I Circle the right answer.

1 The text is an extract from ... .

a) a report c) the script of an interview

b) a speech d) none of the above

2 This passage is about … .

a) exams c) Martin Luther King

b) one school d) education in America

3 East St. Louis is the name of ... .

a) a school c) a town with a majority of black people

b) the writer d) a town with a majority of white people

4 The writer is … .

a) a journalist c) the Headmaster of the school

b) a school official d) a teacher at Clark Junior High

5 His general impression is that the young black pupils seem … .

a) bored c) disillusioned

b) enthusiastic d) confident in their future

6 The passage suggests that the school in Fairview Heights is … .

a) really a top school

b) the best school in East St. Louis

c) a school with a minority of black pupils

d) a school with a minority of white pupils

II True or False? Give your answer and justify your choice by quoting

the text.

1 Shalika has always been a pupil at Clark Junior High.

T

F

2 Her parents don’t care much about her education.

T

F

3 She has very bad memories of her fifth grade.

T

F

4 She has never experiences racial discrimination.

T

F

5 She knows nothing about the Civil Rights Campaigns.

T

F

6 She’s very much like other American children of her age.

T

F

III Rewrite each sentence replacing ‘it’ by one of the following suggestions. Note that there is one suggestion that does not fit at all.

#	Sentences		Suggestions
1	We read it every year.	a	Reading Martin Luther Kin’s speech.
2	It does begin t seem …	b	The state of the school named for MLK.
3	It’s like a terrible joke on history.	c	Going to the school that is in such a poor state.
		d	Martin Luther King’s speech.

IV Underline the right answer and justify your choice with a short quotation.

1 When she says ‘the same old speech’, the girl means … .

a) it is a very important speech;

b) she is fed up with the speech;

c) all speeches are just the same;

d) the speech was written a long time ago

2 When she says ‘perfunctory”, the girl wants to show that reading the speech is … .

a) a useless duty to be performed;

b) the main event of the school year;

c) a way to improve the position of the blacks;

d) absolutely essential although not very useful

3 When she says ‘It’s like a terrible joke on history’ she implies that …

a) the speech is only a joke;

b) the speech changed the course of history;

c) Dr. King used to crack a few jokes in his speeches;

d) It is ironical that the school should be named for Dr. King

THE END

TEXT 24 AFTER TWENTY YEARS

(by O. Henry)

O. Henry was the pen name of the American writer William Sydney Porter (September 11, 1862 – June 5, 1910). O. Henry's short stories are well known for their wit, wordplay, and clever twist endings.

<…> About midway of a certain block the policeman suddenly slowed his walk. In the doorway of a darkened hardware store a man leaned, with an unlighted cigar in his mouth. As the policeman walked up to him the man spoke up quickly.

“It’s all right, officer,” he said, reassuringly. “I’m just waiting for a friend. It’s an appointment made twenty years ago. Sounds a little funny to you, doesn’t it? Well, I’ll explain if you’d like to make certain it’s all straight. About that long ago there used to be a restaurant where this store stands – ‘Big Joe’ Brady’s restaurant.”

(10) “Until five years ago,” said the policeman. “It was torn down then.”

The man in the doorway struck a match and lit his cigar. The light showed a pale, square-jawed face with keen eyes, and a little white scar near his right eyebrow. His scarf pin was a large diamond, oddly set.

“Twenty years ago to-night,” said the man, “I dined here at ‘Big Joe’ Brady’s with Jimmy Wells, the best chum, and the finest chap in the world. He and I were raised here in New York, just like two brothers, together. I was eighteen and Jimmy was twenty. The next morning I (20) was to start for the West to make my fortune. You couldn’t have dragged Jimmy out of New York; he thought it was the only place on earth. Well, we agreed that night that we would meet here again exactly twenty years from that date and time, no matter what our conditions might be or from what distance we might have to come.

We figured that in twenty years each of us ought to have our destiny worked out and our fortunes made, whatever they were going to be.” “It sounds pretty interesting,” said the policeman. “Rather a long time between meets, though, it seems to me. Haven’t you heard from your friend since you left?”

(30) “Well, yes, for a time we corresponded,” said the other. “But after a year or two we lost track of each other. You see, the West is a pretty big proposition, and I kept hustling around over it pretty lively. But I know Jimmy will meet me here if he’s alive, for he always was the truest, staunchest old chap in the world. He’ll never forget. I came a thousand miles to stand in this door tonight, and it’s worth it if my old partner turns up.”

The waiting man pulled out a handsome watch, the lid of which was set with small diamonds.

“Three minutes to ten,” he announced. “It was exactly ten o’clock

(40) when we parted here at the restaurant door.” <…>

NOTES

hardware store – a store that sells metal goods and things for your home or garden, such as pans, knives, tools, and chemical products

to make one’s fortune – to find one’s place in life

a pretty big proposition – a place that has a lot of tempting things to offer

EXERCISES