MUET MOMENTS: Lesson 7: Understanding Sense Relationships - Reference Words

By DR KOH SOO LING


Understanding Sense Relationships -- Reference Words
WRITERS create cohesion throughout a text by using reference words. Reference words reintroduce, manipulate or anticipate information continually and in interesting ways. They consist mainly of pronouns and noun phrases which represent other elements in a text.

Reference words cannot stand alone; rather, they need to connect with other words to complete their meanings.

They are used when new information is added about the things that they refer to, therefore, the term "reference words".

Practice
Read the passage below. What do the words in bold refer to?

Food safety is a scientific discipline describing the process of handling, preparation, and storage of food to prevent food borne illness. This includes a number of routines that should be followed to avoid potentially severe health hazards. Food can transmit disease from person to person as well as serve as a growth medium for bacteria that can cause food poisoning. Genetic pollution of environment, which can destroy natural biological diversity, is of great significance. In developed countries, there are intricate standards for food preparation, whereas in lesser developed countries, the main issue is simply the availability of adequate safe water.

One of the simplest measures that a person can take to prevent the spread of food borne illness is to properly wash his hands before preparing or eating any meal. Many people who believe they are adequately washing their hands are sorely mistaken. According to a study conducted by the American Society of Microbiology, 97 per cent of females said they washed their hands, but those numbers turned out to be 75 per cent of females upon observation.  Some foods should simply never be ingested in the first place because these have such a high risk of containing harmful bacteria that can make people ill. Cross contamination occurs when a person handling raw meats, eggs, fish or other foods containing harmful pathogens touches cooking utensils, cutting boards or cooking surfaces and spreads the pathogens to ready-to-eat foods in the process. This mode of transmission can be interrupted by washing hands after handling raw foods, washing utensils and cutting boards that have come in contact with raw foods, and disinfecting counter surfaces frequently.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_safety

1. this
2. which
3. the main issue
4. his
5. they
6. their
7. these
8. this mode of transmission

NEXT WEEK: Understanding Sense Relationships -- Text Cohesion

Source: Learning Curve - New Straits Times