Lektion-se 11046 Reading Comprehension

Prepared by Jolanta Maria Eriksson Source www.abcteach.com

Jolanta Eriksson, Kinnarpsskolan, Kinnarp – www.lektion.se

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Reading Comprehension: Jack and the Giant Pepper (middle school)

Name: _____________________________________________________

Jack and the Giant Pepper

Once there was a boy named Jack. He lived in the forest with his mother and their pet

panda bear, Archibald. They were happy, but they were very poor. One day, Mom said,

"Dearest Jack, our cash flow is seriously plugged. You'll have to sell Archibald at the

market. Buy food and seeds. This is all we have, so don't buy any nonsense!"

Jack liked his panda, but he was nearly starved. So he hiked with Archibald

through the forest to the market. Suddenly, a little purple man in a shiny silver tweed

suit jumped onto the path. His face was a wrinkly old potato, but his eyes were sharp

and bright as knifepoints. "Gushing grape juice!" he croaked. "That's the finest panda in

the county! How'd you like to trade it for something magical?" Magical. Jack's scalp

tingled. "Actually, I'm shopping for food and seeds." "Seeds! How about a real seed?"

The man opened his fist, and on his palm a seed sparkled like a ruby. "This seed'll grow

into the biggest pepper in the world." "A giant pepper plant!" Jack said. "I could climb up

the vine to the cloud lands where the giant lives! I could steal his treasures and never

work again! Wow! It's a deal, grape man!" Jack traded the panda and ran home with the

magic seed. "One seed?" Mom said. "What are we supposed to eat while it grows?"

"Oops," Jack said. As usual, his belly chose the wrong moment to growl. "Now we really

will starve," Mom said. There was nothing to do but plant the seed. The next morning, the

magic plant had already grown! But it wasn’t a giant vine, it was a giant pepper. The

plant was normal. The pepper was the size of a house. "Oh, that's great," Jack said. "I

can’t climb a big pepper to the giant." "Sell it," Mom said. "It won't fetch as much as the

panda, but anything's better than three months of pepper casserole. I trust you know what

to buy this time, son." So Jack rolled the pepper to market. It was ridiculously heavy, and

of course he had to roll it up a big hill. Suddenly, up came the old man. He was riding

Archibald. "That pepper for sale?" asked the man. "Not to you," Jack said. "Not even for a

magic toothbrush?" The old man smiled. His teeth shone like the moon. "How would you



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like to never brush your teeth again?" Jack hesitated. He did hate brushing his teeth. Then

he said, "Sorry, I have this thing about getting humiliated twice by the same purple guy."

The man's dark eyes narrowed and gleamed. "Young man, I want that pepper." "Don't we

all," Jack said. He put his shoulder to the massive pepper. "Give it here!" the man

screamed. He leapt from the panda, his fingers gnarled claws tearing at Jack. Jack dodged.

The man crashed into the pepper and it rolled away with him down the hill. So Jack rode

the panda home. He'd never thought to ride him before. "Not another panda!" Mom said.

But Jack explained everything. "Well, I'm happy to see Archibald," Mom said, "but we

still need cash. You'll have to sell him. Again." "I've been thinking," Jack said. "It’s not

everyone that has a riding panda. Why don't we give lessons?" And so they did. All the

neighbouring villagers cheerfully shelled out big bucks to learn how to ride a panda. From

then on, Jack had plenty of money. And he never saw the purple old man again.

Exercise A: Detail Check

Before we get into the Deeper Meanings of our tale, let's do a little detail hunting to make

sure everyone's awake. Your answers don't have to be in complete sentences.

1. How long did it take the magic pepper to grow?

_____________________________________________________________________

2. The magic seed sparkled like which gem?

_____________________________________________________________________

3. Describe the old man's appearance.

_____________________________________________________________________

4. What did Jack's mother want him to buy?

_____________________________________________________________________

5. How much time goes by from the first thing Mom says to the last thing Jack says? Give

your answer in time units (e.g., days).

_____________________________________________________________________



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6. What problem did Mom point out with Jack's plan to buy the magic seed, grow a huge

plant, and climb it to raid the giant's house?

_____________________________________________________________________

7. Did Mom instantly recognize Archibald when Jack brought him back? Explain how

you know.

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

8. How did the old man exit Jack's life?

_____________________________________________________________________

Exercise B: Rousing Understanding

Okay, good, we're awake. Now let's look at the story on a slightly more meaningful level.

(We’re not at the Deeper Meanings stage yet.)

1. Metaphor. A metaphor is a comparison that doesn't bother with "like" or "as". If you

say, "That guy's a werewolf," we presume you're being metaphorical and you mean "he's

vicious" (rather than "he's a superhuman monster"). Each word below appears in the story

as a metaphor. Write what the metaphor refers to, then explain how the ideas of the

metaphor connect.

a. potato ______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

b. claws ______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

2. Simile. A simile is a comparison that does use "like" or "as". "Red as a rose", "in like a

lion", and "fat as a," er, "corporate bonus" are all similes. Write three similes from the

story.

_____________________________________________________________________



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_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

3. Why doesn't Jack trade in the pepper for the magic toothbrush?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

4. Why could you think that Jack's mother plans ahead?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

Exercise C: Imagine

For these questions, the only rule is that you have to use complete sentences. You can

finish a question on the back of the page if you need the space.

1. Who would you rather spend the afternoon with, Jack or Mom? Explain.

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

2. What if you needed someone to care for your pet for two weeks? Who would you

rather leave it with, Jack or Mom? Explain.

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

3. Make up a quick story for what happened to the old man when the pepper finally

stopped rolling.

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________



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_____________________________________________________________________

4. Imagine that Jack's fairy godmother appears and offers him a magic pennyseed that will

grow into a magnificent tree that will never stop sprouting nickels, dimes, and DVD

players. In exchange, Jack must give up Archibald. What does Jack answer?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

Exercise D: Deeper Meanings

At last, we're ready to tackle the Great Truths enshrined in this profound tale. Again,

please use complete sentences and feel free to use the back of the page. Explain each

answer with at least one example from the story unless otherwise noted.

1. Do you think Jack and his mother really were happy together?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

2. Stories often (or always, depending on your definition) have a central conflict. For

instance, you could sum up the conflict of that ingenious classic, The Three Little Pigs, as:

"Three pigs crave safety, but a wolf threatens to eat them." How might you sum up the

conflict of this story, Jack and the Giant Pepper? (no example needed)

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________



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3. Heroes often have a main defect they struggle with throughout the story. What is Jack's

main defect, and does he beat it?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

4. What do you think is the theme (Deep Meaning) of this story?

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________



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Jack and the Giant Pepper (middle school) Answer Key:

Exercise A

1. one night

2. ruby

3. a little purple man in a shiny silver tweed suit

4. food and seeds

5. 2 days

6. They had nothing to eat while the plant grew.

7. No, because she said, "Not another panda!"

8. He rolled away in the giant pepper.

Exercise B

1. a. old man's face. Both old potatoes and his face are wrinkled. ["His face was a wrinkly

old potato..."]

b. the man’s hands. Both animals and the old man have sharp and dangerous fingers

2. his eyes were sharp and bright as knifepoints a seed sparkled like a ruby pepper was as

big as a house

3. He doesn't want to be fooled again. Or He's determined to buy food and seeds. Or any

other sensible answer.

4. She wanted seeds to grow food for later.

Exercise C

All answers vary.

Exercise D

1. Answers vary.

2. Answers vary, but we suggest, "Jack will soon starve, but an old man tries to trick him

out of his one chance to get money."

3. Answers vary. Some students may think his main defect is wanting to use magic to

solve his problems, and he beats this by rejecting the magic toothbrush. Others (probably

fewer) may think he wants an easy way out of hard work, and it's not entirely clear he

conquers this tendency by deciding to teach panda riding for a living.



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4. Answers vary.



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Reading Comprehension

Name ____________________________________________ Date ____________

A BAD DAY AT MAGIC LAND

Many people like to go to amusement parks to have fun, but I don’t! Last year, a group of

my friends decided to spend the whole day at Magic Land, an amusement park in my city.

I thought I would have a very good time, but I was wrong. I had the worst time ever.

We went on too many roller coasters. At first, they were all very exciting and I screamed

until my lungs hurt on all of them. My friends wanted to ride more of them, and so for

three hours we didn’t stop to rest. We went on the Head Knocker, the Crazy Coaster, and

the Monster Masher before I started feeling really sick. I finally threw up on the Tooth

Rattler roller coaster. I was very embarrassed. That was when my friends decided that we

needed a lunch break if they wanted me to survive the whole day. My stomach was still

feeling awful, but they insisted that I needed to eat if I was going to have enough energy

for the rest of the day. When I went to one of the food stands, however, I saw that the

prices were outrageous. I spent six dollars on a large order of fries. I picked up the

saltshaker, and to my surprise the top fell off, spilling a pile of salt on my food. My fries

were ruined!

By now I was really upset and my face was red, so my friends suggested we go on a water

ride so I could cool down. I thought it was a good idea, but when we rode it, I forgot to

take my glasses off. At one point, they fell off and into the water. I watched helplessly as

they sank to the bottom while we kept rushing forward in our raft. I had to go through the

rest of the day practically blind. I have decided that I will never go to Magic Land again,

even if someone offered me a million dollars to do it!

Answer the following questions about “A Bad Day at Magic Land”

1. Which roller coaster did the narrator and her friends not go on?

a) Head Knocker



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b) Monster Masher

c) Tooth Rattler

d) Thunder Thrill

2. True or False: The narrator ordered many different foods.

a) True

b) False

3. The narrator and her friends rode roller coasters for ________ hours before she started

feeling sick.

a) two

b) four

c) three

d) five

4. What happened to the narrator’s glasses?

a) they broke into pieces

b) they were stolen by bullies

c) they got lost in a store

d) they fell into water

5. The narrator’s friends made her eat lunch because

a) they wanted her to have enough energy for the whole day

b) she said she was hungry

c) she forgot to eat breakfast

d) she was not going to eat dinner



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Answers to“A Bad Day at Magic Land”

1. d

2. b

3. c

4. d

5. a



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NAME______________________________ DATE___________________

THE PIANIST

My name is Mia Lynne Lindstrom. I am a pianist. I began studying the piano when I was

three years old. I am ten years old now. I play the piano in the junior orchestra at the

community college. We give a concert twice a year. I am always practicing new music for

the next concert. During the school year, I take four piano lessons every week from my

piano teacher, Mrs. Taylor. Mrs. Taylor teaches piano lessons at the college. In the

summer, I take two lessons every week. I practice playing the piano about ten hours every

week. I practice very hard because I want to learn everything about playing the piano. The

piano is a very interesting instrument to play. I like reading the notes, moving my fingers

on the keys, and hearing the beautiful music. It is sometimes difficult, but I always

practice until I can play the music perfectly. I am not sure what I want to be when I grow

up. I do know that playing the piano will always be a major part of my life. It is very

special to me.

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS.

1. Where does Mia take her piano lessons every week?

a. at her elementary school

b. at home

c. at the community college

d. none of these

2. How long has Mia been taking piano lessons?

a. five years

b. ten years

c. eight years

d. seven years

3. How many hours a week does Mia practice the piano?

a. two hours



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b. five hours

c. ten hours

d. twelve hours

4. Mia practices the piano because ______.

a. her parents require her to practice

b. Mia wants to learn everything about the piano

c. Mrs. Taylor requires her to practice

d. she wants to be a piano teacher one day

5. The music Mia practices for the orchestra concerts____.

a. is probably difficult

b. is very easy to learn

c. is not interesting to Mia

d. is boring

6. Mia feels that the piano _____________.

a. is an interesting instrument to play

b. will always be a part of her life

c. requires hours of regular practice

d. all of the above

ANSWERS TO THE PIANIST

1. c

2. d

3. c

4. b

5. a

6. d



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Comprehension and Understanding: The Travelers

Name _________________________________________ Date ____________________

The Travelers

The travelers, real travelers, came in late summer to hawk their wares. They wore exotic

wrap dresses with bright colors that caught the sun and held it. They wore fabrics of deep

red, green, orange, and other colors that blended together and became one enchanting

color of magic. The travelers were enchanted, we were sure. They were evanescent, like

the summer, arriving and departing like a gust of wind. They had large caravans with

pots, pans, tapestries, scarves, linens, cloths, perfumes, and exotic blends of meats and

spices. The children ran wild, their skin darker than ours, their bare feet toughened from

the sun and earth. Their hair was dark and scattered, and they were tough. These children

could survive on just a scrap of life, and we knew it. We played marbles with them, cross-

legged on the hot pavement. They always won. In the distance, we could hear the calls:

“A dollar, a dollar, just a dollar. Bracelets, bangles, baubles, beads. A dollar, a dollar, just

a dollar.” Sometimes we played dress-up, wrapping the scarves around our heads and

waists, wobbling down the streets in satin heels. We were women of the world, going to

market in strange cities, selecting goods for the trip home to London or Paris or even

India. The women gave us scraps of cloth and jewelry for sewing. We held the stones to

the light and caught the reflections of ourselves in ruby and emerald, the same, but

somehow changed. We always expected the travelers to come in late July, and they

always did, in rickety caravans draped with shimmering textures of other lands and lives

we would never know. “Stay away from the travelers,” the women of our town warned.

“They’re not like us.” “They’re not our kind.” “Nothing but trouble if you ask me.” The

travelers were different, but they never gave us any trouble. They stayed up late, when the

fevered earth began to cool, and they played banjos and guitars, the tunes wafting through

open windows with the smell of lilacs and red wine. We dreamed of hopping onto the

caravan one night and leaving for another world under the stars, but we saw our parents,

heard the soft chirruping of crickets in the garden, and knew we couldn’t leave. The



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travelers did leave, though. One summer the caravan never came. No rough talking little

vagabond children, no tapestries, no reds, oranges, and greens woven into magic. No

banjos or dancing or hawking: “A dollar, a dollar, just a dollar.” No transients were

allowed, they said. Instead, the streets were quiet, the pavement hot and bare. We all wore

the same skirts, dresses, and shoes. We lived in the same row houses and everyone knew

everyone in town. The sad-faced McCoy sisters went to church but liked their gin on the

sly. Old Mr. Cory was rumored to have $5,000 dollars stashed under his mattress, and in

the summer, there was nothing to talk about but the heat. Even the air stood still. We

stopped dreaming. Was it better this way? My sisters and I had to wonder.

Vocabulary from “The Travelers”

1. The narrator uses the phrase “to hawk their wares.” What does this mean? Use the

context to help you decide. Write down your answer.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. Define “exotic.”

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

What does “evanescent” mean? Look at the words following “evanescent” to help you.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3. What are the “baubles” referred to in the first paragraph? Write down a guess based on

the other items listed, and then check your guess with a dictionary.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________



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4. In the second paragraph, the narrator uses the word “wafting.” Use context clues to

determine its meaning. Write down your guess.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

5. In the last paragraph, the author refers to “vagabond” children. What does this mean?

Draw a picture representing the meaning of the word.

Questions from “The Travelers”

First, discuss how authors sometimes directly state things. For example, the adults in

the story have definite words to say about the travelers: “They’re not like us…They’re not

our kind.”

Sometimes, authors give readers clues and expect their readers to use the clues to

infer, or figure out something. For example, the travelers are off during the summer, and

the narrator is playing marbles with the travelers, sitting cross-legged on the pavement.

This would suggest the narrator is a child, since children are usually off during the

summer and would sit on hot pavement playing marbles. Also, adults are referred to as

“the adults,” as if adults are separate.

Directions: Pick any two questions and write a thoughtful, well-reasoned paragraph

about them. We’ll pass around the paragraph you would like to share, a classmate

will read it silently, make comments or suggestions, and then we’ll all discuss our

responses.

1. The author never states how old she is or her gender. If you had to guess, how old do

you think the author was when the travelers came? How do you know?

2. Do you think the author is a child or an adult now? Please support your answer with

evidence from the story.

3. How did the author feel about the travelers? How do you know?

4. What time period do you think the author is writing about? 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, 1970s,



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or modern day? Even though the author never states the time period directly, what are

some clues?

5. What would you think about these kinds of travelers in your community? Are we better

off as communities to have people more like us or people of all different kinds? Please

support your answer.

6. If you had to describe the narrator, how would you describe her? For example, is she

tough and active, or is she more thoughtful? Why? What clues does the author give you?

7. How would you describe the travelers? What are the advantages of their lifestyle? The

disadvantages?

8. When the travelers come, they come in the summer and seem magical to the narrator.

When they don’t come one summer, the magic disappears. Compare this to the beginning

and ending of childhood. In what ways do you think children know more than adults?

Why might adults be more cautious?

9. The adults almost seem afraid of the travelers. Why might they be afraid?

Additional Independent Writing Assignments

1. Write about a time when a person or an experience greatly influenced your life. How

did it influence your life?

2. Write about someone you dislike and why. Are you a little bit afraid of the person?

How do you think this makes you dislike the person?

3. Do you think getting to know someone better whom you dislike might change your

opinion of that person? Why or why not?

4. Write about what has made you who you are today.

5. How do you think the narrator might have changed if she had run off with the

travelers?

Would they have accepted her? Why or why not?

6. Describe a magical time or experience in your life.

7. Write a description of an event so that the reader will feel as if he/she is really there. Be

sure to include touch, taste, sound, sight, and smell.



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8. Write about someone or something that changed you and made you different from who

you would have been. For example, do you think the travelers changed the narrator’s life?

How would her life have been different if the travelers had never come?

Follow-Up Assignments:

Choose One

1. Correspond with an on-line pen pal in another country. Ask about local customs and

traditions. How are people in your country viewed? How is this different from the way

things really are? How do you view your pen pal’s country? Write this down. Compare

your view at the beginning to your view after you have been corresponding for several

weeks.

2. Ask your grandparents or an older person what they think of young people today. Are

their views accurate? Write down what you think of older people. Visit a nursing home

or a senior center. Are your views different after you have more experience with these

people?

Vocabulary from “The Travelers”

1. to sell their goods

2. Strange, unusual, foreign

3. transitory, fleeting.

4. trinkets.

5. the aroma of something carried aloft.

6. beggars, tramps.

Questions from “The Travelers”

1. Please see above. The author sees the travelers as magical, and she plays marbles.

Usually elementary-age children play marbles. Maybe six, seven, or eight years old.

2. She’s an adult now. She’s looking back on her experiences. The narrative is written in

the past tense, and the travelers left.



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3. She had mixed feelings. She saw them as magical and refers to them as “enchanted.”

She states in the last paragraph that she’s not sure that things were better when the

travelers left. Nevertheless, she refers to the children as “wild,” “vagabond,” and “tough,”

suggesting the children intimidated her despite her awe of the travelers.

4. Early 1950s. Clues include the roving caravan, people calling out low prices for goods

in neighborhoods, open windows though it is very hot, suggesting no air-conditioning for

the whole neighborhood. People still knew everybody in the neighborhood, suggesting a

time before 1960 when people were becoming more mobile.

5. This is a question with no right or wrong answer. A thoughtful, well-reasoned response

is expected.

6. She’s observant, since she pays much attention to colors, people, smells, and what

people have to say. She’s thoughtful. She seems to be taking everything in and thinking

about it.

She’s imaginative. She imagines going away with the travelers and pretends she’s a

traveler. She’s sheltered, since she thinks of London and Paris as strange lands. She’s a

little afraid, or timid, thinking of the children as “wild” and as “vagabonds,” but she’s

curious too. She does approach the travelers.

7. The travelers are independent and live a nomadic lifestyle, going from place to place.

This is an advantage, because they are not obligated to anyone and can do as they please.

It’s a disadvantage, because they have no roots or connections with other people. They

might feel lonely. The women seem kind, giving the neighborhood children cloth and

beads for sewing.

8. The travelers’ stay is short and magical. Childhood is short and is often viewed as a

magical time of life. In the beginning, the narrator dreams of travel and of visiting

different places like Paris, London, or India. In the end, she stops dreaming and seems

almost resigned to her way of life, resigned to the idea that adulthood will hold no magic,

that it’s not a time of dreams. Perhaps the adults have given her this belief by not

tolerating the different, or the magical. It is implied that the travelers were driven out of

town. In some ways, children know more than adults in that they see people as people.



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They are more accepting. Adults might be more cautious, because they know more about

the world and about bad things that can happen. They are trying to protect their children,

but in protecting them, they sometimes suppress the magical.

9. The travelers are different. They’re loud; they don’t stay in one place, they’re not

known, and they don’t fit into the community. The adults might be afraid because of their

lack of experience with other ways of life.



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Reading Comprehension- History – Alexander the Great

Name ____________________________________________ Date

_______________________

PERSIAN WARRIORS DEFEATED

Questions to ask before reading the story:

• What is a counter offensive move? How is it different from a defensive move?

• What is the meaning of the statement “The surest defense is a strong offense”?

• What does it mean to “snatch victory from the jaws of defeat”?

Alexander the Great stood with his army on the western shore of the Tigris River. He and

his men had marched north from Tyre, crossing acres and acres of blackened land. Darius

III had had his “Immortals” burn to the ground the long wheat grass that had been

growing there. He had hoped to slow the advance of Alexander and his mighty fighting

force. Darius’ strategy had done little to delay the progress of the Greek forces. They

prepared now to ford the Tigris, and to continue onward toward the village of Mosul.

They knew that Darius III and the Persian warriors were camped nearby on the plain of

Gaugamela. They remained unaware of Darius’ newest tactic. When Alexander and his

men reached the plain of Gaugamela, they found that the ground had been made level.

The Persian chariots stood in formation, ready to attack across that flat surface. Darius

expected his scythed chariots to propel themselves forcefully into the Greek forces, with

their curved blades ripping at the flesh of both horses and men. The chariots began their

rapid drive toward the army of Alexander the Great. The Greek general, having made a

quick assessment of the situation, ordered the ranks of the Greek fighters to split apart.

This maneuver left the Persians moving forward, without having anyone to mow down.

Because they traveled at great speed, the Persians could not get turned around. Caught

between enemy lines, many Persian chariot drivers fell victim to the spears and arrows of

their Greek opponents. Still, Darius was not ready to surrender. He spotted places where

his men could outflank the Greeks, sneaking around behind the enemy ranks. Some



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enemy units met the fate that Darius had intended, that of being run over by the Persian

chariots. None of this, however, seemed to faze Alexander the Great. The Greek general

ordered the Companions, the cavalry, to form a wedge. The point of the wedge charged

directly at Darius. The Persian King fled, leading to a collapse of whatever resistance he

had managed to muster. Alexander the Great again emerged as the victor. Alexander’s

first impulse was to direct his men on a chase after the fleeing Darius. He chose, instead,

to go south to Babylon, where he allowed his men to have one month of rest. From there

Alexander headed his army east, toward the treasures that lay in central Persia.

************************************************************************

******

assessment-act of estimating the worth

or quality or likelihood of something

faze- to disconcert, to fluster

ford- to cross a body of water by

wading, riding or driving through

formation-a particular arrangement or

order

impulse-a sudden inclination to act,

without thought for consequences

muster-to cause to assemble; to

summon

ranks-lines of people or things

Review Questions

1. Where did Alexander the Great and Darius III have their second meeting?

____________

________________________________________________________________________

2. What pointed object did the flanks of the Greek Companions resemble when they

charged at the Persians? ____________________________________________________



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________________________________________________________________________

3. Who won the battle on the plain of Gaugamela?

_________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

4. Darius III hoped to beat Alexander by using scythed

_____________________________.

5. After defeating Darius III, Alexander the Great took his men to Babylon, where they

rested for their journey to central ____________________________________________.

6. In order to have their second meeting with Darius III, Alexander and his men crossed

the _________River.

7. Did Darius give up when he found his chariots surrounded?

_______________________

________________________________________________________________________

8. What do you think? Was Alexander a better general than Darius? Why or why not? ___

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Multiple Choice:

1. Alexander the Great marched northeast from Tyre, taking his men to:

a. the Euphrates River

b. the Tigris River

c. central Persia

d. a charred plain

2. Which of the following tactics did Darius III not use?

a. burning wheat grass above Tyre

b. having scythed chariots

c. outflanking the Greeks on the

Gaugamela plain



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d. none of the above

3. Which of the following helped to insure the victory of Alexander the Great?

a. having scythed chariots

b. having the Greek warriors part ranks

c. formation of a wedge

d. b and c

Matching

Tigris River site of second meeting between Alexander and Darius

Plain of Gaugamela where Alexander the Great headed after he had defeated Darius III

Central Persia crossed by Alexander and his men

PERSEPOLIS GOES UP IN FLAMES


• Have you ever been to an art museum? Did it have any statues or stone engravings?

• Do you know anyone who has lost property or possessions due to a fire?

• If someone does something that harms you, should you seek revenge?

Alexander the Great had placed himself before the relief at Persepolis, the richest city in

all Persia. He had just come through rooms in which beautiful tapestries covered the

walls. Earlier he had seen, in one of the several palatial residences, caskets made from

Lebanon cedar, their wooden sides engraved, and decorated with gold and silver. He had

admired the high ceilings, supported by fluted columns that held aloft carvings of bulls

and griffins. Now he carefully studied the figures that had been chiselled into the outer

stone walls. The dress on some of the figures represented the attire in lands that

Alexander had already claimed for himself. The costumes on yet other carved figures

represented people in lands that were still part of the vast Persian Empire. These were

lands that Alexander planned to conquer. The people shown taking tributes to the Persian



25

King were people whom Alexander intended to subjugate. Alexander the Great was eager

to move on to these distant lands, but his colleagues, who had downed large amounts of

wine, stumbled around in a drunken stupor. Their inebriated minds stirred up within them

a desire for revenge. They wanted to make the Persians pay for the damage a former

Persian king, Xerxes, had done after invading Athens, more than 150 years earlier.

Goaded by these drunken men and beguiled by members of his harem, Alexander the

Great ordered the burning of Persepolis. Men and women, holding aloft flaming torches,

raced up and down the terraces of Persepolis. Flames ignited the wooden beams of the

palaces once built by Xerxes. Looters fought off the heat of the inferno in order to drag

out gold vessels, and to tear silver rings from heavy draperies. When the fires had died

out, all that remained were the tall stone columns and the exquisite stone carvings on the

outer walls. Alexander the Great had left, for discovery by future visitors, the Persian

soldiers who were untouched by the leaping flames. These “Immortals” still march today

in precise formation across the chiselled stone remains of Persepolis.

************************************************************************

beguiled-tricked

chiseled-cut and shaped into wood or stone

exquisite-having special beauty

fluted-having ornamental grooves

goaded-stimulated to activity

griffin- a mythological creature with the head of an eagle and wings on a lion’s body.

inferno- a place resembling hell; somewhere intensely hot, a raging fire

relief-a method of carving or molding in which the design projects from the surface.

Review Questions

1. What Persian city did Alexander the Great set afire?

_____________________________

2. What Persian king had set Athens afire?

_______________________________________



26

3. Why did Alexander the Great put a torch to Persepolis?

___________________________

________________________________________________________________________

4. The Persians brought cedar from _____________________ to Persepolis.

5. The Persians decorated the tall columns of Persepolis with bulls and

________________.

6. The burning of Persepolis was intended as revenge for the burning of ____________.

7. Is the griffin a creature from Greek mythology? ________

8. What do you think? Are the ruins of Persepolis something you would like to see? ____

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Multiple Choice:

1. Which of the following did Alexander the Great not find at Persepolis?

a) tapestries hanging on walls c) relief showing Persians on march

b) fluted columns d) none of the above

2. Which of the following did Alexander’s men take from Persepolis?

a) gold vessels c) a and b

b) silver rings d) none of the above

3. Alexander the Great set fire to Persepolis because Xerxes put a torch to:

a) Athens c) Rome

b) Alexandria d) Tyre

Matching

1. Persepolis

torched by Xerxes

torched by Alexander the Great

2. Athens

in central Persia



27

in Greece

Answers to review questions for “Persian Warriors…”

1. on the plain of Gaugamela

2. a wedge

3. Alexander the Great

4. Chariots

5. Persia

6. Tigris

7. No

8. Answers will vary

Multiple choice:

1. b

2. d

3. d

Matching

Aexander crossed the Tigris.

Alexander met Darius III on the plain of Gaugamela.

After winning the battle with Darius, Alexander went to central Persia.

Answers to questions for “Persepolis…”

1. Persepolis

2. Xerxes

3. His colleagues wanted to get revenge.

4. Lebanon

5. Griffins

6. Athens

7. no

8. answers will vary

Multiple choices:



28

1) d

2) c

3) a

Matching:

Persepolis was in central Persia. It was set afire by Alexander the Great.

Athens was in Greece. It was set afire by Xerxes.



29

EASTER

Easter is a Christian holiday. It celebrates the Resurrection, or return to life, of Jesus

Christ. Easter is celebrated on the Sunday after the fourth full moon following Christmas,

which is also the first full moon after the vernal equinox. Easter is the end of a season in

the church called Lent. Lent is the season after Carnival. During Lent, it is a tradition to

give up eating meat and other animal fats. The word carnival comes from this tradition

(carne = meat). Mardi Gras means “Fat Tuesday” and is the last day of Carnival. The

Lenten season begins with Ash Wednesday. On Ash Wednesday, many Christians

(especially Catholics) go to church. The priest rubs ashes on their foreheads in the shape

of a cross. Lent is a time to be penitent, or sorry for bad things in the past. This penitence

starts on Ash Wednesday, and the ashes are a sign of it. Although not many people today

give up all meat and animal products, people do often try to give up a vice, or bad habit,

for Lent. They might try to be kinder to strangers, or stop biting their nails. Lent lasts

forty days (the Sundays of Lent are not counted). The Sunday before Easter is Palm

Sunday. According to the Gospels, the books of the Bible that tell the story of Christ and

his teaching, Jesus Christ went to Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Many people were very

happy to see him and laid palm fronds at his feet. Jesus Christ had told people that he was

the son of God, but some of them didn’t believe him, and some even felt that his ideas

were dangerous. Thus, while many people were happy to see his arrival in Jerusalem,

others were not pleased and wanted him arrested. The Thursday after Palm Sunday (Holy

Thursday), Jesus and his disciples, or followers, ate supper together. This is called the

Last Supper. Jesus declared that one of his disciples would betray him. His disciple

Judas told the King’s soldiers where to find Jesus Christ, and he was put into jail. Pontius

Pilate, who was the King’s official, arrested Christ. Christ was teased and beaten. He was

crucified, or killed on a cross, the next day, on a hill called Calvary (the hill is also called

Golgotha). The day of the crucifixion is now observed as Good Friday. After Jesus

Christ died, his followers were very sad about his death, and some of them went to the

place where he had been buried to mourn him. When they got there, he was not in the

tomb. According to the Gospels, Christ had risen from the dead three days after he was



30

buried. He then ascended, or rose, into heaven, to be with God, his father. Christians

believe that Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world through his crucifixion, and that his

resurrection proves that he was the son of God. This resurrection is celebrated on Easter.

PUT IN ORDER, ACCORDING TO THE ARTICLE

Ash Wednesday _______

Christmas _______

Easter Sunday _______

Good Friday _______

Last Supper _______

Lent _______

Mardi Gras _______

Palm Sunday _______

MARK THE STATEMENTS TRUE OR FALSE ACCORDING TO THE

ARTICLE. IF THE STATEMENT IS FALSE, WRITE THE CORRECTION

UNDER THE STATEMENT.

1. Easter is a Christian holiday.

_______________________________________________________________

2. Easter primarily celebrates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ.

_______________________________________________________________

3. The Lenten season is one of celebration, with dances and parades.

_______________________________________________________________

4. It’s called Palm Sunday because the people climbed palm trees.

_______________________________________________________________

5. Jesus Christ was killed by being put on a cross.

_______________________________________________________________



31

COMPLETE THE SENTENCES USING VOCABULARY WORDS FROM

THE TEXT

1. My only ________________ is talking on the phone too long.

2. The criminal was truly ________________ for what he had done.

3. Gandhi taught nonviolent resistance. Martin Luther King, Jr. believed his ideas, and

was one of his many ________________

4. People all over the world ________________ the deaths of the earthquake victims.

5. I asked you to keep a secret, but you didn’t. You ________________ me.

6. His proposal was rejected, but after some time, he decided to try again. He made some

changes, and the ________________ version of his proposal was accepted.



32

ANSWERS:

ORDER:

1. Christmas

2. Mardi Gras

3. Ash Wednesday

4. Lent

5. Palm Sunday

6. Last Supper

7. Good Friday

8. Easter Sunday

TRUE/ FALSE:

1. True

2. False: Easter primarily celebrates the Resurrection of Jesus Christ.

3. False: The Lenten season is one of penitence.

4. False: It’s called Palm Sunday because the people laid palm fronds at his feet.

5. True

VOCABULARY:

1. vice

2. penitent

3. disciples

4. mourned

5. betrayed

6. resurrected



33

MOTHER’S DAY

A special day for the celebration of mothers can be traced to the times of ancient Greece

when tribute was paid to Rhea, the mother of many of the Greek gods.

Early Christians also paid tribute to Mary, the mother of God, during Lent. This tribute

evolved into “Mothering Sunday” in England. “Mothering Sunday” is a celebration of all

mothers, and is observed on the fourth Sunday of Lent. In 1872, in America, Julia Ward

Howe, the author of "The Battle Hymn of the Republic", suggested the idea of Mother's

Day. However, Anna Jarvis is credited with creating Mother's Day in 1905. Anna Jarvis

campaigned for Mother’s Day as a tribute to her mother, who had tried to establish

Mother's Friendship Day to help heal the scars of the Civil War in America. In 1910,

West Virginia became the first state to adopt a formal holiday to recognize mothers. A

year later, nearly every state officially marked the day of celebration. In 1914, President

Woodrow Wilson proclaimed Mother's Day as a national holiday, to be held on the

second Sunday of May. Today, Mother's Day is celebrated in many countries throughout

the world, although the celebrations do not fall on the same day in every country.

Mother’s Day is celebrated in various ways, depending on the country, the family, and the

mother. Many families honour mothers by dining out, giving flowers, sending cards,

giving gifts, and visits. Additionally, Mother’s Day is reported to be one of the busiest

days of the year for telephone calls. Mother's Day should be every day. Mothers nurture

us, teach us, protect us, and make us feel special. Mothers are the people in our lives who

are most responsible for the way we grow and mature.

Answer each of the following questions about Mother’s Day:

1. Who was the mother of the many gods in ancient Greece?

a. Anna

b. Julia Ward Howe

c. Virginia

d. Rhea



34

2. When is Mother’s Day celebrated in the United States?

a. 5th Sunday in March

b. third Sunday in June

c. first of July

d. second Sunday in May

3. Who is responsible for making Mother’s Day a national U.S. holiday?

a. President Lincoln

b. Anna Jarvis

c. Julia Ward Howe

d. President Wilson

4. Which of the following is NOT true?

a. Mother’s Day is celebrated on the same day all over the world.

b. Mothers play a special part in our lives.

c. England celebrates Mothering Sunday

5. What is the purpose of this writing?

a. to entertain

b. to persuade

c. to inform

d. none of these

6. Anna Jarvis lived in ________.

a. England

b. Philadelphia

c. Greece

d. Florida

7. Mothers are honoured by their families on Mother’s Day by ___.

a. dining out

b. cards

c. flowers

d. all of these



35

Reading Comprehension/Animals

Name: __________________________________ Date: ______________________

Poisonous Spiders!

Over 35,000 different species of spiders live almost everywhere in the world. The only

places you can’t find spiders are on the tops of mountains, in the ocean and at the poles.

Spiders are carnivorous. That means that they eat only meat. They eat insects and

sometimes other spiders. Some spiders eat other animals such as small fish, lizards, frogs,

baby birds and mice. Most spiders use poison to kill or paralyze their prey. All spiders

have poison, and to a small insect all spiders are very dangerous, but only a few spiders

have poison strong enough to hurt people. Spiders that bite and cause pain to humans are

called medically significant spiders. This means that they have enough venom (poison) to

cause a serious bite that will need to be looked at by a doctor. Some of the poisonous

spiders found in North America include the black widow, the brown recluse, the hobo

spider, and the yellow sac spider. There are about 6 different species of black widow

spiders. Three of these species are found in the warm southern United States. Black

widow spiders build webs, and they live wherever they can build one. They rarely live in

houses and other buildings, but if the weather gets very cold, they can move inside. Black

widow spiders eat insects, and stay in their webs to catch them. Only the female black

widow spider is dangerous. She is considered to be the most venomous spider in the

United States! Females are shiny black, with a red hourglass shaped mark on the bottom

of their abdomens. Although they are dangerous, black widow spiders are not usually

deadly because they only inject a very small amount of poison. The brown recluse spider

(often called a violin spider because of the marking on its back) lives mainly in the

Midwestern United States. The brown recluse spider also spins webs, and can be found in

dark, undisturbed areas. Unlike the black widow, the brown recluse leaves its web at night

and goes in search of insects to eat. Both the male and female brown recluse spiders are

poisonous. The brown recluse spider is also not usually deadly. In fact, fatal bites almost



36

never occur. However, the bite of a brown recluse spider is very painful and takes a long

time to heal because the poison damages the cells near the bite. The hobo spider is not

native to the United States. It was originally introduced from Europe, and now lives in the

northwestern United States and into southern British Columbia in Canada. Like the black

widow and the brown recluse spiders, the hobo spider also builds webs, but its webs are

funnel webs and almost never above the ground. Female hobo spiders never leave their

webs, and so the male spiders must search for them. Because of this, most bites from

hobo spiders come from males. Hobo spider bites aren’t deadly, but they are painful.

The yellow sac spider is commonly found in homes and gardens throughout the United

States. The sac spider also makes a type of web; it makes a sac out of silk. The spider sits

in this sac when it is not out hunting. Sac spider bites are the least medically significant.

This means that out of the black widow, brown recluse, hobo spider and sac spider, the

sac spider’s bite causes the least amount of damage. Although these four spiders are

poisonous to people, they don’t attack humans. Spiders are more scared of people that we

are of them! Spiders only bite if they are trapped close to the skin, or cannot escape. If

you do get bitten by a spider, clean the bite and then go to see a doctor.

Answer the following questions about poisonous spiders.

1. Are all spiders poisonous?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

2. What does ‘medically significant’ mean?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

3. What are four medically significant spiders that live in the United States?

a) _________________________________

b) _________________________________

c) _________________________________

d) _________________________________



37

4. Which one of the four spiders is not native to North America? Where does it originally

come from?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

5. Which of the poisonous spiders are you most likely to see? Why?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

6. Are bites from the black widow spider fatal (deadly)?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

7. When are you most likely to get bitten by the brown recluse spider? (When is the

brown recluse spider active?)

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

8. Which spider is the most poisonous spider in the United States? Which of the medically

significant spiders is the least poisonous?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

9. Why do spiders bite people?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

10. If you get bitten by a spider, what should you do?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________



38

Answers to poisonous spiders.

1. All spiders have poison, but not all spiders are dangerous to humans.

2. Medically significant means that if a spider bites a person it will result in a serious bite

that will need to be looked at by a doctor.

3. a) Black widow spider

b) Brown recluse spider

c) Hobo spider

d) Yellow sac spider

4. The hobo spider is not native to the United States. It originally came from Europe.

5. You are most likely to see the yellow sac spider as it is common in homes and gardens

throughout the United States.

6. Bites from the black widow spider are rarely fatal because she injects only a little bit of

poison.

7. You are most likely to get bitten by the brown recluse spider at night when it is out

hunting.

8. The black widow spider is the most poisonous spider and the yellow sac spider is the

least poisonous of the medically significant spiders.

9. Spiders bite people if they are trapped next to a person’s skin, or cannot escape.

10. If you are bitten by a spider you should clean the bite and then go to see a doctor.



39

Reading Comprehension- History: Sutter’s Mill

GOLD FOUND IN CALIFORNIA


1) If you won the California lottery, what would you do with the winnings?

2) How well can you keep a secret?

3) If you found a gold-colored rock, how would you test it to see if it is gold?

Every morning, James Marshall, who lived and built saw mills in the Mexican territory

known as California, walked along the millrace and studied the wheel of the sawmill he

had constructed. He wanted to be able to tell the mill’s owner, John Sutter, when the

water in the race was deep and swift enough to turn the mill’s wheel. On the morning of

January 24, 1848, Marshall noticed something unusual in one of the deep pools along the

bank. Under the clear water lay a yellow lump: a gold-colored, chewed-up piece of rock,

sitting on top of a smooth and flat rock. He reached into the cold water and snatched up

the strange rock. Then he stood by the bank, pondering what his next step should be.

Was it really gold? James Marshall knew several tests for gold, but only one such test

could be conducted there by the riverbank. Marshall decided to perform this one simple

test. He laid the stone on a smooth rock, and then he picked up another rock that he felt

would make a good hammer. He hammered at the gold-colored lump. He noticed that it

did not break, but careful inspection showed that it had changed shape. He put the lump in

his pocket and took it to the mill. There the mill crew conducted another test. They placed

the lump on an anvil and beat it with a hammer. When the lump flattened but did not

become fragmented, the mill crew knew that the lump was not iron pyrite, also known as

fools’ gold. Three more tests were used in order to ascertain the exact composition of that

gold lump. The mill cook threw it into a kettle of lye, where it was boiled for a day. The

prolonged boiling did not change the lump’s color: it remained the color of gold. John

Sutter, the mill’s owner, was shown the lump on January 28, 1848, five days before his



40

land became part of the United States. He performed two different tests on the gold

colored lump. After the first test, John Sutter observed that nitric acid did not damage the

lump’s appearance. Then he placed the lump on a scale. Its weight showed that it was

much denser than silver. John Sutter and James Marshall were then sure that they had in

their possession a gold nugget. They decided to keep the find a secret, and they told the

mill crew to keep quiet about the news. However, one mill hand wrote to his friends about

his own efforts at gold mining. A storeowner overheard another mill hand bragging about

a piece of gold he kept in a small buckskin bag. When a deliveryman got a look at a

handful of gold dust, shown to him by a small boy at the mill, the arrival of a California

Gold Rush was almost unavoidable. Its occurrence was made a certainty with the

publication of a San Francisco news headline reading “GOLD MINE FOUND.” Over

ninety percent of the people in San Francisco took off in the direction of Sutter’s Mill.

************************************************************************

ascertain-to find out or learn for a certainty

buckskin-made from the skin of a buck ( a male deer)

certainty-something that is fixed or settled

composition-manner of being composed, as to style or elements

denser- having its parts more massed or more crowded together; more compact

fragmented- broke into small detached fragments

millrace-the canal in which water goes to a mill wheel

pondering-weighing in the mind; deliberating

possession-act or state of being the owner or holder

Review questions

1. Where was Sutter’s Mill located?

____________________________________________

2. In what year was gold first found in the territories west of the United States?

__________



41

3. In what city was the discovery of gold first made public?

_________________________

4. What is one test for gold that requires little extra equipment?

______________________

5. The first gold nugget found in California was lying in a

__________________________.

6. John Sutter tested the nugget with nitric _______________ and with a

______________.

7. A news headline in _________ ___________________ announced the discovery of

gold.

8. News of the discovery had leaked from comments made by the work crew at Sutter’s

________.

9. Gold is more dense than __________________.

10. What do you think? What changes took place in California after the discovery of gold

leaked out?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Multiple Choice:

1. Which of the following is a test for gold?

a) weigh object on a scale c)drop nitric acid on it

b) hit it with a hammer d) all of the above

2. Which of the following would not break apart if hit hard with a hammer?

a) Iron pyrite c) gold

b) glass d) fools’ gold

3. Which of the following did not help spread word of the discovery of gold?

a) letter to a friend c) secrets shared with a deliveryman



42

b) bragging in a store d) none of the above

ANSWERS

1. California

2. 1848

3. San Francisco

4. hammering it

5. pool

6. acid, scale

7. San Francisco

8. Mill

9. silver

10. answers will vary

1. d

2. c

3. d



43

Reading Comprehension- History- Science

Name _______________________________ Date _____________________

LEAP YEAR

As February 29, 2008 approaches, some people may notice something unusual about the

date. Last year, there was no February 29th. In fact, there has not been a February 29th

since 2004. Why does February 29th occur only once in four years? To understand this

confusing arrangement, it is necessary to understand the calendar that is currently used in

the United States. Nearly all modern societies use some kind of calendar to decide on the

dates and times of everything, from religious holidays to business meetings. The kind of

calendar used determines what makes up a week, a month, or a year. Some societies use

lunar calendars, which are based on the revolution of the moon around Earth, and others

use solar calendars, which are based on the revolution of Earth around the sun. The

United States, like much of the rest of the world, uses a solar calendar. The solar calendar

used by most of the world today is known as the Gregorian calendar. Named after Pope

Gregory XIII, who introduced it in 1582, this modern calendar is the end result of

hundreds of years of fine-tuning. It was developed from the Julian calendar, which was

created in 46 BC by Julius Caesar. The Julian calendar was also a solar calendar, based on

the time it takes for Earth to travel one complete loop around the sun. In Julius Caesar’s

time, although astronomers believed that the sun revolved around Earth, they still

managed to make fairly accurate measurements of the length of a complete cycle. A solar

year, they calculated, was about 365.25 days long. Julius Caesar, deciding that it would be

difficult to add ¼ of a day onto each year, ordered one extra day to be added every four

years to the month of February, creating what would be called “leap” years. This calendar

was used by the western world for over a thousand years. Unfortunately, there was a

problem with the Julian calendar. When Julius Caesar ordered a leap year every four

years, he was putting in too many extra days. A solar year is not 365.25 days long, but in

fact 365.24219 days. The difference between the actual length of the solar year and the



44

approximated value is very small, but over several hundred years it began to add up. By

the 1500s, spring holidays were starting to happen in the summer. In 1582, Pope Gregory

XIII came up with an idea of how to fix the problem. He realized that there were too

many leap years in the Julian calendar, so he reorganized it into a more complicated

system. In the new calendar, there is still a leap year almost every four years, but there is

also a new rule. If the year ends in 00, it is only a leap year if the year’s number can be

divided by 400. For this reason, 1800 and 1900 were not leap years, but 2000 was. The

new calendar was so accurate that over the next several hundred years, it was adopted by

almost every country in the world. Over 400 years after its introduction, the Gregorian

calendar is currently in use world-wide.

Reading Comprehension- History- Science

ANSWER THE QUESTIONS ABOUT LEAP YEAR

1. Which is the name of the calendar currently used in the United States?

a. the Gregorian calendar

b. the Julian calendar

c. the Lunar calendar

d. the Pope’s calendar

2. How many days are there in a solar year?

a. 365

b. 365.25

c. 366

d. 365.24219

3. When were leap years first used?

a. 46 BC

b. 1592

c. 1700

d. 1582



45

4. Which best describes the kind of calendar used today in the United States?

a. a solar calendar, based on the revolution of the moon around Earth

b. a lunar calendar, based on the revolution of the moon around Earth

c. a solar calendar, based on the revolution of Earth around the sun

d. a lunar calendar, based on the revolution of the moon around the

sun

5. By our modern calendar, which of the following years WILL be a leap year?

a. 2100

b. 2500

c. 2200

d. 2800

6. Which of the following best describes the reason for creating leap years?

a. The Earth revolves around the sun.

b. The solar year does not divide into an even number of days, and it would be difficult to

add ¼ of a day onto each year.

c. Astronomers calculated the approximate length of a solar year.

d. Pope Gregory XIII saw the problem with the Julian calendar.

7. Which statement best describes the problem with the Julian calendar?

a. Pope Gregory XIII did not like the Julian calendar.

b. The actual solar year was slightly shorter than the year calculated for the Julian

calendar, so there were too many leap years.

c. The actual solar year was slightly longer than the year calculated for the Julian

calendar, so there were not enough leap years.

d. The Julian calendar did not have leap years.



46

ANSWERS TO LEAP YEAR

1. a

2. d

3. a

4. c

5. d

6. b

7. b



47

Newspapers

Name __________________________________________

Date_________________________

What Is a Newspaper?

A newspaper is a publication that is issued daily or weekly and includes local and

international news stories, advertisements, announcements, opinions, cartoons, sports

news and television listings. It is an important method of letting the public know

everything that is happening in their local area and around the world. Even with the

advancements in computer technology, newspapers continue to be an important aspect of

everyday life. It is important to know the sections of the newspaper and what information

each one contains. The front page has the most important stories of the day. Each story

has its own "headline" and a "by-line" giving the name of the reporter who wrote the

story. Every newspaper story has to answer the following questions:

5Ws Who? - who is the story about?

What? - what is the story about?

Where? - where does the story take place?

When? - when does the story take place?

Why? - why is this happening? (This is not always possible to answer)

H How? - how this story happened.

Although every news story cannot fit into a formula, there is a certain structure that is

fairly common of all news stories.

1. The first paragraph gives the answers to the most important of the 5 W's and H. The

second paragraph tells the rest of the 5 Ws if they were not included in the lead.

2. The rest of the paragraphs elaborates on the information given in the opening and gives

more information and details.



48

3. Background information is included if it is giving new information to a story that had

been printed previously in the newspaper. Sometimes it gives information which is

necessary to understand the story.

4. A quotation or a statement about the news story is often included in order to explain the

importance of the story.

5. Details are provided about the story and are organized into paragraphs. Each paragraph

provides one aspect of the story and the details are arranged in order of importance.

Answer each of the following questions:

1. Why are newspapers still important to people?

__________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. What sections are included in a newspaper?

____________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3. What are the main questions a news story must answer?

__________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

Read the following news story and answer the questions.

Nowhere to Go but Up

By Walt Walton

The Paper

Waters men's basketball coach Audrey Hatfield will have a good idea of what she is up

against this season after the first two road games that kick off the Tens' 2008-09 schedule

this weekend in Mars, Atlantis. Hatfield faces the daunting task of turning around a team

that has finished in last place for the past four seasons. Its best player is still struggling to



49

make a comeback from knee surgery. The Tens take on the Venus Nines today in Mars

before heading to Jupiter to play the Rings on Sunday. The Nines began the season by

defeating the Moons 80 -68 last weekend. Although it is still early in the season, Hatfield

says the games are important because they are against two winning teams. "These games

will give us a good idea as to where we stand," said Hatfield. Playing two different teams

back-to-back also means a little more work for the coaches and players in regards to

preparation. "It's obviously tougher because you've got two sets of videotapes to watch

and two different teams to prepare for. You want to know what they do on offence and

you want the players to know. You want to be able to run what you expect to see from

them. The Nines, for example, play a complete half-court, man-to-man. The Rings are

going to press us, run some zone against us and some man," explained Hatfield.

As far as star forward Matty Molloy is concerned. Hatfield said the Mars native and

former scoring champ is going on the road, but he's not sure how many minutes he'll get.

"Right now, he's working on making the starting lineup," said Hatfield.

1. Who is this story about?

____________________________________________________

2. What is the story about?

____________________________________________________

3. Where does this story take place? ___________________________________________

4. When does this story take place?

_____________________________________________

5. Why is this story taking place? _____________________________________________

6. How did this story come about?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

7. What section of the newspaper would this story be found in?

______________________

8. Who do you think would be interested in reading this story? Why?



50

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

9. What background knowledge would the reader need to understand this story?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

The classified section of a newspaper is where ads are placed. People who want to apply

for a job, buy a house, or make any other similar transaction are very interested in this

section. Anyone who has articles to sell or a position they wish to advertise can purchase

space in this section. The cost of placing an ad in the newspaper is usually determined by

the number of words in the ad. Big companies can purchase whole pages or part of a page

for a price. This is one of the ways newspapers make money. Read the following ad and

explain what is being sold.

Fashionable Fabrics

555 -1555

Hairpin Drive, Mountainview

We are pleased to offer the best selection competitive pricing and a friendly and

knowledgeable staff. Offering great deals on quilting cottons, Christmas prints,

bridal fabrics, drapery upholstery, polar fleece, and cross stitch supplies. Check out

our weekly “in store” specials We ship anywhere by ground mail.

1. What is being sold?

_______________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

2. Is there any information not included in this ad that you think should be there? What is

it?

________________________________________________________________________



51

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3. Suppose the cost of advertising in the newspaper was: $10.00 for the first 10 words and

9¢ a word for every word after, how much would it have cost to place this ad in the

newspaper? ______________________________________________________________

4. Write a newspaper ad in which you would like to sell: 10 novels at $2.00 each.

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

5. At the rate given in #2, how much would it cost you to place your ad in the newspaper?

_____________________________________________________________

The following is an advertisement for a job placed in the newspaper. Read the ad and

answer the questions which follow:

Crane Supply

Warehouse Counter Sales Clerk

Applications are being accepted for the position of WAREHOUSE COUNTER SALES

CLERK with a national company specializing in the distribution of plumbing, heating,

and industrial products. The position is based in Hawaii and offers the successful

candidate a career environment with an established growth oriented company.

Applications are encouraged from high school and community college graduates with a

mechanical aptitude and/or tradespeople with 1-2 years experience in plumbing, heating,

or industrial work. A full benefits program is available. Only selected candidates will be

contacted.



52

Submit resume in confidence to:

Box 100

c/o The Paper

200 Mountain Road

Wiltshire, CT.

00700

1. What position is being advertised?

________________________________________________________________________

2. What kind of work would be expected in this position?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

3. What qualifications would one need to apply for this position?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

4. Would you like to apply for this job? Why or why not?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

5. Why do you think the ad states "only candidates selected will be contacted"?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

6. Why do you think the address of the company is not given?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________



53

7. Is there any information you feel is missing from this ad? What is it?

________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________



54

Answers:

What Is a Newspaper?

1. They can get the local and international news as well as sports and TV listings without

having to connect to the Internet or watch commercials.

2. The newspaper includes local and international news, advertisements, announcements,

opinions, cartoons, sports news and television listings.

3. The main questions are Who? What? When? Where? Why? and How?

Nowhere to Go but Up

1. This story is about the Tens team, their coach and star player.

2. The story is about how the team has two tough games coming up.

3. This story takes place in a school gymnasium.

4. The story takes place this weekend.

5. The reporter wants the people to know that the team has a new coach and what she

plans to do.

6. The coach hopes to get the team to win more games.

7. It is from the sports section.

8. People who like basketball and those who are fans of the team would be interested.

9. People would have to know about the losses of the team, that the old coach was no

longer there and that the star player had knee surgery.

Ads

1. This ad is selling material which can be used to make quilts, clothes or any other crafts.

2. It doesn't give any idea of how much the material costs or any examples of their “in

store” specials.

3. $10.00 for the first 10 words and 9 cents a word for 33 words =$10.00 + 2.97 = $ 12.97

4. & 5. will vary

Crane Supply

1. The position being advertised is for a warehouse counter sales clerk.

2. The person would have to serve customers who come to the warehouse to pick up

supplies.



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3. The person has to have graduated from high school or community college. He/She also

has to know the different parts required for plumbing a heating repairs and installation.

4. Answers will vary.

5. This is to let people know that if they don't hear from the company they haven't been

selected.

6. This is to prevent people interested in the position from dropping by or phoning the

company to know if they have been selected.

7. The salary is not given nor a time frame for the selection process.

All texts come from http://www.abcteach.com

Date post:	01-Dec-2015
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Lektion-se 11046 Reading Comprehension

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