do not use any tape.

1. 6. A judge must watch your attempt while you are doing it.

1. You can find a judge or you can ask us to find one for you.

1. If you have any questions, please write to us.

The End

Form 2 proofreading exercise 5

Lee, Moira; Daniels, Ben. Longman Express Grammar Book 2A. 2nd Edn. Hong Kong: Longman.p. 7

Your friend wrote an article about Jean Wong. There is one mistake in each numbered line. Correct the mistakes.

Underline a word that is incorrect and write the correct word above it.

Mark the position of a missing word with a ‘Λ’ and write the missing word above it.

1. Two years ago, Jean Wong was a very badly dancer. She did not sing

1. good at that time either. Now she sings and dances really wonderfully.

1. Last week, she won first prize in the Drama Club Competition. When

1. I speak to Jean, she told me that she practised singing and dancing

1. extremely hardly every day. ‘When I first started performing, I sometimes

1. felt real tired and wanted to stop,’ Jean said. ‘Luckily, my mother and

1. father gave me lot of support and encouragement.’

1. In her first competition two years ago, Jean performed very nervous

1. and danced rather clumsy. She came last. After that experience, she

1. decided to practise more. She also started going drama lessons after

1. school. Now she is extreme confident and wins lots of prizes.

1. When asking what her plans are, she replied, ‘I want

1. to be famous actress and work in Hollywood,’ she said,

1. ‘There have lots of Hong Kong actresses in Hollywood

1. these days. I want to be one of they!’

The End

Form 2 proofreading exercise 5 –key

1. Two years ago, Jean Wong was a very bad dancer. She did not sing

1. well at that time either. Now she sings and dances really wonderfully.

1. Last week, she won thefirst prize in the Drama Club Competition. When

1. I spoke to Jean, she told me that she practised singing and dancing

1. extremely hard every day. ‘When I first started performing, I sometimes

1. felt really tired and wanted to stop,’ Jean said. ‘Luckily, my mother and

1. father gave me a lot of support and encouragement.’

1. In her first competition two years ago, Jean performed very nervously

1. and danced rather clumsily. She came last. After that experience, she

1. decided to practise more. She also started going to drama lessons after

1. school. Now she is extremely confident and wins lots of prizes.

1. When asked what her plans are, she replied, ‘I want

1. to be a famous actress and work in Hollywood,’ she said,

1. ‘There are lots of Hong Kong actresses in Hollywood

1. these days. I want to be one of them!’

The End

Form 2 proofreading exercise 6

Lee, Moira; Daniels, Ben. Longman Express Grammar Book 2A. 2nd Edn. Hong Kong: Longman. p. 21

Read the following conversation. There is one mistake in each numbered line. Correct the mistakes.

Underline a word that is incorrect and write the correct word above it.

Mark the position of a missing word with a ‘Λ’ and write the missing word above it.

1. Ang Lee, the director of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, is a quietly

1. and gentle man. May Chan met him he visited Hong Kong last week.

1. When do you direct your first film?

1. That was a film called Pushing Hands on 1992. I worked on

1. films before that and not as a director. I’ve directed five now.

1. How is your favourite film?

1. I like them all. However, I loved it when I work on Crouching

1. Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I am real happy that this film is popular

1. with both Chinese Western audiences.

1. Some of the stunts look quiet dangerous. Did any actors get hurt?

1. Yes, some did. Michelle Yeoh hurt her knee she was

1. doing a difficult stunt but she had to rest for three months.

1. Did it take a long time to make film?

1. It took over two years to plan only five months to shoot it.

The End

Form 2 proofreading exercise 6 –key

1. Ang Lee, the director of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, is a quiet

1. and gentle man. May Chan met him when he visited Hong Kong last week.

1. When did you direct your first film?

1. That was a film called Pushing Hands in 1992. I worked on

1. films before that but not as a director. I’ve directed five now.

1. What/Which is your favourite film?

1. I like them all. However, I loved it when I worked on Crouching

1. Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I am really happy that this film is popular

1. with both Chinese and Western audiences.

1. Some of the stunts look quite dangerous. Did any actors get hurt?

1. Yes, some did. Michelle Yeoh hurt her knee while/when she was

1. doing a difficult stunt and she had to rest for three months.

1. Did it take a long time to make the/that film?

1. It took over two years to plan but only five months to shoot it.

The End

Form 2 proofreading exercise 7

Lee, Moira; Daniels, Ben. Longman Express Grammar Book 2A. 2nd Edn. Hong Kong: Longman. p. 77

Read the following e-mail message. There is one mistake in each numbered line. Correct the mistakes.

Underline a word that is incorrect and write the correct word above it.

Mark the position of a missing word with a‘Λ’ and write the missing word above it.

1. How are you? Are you feel better now? It sounded like you had a terrible cold.

1. Last week was a very busy one for me so I planning to have a lazy day today.

1. Yesterday my mum buy me the latest issue of a magazine called Pen Pals.

1. I’m going read it today and find a new pen friend. Do you think I should find

1. a Chinese-speaking pen friend or an English-speaking pen friend? I thinks it’s

1. probably better to find someone who spoke English. What do you think?

1. I have to get back to my homework now. We going to have some important

1. tests next week and I’m sure I do badly if I don’t get a bit more work done.

The End

Form 2 proofreading exercise 7 –key

1. How are you? Are you feeling better now? It sounded like you had a terrible cold.

1. Last week was a very busy one for me so I am planning to have a lazy day today.

1. Yesterday my mum bought me the latest issue of a magazine called Pen Pals.

1. I’m going to read it today and find a new pen friend. Do you think I should find

1. a Chinese-speaking pen friend or an English-speaking pen friend? I think it’s

1. probably better to find someone who speaks English. What do you think?

1. I have to get back to my homework now. We are going to have some important

1. tests next week and I’m sure I will do badly if I don’t get a bit more work done.

The End