Selection: L-23

L-23

Grade level: 12

Word count: 3221 words

Author: Stephen Crane

Synopsis: What will happen to the four men who have been shipwrecked for more than 30 hours?

Excerpt: Later the correspondent spoke into the bottom of the boat. "Billie!" There was a slow and gradual disentanglement. "Billie, will you spell me?"

"Sure," said the oiler.

This plan enabled the oiler and the correspondent to get respite together. "We'll give those boys a chance to get into shape again," said the captain.

"Boys," said the cook, with the notes of every reluctance in his voice, "she's drifted in pretty close. I guess one of you had better take her to sea again."

"Billie? Billie, will you spell me?"

"Sure," said the oiler.

Question: The author of this selection used the four men in the dinghy to represent different groups that make up a larger society: leaders, followers, decent working men, and philosophical men. Which of the following represented the decent working man?

1. the oiler
2. the correspondent
3. the captain
4. the man on the beach

Selection: L-24

L-24

Grade level: 12

Word count: 2818 words

Author: Geoffrey Chaucer

Synopsis: The General Prologue is the first part of a text written by Geoffrey Chaucer. Here, the first half of the Prologue is presented.

Excerpt: A SERGEANT-AT-LAW, cautious and shrewd, who had been often at consultation, was there also. A prudent and judicious man, or so he seemed as his words were so wise, he had been frequently appointed as a justice in trials by appointment and commission; many were the fees and robes with which he had been presented on account of his great legal knowledge and renown. There was no greater purchaser of land than him, and his dealings were above suspicion; he was the busiest of men, and yet he seemed more busy than he was. He had at his fingertips all the exact terms, cases, and judgments from the time of William the Conqueror; he knew all the statutes by heart, and no man could detect a flaw in his knowledge.

There was a SHIPMAN too, a West-countryman from Dartmouth; he rode upon a horse as well as he was able. He wore a gown of coarse stuff which came down as low as his knee, also a dagger suspended by a lace from his neck under his arm. The hot summer had made his face all brown; he was a fine, hearty-looking fellow. He was not remarkable for tenderness of conscience, seeing that if he were engaged at sea and had got the upper-hand, he always sent his prisoners home by water, but for his skill in reckoning the tides, for knowing the currents, shallows, and sandbanks, for calculating the exact place of the sun and age of the moon, and for his complete art of piloting, there was not his equal between Hull and Carthage. He was a brave and hardy man whose beard many a tempest had shaken, and was well versed with every harbor from Gothland to Cape Finisterre and every creek in Spain and Brittany. His ship was called the Magdalen.

Question: Read these two excerpts. In what way were the Sergeant and the Shipman similar?

1. Both were excellent at their respective trades.
2. Both had been appointed as justices in trials.
3. Both were West-countrymen from Dartmouth.
4. Both had been suspected of illegal dealings.

Selection: L-10

L-10

Grade level: 12

Word count: 2596 words

Author: Edgar Allan Poe

Synopsis: Edgar Allan Poe's classic short story gives a whole new meaning to the term "solitary confinement."

Excerpt: My outstretched hands eventually encountered some solid obstruction: a wall, seemingly of stone masonry, very smooth, slimy, and cold. I followed it up, a process which afforded me means of ascertaining the dimensions of my dungeon, that I might make its circuit and return to the point of commencement. My clothes had been exchanged for a wrapper of coarse serge; I tore part of the hem from the robe and placed the fragment at full length at right angles to the wall. In groping my way around the prison, I would encounter this rag upon completing the circuit, or so I calculated. I staggered onward for some time when I stumbled and fell, excessive fatigue induced me to remain prostrate, and sleep overtook me where I lay.

Upon awaking, I found beside me a loaf and a pitcher with water; I was too drowsy to reflect upon this circumstance, but ate and drank with frantic avidity. I resumed my tour around the prison, with much toil coming at last upon the fragment of serge. Up to the period when I fell, I had counted fifty-two paces, upon resuming my walk I had counted forty-eight more when arriving at the serge. There were in all a hundred paces; I presumed the dungeon to be fifty yards in circuit, I had encountered, however, many depressions in the wall, and thus couldn't guess the shape of the dungeon.

Regarding its size I was greatly mistaken, as the entire circuit of its walls did not exceed twenty-five yards. The truth at length flashed upon me -- in my first attempt at exploration I had counted fifty-two paces, I must have been within a few paces of the serge when I fell -- in fact, I had nearly performed the circuit of the dungeon. I then slept, and upon awaking, must have missed the serge, thus supposing the circuit nearly double what it actually was.

I had been deceived, too, in respect to the shape of the enclosure. The angles were simply slight depressions, or niches, at odd intervals, the general shape of the prison was square. What I had taken for masonry revealed itself as iron, or some metal, in massive plates. I noticed the floor, too, which was stone, in the center of which yawned the circular pit from whose jaws I fortuitously, albeit unwittingly, escaped.

Question: The purpose of these two excerpts is to

1. illustrate how disoriented the narrator was in his initial examination of the dungeon.
2. demonstrate how the narrator's excessive fatigue aided his ability to notice subtle details.
3. expose the varied weaknesses of the cell, which were obscured in the initial darkness.
4. analyze the construction of the cell, whose design suggested it was originally intended for animals.

Selection: L-4

L-4

Grade level: 12

Word count: 2455 words

Author: Elizabeth Graziose

Synopsis: Therapy sessions have become more exciting and beneficial with the introduction of video games.

Excerpt: Although many systems are modified to meet specific therapeutic requirements, physical therapy can still be aided with the use of an unmodified gaming system. A popular virtual reality game system is being used in its unmodified form. This system requires the players to physically move their entire bodies while playing, therefore causing them to carry out some of the traditional exercises that are used in physical therapy. By taking part in the variety of games, patients are gaining strength and endurance without feeling as if they are in therapy.

Question: Choose the sentence in this excerpt that explains how an unmodified gaming system can be used in aiding physical therapy.

Selection: L-7

L-7

Grade level: 12

Word count: 2446 words

Author: R. Bender

Synopsis: The Soviets shot down an American pilot during the Cold War. What happened when it was revealed the pilot was on a spy mission?

Excerpt: "The pilot, as are all pilots used on NASA's program of upper atmosphere research with the U-2 airplane, is a civilian employed by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, builders of the plane."

To add credence to the smokescreen, the United States proclaimed it was grounding all U-2 aircraft for inspections of their oxygen systems before authorizing any additional weather research missions.

On May 6, 1960, the American Embassy in Moscow sent a communique to the Soviet Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Question: Immediately following the announcement that Powers' plane was missing, the U.S. government took steps to support its cover story. According to the selection, what was the government's first step?

1. It grounded all U-2 planes for inspection of their oxygen systems.
2. It grounded all U-2 planes for inspection of their surveillance systems.
3. It re-certified all U-2 pilots to ensure they were trained to properly operate the aircraft.
4. It launched multiple weather research missions through NASA.