Reading_for_the_Real_World_1_2nd_Ed

Summary

Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Select THREE answer choices to complete the summary.

First Sentence: King’s speech talks about the freedom and rights that all people should have regardless of who they are.

1.He dreams of a time when there will be no segregation or discrimination in America.

2.At the time, some people thought that Blacks were only protesting in order to blow off steam.

3.King believes that Blacks will not have to use violence in fighting for their equal rights.

4.King has faith that someday all people of color will be treated as equals in the United States.

5.Racial discrimination is especially a problem in southern states like Alabama and Georgia.

Vocabulary Extension

Here are six words that are related to the topic but are not in the reading. Fill in each blank with the best word from the list. Use each word only once.

rally

community

boycott

minister

prejudice

inspirational

1.He organized a(n) __________ in the park to protest the new policy.

2.He asked people to stop buying the company’s product in order to __________

their products.

3.Two hundred people from the working __________ supported his efforts.

4.They didn’t like the __________ the factory owners showed against working women.

5.“Did you know that Dr. King was a(n) __________?” “Yes, his church was very popular.”

6.His sermons were very __________. Everyone felt moved afterwards.

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Supplemental Reading

Malcolm X: “By Any Means Necessary”

Track 26

Malcolm X was born in Nebraska on May 19, 1925. His real name was Malcolm Little. Malcolm’s father died when he was thirteen. A few years

later, he started a life of crime. He was arrested for stealing in

51945 and spent seven years in prison. In prison, he educated himself by reading books. At the urging of two of his brothers, he joined the Nation of Islam. After leaving prison, he became

a minister for the Nation of Islam and then an important leader in the AfricanAmerican civil rights movement. He took the last name “X” to symbolize his

10	true, unknown African name.
	Malcolm X had a different philosophy than Martin Luther King. While King
	wanted black people and white people to live together peacefully, Malcolm X at
	first claimed that black people were superior to white people and should live
	separately from them. Also, while King urged equal civil rights for black people

15and white people, Malcolm X emphasized equal human rights. “Human rights are something you were born with,” he said. He saw the struggle for equality as being international and wanted to affect worldwide change at the United Nations. While King stressed non-violence, Malcolm X said that black people should be able to

protect themselves “by whatever means necessary”–– including weapons.

20 Later in his life, Malcolm X no longer called white people a race of “devils.” He continued, however, to encourage African-Americans to have pride in their heritage, and he continued to advocate violence, if necessary. Malcolm X was shot to death while giving a speech in New York on Feb. 21, 1965.

Discussion

Discuss the following questions.

1.Do you think violence is ever necessary? Why or why not?

2.What types of protests have occurred in your country recently?

U N I T 7 Language & Literature 2

Desiree’s Baby

by Kate Chopin

Pre-Reading Questions

Think about the following questions.

1.Do you know anyone who has a multiracial background?

2.In the past, how were multiracial people treated by society?

3.How are multiracial people treated by society today?

Vocabulary Preview

Match each word or phrase with the correct definition.

1.	blow	a. a room devoted to reading and studying
2.	bonfire	b. a forcible stroke to the body
3.	curse	c. a large fire built outside
4.	remnant	d. an unusual public display
5.	spectacle	e. a small remaining part
6.	study	f. to bring great evil upon

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Desiree’s Baby by Kate Chopin	Track 27

Desiree sat in her room, one hot afternoon. The baby lay asleep upon her own great mahogany bed. One of La Blanche’s little quadroon boys stood fanning the child. Desiree’s eyes had been fixed absently

and sadly upon the baby. She looked from her child to the boy who stood beside

5him and back again “Ah!” The blood turned like ice in her veins, and a clammy moisture gathered upon her face. She stayed motionless, with her gaze riveted upon her child and her face the picture of fright.

Presently, her husband entered the room and without

noticing her, went to a table and began to search among some

10papers. “Armand,” she called to him. But he did not notice. “Armand,” she said again. Then she rose and tottered toward him. “Armand,” she panted once more, clutching his arm, “look at our child. What does it mean? Tell me.”

“It means,” he answered lightly, “that the child is not

15	white; it means that you are not white.”
		When she could hold a pen in her hand, she sent a despairing letter to
	Madame Valmonde.
		“My mother, they tell me I am not white. For God’s sake, tell them it is not
	true. I will die. I must die. I cannot be so unhappy and live.”
20		The answer that came was brief:
		“My own Desiree: Come home to Valmonde, back to your mother who
	loves you. Come with your child.”
		When the letter reached Desiree, she went with it to her husband’s study,
	and laid it open upon the desk before which he sat.
25		He said nothing. “Shall I go, Armand?” she asked in tones sharp with
	agonized suspense.
	2	La Blanche --- the name of the head slave
	2	quadroon --- a person with one-quarter black ancestry
	5	vein --- a vessel that carries blood toward the heart
	5	clammy --- damp, sticky, and cool
	11	totter --- to walk unsteadily

34	gallery --- an outdoor balcony
38	plantation --- a large farm or estate that produces huge harvests of crops
42	L’Abri --- the name of the plantation that Armand owned
49	espousal --- marriage
56	brand --- a mark of disgrace

“Yes, go.”

“Do you want me to go?” “Yes, I want you to go.”

30 She turned away like one stunned by a blow and walked slowly toward the door, hoping he would call her back.

“Good-bye, Armand,” she moaned. He did not answer her.

Desiree went in search of her child. Zandrine was pacing the gallery with

35it. She took the little one from the nurse’s arms and, descending the steps, walked away.

Desiree had not changed the thin white dress nor the slippers which she wore. She did not take the broad road which led to the far-off plantation of Valmonde. She walked across a deserted field, where the stubble bruised her

40tender feet and tore her thin gown to shreds. She disappeared among the reeds and willows that grew thick along the banks; and she did not come back again.

Some weeks later there was a curious scene enacted at L’Abri. In the center of the backyard was a great bonfire. Armand Aubigny sat in the wide hallway that commanded a view of the spectacle; and it was he who dealt out to a half

45dozen negroes the material which kept this fire ablaze.

The last thing to go was a tiny bundle of letters that Desiree had sent to him during the days of their espousal. There was the remnant

50of one back in the drawer from which he took them. But it was not Desiree’s; it was part of an

old letter from his mother to his father. He read it. She was thanking God for the blessing of her husband’s love:

“But above all,” she wrote, “I thank the good God for having so arranged

55our lives that our dear Armand will never know that his mother belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery.”

Reading Time

_______ minutes _______ seconds

599 words

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Reading Comprehension

AMark each statement as either true (T) or false (F) according to the reading.

1.____ Desiree and Armand had a loving relationship before the baby was born.

2.____ Desiree’s Mom asked her to bring her baby and come home to Valmonde.

3.____ Desiree took the easiest road when she left L’Abri.

4.____ Armand was angry that his slaves started the great bonfire.

BChoose the best answer.

1.What does Armand accuse Desiree of?

a.Not taking care of their child

b.Not being white

c.Cheating on him with another man

d.Threatening to leave him

2.According to the passage, Zandrine was ________.

a.a slave

b.Desiree’s sister

c.a housekeeper

d.a nurse

3.What does Desiree do immediately after Armand tells her to go?

a.She burns all of the letters she wrote to Armand.

b.She runs away to her mother’s house.

c.She goes looking for her child.

d.She waits for her husband to stop her from leaving.

CFor the next two questions, look for the answers in the passage and write them on the lines provided.

1.Why was Desiree frightened when she looked at her baby’s face?

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

2.What was shocking about the letter from Armand’s mother to Armand’s father?

______________________________________________________

______________________________________________________

Summary

Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Select THREE answer choices to complete the summary.

First Sentence: Desiree is so shocked by her husbands response to their son, she decides to end her and her baby’s life.

1.She walked across a deserted field, where the stubble bruised her tender feet and tore her thin gown to shreds.

2.She disappeared among the reeds and willows that grew thick along the banks.

3.Desiree did not take the easy road to get to Valmonde.

4.She did not come back again.

5.The baby slept on Desiree’s big, mahogany bed.

Vocabulary Extension

Here are six words that are related to the topic but are not in the reading. Fill in each blank with the best word from the list. Use each word only once.

Creole

accuse

impulsive

cultivate

moral

devastated

1.If a person is __________, it means they are easily influenced by their emotions and act without thinking.

2.A plantation’s main source of income is to ________ crops such as corn or wheat.

3.Louisiana is famous for ________ food and culture that evolved from the different ethnic groups who first settled there.

4.She was completely ________ when she heard the news that her father had passed away in a car accident.

5.It is a serious matter to ________ somebody of a crime.

6.Some stories have a(n) ________ or lesson that the author wants the reader to consider.

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Supplemental Reading

Master or Slave?

Track 28

Desiree’s Baby was one of Kate Chopin’s (1851-1904) first and most famous short stories. In this story, Chopin explores the theme of race more strongly than in any of her other works.

Desiree is married to Armand, who owns a plantation and many African-

5American slaves that work on it. This was typical in the southern United States at that time. Black people were brought to America, primarily from Africa, as slaves and consequently bought and sold like property. White people viewed African-Americans as an inferior race, and it was shameful for a white person to have “mixed blood,” as would result from having parents of unequal races.

10	This explains Desiree’s concern after realizing that her son had black
	characteristics. When Armand told Desiree that “the child is not white” and that
	“you are not white,” he was referring to more than skin color. He meant that his
	wife and child were inferior and were no longer acceptable to him.
	This rejection was more than Desiree could bear, and she felt it was better

15to die than to live in such disgrace. When she walked away, the bushes tore her white gown, symbolizing that she was no longer a white person.

When Armand discovered the baby’s mixed blood came not through Desiree but through his own mother,

	he had already lost his wife and son, and his life was
20	destroyed.
	One critic noted that Armand was as much a slave
	to his racial views as the real slaves that he controlled.
	“No real distinction based on color can be made
	between slave and master.”

Discussion

Discuss the following questions.

1.What reasons did the south use to justify having slaves?

2.What are some arguments against slavery?

U N I T 8 Space & Exploration 1

The Space

Race

Pre-Reading Questions

Think about the following questions.

1.What country was the first man in space from?

2.What countries were involved in the race for space?

3.Who was the first man to walk on the moon?

Vocabulary Preview

Match each word or phrase with the correct definition.

1.	accomplish	a. a well-done job; an accomplishment
2.	achievement	b. the aim; the result that is hoped for
3.	beat	c. to send up or send away, usually with great speed
4.	goal	d. to win over another, as in a race
5.	launch	e. something sent to collect information
6.	probe	f. to do; to complete

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The Space Race Track 29

The space race occurred during the 1960s, as the United States and the Soviet Union competed for new achievements in space. Both

countries improved their technology and made new

5scientific discoveries. Their astronauts also showed great heroism. Though the space race began as national and political competition, it remains one of the great moments of history.

The space race had no clear goals at first. Each

10country wanted to show the world that it could do more than the other. At first, the Soviet Union seemed to be winning. Besides sending the first artificial satellite into

orbit, Sergei P. Korolev---the person in charge of the Soviet space program---also had many other successes. The Soviet space program sent the first unmanned spacecraft

15to the moon. In 1961, Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space, and later the same year, Gherman Titov spent the first whole day in orbit around the Earth. In 1963, the Soviets accomplished the first long-term mission, spending five days in orbit. Moreover, in the same year, the first woman went into space, Valentina

Tereshkova. The Vokshod 1 mission was in 1964 and carried three astronauts. This

20was the first time a single spacecraft had carried more than one person. In addition, the first spacewalk was conducted in 1965 by Alexi Leonov. Also during this time, the Soviets sent many unmanned space probes to the moon and elsewhere.

The American space agency used modified missiles at first. The US attempted to launch its first satellite in 1957, but the rocket exploded. Then in

251958, a satellite, Explorer 1, was successfully launched. On May 5, 1961, Alan Shepard became the first American in space. Twenty days later, President John

12	artificial --- not natural; man-made
16	orbit --- a circular path in space around a planet

23modify --- to change

24explode --- to burst into pieces