Selection: K-23

K-23

Grade level: 11

Word count: 2412 words

Author: Anton Chekhov

Synopsis: A wager between a banker and a lawyer yields an unexpected result.

Excerpt: "That cursed bet!" murmured the old man, clutching his head in despair. "He's only forty years old, he will deprive me of my last penny, marry, enjoy life, and I will look on like an envious beggar and hear the same dreaded words from him every day: 'I'm obliged to you for my life's happiness.' No, no, it's too much -- the only escape from bankruptcy and disgrace is that the man should die."

Question: Based on this excerpt, what conclusion can be made about the banker's motivations?

1. His greed drove him to consider committing a terrible crime.
2. His jealousy caused him to feign friendship while plotting revenge.
3. His selfishness drove him to lie about the original wager.
4. His pride caused him to openly reject his wealth while secretly hiding it.

Selection: K-23

K-23

Grade level: 11

Word count: 2412 words

Author: Anton Chekhov

Synopsis: A wager between a banker and a lawyer yields an unexpected result.

Excerpt: During the first year of solitary imprisonment, the lawyer, judging from his frantic short notes, suffered terribly from loneliness and boredom; from his cell day and night came the sound of the piano. He was sent books of whimsical character: novels with complicated yet preposterous love interests, stories of crime and fantasy, comedies, and so on.

In the second year the piano was abandoned and the lawyer requested only classic literature.

In the second half of the sixth year, the prisoner began zealously to study languages, philosophy, and history; in the space of four years about six hundred volumes were purchased at his request.

Later, after the tenth year, the lawyer sat immovable before his table and read only the New Testament; the banker found it peculiar that a man who in four years had mastered six hundred erudite volumes should have spent nearly a year examining one book, easy to understand and by no means thick.

Question: Place these characterizations of the lawyer's years of solitary imprisonment in order, from first to last.

1. He played the piano as he suffered from loneliness and boredom.
2. He requested only classic literature.
3. He intensively studied languages, philosophy, and history.
4. He read only the New Testament.

Selection: K-9

K-9

Grade level: 11

Word count: 2324 words

Author: Guinevere Tobias

Synopsis: Supporters of Gustave Whitehead are challenging the Wright brothers' place in aviation history.

Excerpt: The Herald's account was accompanied by a lithograph drawn by the reporter. A photograph was said to have been taken, but none was printed in the newspaper and no copies of it remain today. This photograph and its absence from the newspaper story have provoked much debate over the last few years. Some aviation experts asserted that it -- and Whitehead's flight -- were frauds because there was no photographic evidence, while others cite the photograph as proof of the flight's legitimacy.

Question: What might have happened if the Bridgeport Herald had published a photograph of Whitehead's flight instead of a lithograph drawing?

1. Whitehead would have had evidence that he was the first to fly a heavier-than-air plane.
2. The supporters of the Wright brothers would have called the photograph a fraud.
3. A photo would have shown how the design of Whitehead's plane differed from the one in the lithograph.
4. The photographer would have been asked by the Wright brothers to photograph their plane too.