Match problems with their solutions
Writers sometimes organise their texts to focus on problems and solutions. As you read, pay attention to what the problems and solutions are. This can help you better understand the topic and the writer’s opinion.
Writers often use signal words to introduce problems and solutions. They can be words like question, answer, stop, fix, solve, should, must and make sure.
People should pile sandbags around the pond to make sure it doesn’t overflow.
Problem: The pond might overflow.
Solution: People should pile sandbags around the pond.
Learn with an example
Read the text.
When people swim in the sea, they may fret about getting stung by jellyfish. Fortunately, most stings are mild and can be treated on the spot. Since stingers are extremely sticky, people need to check for any left in the skin and quickly remove them. Experts recommend scraping them off with a credit card or other piece of plastic. Movement causes the venom to spread. To prevent the spread of toxins, people should stay still. Painful swelling and itching can be treated with hydrocortisone cream.
Match the problems with their solutions.
| Jellyfish stings may cause discomfort. | Jellyfish toxins may spread. |
| Problem | Solution |
| People should stay still. | |
| People should apply hydrocortisone cream. |
Look at the signal words in bold.
When people swim in the sea, they may fret about getting stung by jellyfish. Fortunately, most stings are mild and can be treated on the spot. Since stingers are extremely sticky, people need to check for any left in the skin and quickly remove them. Experts recommend scraping them off with a credit card or other piece of plastic. Movement causes the venom to spread. To prevent the spread of toxins, people should stay still. Painful swelling and itching can be treated with hydrocortisone cream.
These signal words help you find the problems and solutions.
| Problem | Solution |
| Jellyfish toxins may spread. | People should stay still. |
| Jellyfish stings may cause discomfort. | People should apply hydrocortisone cream. |
Read the text.
When people swim in the sea, they may fret about getting stung by jellyfish. Fortunately, most stings are mild and can be treated on the spot. Since stingers are extremely sticky, people need to check for any left in the skin and quickly remove them. Experts recommend scraping them off with a credit card or other piece of plastic. Movement causes the venom to spread. To prevent the spread of toxins, people should stay still. Painful swelling and itching can be treated with hydrocortisone cream.
Match the problems with their solutions.
| People should stay still. | People should apply hydrocortisone cream |
| Problem | Solution |
| Jellyfish toxins may spread. | |
| Jellyfish stings may cause discomfort. |
Look at the signal words in bold.
When people swim in the sea, they may fret about getting stung by jellyfish. Fortunately, most stings are mild and can be treated on the spot. Since stingers are extremely sticky, people need to check for any left in the skin and quickly remove them. Experts recommend scraping them off with a credit card or other piece of plastic. Movement causes the venom to spread. To prevent the spread of toxins, people should stay still. Painful swelling and itching can be treated with hydrocortisone cream.
These signal words help you find the problems and solutions.
| Problem | Solution |
| Jellyfish toxins may spread. | People should stay still. |
| Jellyfish stings may cause discomfort. | People should apply hydrocortisone cream. |
Read the text.
The Inuit are a group of native people from the Arctic tundra of North America and Greenland. For thousands of years, traditional Inuit life was shaped by their harsh environment. The tundra is so cold that trees can’t grow there. The Inuit people worked around this scarcity of building materials. In the winter, they built igloos, round houses made from blocks of snow. In the summer, they built huts from animal skins stretched over a frame. Most plants can’t grow in the tundra, either, which made large-scale agriculture impossible. Instead, the traditional Inuit diet was mostly meat, such as fish, seals and whales.
Match the problems with their solutions.
| Almost no plants grow in the tundra. | No trees grow in the tundra |
| Problem | Solution |
| Traditional Inuit homes were made of snow or animal skins. | |
| The traditional Inuit diet mainly consisted of meat. |
Look at the signal words in bold.
The Inuit are a group of native people from the Arctic tundra of North America and Greenland. For thousands of years, traditional Inuit life was shaped by their harsh environment. The tundra is so cold that trees can’t grow there. The Inuit people worked around this scarcity of building materials. In the winter, they built igloos, round houses made from blocks of snow. In the summer, they built huts from animal skins stretched over a frame. Most plants can’t grow in the tundra, either, which made large-scale agriculture impossible. Instead, the traditional Inuit diet was mostly meat, such as fish, seals and whales.
These signal words help you find the problems and solutions.
| Problem | Solution |
| No trees grow in the tundra. | Traditional Inuit homes were made of snow or animal skins. |
| Almost no plants grow in the tundra. | The traditional Inuit diet mainly consisted of meat. |
Let’s practice!