Textbook pages 1052 - North Bergen School District
Transcription
Textbook pages 1052 - North Bergen School District
UNIT 8 2 The BIG Question What Is the American Dream? “ I have learned that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life he or she has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours. ” —Henry David Thoreau American Writer (1817–1862) Bill Ross/CORBIS LOOKING AHEAD The skill lessons and readings in this unit will help you develop your own answer to the Big Question. UNIT 8 WARM-UP • Connecting to the Big Question GENRE FOCUS: Historical Text I Have a Dream . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1057 by Martin Luther King Jr. READING WORKSHOP 1 Skill Lesson: Analyzing Volar. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1068 by Judith Ortiz Cofer from The Century for Young People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1076 by Alfred Levitt WRITING WORKSHOP PART 1 Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1082 READING WORKSHOP 2 Skill Lesson: Understanding Cause and Effect Lottery Winners Who Lost Their Millions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1090 by Ellen Goodstein The Gettysburg Address . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1098 by Abraham Lincoln READING WORKSHOP 3 Skill Lesson: Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details I Chose Schooling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1106 by Jacqueling Nwaiwu The Electric Summer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1114 by Richard Peck WRITING WORKSHOP PART 2 Letter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1128 READING WORKSHOP 4 Skill Lesson: Identifying Author’s Purpose I, Too . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1136 by Langston Hughes from Dandelion Wine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1142 by Ray Bradbury READING ACROSS TEXTS WORKSHOP Coming to America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1155 by Joe McGowan, Marisa Wong, Vickie Bane, and Laurie Morice Coming to America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1162 by Marianne Szegedy-Maszak UNIT 8 WRAP-UP • Answering the Big Question 1053 UNIT 8 WARM-UP Connecting to What Is the American Dream? The American dream means many things to many different people. One thing that many people agree on is that the American dream means that every person is free to achieve all that he or she is capable of. And every person should be recognized for who he or she is regardless of social class or ethnic background. In this unit, you’ll read about different people and what the American dream means to them. Real Kids and the Big Question YURI and his family moved here from a country outside the United States. His family had been displaced because of wars in their county. Now Yuri and his family live in an apartment near the school. Yuri and his sisters and brothers have made many new friends. They are learning all about American culture. If you asked Yuri what the American dream means to him, what do you think he would say? ALEXANDRA was not at all sure that she wanted to attend the new magnet school. But she took the test and was admitted. She knows that getting a good education can help her achieve her goals. Her parents always tell her that if she stays in school, she can accomplish anything. If you ask Alexandra what the American dream means to her, what do you think she would say? Warm-Up Activity In a small group, discuss what you think the American dream means to you, Yuri, and Alexandra. Then discuss ways in which you hope to achieve your American dream. 1054 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? (l)Corbis, (r)Doug Martin UNIT 8 WARM-UP You and the Big Question Reading about how other people define the American dream will help you think about how you would answer the Big Question. Plan for the Unit Challenge At the end of the unit, you’ll use notes from all your reading to complete the Unit Challenge, which will explore your answer to the Big Question. Link to Web resources to further explore the Big Question at www.glencoe.com. You’ll choose one of the following activities: A. The American Dream Newsletter Work in groups to write, design, and produce a newsletter about people who achieve their American dreams. B. An American Dream Spokesperson Write a short biography or speech, or create a poster to honor your American dream spokesperson. • Start thinking about which activity you’d like to do so that you can focus your thinking as you go through the unit. • In your Learner’s Notebook, write your thoughts about which activity you’d like to do. • Each time you make notes about the Big Question, think about how your ideas will help you with the Unit Challenge activity you chose. Keep Track of Your Ideas As you read, you’ll make notes about the Big Question. Later, you’ll use these notes to complete the Unit Challenge. See pages R8–R9 for help with making Foldable 8. This diagram shows how it should look. 1. Use this Foldable for all of the selections in this unit. Label the stapled edge with the unit number and the Big Question. 2. Label each flap with a title. (See page 1053 for the titles.) 3. Open each flap. Near the top of the page, write My Purpose for Reading. Below the crease, write The Big Question. Warm-Up 1055 UNIT 8 GENRE FOCUS: HISTORICAL TEXT Skillss Focus • Keyy skills for reading his istorical text is •K Key literary elements of historical text SSkills Model Have you ever imagined what it might have been like to live in North America before Europeans arrived, or during the Gold Rush in the West? These times and places can be explored through a variety of historical writings. Historical text can take many different forms including speeches, autobiographies, biographies, and stories. It can be nonfiction or fiction. Nonfiction historical text gives a factual account of past events, places, and people. Historical fiction combines fact and fiction in a story set in the past. Why Read Historical Text? Historical text allows you to understand the problems and issues that people faced in the past. Often this knowledge sheds light on the problems of our own time, and helps us better understand the choices we face. You will see how to use the key reading skills and literary elements as you read How to Read Historical Text • “I Have a Dream,” p. 1057 Key Reading Skills These key reading skills are especially useful tools for reading and understanding historical text. You’ll learn more about these skills later in the unit. ■ Analyzing As you read a selection, think about how its parts work together. Think about what the author is saying. Look at how the main ideas are organized. (See Reading Workshop 1.) ■ Understanding Cause and Effect As you read, look for what makes something happen. (See Reading Workshop 2.) ■ Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details Find the most important idea in a paragraph or in a selection. Look for examples, reasons, or details that help you know it’s the most important idea. (See Reading Workshop 3.) ■ Identifying Author’s Purpose As you figure out the author’s purpose, you can evaluate his or her point of view. (See Reading Workshop 4.) Key Literary and Text Elements Objectives (pp. 1056–1063) Reading Read historical text • Analyze text • Identify text structure: cause and effect • Identify main idea and supporting details • Identify author’s purpose Informational text Identify text element: chronological order Literature Identify literary elements: style, cultural reference • Identify literary devices: metaphor Recognizing and thinking about the following literary and text elements will help you understand historical texts more fully. ■ Chronological order: the order in which events happen in time (See The Century for Young People.) ■ Style: an author’s personal way of using language (See “The Gettysburg Address.”) ■ Cultural reference: the mention of a value, belief, tradition, or custom practiced in a certain culture (See “I Chose Schooling.”) ■ Metaphor: a figure of speech that compares two unlike things without using the words like and as (See “I, Too.”) 1056 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? UNIT 8 GENRE FOCUS by Martin Luther King Jr. I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.1 Fivescore years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous2 decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity. 1 But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free; one hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination; 3 one hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity; one hundred years later, the Negro is still languished4 in the corners of American society and finds himself in exile in his own land. 2 So we’ve come here today to dramatize a shameful condition. In a sense we’ve come to our nation’s capital to 1. King gave this speech at the March for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, D.C., on August 28, 1963. The crowd was estimated at between 250,000 and 400,000 people. 2. One score is twenty, so fivescore is one hundred. King is echoing Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, which begins with “fourscore and seven years ago.” Momentous (moh MEN tus) means “extremely important.” Historical Text ACTIVE READING MODEL 1 Key Text Element Cultural Reference The references to Lincoln and the end of slavery would have had special significance to King’s audience. 2 Key Text Element Chronological Order To make the order very clear, King uses signal words— ”fivescore years ago” in the previous paragraph and “one hundred years later” repeatedly here. 3. Manacles (MAN uh kuls) are handcuffs. Segregation is the practice of separating people because of their race or skin color. Discrimination is unfair treatment, especially because of people’s race or skin color. 4. King uses languished (LANG wishd) to mean something like “suffering from neglect.” 1057 UNIT 8 GENRE FOCUS ACTIVE READING MODEL cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note5 to which every American was to fall heir. This note was the promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable6 rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 3 4 It is obvious today that America has defaulted7 on this promissory note in so far as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check; a check which has come back marked “insufficient funds.” We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so we’ve come to cash this check, a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot8 to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.9 Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy; now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate10 valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice; now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood; now is the time to make justice a reality for all God’s children. It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro’s legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating11 autumn of freedom and equality. 5 5. A promissory note is a written promise to pay a certain amount of money to someone at a future date. 6. Unalienable rights, according to the Declaration of Independence, are rights that may not be taken away. 7. Defaulted means “failed to do what was required.” 8. King spoke from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, a place many people consider holy (hallowed). 9. Gradualism is the process of trying to bring about social change gradually, or slowly. 10. Desolate (DES uh lit) means “without comfort.” 11. Sweltering means “very hot and humid,” and invigorating means “bringing new life and energy.” King is talking about more than just seasonal changes. 1058 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? 3 Key Reading Skill Identify Author’s Purpose King makes his purpose clear when he says he’s “come to dramatize a shameful condition”—America’s failure to live up to its promise of equality for African Americans. 4 Key Literary Elements Style; Metaphor Figurative language, including metaphors, are a part of King’s style. Here he introduces the check and promissory note metaphors and then explains them in the final sentence and next paragraph. 5 Key Literary Elements Style; Cultural Reference References to literature are another element of King’s style. Here, “summer of . . . discontent” echoes the phrase “winter of our discontent” in Richard III by William Shakespeare. UNIT 8 GENRE FOCUS King Mural, 1986. Don Miller. District of Columbia Public Library. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. And those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content, will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of the revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges. But there is something that I must say to my people, who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the Genre Focus: Historical Text The King Mural” by Don Miller © District of Columbia Public Library” 1059 UNIT 8 GENRE FOCUS palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plain of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to generate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force; and the marvelous new militancy,12 which has engulfed the Negro community, must not lead us to a distrust of all white people. For many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. And they have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably13 bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone. And as we talk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. 6 There are those who are asking the devotees of Civil Rights, “When will you be satisfied?” We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality; we can never be satisfied as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities; we cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro’s basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one; we can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating “For Whites Only”; we cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No! no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until “justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.14” 7 8 I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations.15 Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come 12. Militancy (MIH luh tun see) refers to being ready to fight for a cause. 13. Inextricably (ih nik STRIH kuh blee) means “in a way that cannot be separated.” 14. This line is from the Old Testament’s book of Amos. 15. Tribulation (trih byuh LAY shun) is a great misery or distress. 1060 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? ACTIVE READING MODEL 6 Key Reading Skill Determining Main Idea There are two main ideas in this paragraph. One is that African Americans must use peaceful methods to achieve freedom. The other is that white people who deny freedom to others are victims of their own ignorance and prejudice. 7 Key Reading Skill Identifying Cause and Effect King states one effect (dissatisfaction) and ties it to a number of causes (police brutality and so on). 8 Key Literary Element Style Another key part of King’s style is repetition. The repetition gives the speech emotional power, just as it does in poems, song lyrics, and music. UNIT 8 GENRE FOCUS from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.16 Go back to Mississippi. Go back to Alabama. Go back to South Carolina. Go back to Georgia. Go back to Louisiana. Go back to the slums and ghettos of our Northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow17 in the valley of despair. I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise At the Lincoln Memorial, the crowd listens as TV cameras capture King’s speech. up and live out the true meaning of its creed, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.” I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood. I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children will one day 16. If something is redemptive (rih DEMP tiv), it brings rescue or freedom. 17. In this context, to wallow is to become or remain helpless. Genre Focus: Historical Text FPG 1061 UNIT 8 GENRE FOCUS ACTIVE READING MODEL live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. 9 I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day down in Alabama— with its vicious racists, with its Governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification18—one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers. I have a dream today! I have a dream that one day “every valley shall be exalted19 and every hill and mountain shall be made low. The rough places will be made plain and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”20 This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we shall be able to transform the jangling discords21 of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day. And this will be the day. This will be the day when all of God’s children will be able to sing with new meaning, “My country ’tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim’s pride, from every mountain side, let freedom ring.” And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true. 10 So let freedom ring from the prodigious22 hilltops of New Hampshire; let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York; let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania; let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado; let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California. 18. George Wallace, Alabama’s then-governor, opposed all efforts to end official segregation in his state. Interposition and nullification are legal arguments regarding a state’s right to reject or refuse to enforce federal laws. 19. Something that is exalted is raised in status, dignity, power, or glory. 20. This passage is taken from the Old Testament’s book of Isaiah. 21. Discords are disagreements or conflicts. 22. Here, prodigious (pruh DIJ us) means “enormous.” 1062 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? 9 Key Reading Skill Analyzing At the climax, or high point, of his speech, King offers his dream for a better America. 10 Key Literary Element Cultural Reference Earlier, King quoted from the King James Bible. Here, building up to a powerful conclusion, he quotes a patriotic song. Finally, at the end of the speech, he borrows from another song to connect with his audience. UNIT 8 GENRE FOCUS But not only that. Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia; let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee; let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city; we will be able to speed up that day when all God’s children, black men and white men, Jews and gentiles,23 Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: “Free at last. Free at last. Thank God Almighty, we are free at last.” 11 ❍ 23. People who are not Jews are known as gentiles (JEN tyls). ACTIVE READING MODEL 11 Key Reading Skill Identifying Cause and Effect This is really a prediction of cause and effect. King says that if we achieve equality for African Americans, the effect will be that we are all free. Write to Learn In your Learner’s Notebook, jot down some of the images you thought were full of power. How do you think these images might have affected the people in the crowd when King spoke? Explain your answer. Partner Talk With a partner, discuss whether King’s dream for America has been fulfilled since he gave this speech. Work together to come to one conclusion and give reasons for it. Study Central Visit www.glencoe.com and click on Study Central to review historical text. Genre Focus: Historical Text Bob Adelman/Magnum Photos 1063 READING WORKSHOP 1 Skills Focus You will practice using these skills when you read the following selections: • “Volar,” p. 1068 • from The Century for Young People, p. 1076 Reading Skill Lesson Analyzing Learn It! • Analyzing Informational Text • Understanding imagery • Understanding chronological order Vocabulary • Learning about English as a changing language Writing/Grammar • Using words correctly: misused and confused words icate. n of King Features Synd Reprinted with permissio Objectives (pp. 1064–1065) Reading Read historical text • Analyze text 1064 UNIT 8 Reprinted with permission of King Features Syndicate. A police detective analyzes a crime scene, searching for clues. A medical researcher analyzes a cancer cell, looking for a cure. A football coach analyzes last week’s game, wanting to help the team improve. A student analyzes a grammar assignment, intending to master the topic and get a good grade. When you analyze, you think critically. You think about the various elements of an object or situation in order to better understand the whole. What does that mean for reading? It means you question what you read. You break down a subject into separate parts to determine its meaning. You demonstrate awareness of a writer’s technique and craft. Analyzing Cartoons Hagar wants the guys to analyze their battle behavior so they can improve. What answer does one soldier give? Is his answer a good analysis? Why or why not? READING WORKSHOP 1 • Analyzing Why Is It Important? In today’s world, we’re offered loads of information about all sorts of subjects. To help make sense of it all, people need critical thinking skills so that they can make smart, informed decisions. Learning to analyze information is a good way to develop those critical thinking skills. Analyzing helps you look critically at a piece of writing to discover its theme or message. Study Central Visit www.glencoe .com and click on Study Central to review analyzing. How Do I Do It? Start by thinking about the author’s background, traditions, attitudes, and beliefs. To analyze fiction, think about what the author is saying through the characters, setting, and plot. For example, look at a character’s words, actions, and purposes. Then use the knowledge you gain to better understand the character’s behavior at other points of the story and the story as a whole. To analyze nonfiction, look at the organization, main ideas, and supporting details. Here are some of the comments one student made in analyzing Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. It’s important that King spoke at the Lincoln Memorial. It makes the point that Americans gave high honor to Lincoln but treated African Americans as second-class citizens. King says that right up front. He creates images that just stick in your head. Freedom is a “beacon light of hope.” Injustice is “searing flames.” The promise of freedom is a “bad check.” I also like his references to the Bible, Declaration of Independence, and even “My Country ‘Tis of Thee.” He makes me think about what the words really mean. He makes me want to make those words be true. Practice It! Below are some things to look for as you analyze the selections in this workshop. In your Learner’s Notebook, jot down thoughts that occur to you as you read this list. • the powers of super heroes • the importance of oral history • the importance of family origins • what America means to immigrants Use It! As you analyze “Volar” and The Century for Young People, refer to your notes to help yourself focus on the important elements. Reading Workshop 1 Analyzing John Evans 1065 READING WORKSHOP 1 • Analyzing Before You Read Volar Vocabulary Preview Ju d i t h O r t iz C o fer Meet the Author Judith Ortiz Cofer learned English only after her family moved to the U.S. mainland from the island of Puerto Rico. Her writing reflects the split between her two childhood homes. She has written, “The memories of [childhood and my parents] emerge in my poems and stories like time-travelers popping up with a message for me.” See page R1 of the Author Files for more on Cofer. Author Search For more about Judith Ortiz Cofer, go to www .glencoe.com. Objectives (pp. 1066–1071) Reading Analyze text • Make connections from text to self Literature Identify literary elements: sensory imagery Vocabulary Identify English language changes avid (AV id) adj. very eager or enthusiastic (p. 1068) The ranger, an avid hiker himself, was happy to share trail information with park visitors. recurring (rih KUR ing) adj. happening or coming back again; repeating (p. 1068) It’s a recurring problem that must be solved once and for all. adolescence (ad uh LES uns) n. the period between childhood and adulthood (p. 1070) In adolescence, people begin to develop their abilities. abruptly (uh BRUPT lee) adv. suddenly; unexpectedly (p. 1071) Our discussion ended abruptly when the fire alarm went off. refuse (REF yooz) n. trash; rubbish (p. 1071) During the garbage workers’ strike, great bags of refuse piled up on the street. Partner Talk With a partner, use each vocabulary word in a separate sentence. Then write one sentence that uses all five words correctly. English Language Coach English as a Changing Language There are living languages and dead ones. Latin, the language of the Roman Empire, is dead. No one uses it now in everyday life. In contrast, English is a living language. To stay alive, a language drops words and meanings that are no longer needed or wanted. It borrows words from other languages, from slang, and from culture. A living language invents terms to deal with new technologies. As an example, see how the word program developed new meanings to keep up with culture and technology. Program 1 (1633) n. 2 n. 3 (1896) v. 4 n. 5 n. 6 (1940s) n. 7 v. 8 v. Group Program In a group, brainstorm words and meanings that you think are recent additions to English. Look closely at words related to technology (computer) and culture (hip-hop) or borrowed from other languages (adios). 1066 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Miriam Berkley a printed public notice or announcement a printed outline of the order of a public performance to arrange or provide a program for a performance the performance of a program, especially on radio or TV a plan or system for action toward a goal the coded instructions for a computer or other machine to write the instructions for a computer or other machine to control as if by a program READING WORKSHOP 1 • Analyzing Skills Preview Get Ready to Read Key Reading Skill: Analyzing Connect to the Reading Before you read the selection, reflect on what you know about • the feeling of flying in a dream • sacrifices parents make for their families Imagine that you had long dreamed of coming to the United States for a better life. Then imagine that, after being here for a time, you find it’s not what you had hoped for. Or you miss your homeland and want to go back. As you read “Volar,” imagine why the narrator’s parents brought the family to the United States and how they felt about being here. Write to Learn In your Learner’s Notebook, describe some of your thoughts on the topics above. Literary Element: Imagery An image may be a picture or statue, a copy, something reflected in a mirror, or something seen in the mind. Imagery is language that appeals to any or all of the senses—not just sight. Imagery helps readers hear, feel, smell, and taste, as well as see, what is described in a written text. Imagery isn’t necessarily just a description. For example, the narrator of “Volar” wants to emphasize how much she loved comic books as a child and to tell how large her collection was. Using imagery, she says that she had a stack of comics “as tall as I.” As you read, use these tips to help you learn about imagery: • Look for language that paints a picture you can see in your mind. Stop and see the picture; then reread the words that created that image for you. • Look for language that activates your other senses— hearing, touching, smelling, and tasting. Reread the words and think about which specific words bring these senses to mind. Small Group Chat In a small group, talk about a time when you hoped or wished or dreamed for something and what happened when it came true. Was it the way you imagined it? Was it really what you were wishing for? Take turns sharing your experiences. Build Background “Volar” is from a collection of stories and poems called The Year of Our Revolution. This story is not necessarily about Judith Ortiz Cofer and her family, but it could be. • In the 1960s, many Puerto Rican families came to the mainland in search of better opportunities. • In 1964 when the author was twelve, her family moved to Paterson, New Jersey, an industrial town very different from Puerto Rico. Cofer’s mother never adjusted well to American city life. • Comic books were a cheap and popular form of entertainment for kids growing up in the 1960s. • The Spanish verb volar means “to fly.” Set Purposes for Reading Read “Volar” to see how two members of the same family see the American dream. Set Your Own Purpose What would you like to learn from the selection to help you answer the Big Question? Write your own purpose on the “Volar” page of Foldable 8. Interactive Literary Elements Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, go to www.glencoe.com. Keep Moving Use these skills as you read the following selection. Volar 1067 READING WORKSHOP 1 by Judith Ortiz Cofer A t twelve I was an avid consumer of comic books— Supergirl being my favorite. I spent my allowance of a quarter a day on two twelve-cent comic books or a double issue for twenty-five. I had a stack of Legion of Super Heroes and Supergirl comic books in my bedroom closet that was as tall as I. I had a recurring dream in those days: that I had long blonde hair and could fly. In my dream I climbed the stairs to the top of our apartment building as myself, but as I went up each flight, changes would be taking place. Step by step I would fill out: my legs would grow long, my arms harden into steel, and my hair would magically go straight and turn a golden color. Of course, Supergirl had to be aerodynamic and sleek and hard as a supersonic missile.1 Once on the roof, my parents safely asleep in their beds, I would get on tip-toe, arms outstretched in the position for flight, and jump out of my fifth-story-high window into the black lake of the sky. 1 From up there, over the rooftops, I could see everything, even 1. To be aerodynamic (air oh dy NAM ik) is to be able to move through the air easily. To be supersonic is to be faster than the speed of sound. Vocabulary avid (AV id) adj. very eager or enthusiastic recurring (rih KUR ing) adj. happening or coming back again; repeating 1068 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? TRI-STAR/THE KOBAL COLLECTION Practice the Skills 1 Literary Element Imagery This paragraph has imagery that appeals to the senses of sight and touch (feeling). Here’s a sampling: • arms harden into steel • hair turns golden • sky described as black lake READING WORKSHOP 1 beyond the few blocks of our barrio; 2 with my x-ray vision I could look inside the homes of people who interested me. Once I saw our landlord, whom I knew Visual Vocabulary my parents feared, sitting in a treasureThe ermine is a room dressed in an ermine coat and a large small, furry animal of the weasel family. Its gold crown. He sat on the floor counting his fur makes luxurious dollar bills. I played a trick on him. Going and expensive coats. up to his building’s chimney, I blew a little puff of my super-breath into his fireplace, scattering his stacks of money so that he had to start counting all over again. 2 I could more or less program my Supergirl dreams in those days by focusing on the object of my current obsession.3 3 2. In the United States, barrio refers to a city neighborhood in which most people are Hispanic. 3. An obsession is an idea or feeling, especially an unreasonable one, that takes over a person’s thoughts. Practice the Skills 2 Key Reading Skill Analyzing Why do the narrator’s parents fear the landlord? 3 English Language Coach A Changing Language What does program mean here? (If you need help, review the table on page 1066.) Analyzing the Photo Look at the facial expression of the teenager in this photo. In what way do you think she is similar to the narrator? Volar (t)blickwinkel / Alamy, (b)Alyson Aliano/Getty Images 1069 READING WORKSHOP 1 Supergirl, 1984. Tristar. Movie still. Analyzing the Photo The narrator wants certain qualities. Which of those qualities are shown in this picture from the movie Supergirl? This way I saw into the private lives of my neighbors, my teachers, and in the last days of my childish fantasy and the beginning of adolescence, into the secret rooms of the boys I liked. In the mornings I’d wake up in my tiny bedroom with its incongruous4 —at least in our tiny apartment—white “princess” furniture my mother had chosen for me, and find myself back in my body; my tight curls still clinging to my head, my skinny arms and legs unchanged. 4 4. Something that’s incongruous (in KAHN groo us) is out of place or not working in harmony with something else. Here, the narrator feels her fancy furniture is out of place. Vocabulary adolescence (ad uh LES uns) n. the period between childhood and adulthood 1070 UNIT 8 Content Mine International/Alamy What Is the American Dream? Practice the Skills 4 Literary Element Imagery Notice how the narrator describes herself in the last clause. How does this picture of her compare with the image of her as Supergirl? READING WORKSHOP 1 In the kitchen my mother and father would be talking softly over a café con leche.5 She would come “wake me” exactly forty-five minutes after they had gotten up. It was their time together at the beginning of each day, and even at an early age I could feel their disappointment if I interrupted them by getting up too early. So I would stay in my bed recalling my dreams of flight, perhaps planning my next flight. In the kitchen they would be discussing events in the barrio. Actually, my father would be carrying that part of the conversation; when it was her turn to speak she would, more often than not, try shifting the topic toward her desire to see her familia on the Island: How about a vacation in Puerto Rico together this year, querido? We could rent a car, go to the beach. We could . . . And he would answer patiently, gently: Mi amor, do you know how much it would cost for all of us to fly there? It is not possible for me to take the time off . . . Mi vida,6 please understand . . . And I knew that soon she would rise from the table. Not abruptly. She would look out the kitchen window. The view was of a dismal alley that was littered with refuse thrown from windows. The space was too narrow for anyone larger than a skinny child to enter safely, so it was never cleaned. My mother would check the time on the clock over her sink, the one with a prayer for patience and grace written in Spanish. A birthday gift. She would see that it was time to wake me. She’d sigh deeply and say the same thing the view from her kitchen window always inspired her to say: “Ay, si yo pudiera volar.7” 5 6 ❍ Practice the Skills 5 Reviewing Elements Conflict What is the main conflict between the mother and father? What are some possible ways this conflict might be resolved? 6 5. Café con leche (kuh FAY kohn LAY chay) is Spanish for “coffee with milk.” 6. Familia (fah MEEL ee uh) is Spanish for “family,” querido (kay REE doh) means “darling,” mi amor (mee ah MOR) means “my love,” and mi vida (mee VEE dah) means “my life.” Here, mi vida is used the same way as “darling” and “my love.” 7. The mother says “Oh, if I could fly.” Vocabulary How do the mother’s wish and the daughter’s dream reflect one another? Write your answer on the “Volar” page of Foldable 8. Your response will help you answer the Unit Challenge later. abruptly (uh BRUPT lee) adv. suddenly; unexpectedly refuse (REF yooz) n. trash; rubbish Volar 1071 READING WORKSHOP 1 • Analyzing After You Read Volar Answering the 1. How do you think the narrator’s mother would answer the question “What is the American dream?” 2. Recall Who was the narrator’s favorite comic-book hero? T IP Right There 3. Recall According to the narrator, why does her mother want to fly to Puerto Rico? T IP Right There 4. Describe In your own words, describe the view from the kitchen window of the apartment. T IP Think and Search Critical Thinking 5. Contrast What clues are there that the mother and father might have different attitudes toward their life in the United States? Support your answer with details from the story. T IP Author and Me 6. Draw Conclusions The title is a Spanish word, and the father and mother use Spanish words and phrases several times. Yet the narrator never uses Spanish to describe her own thoughts and dreams. What do you think accounts for the difference? T IP Author and Me 7. Analyze Each of the three characters expresses at least a thought about flying. What do you think flying represents to each person? Explain your answers, using details from the story to support your ideas. T IP Author and Me Objectives (pp. 1072–1073) Reading Analyze text • Make connections from text to self Literature Identify literary elements: sensory imagery Vocabulary Identify English language changes Writing Respond to literature: descriptive essay Grammar Misused words 1072 UNIT 8 Write About Your Reading Descriptive Writing Imagine that you’re a superhero in real life. What powers do you have, and what do you do with them? Write a few paragraphs describing • your superhero self • your most important superpowers • how you use your powers What Is the American Dream? TRI-STAR/THE KOBAL COLLECTION READING WORKSHOP 1 • Analyzing Skills Review Key Reading Skill: Analyzing 8. Why does the narrator use one of her superpowers to “play a trick” on the landlord? Literary Element: Imagery 9. List an image from the selection that appeals to each one of the five senses. 10. Explain this image from the first paragraph: “the black lake of the sky.” How is the sky like a lake in the narrator’s dream? Why is it black? Grammar Link: Misused Words English contains a number of confusing words, including the troublesome ones below. Some words are misused because they have slightly different meanings. Others are misused even though they have very different meanings. between: used to talk about two people or things • Choose between styles. among: used to talk about groups of three or more • Distribute the suits among the seven stores. Reviewing Elements: Conflict less: refers to a amount that you can’t count • There is less milk in that glass. 11. What is the narrator’s main conflict in this story? Is it internal or external? Support your answer. fewer: refers to an amount that can be counted • I made fewer mistakes in this paragraph. Vocabulary Check Choose the best word from the list to complete each sentence below. avid recurring adolescence abruptly refuse in Europe and didn’t 12. She spent most of her live in the United States until she was twenty. 13. Don’t throw your litter on the highway! No one else wants your ! 14. Before finishing her meal, she stood up and left the room. 15. Nathan has every album the Beatles made; he’s been an fan for decades. 16. In this nightmare, I’m always in bare feet, even in snow and freezing temperatures. 17. English Language Coach About when did people begin to use program as a verb? Find the answer in the chart on page 1066. Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection Quick Checks, and other Web activities, go to www.glencoe.com. bring: to carry from a distant place to a closer one • We bring goods into this country. take: to carry from a closer place to a distant one • They take goods to other countries. leave: to go away • I will leave on a camping trip. let: to allow • Let them bring a snack. set: to place or to put • They set our books on the desk. sit: to place oneself in a seated position • Let’s sit here and talk about your problem. Grammar Practice Rewrite each sentence, filling in the correct word. 18. He evenly distributed the books (between, among) the four new students. 19. Rescue workers (bring, take) food to disaster sites. 20. The president will (leave, let) soon to visit Ohio. 21. The guests will (set, sit) on these chairs. 22. She has read (less, fewer) pages than I. Writing Application Look back at your descriptive writing. If you used any of these troublesome words incorrectly, fix the mistakes. Volar 1073 READING WORKSHOP 1 • Analyzing Before You Read from The Century for Young People Vocabulary Preview A lf r e d L e v i t t Meet the Author Alfred Levitt was born in 1894 in the Ukraine (then part of Russia). He was one of fourteen children. His family came to the United States to escape the Russian government’s anti-Jewish campaigns. Here, Levitt became an artist. When he grew older, he gave this advice to a young artist: “Don’t follow what other people tell you to do. [Your art] has to express who you are inside!” literally (LIT ur uh lee) adv. actually; exactly (p. 1076) The man couldn’t even buy a pack of gum; he was literally penniless. accumulated (uh KYOO myuh lay tid) v. gathered or piled up, little by little; form of the verb accumulate (p. 1077) The snow started slowly but soon accumulated into giant drifts that blocked the road. overwhelmed (oh vur WELMD) v. overpowered in thought or feeling; completely covered or flooded; form of the verb overwhelm (p. 1077) We fell behind schedule because the work overwhelmed us. means (meenz) n. methods useful for achieving a particular purpose or goal; resources (p. 1078) She watched her means of getting home on time disappear as the last bus of the night left without her. Culture Shock Imagine that you’re an immigrant just arriving in the United States. Use the vocabulary words to write a short paragraph describing your first impressions. English Language Coach English as a Changing Language The 12th century inhabitants of a certain island were the Engles. Where they lived was “the Engles’ land,” which was later reduced to “England.” This simple history shows another way English language changes—in place names. Of course, names often had more complex origins. America was based on a mistake; here’s what happened: 1492 Author Search For more about Alfred Levitt, go to www.glencoe.com. Objectives (pp. 1074–1079) Reading Analyze text • Make connections from text to self Informational text Identify text element: chronological order Vocabulary Identify English language changes 1074 UNIT 8 Christopher Columbus, the Italian explorer, lands in what he believes to be India. 1498 On a second voyage, he “discovers” South America. 1499– Amerigo Vespucci, also Italian, explores the coast of 1501 South America. Back home, he writes letters to friends, referring to these lands as the “New World.” 1507 Martin Waldseemueller, a German mapmaker, reads Vespucci’s letters, thinks Vespucci discovered the continent, and suggests naming it in his honor. He prints a map with “America” across the southern continent, and the name sticks. India ▼ New World ▼ America Naming of Names Research the name of your family, city, state, or school. Write an encyclopedia-style entry explaining its origin. What Is the American Dream? Marian Goldman 1074-1075_U8BYR_845478.indd 1074 3/14/07 12:27:02 PM READING WORKSHOP 1 • Analyzing Skills Preview Get Ready to Read Key Reading Skill: Analyzing Connect to the Reading The selection you’re about to read is an oral history. The words were spoken by one person and written down by someone else. As you read, consider its different parts to help you understand the whole selection. Think about what you already know about • racism and religious discrimination • what the Statue of Liberty represents • how non-English-speaking immigrants learn English How would you feel if people shouted insults at you because you belonged to a particular ethnic group? How would you feel if you were not allowed to attend the same school as other students your age because of your religion? This is what happened to Alfred Levitt when he lived in Russia. As you read his selection, think about what you might have done in his place. Write to Learn In your Learner’s Notebook, make a few notes about your knowledge of these topics. Partner Talk With a partner, talk about how it feels to have hurtful words used against you. Talk about how you act when you feel insulted, and explain why you act that way. Key Text Element: Chronological Order Build Background Chronological order is a kind of sequence, a way of organizing events. The word chronological comes from the Greek word for time, and chronological order is the order in which events happen in time. In real life, events always take place in chronological order. These events are not directly related, but they’re listed in the correct chronological order. • Columbus discovers America. • British colonies declare their independence. • The Chicago White Sox win the 2005 World Series. Shortly after his 100th birthday, Alfred Levitt gave the interview that forms this oral history. As you’ll see, his memories of life in Russia and his early years in America were still very clear. • In Russia in the early 1900s, Jews were discriminated against, treated with violence, and often threatened with death. Many were killed. • During this time, thousands of Jews and other immigrants from Europe who hoped to enter the United States came through New York City. • Levitt’s parents and their fourteen children all migrated to the United States by 1911. Levitt was then 14; he lived to the age of 105. In reading, it’s important to know the order of events. Time order is the clearest way to present travel directions, product instructions, and biographical narratives. Sometimes, however, writers present events in order of importance, trusting the reader to know—or figure out—the time order. To keep track of the actual order of events, watch for signal words such as before, first, next, then, and later. Interactive Literary Elements Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, go to www.glencoe.com. Set Purposes for Reading Read the excerpt from The Century for Young People to think about what the American dream meant to Alfred Levitt. Set Your Own Purpose What would you like to learn from the selection to help you answer the Big Question? Write your purpose on the “Century for Young People” page of Foldable 8. Keep Moving Use these skills as you read the following selection. from The Century for Young People 1075 READING WORKSHOP 1 by Alfred Levitt I was born in a small Russian town of about ten thousand people. We were a poor family. My father made the horsedrawn carriages that the bourgeoisie used on Sundays to promenade1 down the street. It would take him about six months to build each carriage because he couldn’t afford any tools and he had to build each one with his own ten fingers. During the six months it took my father to finish a carriage, the family starved. We had no money, and the rich people wouldn’t pay my father until he finished his carriage. It Visual Vocabulary Horse-drawn was a very hard life. 1 carriages are My family was part of a population of wheeled vehicles that are pulled by horses about two thousand Jews in our city. People and carry people. yelled out “bad Jew” and “Christ-killer,” and they said that we shouldn’t be allowed to live. There was a pogrom2 in 1905 where the Russians looted every store that was either owned or operated by a Jew. I remember my mother pulling me into a hiding place for fear that I would be hurt. It was this abuse against the Jews that made my two brothers decide to go to the United States. In Russia, everyone thought that America was such a rich country that you could literally find gold in the streets. At home there were no jobs 1. Bourgeoisie (burzh wah ZEE) is a French word meaning “middle class.” To promenade (prawm uh NAYD) is to go for a slow, relaxed drive or stroll. 2. A pogrom (POH gruhm) was an organized attack against Jews. A great many pogroms were carried out in eastern Europe up to the early 1900s. Often, all Jews in a certain area were murdered; less often, few were killed but their homes and businesses were destroyed. Vocabulary literally (LIT ur uh lee) adv. actually; exactly 1076 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Practice the Skills 1 Key Reading Skill Analyzing In these first two paragraphs, Levitt describes the situation of his family and the Jews in Russia. Explain why the Levitts decided to go to America, and tell whether you think they made a wise decision. READING WORKSHOP 1 for Jews, but in America surely my brothers would find work. They went to New York, worked hard as house painters, and accumulated enough money to buy passage3 for the rest of 2 the family. 2 I had never seen an ocean before we got on the boat for America. I looked out onto the sea and saw these huge waves crashing up against the rocks. It was a frightening experience. But then I saw the openness of the ocean, and that great body R of water opened my mind to a world that I never knew BQ existed. As we approached New York Harbor I saw the Statue of Liberty, and I was overwhelmed with a feeling of hope for a beautiful life in a new nation. Then we headed toward Ellis Island and I could see the big buildings of New York. It was Practice the Skills How did Russians in the early 1900s picture America? Write your answer on the “Century for Young People” page of Foldable 8. Your response will help you complete the Unit Challenge later. 3. One meaning of passage is “a trip; a going across.” Like most immigrants from Europe, the family crossed the Atlantic Ocean by ship. Vocabulary accumulated (uh KYOO myuh lay tid) v. gathered or piled up, little by little overwhelmed (oh vur WELMD) v. overpowered in thought or feeling; completely covered or flooded Analyzing the Photo Immigrants at Ellis Island see the Statue of Liberty. How does this image suggest both hope and uncertainty? from The Century for Young People 1077 Roger-Viollet/Topham/The Image Works 1076-1079_U8SEL_845478.indd 1077 3/12/07 6:08:57 PM READING WORKSHOP 1 an amazing sight. The city I came from only had little shacks made of wood and stone. Here everything was big and new. At Ellis Island4 they looked in my eyes to see if I was healthy and they checked my hair for lice. When they determined that my family and I were not sick, they put us on another boat and we were finally admitted to the United States. 3 At first I was afraid to go in the subway. I didn’t want to climb down into that dark hole. In Russia the only means of transportation that I knew about were horses and bicycles. When I did go in, I discovered a whole new world. There were advertisements that told me what to buy. And I saw people—blacks, yellows, all sorts of different facial looks and ethnic groups, people like I had never seen before. Most of all, 4. From 1892 to 1954, most European immigrants entered the United States at Ellis Island in New York Bay. Vocabulary means (meenz) n. methods useful for achieving a particular purpose or goal; resources Analyzing the Photo What part of Levitt’s experience does this photograph show? 1078 UNIT 8 Bettmann/CORBIS What Is the American Dream? Practice the Skills 3 Key Text Element Chronological Order Notice the words in this paragraph— before, then, as, then, when, and finally—that signal time order. READING WORKSHOP 1 Practice the Skills Analyzing the Photo Where do you think this picture was taken? What words would you use to describe this picture? I was amazed that I could go anywhere for five cents. I was able to go all the way down to Battery Park, and then, if I chose, I could transfer and turn around and go all the way up to Yonkers5 for the same nickel. 4 My first school was on 103rd Street near Third Avenue, but when I discovered that there were too many foreign boys in the same class, I left it, because I wasn’t learning the American language fast enough. I wanted to learn the American language because I wanted to understand the American people, the American mind, and the American culture. I wanted to be completely American, and that couldn’t happen in a school full of foreign boys. Mostly I wanted to get a good job somewhere, and I knew if I didn’t speak English, I couldn’t get a good job. So I walked down to another high school in Harlem on 116th Street and asked the supervisor to give me an audience.6 I told him I wanted to learn the American language and I wasn’t getting it on 103rd Street. He said, “I will give you two questions. If you pass them, you are admitted.” He asked me to spell accident for him, and I did right away, with two c’s. Then he asked me what two-thirds of fifteen was, and I said, “Ten,” so he admitted me to high school. In Russia, only a small percentage of Jewish children could go to school, and then it had to be a special Jewish school. In America, I could go to school with everyone else. 5 6 ❍ 5. Battery Park is a neighborhood at the southern edge of New York City, while Yonkers is a separate city about 25 miles north of Battery Park. 6. Harlem is a neighborhood of New York City. Here, audience means “a hearing; an interview.“ 4 English Language Coach A Changing Language The early meaning of battery is “a beating.” Later, a new meaning was added: a grouping of cannons in battle. Battery Park got its name from the second meaning. 5 Key Reading Skill Analyzing Why did the man ask these two questions? 6 In what ways did the American dream become a reality for Levitt? Write your answer on the “Century for Young People” page of Foldable 8. from The Century for Young People 1079 CORBIS READING WORKSHOP 1 • Analyzing After You Read from The Century for Young People Answering the 1. What did the American dream mean to Alfred Levitt? 2. Recall How long did it take Levitt’s father to build one carriage? T IP Right There 3. Recall What work did Levitt’s brothers do after they came to New York? T IP Right There 4. Describe Describe Levitt’s impressions of his first experiences in America. T IP Think and Search Critical Thinking 5. Compare How was the Russian city Levitt was born in different from or similar to New York City? Give details from the oral history in your answer. T IP Think and Search 6. Infer What do you think would have happened if Levitt hadn’t decided to change schools? Explain your answer. T IP Author and Me 7. Interpret In your own words, tell what Levitt means when he says he wanted to be “completely American.” T IP Author and Me Write About Your Reading Objectives (pp. 1080–1081) Reading Analyze text • Make connections from text to self Informational text Identify text element: chronological order Vocabulary Identify English language changes Writing Respond to literature: postcard Grammar Confused words Postcards Pretend that you are Levitt at age 17, soon after he arrives in New York City. You’re going to send two picture postcards to friends back in Russia. First, imagine the postcard scenes Levitt might have sent. Think of two different things that impressed him or two important experiences he had. Make a few notes about each scene and what it meant to Levitt. Second, write the message for each postcard as Levitt might have written it. Tell each friend about the picture, what it represents to Levitt, and why he chose that image for his friend. Keep each message to four or five sentences. 1080 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Roger-Viollet/Topham/The Image Works READING WORKSHOP 1 • Analyzing Skills Review Key Reading Skill: Analyzing 8. What things about New York City’s subway system were especially impressive to Levitt? Why do you suppose those things affected him so much? 9. Write a sentence stating the main subject of each paragraph in the selection. Key Text Element: Chronological Order 10. Put the following events from Levitt’s life in the correct chronological order. • His mother hides him during a pogrom. • He is admitted to a new high school. • He sees the ocean for the first time. • He first sees the New York skyline. • His brothers go to New York. • He is born in Russia. Vocabulary Check For each vocabulary word, choose the word or phrase that means most nearly the same thing. 11. literally really completely unbelievably 12. accumulated spent saved up bought 13. overwhelmed late undone overcome 14. means ways purposes explanations 15. English Language Coach What is the connection between these meanings of battery? (a) a beating (b) a grouping of cannons in battle Grammar Link: Confused Words These words are often confused because they sound alike. Learning the correct use of these words will help you as a speaker and as a writer. accept: to receive except: other than • I accept your nomination. • Except for Lois, we all came here as immigrants. loose: not firmly attached lose: to misplace or to fail to win • These jeans are too loose. • If you lose your way, call me on your cell phone. then: at that time than: introduces the second part of a comparison • Then I asked him his name. • My brother is a lot taller than I am. who’s: contraction of who is whose: possessive form of who • Who’s going to the store this afternoon? • Whose book is this? it’s: contraction of it is its: possessive form of it • It’s almost time to go home. • Its leaves had turned crimson and began to fall. Grammar Practice Rewrite each sentence, filling in the correct word. 16. Will you (accept, except) my apology? 17. We have to decide (who’s, whose) going to go first. 18. Did you put the camera back in (it’s, its) case? 19. Texas is bigger (than, then) some countries. Writing Application Check the postcard messages you wrote. If you used any of these troublesome words incorrectly, fix the mistakes. Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection Quick Checks, and other Web activities, go to www.glencoe.com. from The Century for Young People 1081 WRITING WORKSHOP PART 1 Letter Prewriting and Drafting ASSIGNMENT Write a letter Purpose: To evaluate and respond to the media Audience: A TV producer or head of a media company Writing Rubric As you work through this writing assignment, you should follow these guidelines: • clearly state your opinion • develop and support your ideas with well-chosen details • organize your ideas in a logical order • interview a friend, classmate, or family member See page 1130 in Part 2 for a model of a letter. Objectives (pp. 1082-1085) Writing Use the writing process: prewrite, draft • Write persuasive or critical letter • Conduct interviews • Gather and organize information Grammar Use irregular verbs correctly People watch more television than ever before. Most comedy series are sitcoms, short for “situation comedies.” In each episode, the characters deal with a new situation, or a problem, in a humorous way. You’ll evaluate the way one comedy series presents Americans, their relationships, “ordinary” life in America, and the American dream. Then you’ll write a letter to the producer of that series. Your evaluation will help you think about the Unit 8 Big Question: What is the American dream? Prewriting Get Ready to Write Draw from your own experience as a TV viewer and from your knowledge of the elements of fiction. Sitcoms are like ongoing short stories with characters, conflicts, dialogue, settings, and themes. Gather Ideas Follow these steps to generate ideas for your letter. • List the sitcoms that you enjoy watching, and choose one to write about. • Identify the main characters, and write a few words describing each. What are their relationships? (Are they, for example, family members, coworkers, friends, or classmates?) What does each character do? (Teacher, garbage collector, student, or store clerk?) • Describe the setting of the show. Is it urban, suburban, or rural? What city, state, or region of the country? When does it take place? Most sitcoms are set in the present. For an older show that’s set in the past, give the decade—for example, the 1960s for The Wonder Years. • Describe the sort of problem the characters face in a typical episode. Do they usually solve their problems? How? • Decide whether the characters are realistic people or stereotypes. Stereotypes are characters with traits that are supposedly shared by all members of a particular group. For example, a stereotype of old people is that they’re all grumpy and hard of hearing. A stereotype of teenagers is that they only want to have fun and don’t care about serious issues. • Consider what the sitcom says about America and Americans. What impressions do you think viewers in other countries would get from it? • What advice do you have for the people who write or produce the show? 1082 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? WRITING WORKSHOP PART 1 Organize Your Thoughts Gather your notes. Then follow these steps. 1. Decide whom to write to. You’ll need to do some research to find people who work behind the scenes. Check the Web site of the channel the show is on. For example, one student liked The Simpsons and decided to write to its creator, Matt Groening. 2. Write one sentence that clearly states your overall opinion about the show and how it presents American life. I think The Simpsons shows both our worst and best sides. 3. Give three or more reasons for your opinion. Later, you’ll develop each reason into a paragraph. The mix of characters is true to life. Springfield’s problems ring true for viewers. The main characters have their good points. Writing Models For models and other writing activities, go to www.glencoe.com. Writing Tip Show Titles When you’re typing the title of a TV series, you should use italics. When you’re handwriting it, you can underline the title instead. Writing Tip 4. Write one or two sentences that sum up your message of praise, criticism, or a combination of both. Thanks for making us laugh at ourselves while encouraging us to solve our problems. Brainstorming If you need help getting started, try freewriting for three minutes without stopping. Write down anything that comes to mind about the show. After a break, read what you’ve written. You may find something to use as a starting point for your letter. Drafting Start Writing! You have everything you need to get started: a topic, a clear position, some organized points, and a concluding statement. Get It on Paper Writing Tip These directions can help you get started on your first draft. • Begin by explaining your purpose for writing and briefly stating your opinion of the show. • Write a paragraph explaining each reason for your opinion. Back up your points with specific examples from the show. You might use a quotation from a classmate or family member to support one of your points. • Write a conclusion that explains how well or how badly you think the show portrays America and Americans. • Finish by complimenting or criticizing the show. If you’re critical, make suggestions for how to improve it. Drafting Remember that this is only a first draft. When you go back to revise, you can add, delete, and move ideas. Writing Workshop Part 1 Letter 1083 WRITING WORKSHOP PART 1 Listening, Speaking, and Viewing Conducting an Interview Analyzing Cartoons Is this a good interview? Why or why not? As part of your evaluation, it’s a good idea to ask other people what they think about the show. Interview at least two people. What Is an Interview? An interview is a conversation with the purpose of getting information about a particular topic. You hear, see, and read plenty of interviews, whether you realize it or not. TV and radio shows, Web sites, newspapers, and magazines—they all make frequent use of interviews with all kinds of people, including • government officials, crime victims, disaster survivors, and other people in the news • movie stars, authors, coaches, athletes, and other celebrities • sports fans, shoppers, and weather watchers What Skills Do I Need, and Why Are They Important? The same skills that help you talk to classmates, teachers, family members, and store clerks can help you interview them. You need to be organized and prepared. You need to be able to listen without interrupting. You need patience and understanding. Listening to other people’s ideas can reinforce or challenge your own opinions. Quoting other people can add spice to your writing. How Do I Do an Interview? Prepare by making a list of questions. • Think about what supporting information you need and ask for opinions about those ideas. Example: If you believe the Simpson characters have their good points, you might ask, “What do you think of Bart? Why?” 1084 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Reprinted with permission of King Features Syndicate. • Don’t ask leading questions. That is, don’t phrase a question so that it suggests the answer you want. Example: Don’t ask, “Do you agree that The Simpsons is biased against rural people?” Instead, ask, “Do you think the show portrays rural people in a fair way?” • Phrase your questions so that the interviewee can’t answer with a simple yes or no. When you’re ready to do an interview, don’t rely on your memory. Write your questions down on note cards or paper. Record the conversation (only after asking permission), or take good notes. • Start with your prepared questions, but be ready to respond to what the interviewee says. • Try not to show your own opinions. You want people to tell you what they really think, not what they think you want to hear. • Be a good listener. Nodding and making eye contact show that you’re paying attention. Encourage people to keep talking by saying, “Go on” or “I see.” • If you don’t understand something, ask the interviewee to clarify it. Paraphrase what the person said to check whether you understood correctly. Example: “When you said ‘they,’ did you mean the characters or the writers?” Write to Learn Use your interviewees’ responses in your letter. If you quote someone directly, use quotation marks and give the person’s name. If you paraphrase, be sure you’re presenting the interviewee’s opinion accurately. WRITING WORKSHOP PART 1 Grammar Link Irregular Verbs Why Are They Important? It is important to learn how to form verb tenses so you can use verbs correctly in a sentence. However, that is just the beginning. You also need to learn about irregular verbs that may be confusing. When you use verbs incorrectly, it makes you sound less knowledgeable than you are. Also, you may confuse your readers if you use the wrong form or tense of a verb by treating an irregular verb as if it follows the regular pattern. For example, by using falled instead of fell or have fell instead of have fallen, you make it unclear when an action takes place. What Are Irregular Verbs? For regular verbs, you form the past tense and past participle by adding -d or –ed to the verb’s base form. • I want to live in Toledo, Ohio. (base form) • I lived in Toledo, Ohio. (past tense) • I have lived in Toledo, Ohio for a year. (past participle) The past tense and past participle of irregular verbs are not formed this way. • I am going to be in Toledo, Ohio. (base form) • I went to Toledo, Ohio. (past tense) • I have been to Toledo, Ohio. (past participle) Several patterns are used to form irregular verbs. With time and practice, you’ll remember them. A. One vowel changes to form the past tense and the past participle. (begin, began, have begun) B. The past tense and the past participle are the same. (fight, fought, has fought) C. The base form and the past participle are the same. (run, ran, had run) D. The past tense ends in -ew, and the past participle ends in -wn. (draw, drew, have drawn) E. The past participle ends in -en. (shake, shook, has shaken) F. The base form, the past tense, and the past participle are the same. (cost, cost, have cost) G. The past tense and the past participle don’t follow any pattern. (be, was/were, had been) Incorrect: I have fell out of a tree while climbing. Correct: I have fallen out of a tree while climbing. How Do I Use Irregular Verbs? To express an action that happened at a fixed time in the past, use the past tense of the verb. • The water froze in the pond. To express an action that happened before another action in the past, use had before the past participle. • The water had frozen in the pond by noon. To express an action that will occur before a set time in the future, use will have before the past participle. • The water will have frozen by the time we get home. To express an action that occurred at an unspecified time in the past or an action that continues to happen into the present time, use have or has before the past participle. • In the past, the water has frozen enough to allow ice skating. Write to Learn Review your draft and fix any mistakes involving irregular verbs. If you need help, use a dictionary. The past tense and past participle of irregular verbs are usually included in the entry for the base form of the verb. Looking Ahead Keep the writing you’ve done so far. In Writing Workshop Part 2, you’ll learn how to turn your writing into a strong and compelling letter. Writing Workshop Part 1 Letter 1085 READING WORKSHOP 2 Skills Focus You will practice using these skills when you read the following selections: • “Lottery Winners Who Lost Their Millions,” p. 1090 • “The Gettysburg Address,” p. 1098 Reading • Understanding cause and effect Informational Text • Understanding theme and topic • Identifying author’s style Vocabulary • Learning about English as a changing language Writing/Grammar • Using capitalization with proper nouns, proper adjectives, and family relationships Skill Lesson Understanding Cause and Effect Learn It! What Is It? Cause and effect is a kind of text structure that writers can use to organize information. • A cause is a condition or event that makes something happen. • What happens as the result of that condition or event is an effect. For example, a person does something wrong (a cause), and a bad thing happens (an effect). A cause-and-effect relationship can be difficult to identify exactly. Causes and effects can overlap. They may not seem directly linked. Not all events that seem to have a cause-and-effect relationship actually do. icate, Inc. of King Features Synd inted with Permission © Zits Partnership. Repr Analyzing Cartoons Objectives (pp. 1086–1087) Reading Identify text structure: cause and effect 1086 UNIT 8 © Zits Partnership. Reprinted with Permission of King Features Syndicate, Inc. Jeremy thinks that eating sandwiches is making Hector grow taller. Do you agree with that causeand-effect statement? Why? READING WORKSHOP 2 • Understanding Cause and Effect Why Is It Important? When you understand cause-and-effect relationships, you have another tool to help you think critically as a reader. You can see why characters are in the situations they’re in. You can recognize when events are connected and when they aren’t. How Do I Do It? To identify cause-and-effect relationships in a selection, use your prior knowledge. Ask yourself what you know about the subject, what events may have caused it, and what events may have resulted from it. Study Central Visit www.glencoe .com and click on Study Central to review evaluating. Here’s how one student used his prior knowledge about Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. I know this is one of Lincoln’s most famous speeches. I know from history class that there was a huge Civil War battle at Gettysburg. And I think Lincoln spoke at a service honoring the soldiers who died there. So two effects of the battle were soldiers’ deaths and Lincoln’s speech. Actually, there must be a whole chain of causes and effects related to this battle and the war. I wonder what effects the Gettysburg Address had. Practice It! Below are some things to look for as you analyze the selections in this workshop. Jot down a few notes in your Learner’s Notebook about causes and effects related to the following topics: • the dream of being rich • winning millions of dollars • the Civil War • the idea that “all men are created equal” Use It! As you read “Lottery Winners Who Lost Their Millions” and “The Gettysburg Address,” remember the notes you made. They’ll help you focus on cause and effect as you read. Reading Workshop 2 Understanding Cause and Effect Laura Sifferlin 1087 READING WORKSHOP 2 • Understanding Cause and Effect Before You Read Lottery Winners Who Lost Their Millions Vocabulary Preview Ellen G o o d st ein Meet the Author Ellen Goodstein is a freelance writer based in Florida. She contributes news stories and feature articles to both print and online publications. siblings (SIB lingz) n. brothers and sisters (p. 1091) My siblings and I gave our parents flowers for their anniversary. eventually (ih VEN choo ul lee) adv. happening at last; in the end (p. 1091) Be patient; you’ll eventually get to the front of the line. inevitable (in EV uh tuh bul) adj. sure to happen; unavoidable (p. 1093) With its weak design and cheap materials, the car’s failure to sell seemed inevitable. consequences (KON suh kwen suz) n. results or effects (p. 1093) If you break the law, you will have to face the consequences. Write to Learn With a small group, choose a familiar board game or gameshow that involves making—and losing—money. Together, write a paragraph explaining how the game is played. Use each vocabulary word at least once. English Language Coach Author Search For more about Ellen Goodstein, go to www .glencoe.com. English as a Changing Language Many English words have roots in ancient, long-dead languages. The base of lottery is lot, a word that goes back more than eight hundred years. (In Old English it was spelled hlot, but there isn’t a hlot more to say about that.) Originally, lots were pieces of shell, bone, or wood. They were used to help decide questions or issues, just as dice are used in many modern games. You threw the lots to the ground and “read” an answer to your question. Soon people started betting on how the lots would land. From there, it was a short leap to lotteries as we now know them. Over the centuries, the word lot took on additional meanings, including these: Objectives (pp. 1088–1093) Reading Identify text structure: cause and effect • Make connections from text to self Informational text Identify text elements: theme and topic Vocabulary Identify English language changes lot a share a portion of land an article or group of articles sold at auction a large quantity or amount Small Group Discussion With your group, look again at the paragraph you wrote about a board game or gameshow. Do any of the meanings of lot noted above relate to the game? Is any kind of lottery (or “throwing of lots”) involved? How important is chance or luck in playing the game? 1088 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Bankrate.com, N. Palm Beach, FL 2006 1088-1089_U8BYR_845478.indd 1088 3/12/07 6:09:28 PM READING WORKSHOP 2 • Understanding Cause and Effect Skills Preview Get Ready to Read Key Reading Skill: Understanding Cause and Effect Connect to the Reading A fiction writer invents causes and effects to direct a story where he or she wants it to go. A nonfiction writer doesn’t need to make them up; they’re right there in real life. Nonfiction writing tries to present events so that the causes and effects are clear. The next article you’ll read tells what happened to a number of people who won millions of dollars. In each case, the cause can be described as winning money in a lottery. The article focuses on • the effects that sudden wealth can cause • the belief that money can fix anything • strategies for dealing with unexpected wealth Write to Learn In your Learner’s Notebook, note ideas you have about causes and effects relating to money. What are possible effects of having no money? What are possible effects of having lots of money? Add to your notes as you read the selection. Text Element: Theme and Topic A story’s theme is its central message. Sometimes the theme is stated directly; sometimes it’s implied, and you must figure it out. Don’t confuse theme with topic. Topic is the broad subject that a story is about. It can be stated in a word or phrase. For example, both “Volar” and the selection from The Century for Young People are about the immigrant experience. However, the theme of “Volar” involves escaping what is unpleasant in life, and the theme of Century involves embracing what is new and exciting. Interactive Literary Elements Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, go to www.glencoe.com. Imagine becoming a millionaire overnight. Would money solve your problems? What’s the first thing you’d do? Buy things? Give money to charities? How would you deal with friends and relatives who would expect you to help them out? Who would you turn to for advice? Money Talks With a partner, talk about the problems and solutions money can bring. Draw on your own experience and the experiences of people you know or have read about. Build Background As of 1999, thirty-seven U.S. states operated lotteries to raise money for public services. Canada, France, Great Britain, Japan, Mexico, and other countries run national lotteries. In a modern lottery, you pay a small sum of money for a chance to win a huge sum. Your chances and your prize depend on how many people enter the lottery. A lottery can be very profitable for its sponsor because most participants don’t win anything. Since ancient times, lotteries have been used to raise money for projects including the Great Wall of China; Jamestown (the first British colony in America); and Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Columbia universities. Set Purposes for Reading Read this article to study the role of money in the American dream. Set Your Own Purpose What would you like to learn from the article to help you answer the Big Question? Write your purpose on the “Lottery Winners” page of Foldable 8. Keep Moving Use these skills as you read the following selection. Lottery Winners Who Lost Their Millions 1089 READING WORKSHOP 2 by Ellen Goodstein F or a lot of people, winning the lottery is the American dream. But for many lottery winners, the reality is more like a nightmare. 1 “Winning the lottery isn’t always what it’s cracked up to be,” says Evelyn Adams, who won the New Jersey lottery not just once, but twice (1985, 1986), to the tune of $5.4 million. Today the money is all gone and Adams lives in a trailer. “I won the American dream but I lost it, too. It was a very hard fall. It’s called rock Visual Vocabulary A trailer is a vehicle bottom,” says Adams. “Everybody wanted that can be parked my money. Everybody had their hand out. and serve as a home. I never learned one simple word in the English language—‘No.’ I wish I had the chance to do it all over again. I’d be much smarter about it now,” says Adams, who also lost money at the slot machines in Atlantic City.1 2 “I was a big-time gambler,” admits Adams. “I didn’t drop a million dollars, but it was a lot of money. I made mistakes, some I regret, some I don’t. I’m human. I can’t go back now so I just go forward, one step at a time.” Living on food stamps William “Bud” Post won $16.2 million in the Pennsylvania lottery in 1988 but now lives on his Social Security.2 “I wish it never happened. It was totally a nightmare,” says Post. 1. Atlantic City, New Jersey, offers many forms of gambling. 2. The federal Social Security program works like a savings account for old age. A small portion of a worker’s paycheck goes to the program, along with a matching amount paid by the employer. Upon retirement, the worker receives a monthly income from the program. Most U.S. employees participate in Social Security. 1090 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? (t)Getty Images, (b)CORBIS INFORMATIONAL TEXT WEB ARTICLE Bankrate.com Practice the Skills 1 English Language Coach A Changing Language In Old English, a mere was either a female horse or an evil being that brought bad dreams. In modern English, the spelling has changed, and we have different ideas about what causes a nightmare. A mare is still a horse, of course. 2 Key Reading Skill Understanding Cause and Effect What does Adams say was the main cause of her problems after she won the lottery? What additional cause does she identify in the next paragraph? READING WORKSHOP 2 A former girlfriend successfully sued him for a share of his winnings. It wasn’t his only lawsuit. A brother was arrested for hiring a hit man to kill him, hoping to inherit a share of the winnings. Other siblings pestered him until he agreed to invest in a car business and a restaurant in Sarasota, Fla.— two ventures3 that brought no money back and further strained his relationship with his siblings. Post even spent time in jail for firing a gun over the head of a bill collector. Within a year, he was $1 million in debt. Post admitted he was both careless and foolish, trying to please his family. He eventually declared bankruptcy.4 Now he lives quietly on $450 a month and food stamps. 3 “I’m tired, I’m over 65 years old, and I just had a serious operation for a heart aneurysm.5 Lotteries don’t mean (anything) to me,” says Post. 4 Deeper in debt Suzanne Mullins won $4.2 million in the Virginia lottery in 1993. Now she’s deeply in debt. She borrowed $197,746.15, which she agreed to pay back with her yearly checks from the Virginia lottery through 2006. When the rules changed allowing her to collect her winnings in a lump sum, she cashed in the remaining amount. But she stopped making payments on the loan. She blamed the debt on the lengthy illness of her uninsured son-in-law, who needed $1 million for medical bills. Practice the Skills 3 English Language Coach A Changing Language The word bankruptcy comes from two Old Italian words—banca, “bank,” and rotta, “broken.” 4 Key Reading Skill Understanding Cause and Effect What were some of the effects of Post’s winning the lottery? Back to the basics Ken Proxmire was a machinist6 when he won $1 million in the Michigan lottery. He moved to California and went into the car business with his brothers. Within five years, he had filed for bankruptcy. “He was just a poor boy who got lucky and wanted to take care of everybody,” explains Ken’s son Rick. “It was a good ride for three or four years, but now he lives more simply. 3. Ventures (VEN churz) are risky business projects. 4. Bankruptcy is a legal status for people or businesses that are ruined financially and can’t pay their debts. 5. An aneurysm (AN yuh rih zum) is a blocked blood vessel. 6. A machinist (muh SHEE nist) makes, assembles, or repairs machinery. Vocabulary siblings (SIB lingz) n. brothers and sisters eventually (ih VEN choo ul lee) adv. happening at last; in the end Lottery Winners Who Lost Their Millions 1090-1093_U8SEL_845478.indd 1091 1091 3/14/07 12:28:13 PM READING WORKSHOP 2 There’s no more talk of owning a helicopter or riding in limos. We’re just everyday folk. Dad’s now back to work as a machinist,” says his son. Missourian Janite Lee won $18 million in 1993. Lee was generous to a variety of causes,7 giving to politics, education and the community. But according to published reports, eight years after winning, Lee had filed for bankruptcy with only $700 left in two bank accounts and no cash on hand. One Southeastern family won $4.2 million in the early ‘90s. They bought a huge house and gave in to repeated family requests for help in paying off debts. The house, cars and relatives used up all their winnings. Eleven years later, the couple is divorcing, the house is sold and they have to split what is left of the lottery proceeds.8 The wife got a very small house. The husband has moved in with the kids. Even the life insurance they bought ended up getting cashed in. “It was not the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow,” says their financial advisor. Luck is fleeting These sad-but-true tales are not uncommon, say the experts. “For many people, sudden money can cause disaster,” says Susan Bradley, a certified financial planner in Palm Beach, Fla., and founder of the Sudden Money Institute, a resource center for people who have received large amounts of money and their advisors. “In our culture, there is a widely held belief that money solves problems. People think if they had more money, their troubles would be over. When a family receives sudden money, they frequently learn that money can cause as many problems as it solves,” she says. 5 Winning plays a game with your head Bradley, who authored “Sudden Money: Managing a Financial Windfall,”9 says winners get into trouble because they fail to deal with the emotional connection to their unexpected wealth. 7. That is, Lee gave to charities. A charity is called a cause because it tries to bring about some sort of change and to produce some effect. 8. Here, proceeds (PROH seedz) refers to the money received. 9. A windfall is any unearned, unexpected, or sudden gain. 1092 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Blend Images/SuperStock Analyzing the Photo How does this image illustrate the fact that money management takes work? Practice the Skills 5 According to Bradley, what role does money play in the American dream? Write your answer on the “Lottery Winners” page of Foldable 8. Your response will help you complete the Unit Challenge later. READING WORKSHOP 2 “Often they can keep the money and lose family and friends—or lose the money and keep the family and friends—or even lose the money and lose the family and friends,” says Bradley. Bill Pomeroy, a certified financial planner in Baton Rouge, La., has dealt with a number of lottery winners who went broke. “Because the winners have a large sum of money, they make the mistake of thinking they know what they’re doing. They are willing to plunk down large sums on investments they know nothing about or go in with a partner who may not know how to run a business.” What if you get so (un)lucky? To avoid bad early decisionmaking and the inevitable requests of friends, relatives and strangers, Bradley recommends lottery winners start by setting up a DFZ or decision-free zone. “Take time out from making any financial decisions,” she says. “Do this right away. For some people, it’s smart to do it before you even get your hands on the money. “It’s not a time to decide what stocks to buy or jump into a new house purchase or new business venture,” she warns. “It’s a time to think things through, sort things out and seek an advisory team to help make those important financial choices.” As an example, Bradley says that people who come into a windfall will usually put buying a house as No. 1 in list of 12 choices, whereas investing is No. 11. “You really don’t want to buy a new house before taking the time to think about what the consequences are. A lot of people who don’t have money don’t realize how much it costs to live in a big house—decorators, furniture, taxes, insurance, even utility costs are greater. People need a reality check before they sign the contract,” she says. Evelyn Adams, the N.J. lottery double-winner, learned these lessons the hard way. “There are a lot of people out there like me who don’t know how to deal with money,” says Adams. “Hey, some people went broke in six months. At least I held on for a few years.” 6 ❍ Vocabulary inevitable (in EV uh tuh bul) adj. sure to happen; unavoidable consequences (KON suh kwen suz) n. results or effects Practice the Skills 6 Text Element Theme and Topic A stated theme usually appears near the beginning or ending of a work. Do you find a sentence that you think states the theme of this article? Lottery Winners Who Lost Their Millions 1090-1093_U8SEL_845478.indd 1093 1093 3/14/07 12:29:03 PM READING WORKSHOP 2 • Understanding Cause and Effect After You Read Lottery Winners Who Lost Their Millions Answering the 1. Financial advisor Susan Bradley says, “In our culture, there is a widely held belief that money solves problems.” Do you agree with her? Explain your answer. 2. Recall According to Suzanne Mullins, what caused her to go into debt? T IP Right There 3. Contrast Contrast Ken Proxmire’s life today with his life after he won $1 million in the Michigan lottery. T IP Think and Search Critical Thinking 4. Interpret Evelyn Adams says in the article, “I won the American dream but I lost it, too.” What does she mean? T IP Author and Me 5. Explain According to the article, what are some of the different ways that friends and family members of a lottery winner react? T IP Think and Search 6. Evaluate According to one expert, lottery winners need to deal with the emotional connection to their unexpected wealth. What is an “emotional connection” to money? Explain your answer. T IP On My Own 7. Analyze Susan Bradley recommends that lottery winners set up a “DFZ,” or decision-free zone. How would this work? Could it be effective? Could the idea apply to other areas of life? Explain your answers. T IP Author and Me Objectives (pp. 1094–1095) Reading Identify text structure: cause and effect Informational text Identify text elements: theme and topic Vocabulary Identify English language changes Grammar Capitalize proper nouns Talk About Your Reading Group Discussion Buying a house and investing were two of the top twelve choices that people made after they came into a lot of money. What were the other ten choices? In a small group, discuss the possibilities, and have one person write down your ideas. As a group, pick the other ten things that you think people did with their new wealth. Then, as a class, combine all the lists to create a single list of the Top Twelve Choices. What things did every group include? What surprising choices were listed? 1094 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Getty Images READING WORKSHOP 2 • Understanding Cause and Effect Skills Review Key Reading Skill: Understanding Cause and Effect 8. Financial expert Bill Pomeroy says, “Because the winners have a large sum of money, they [think] they know what they’re doing.” • What does Pomeroy identify specifically as a cause? • What does he identify as an effect? • What one word indicates this cause-and-effect relationship? 9. What do you think leads people in our culture to believe that money can solve all their problems? Text Element: Theme and Topic 10. What is the topic of this article? 11. Is the article’s theme stated or implied? If stated, copy the sentence in which it’s given. If implied, write the theme in your own words. 12. Tell why you think the statement below is or is not a good expression of this article’s theme. “Money always causes problems.” Vocabulary Check Rewrite each statement, filling in the blank with the best word from the list. siblings eventually inevitable consequences . 13. If you delay your homework, you do it 14. If you don’t tell the truth, there will be . 15. If you are an only child, you have no . 16. If you can’t avoid something, it is . English Language Coach 17. Five meanings of the word lot were given on page 1088. Which two meanings are related to the modern meaning of lottery? 18. The rupt part of bankruptcy means “broken.” How does “bank-broken” (or “broken bank”) make sense with the modern meaning of bankruptcy? Grammar Link: Capitalization of Proper Nouns A common noun is the general name of a person, place, thing, feeling, or idea. A proper noun names a particular person, place, or thing. Common nouns are not capitalized; proper nouns are. When proper nouns name people, capitalize all parts of their names and all initials that stand for their names. • Roy J. Wilks called the manager into his office. Capitalize a title or its abbreviation when it comes before a person’s name. Do not capitalize a title that follows a person’s name or is used as a common noun. • It was Treasurer Sanchez who gave the first report. • Janet Molloy was promoted to vice president. Capitalize words that show family relationships when used as titles or substitutes for a person’s name. Do not capitalize these words when they follow an article (a, an, or the) or a possessive noun or pronoun. • In 2000 Father and Uncle Ray participated in a reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg. • My aunt Lisbeth wrote an article about the experience. Grammar Practice Rewrite the following sentences, correcting the six capitalization errors. 19. Joe stephenson played the role of a Villager from Gettysburg. 20. My dad played Brigadier-General james j. Pettigrew. 21. The Soldiers passed by my aunt Lila’s house. 22. Looking up, uncle Ray yelled, “Don’t be afraid!” Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection Quick Checks, and other Web activities, go to www.glencoe.com. Lottery Winners Who Lost Their Millions 1095 READING WORKSHOP 2 • Understanding Cause and Effect Before You Read The Gettysburg Address Vocabulary Preview Abr a ha m Linc oln Meet the Author conceived (kun SEEVD) v. formed; imagined (p. 1098) As conceived by Jim, the plan would solve several problems at once. proposition (prah puh ZIH shun) n. a plan or proposal (p. 1098) Until the proposition is approved, we’ll deal with things as we have in the past. endure (en DUR) v. to carry on; survive; last (p. 1098) When we started out, no one thought the band would endure for three decades. detract (dih TRAKT) v. to take away from; reduce the value of (p. 1098) One small flaw won’t detract much from the final price. resolve (rih ZOLV) v. to decide firmly (p. 1099) It’s one thing to resolve to get up earlier and another thing to actually do it. perish (PAIR ish) v. to become ruined or destroyed; die (p. 1099) My garden will perish if the weather doesn’t warm up soon. Abraham Lincoln, born in 1809, worked hard to educate himself and become a lawyer. While a member of the Illinois legislature, he lost a race for the U.S. Senate. Still, he earned a national reputation and, in 1860, was elected President. He is remembered as the president who saved the union. English Language Coach Author Search For more about Abraham Lincoln, go to www.glencoe.com. English as a Changing Language In Abraham Lincoln’s time, the most common translation of the Bible was the King James Version. England’s King James I had published this “modern” English version in 1611. It had a strong influence on Lincoln’s writing style, and it has a strong influence on how speakers of English use the language today. Write to Learn Pretend you’re writing a speech that includes a proposition for your audience to consider. Your suggested plan involves a way to make a better school, neighborhood, or world. Don’t write the speech, but write a paragraph explaining your idea and using all the vocabulary words. However, many words from the 1600s are archaic (ar KAY ik) in the twenty-first century; they’re old-fashioned or out of use. For example, score R used to be a number word, meaning “twenty,” and was used like decade and dozen. If someone said “six score and five,” the reader or listener had to do a bit of math (6 ⫻ 20, ⫹ 5). Now you have to do the sums. Write the numbers represented by these words: Objectives (pp. 1096–1099) Reading Identify text structure: cause and effect • Make connections from text to self • Read historical text Literature Identify literary elements: style Vocabulary Identify English language changes three score four score and seven five score and two = = = What’s the Score? With a partner, research the meanings of score, as a noun and a verb. Note whether each meaning is archaic or still in use. 1096 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Bettmann/CORBIS 1096-1097_U8BYR_845478.indd 1096 3/12/07 6:10:53 PM READING WORKSHOP 2 • Understanding Cause and Effect Skills Preview Get Ready to Read Key Reading Skill: Understanding Cause and Effect Connect to the Reading Before you read the selection, reflect on what you know about • the causes of the Civil War • the effects of the Civil War Write to Learn In your Learner’s Notebook, jot down some of your thoughts on the topics above. Key Literary Element: Style Style is a writer’s personal way of using language. It includes qualities that make one writer’s work unlike the work of all other writers. These qualities include • word choice • use of imagery • sentence lengths • sentence patterns • ways of moving from one idea to the next As you read the Gettysburg Address, use these tips to learn about Lincoln’s style: • Look at Lincoln’s word choice. Which words seem carefully chosen? Which words are particularly effective, and why are they so effective? • Look at the way he arranged the words and sentences. Can you follow his thoughts easily? Does each sentence add to the power of what he said before, yet say something new? For many of us, the American dream is about working to make a good life for our families. It’s easy to forget that the American dream is rooted in American history, back to the founding of our nation. Lincoln refers to this in the Gettysburg Address. Group Discussion People often say it is important to know history. But is it really true? If so, why? Does it change anything in the present? Can it influence the future? Do we learn from our mistakes? In small groups discuss these questions. Build Background Nowadays, presidents have speech writers. Lincoln himself wrote the Gettysburg Address for the dedication of a cemetery. • A major battle of the Civil War was fought near the town of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 1–3, 1863. Casualties (killed and wounded) were estimated at more than 40,000 soldiers. • The people of Gettysburg had to bury the dead. The federal government bought the battleground for a cemetery, and it provided the coffins. • At the cemetery dedication on November 19, 1863, the main speaker went on for two hours. Lincoln spoke for two minutes. His speech is considered one of the finest speeches of all time. Set Purposes for Reading Read the Gettysburg Address to see the American dream in terms of our history. Set Your Own Purpose What would you like to learn from the speech to help you answer the Big Question? Write your own purpose on the “Gettysburg Address” page of Foldable 8. Interactive Literary Elements Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, go to www.glencoe.com. Keep Moving Use these skills as you read the following selection. The Gettysburg Address 1097 READING WORKSHOP 2 by Abraham Lincoln F our score and seven years ago our fathers1 brought forth on this continent a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal. Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation so conceived and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this. 1 But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate—we can not consecrate—we can not hallow2—this ground. 2 The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will 1. Four score and seven is 87. Lincoln refers to the “founding fathers,” the men who wrote and adopted the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution. 2. In the first paragraph, dedicated meant “given completely.” Here, dedicate means “set aside for a certain purpose.” Similarly, both consecrate and hallow mean “make or honor as holy.” Practice the Skills 1 Key Literary Element Style Pay close attention to Lincoln’s word choices throughout the speech. What does he say in place of the word cemetery? How does he describe the dead? Does he talk about North and South? 2 English Language Coach A Changing Language The word hallow is very nearly archaic. One place it is still used is in the name of a popular American holiday. Can you think of which one? Vocabulary conceived (kun SEEVD) v. formed; imagined proposition (prah puh ZIH shun) n. a plan or proposal endure (en DUR) v. to carry on; survive; last detract (dih TRAKT) v. to take away from; reduce the value of 1098 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? 1098-1099_U8SEL_845478.indd 1098 3/14/07 12:29:53 PM READING WORKSHOP 2 little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here. It is for us the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they who fought here have thus far so nobly advanced. 3 It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us—that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion—that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain3—that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom—and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. 4 ❍ Practice the Skills 3 Key Reading Skill Understanding Cause and Effect Lincoln is saying that the result of the Battle of Gettysburg should be—what? Rewrite this last sentence in your own words. 4 3. The phrase in vain means “for no good purpose; uselessly.” Vocabulary resolve (rih ZOLV) v. to decide firmly Lincoln suggests that more than the American dream is at stake. What is he talking about? Write your answers on the “Gettysburg Address” page of Foldable 8. Your response will help you complete the Unit Challenge later. perish (PAIR ish) v. to become ruined or destroyed; die The Angle, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1863, 1988. Mort Küntsler. Oil on canvas, 18 x 24 in. Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Sharpe. Analyzing the Painting What words or ideas in the Gettysburg Address does this painting illustrate? The Gettysburg Address 1099 “The Bloody Angle” Mort Kunstler, 1988, “The Bloody Angle” Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1863, Collection: Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Sharpe 1098-1099_U8SEL_845478.indd 1099 3/14/07 12:29:58 PM READING WORKSHOP 2 • Understanding Cause and Effect After You Read The Gettysburg Address Answering the 1. After reading the Gettysburg Address, how do you think Lincoln would answer the question: What is the American dream? 2. Recall According to Lincoln, how many years ago did the forefathers of this nation establish the country? T IP Right There Critical Thinking 3. Interpret Lincoln says that the people attending the cemetery dedication cannot make the battleground a holy place. He says that the men who “struggled” there have already made it holy. What does he mean? T IP Think and Search 4. Evaluate Lincoln was wrong when he said, “The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here.” On the contrary, the world has long remembered what he said at Gettysburg. In your own words, explain why Lincoln’s speech is so memorable. T IP Author and Me 5. Infer What was Lincoln’s purpose in this speech? Was he trying to persuade the crowd to think or believe or do something? Explain. T IP Author and Me Write About Your Reading Objectives (pp. 1100–1101) Reading Identify text structure: cause and effect • Make connections from text to self Literature Identify literary elements: style Vocabulary Identify English language changes Writing Respond to literature: eyewitness report Grammar Capitalize proper nouns Eyewitness Report Suppose you were there at Gettysburg and heard Lincoln’s speech. Describe the day. Step 1: Decide on a point of view. You might write from the point of view of one of the following: a survivor of the Battle of Gettysburg; a family member who lost someone in the battle; a newspaper reporter observing the event. Step 2: Jot down notes for sensory details (what that person might have seen, heard, smelled, tasted, and touched on that day). Step 3: Jot down notes about your own (or the crowd’s) feelings and mood before, during, and after Lincoln’s speech. Write down how you feel about Lincoln’s message, and if you agree or disagree with it. Write to Learn Use your notes to create an “eyewitness” report of the Gettysburg Address. 1100 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? “The Bloody Angle” Mort Kunstler, 1988, “The Bloody Angle” Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, July 3, 1863, Collection: Mr. & Mrs. Robert L. Sharpe READING WORKSHOP 2 • Understanding Cause and Effect Skills Review Key Reading Skill: Understanding Cause and Effect 6. Suppose the South had won the Civil War, and the United States did not survive as one nation. What do you think would have been some of the effects? Key Literary Element: Style 7. Count the number of times Lincoln uses a form of the word dedicate. What does this suggest about his attitude and his purpose? 8. Compare and contrast Lincoln’s style with that of Martin Luther King Jr. in his “I Have a Dream” speech. How are their styles similar? How are they different? Explain your answer. Vocabulary Check Write the vocabulary word that each clue describes. conceived proposition endure detract resolve perish 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. make it through hard times a suggestion for action decide; settle lessen; lower die; decay thought up English Language Coach Research the word hallow and the origins of Halloween. How did the two originally relate to one another? What relation, if any, do they have today in common American custom? Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection Quick Checks, and other Web activities, go to www.glencoe.com. Grammar Link: Capitalization of Places and Things Capitalize the names of cities, counties, states, countries, continents, bodies of water, and geographic features. • Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a city on Lake Michigan. Capitalize a compass-point name when it refers to a specific section of the country: the West Coast, the North. Do NOT capitalize a compass-point name if it refers to a general direction. • I’m from the East, and I’m heading west to see the Rocky Mountains. Capitalize the names of streets, highways, buildings, bridges, monuments, and celestial bodies. • We live on Fifth Avenue, near the Empire State Building, on Planet Earth, in the Milky Way. Capitalize the names of important historical events, periods of time, documents, and holidays. • Battle of Yorktown • Bill of Rights • Bronze Age • New Year’s Eve Capitalize the first word and the last word in titles. Also capitalize all other words except articles, conjunctions, or prepositions with fewer than five letters. • It’s Not About Me • Washington Post • “The Raven” • “On Top of the World” Grammar Practice Rewrite these sentences, capitalizing words properly. 16. We spent thanksgiving day in columbus, ohio. 17. A southerly wind came in across the gulf coast. 18. I read about the middle ages in the new york times. 19. Have you read the poem “casey at the bat”? 20. The north won the american civil war. Writing Application Make sure you capitalized proper nouns in your Gettysburg eyewitness account. The Gettysburg Address 1101 READING WORKSHOP 3 Skills Focus You will practice using these skills when you read the following selections: • “I Chose Schooling,” p. 1106 • “The Electric Summer,” p. 1114 Skill Lesson Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details Reading • Identifying the main idea and supporting details Literature • Understanding cultural references • Understanding the use of dialogue Vocabulary • Learning about English as a changing language Writing/Grammar Learn It! What Is It? The main idea is the most important idea in a paragraph or in a whole selection. It’s the point, or message, the writer wants to communicate. Sometimes the writer directly states the main idea. Other times you have to figure out the main idea by looking at supporting details—facts that back up the author’s ideas, or the actions of characters and the events in a story that support the message. • Using correct capitalization in writing d. PRESS SYNDICATE. All rights reserve ted with permission of UNIVERSAL FOXTROT © 2003 Bill Amend. Reprin Analyzing Cartoons What’s the main idea of this cartoon? Objectives (pp. 1102–1103) Reading Identify main idea and supporting details 1102 UNIT 8 FOXTROT © 2003 Bill Amend. Reprinted with permission of UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE. All rights reserved. READING WORKSHOP 3 • Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details Why Is It Important? Finding the main idea helps you better understand the writer’s message and reason for writing the selection. Finding details that support the idea helps you decide if that message is a good one. How Do I Do It? Some writers directly state the main idea. When they don’t and you have to figure it out, use these tips: • In a work of nonfiction, ask yourself: What is the writer saying about this topic? In a short story or other work of fiction, ask: What is the writer saying about the characters and situations? • To see if you’ve correctly identified the main idea, ask: Do the important details explain or give evidence that supports this idea? Study Central Visit www.glencoe .com and click on Study Central to review evaluating. One student used a diagram to figure out the main idea of this paragraph: “Dad, do you believe it?” Musa exclaimed. “With this paycheck, I have enough money to buy that car at Sam’s Used Cars I asked you to buy me! When you told me to get a job and save for it, I wasn’t sure I could do it. Thanks, Dad.” Main Idea: Hard work pays off. Detail 1: Musa wants a car from Sam’s Used Car Sales. Detail 2: Musa’s dad told him to work and save. Detail 3: Musa has enough money to buy the car. Practice It! Draw your own diagram of the ideas in the paragraph below. It will help you get ready to write your response. “You ‘n me, Darren,” Isaak said. “We’ve finally got a chance at Friday’s game. Scouts from State will be there. If we look good, we can get full scholarships. Wouldn’t that be awesome? A free college education for shootin’ hoops!” Use It! As you read “I Chose Schooling” and “The Electric Summer,” use a diagram to find the main idea and supporting details. Then you can decide if the writers made their points. Reading Workshop 3 Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details File photo 1103 READING WORKSHOP 3 • Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details Before You Read I Chose Schooling Vocabulary Preview Ja c q u e li n g N w a i w u Meet the Author Jacqueling Nwaiwu was born in Nigeria and came to the United States as a teenager. She is one of the “sisters” in My Sisters’ Voices, a collection of writings by American teenage girls. The book was put together by 18-year-old Iris Jacob, who is biracial. In the introduction Jacob says: “We come from all different ethnic, cultural, and spiritual traditions. We are immigrants, some of us. We are beauties, inner and outer. We are heroines. . . . [W]e are the future!” prevailed (prih VAYLD) v. conquered; won; overcame; form of the verb prevail (p. 1106) It was many years before peace finally prevailed. monumental (mon yuh MEN tul) adj. great and meaningful (p. 1107) Climbing any mountain is a monumental accomplishment, if you ask me. attaining (uh TAY ning) n. the act of achieving, accomplishing, or succeeding (p. 1107) Attaining a passing score will be impossible if I don’t study. crucial (KROO shul) adj. extremely important (p. 1107) A crucial part of every person’s diet is some form of protein; it’s necessary to live. agitated (AJ uh tay tud) adj. disturbed; upset (p. 1108) The man wasn’t harmed, but he was so agitated by the robbery that he couldn’t speak. English Language Coach English as a Changing Language Did you ever wonder how some words get into the English language? The chart below shows the origins of two words from “I Chose Schooling.” Word Origin & Meaning Modern Meaning slacker Old English sleac careless in behavior someone who avoids work or responsibility There’s nothing very unusual about the origins of these words, but another word in the selection—geek—has a more surprising history. Copy the chart below into your Learner’s Notebook. Then look up geek’s origin and meanings, and fill in the chart. Author Search For more about Jacqueling Nwaiwu, go to www .glencoe.com. Word Objectives (pp. 1104 –1109) Modern Meanings 1 2 Reading Identify main idea and supporting details • Make connections from text to self Literature Identify literary elements: cultural reference Vocabulary Identify English language changes geek Origin & Meaning 1104 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Jacqueline Nwaiwu clammy Old English claeman to smear or stick damp, soft, sticky, usually cool READING WORKSHOP 3 • Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details Skills Preview Get Ready to Read Key Reading Skill: Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details Connect to the Reading As you read “I Chose Schooling,” pause to look for the main idea of a paragraph. • What does the writer say is important to her? This could be a directly stated main idea. • How do the details add to your understanding of the writer’s ideas? Look for descriptions of her feelings, behavior, and actions. To help identify the main idea of the entire selection, ask yourself these questions: • What is the writer’s most important idea or overall message? • Which parts of the selection support this idea? Write to Learn What was the main idea or message of a movie you’ve seen recently? List details (action, dialogue, and so on) that supported that idea. Key Literary Element: Cultural Reference Cultural references are mentions of objects, activities, products, forms of entertainment, and so on that are tied to a particular culture, place, and time. Slang is also a type of cultural reference. Notice the slang expressions as you read “I Chose Schooling.” What does the slang tell you about the students’ culture and time? Partner Work Geek started as carnival slang, then took a different (but related) meaning in American culture. With a partner, explore the slang word bling-bling (or bling). Explain its meaning, who invented it, and why. (Your best bet is to search online for “word definitions,” “online dictionaries,” or something similar.) Interactive Literary Elements Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, go to www.glencoe.com. In most schools, students tend to divide up into groups according to their interests and goals. There are the athletes, the musicians, the kids who study a lot, the kids who don’t, and so on. These kinds of groups are called cliques. Members of a clique share similar interests and leave out those who have different interests. In this essay, the writer describes her school’s cliques and offers her opinions of them. Build Background This essay comes from the book My Sisters’ Voices: Teenage Girls of Color Speak Out. Published in 2001, the collection features writings by girls from Hispanic, African American, Asian American, Native American, and biracial backgrounds. Some were native-born; some were immigrants. U.S. Census Bureau statistics for the year 2000 reveal the following information: • Total U.S. population 281.4 million • Hispanic or non-white 21.0% 59.1 million • Born in other countries 11.0% 30.9 million • Ages 13–19 10.1% 28.4 million • Girls, ages 13–19 4.9% 13.8 million • Girls, ages 13–19, of color 1.0% 2.9 million Set Purposes for Reading Read “I Chose Schooling” to see what a student born in another country thinks about education as part of the American dream. Set Your Own Purpose What would you like to learn from the selection to help you answer the Big Question? Write your own purpose on the “I Chose Schooling” page of Foldable 8. Keep Moving Use these skills as you read the following selection. I Chose Schooling 1105 READING WORKSHOP 3 by Jacqueling Nwaiwu A s I walked down the crowded halls of Central High on the first day of school, I was overcome with many emotions. I was physically tired because I was not accustomed to waking up so early, and I was also scared and nervous. It was my freshman year, and above all other emotions, nervousness prevailed. I was trembling; my hands were clammy and sweaty. Students were greeting each other. There were clusters of students by lockers chatting away, catching up on all the summer gossip. I continued to walk through the halls observing the madness. Kids were running through the halls playing tag and ramming into each other. Bewildered, I muttered, “So this is high school. It looks more like the circus. So much for thinking that high school is exactly like the preppy, well-mannered students in the weekly TV show Saved by the Bell.1” 1 2 3 I managed to find my homeroom after walking around for fifteen minutes. When I went in, I noticed that over half of the students in my homeroom were students who attended the same junior high as me. I was annoyed with that fact because I wanted to meet new people and make new friends instead of interacting with the same old students from junior high. And with that, I quickly sat down next to a girl with spiky, blue hair, whom I did not know. 1. Saved by the Bell, which first aired in 1989, was a comedy focusing on six students at the fictional Bayside High School. Vocabulary prevailed (prih VAYLD) v. conquered; won; overcame 1106 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Terry Vine/Getty Images Practice the Skills 1 Key Reading Skill Identifying Main Idea The main idea of this paragraph is directly stated. Nwaiwu says she is scared and nervous on her first day of school. Her description of her “clammy and sweaty” hands is a supporting detail that shows how she felt. 2 English Language Coach A Changing Language As an adjective, preppy describes a style of clothing. In the 1960s, as a noun, it meant a student preparing for college at a preparatory (or “prep”) school. 3 TV characters often have the lives real people dream of having. Name a character or show that, to you, represents the American dream (or part of it). READING WORKSHOP 3 Right at that moment, my blond, skinny homeroom teacher, Ms. Larsen, shouted, “Welcome to high school!” She went on, saying, “These next four years will be monumental. These four years will define your character; you will either choose that path of excelling in school or you will decide that socializing with friends is more important. You have two paths to choose from. Today is the first day of school, choose your path wisely.” That statement remained with me for the whole day. I kept thinking to myself, This is the beginning of my high school career, I must do well in school. I must pick the right path. Attaining a sound education has been my goal since before I could remember. Every day from the time I was in kindergarten to the present, my parents have always said, in their thick Nigerian 2 accents, “Read hard so that you may be successful.” (To my parents, “reading hard” is synonymous with studying rigorously.) I have always endeavored to excel in school and a large portion of my motivation is because of that overused quote. Whenever stress mounts, and I feel that I never want to do another paper or another homework assignment, I always remember what my parents would tell me, “Read hard so that you may be successful.” 4 Schooling is crucial to me. I believe that the better one does in school, the more successful he or she becomes in the real world. I define a successful person as one who is happy, has a great family, and has a great-paying job. Over the course of the year, every student in my homeroom chose either to take school seriously or to slack off. In homeroom, cliques started to form. The slackers sat on one side of the room, while the studious, grade-conscious students sat on the other side. 5 Students on the slacker side of the room constantly yelled and were rowdy, while the 2. Nigeria was governed by Great Britain from the early 1900s until 1964, and most Nigerians speak English. Practice the Skills 4 Key Reading Skill Identifying Main Idea Again, Nwaiwu states the idea of the paragraph directly. What is that idea, and how does she support it? 5 Key Literary Element Cultural Reference The slackers (a slang term) are one clique. Do you know of a slang term for the “grade-conscious” students? Vocabulary monumental (mon yuh MEN tul) adj. great and meaningful attaining (uh TAY ning) n. the act of achieving, accomplishing, or succeeding crucial (KROO shul) adj. extremely important I Chose Schooling 1107 READING WORKSHOP 3 students on the grade-conscious side of the room were busy trying to study or complete homework. One day, I came into homeroom and sat in my designated spot: the studious, grade-conscious side of the room. The morning announcements were blaring while I frantically tried to complete my homework. I was completing my math problems when suddenly the bell rang, indicating that it was time for first hour. I ignored it and continued to finish the problems due that hour. Before I knew it, the second bell rang and I was late for math class. I quickly jammed my books in my bag and ran out of my fourthfloor homeroom. I ran down the hall and up the stairs to the fifth floor. When I got to the fifth floor, I was blocked by a group of African American girls. The five rowdy girls stood in the entrance of the stairwell. I was so agitated. I wanted to push the girls out of my way so I could get to class. But instead, I maneuvered3 through the crowd. As I was doing that, one of the girls loudly said, “Who do she think she is anyway, huh?” The group of girls roared with laughter. Another girl said, “Ya’ll leave her alone. She trying to get her an edgamacation.” And with that, everyone laughed even more. I turned around and looked at them, but said nothing. I simply walked to my math class humiliated. 6 3. When Nwaiwu maneuvered (muh NOO vurd) through the crowd, she changed directions several times to get where she wanted to be. Vocabulary agitated (AJ uh tay tud) adj. disturbed; upset 1108 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Black Girl with Wings (acrylic on canvas) by James, Laura (Contemporary Artist) Private Collection/ The Bridgeman Art Library Black Girl with Wings, 20th century. Laura James. Acrylic on canvas, 31.8 x 43.2 cm. Private Collection. Analyzing the Painting In what ways does the girl in the painting reflect Nwaiwu’s ideas about herself? Practice the Skills 6 English Language Coach A Changing Language The word rowdy means “loud, rude, and rough.” It most likely comes from row, “a noisy disturbance.” (With this meaning, row rhymes with how.) READING WORKSHOP 3 At that moment, I strongly regretted running down the halls like some geek. I strongly regretted not saying something to them. I strongly regretted having the intense desire to go to my math class and do well in school. It was as if the girls were saying, “Who do she think she is, huh? A black girl trying to be white. An oreo black on the outside, but white on the inside. 7 Do she think she betta than us? She betta not, ‘cause she ain’t. School ain’t that important for her to be running like that to some class. Some black girls don’t know their race. Education ain’t all that important. I’d rather clown wit my homies than run to class actin’ like I’m white tryin’ ta git an education.” “Who she think she is anyway, huh?” I was furious. What exactly did she mean by that! I was only trying to get to class. Excuse me if school means a little more to me than “hangin’ out wit da homies.” I couldn’t believe I gave those girls so much power that they were able to ruin my day. The next day, I went to homeroom. I mentioned the story to Meg, the girl with the spiky, blue hair. 8 Meg said, “Forget them. School is more important than trying to fit into some popular clique. Look at me. I have blue hair. I try not to fit into groups who don’t accept me for me. School is much more important. Don’t waste your energy on ignorant people.” Right as she said that, everything was clear. I didn’t have to waste my energy on them. I chose schooling over socializing. I chose to study for tests instead of “gossiping over someone’s baby’s mamma.” I selected education over ignorance. I thought to myself, Maybe I am not “ghetto” and maybe I do choose to speak properly. I am not any less black; I am just being me. I preferred work over play, homework instead of fitting into a crowd where I don’t belong. I chose schooling. When looking back at the experience I had with those girls, I thank God every day. That particular experience reaffirmed5 my goal, which was to attain a sound education. I thank God for giving me the initiative to select the right path, despite all odds. 9 ❍ 5. Nwaiwu’s experience supported and strengthened (reaffirmed) her goal. Practice the Skills 7 Key Literary Element Cultural Reference The word oreo is a cultural reference in two ways. Capitalized, it’s the brand name of a cookie. Here, it’s a slang term that suggests certain values and beliefs. 8 Key Literary Element Cultural Reference Even this girl provides a cultural reference, since no one would even have thought of having “spiky, blue hair” before a certain time. 9 How does Nwaiwu’s idea of the American dream compare with yours? Write your answer on the “I Chose Schooling” page of Foldable 8. Your response will help you complete the Unit Challenge later. I Chose Schooling 1109 READING WORKSHOP 3 • Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details After You Read I Chose Schooling Answering the 1. How important is education for achieving the American dream? 2. Recall How did Nwaiwu feel on her first day at Central High? T IP Right There 3. Give Examples Give examples of what Nwaiwu considers a successful person to be. T IP Right There Critical Thinking 4. Infer Why does Nwaiwu sit where she does in her homeroom? T IP Think and Search 5. Infer How and why might Nwaiwu’s goals have been influenced by the fact that she was the daughter of immigrants? T IP Author and Me 6. Conclude How does working toward her dream affect Nwaiwu’s life? T IP Author and Me 7. Analyze Explain how the blue-haired girl’s comments show that Nwaiwu does “belong to a group.” T IP Author and Me 8. Evaluate Is Nwaiwu’s goal worth working for? T IP Author and Me Talk About Your Reading Objectives (pp. 1110–1111) Reading Identify main idea and supporting details Literature Identify literary elements: cultural reference Vocabulary Identify English language changes Grammar Capitalize proper nouns 1110 UNIT 8 Terry Vine/Getty Images Literature Groups Different people have different ideas about the American dream. In a small group, compare the ideas of group members. Then discuss how your versions of the American dream compare to Nwaiwu’s. • What are your goals? How do you plan to reach them? • What kind of life do you want for yourself ten years from now? • How is your American dream similar to or different from Nwaiwu’s dream? Why? • How is your American dream similar to or different from the dreams of others in your group? Why? What Is the American Dream? READING WORKSHOP 3 • Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details Skills Review Key Reading Skill: Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details 9. What is the main idea of the selection? Is it directly stated? If so, give the page number and the first few words of the paragraph that contain the main idea. If it is not directly stated, explain how and where you identified it. 10. Name three supporting details for the main idea you identified. Key Literary Element: Cultural Reference 11. One of the girls in Nwaiwu’s class uses the slang edgamacation instead of the word education. What does her use of this term tell you about her and her values? 12. Nwaiwu mentions Saved by the Bell. TV shows often reflect the culture and times in which they are made. Name a show that you think reflects today’s culture. Give examples that tie this show to current American culture. 13. Explain the slang expressions “hanging out with” and “homies.” Vocabulary Check Label the following statements true or false. 14. Attaining an important goal means failing to meet the goal. 15. The team that prevailed on the soccer field won the game. 16. Finding a cure for cancer would be a monumental accomplishment. 17. When people are agitated, they’re calm, cool, and confident. 18. A good diet is crucial to lasting good health. 19. English Language Coach Nwaiwu writes, “Attaining a sound education has been my goal since before I could remember.” Look up the history of the word sound and explain how the word’s origin relates to its meaning in Nwaiwu’s statement. Grammar Link: More Capitalization Why do we capitalize the first letter of certain words? Capital letters are “look at me” flags! They tell readers that there’s something special about these words. Capitalize the first letter of a language name or a nationality. Capitalize the names of ethnic groups. In a multiple-word name, capitalize both words. • Luc speaks English, but his first language is French. • Eva’s an American citizen; her origins are Mexican. • Jose’s Mexican American family lives on one side of us, and a Jewish family lives on the other side. Capitalize the names of clubs, organizations, businesses, institutions, and political parties. Capitalize brand names but not the nouns following them. • We have an International Club meeting tomorrow. • The Data Corporation is expanding into Europe. • We prefer Cruncho peanut butter. Grammar Practice For each of the following, choose the sentence that shows the correct use of capitalization. 20. A. I saw a film about native Americans. B. The Spanish weren’t the first to settle the West. 21. A. One of the dialects in Louisiana is French Creole. B. I ate french food at a restaurant yesterday. 22. A. Jorge is proud to be a canadian. B. It will take work to preserve your Spanish heritage. Writing Application Write a paragraph about someone you know who worked hard to achieve a dream. Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection Quick Checks, and other Web activities, go to www.glencoe.com. I Chose Schooling 1111 READING WORKSHOP 3 • Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details Before You Read The Electric Summer Vocabulary Preview R i c h a rd P e c k Meet the Author A former high school teacher, Richard Peck began writing novels for the same age group he taught. His books focus on the problems that teens face. Peck uses the characters in his books to show young people how others their age overcome problems as they take one step closer to adulthood. His novels include Don’t Look and It Won’t Hurt, Are You in the House Alone?, and Father Figure. See page R5 of the Author Files for more on Peck. Author Search For more about Richard Peck, go to www.glencoe. Objectives (pp. 1112–1125) Reading Identify main idea and supporting details • Make connections from text to self Literature Identify literary elements: dialogue Vocabulary Identify English language changes 1112 UNIT 8 novelty (NAH vul tee) n. anything new, strange, or unusual (p. 1114) I grew up in the city, so seeing a cow face-to-face was a novelty. grandeur (GRAN jur) n. the state of being large and impressive; greatness (p. 1121) I was deeply impressed by the grandeur of the mountains. hovering (HUV ur ing) v. remaining in or near one place in the air; form of the verb hover (p. 1122) One eagle, hovering high above our heads, was the only living creature we saw as we hiked to the cabin. replica (REP lih kuh) n. a faithful copy (p. 1123) The shop had row upon row of miniature buildings, each a replica of an original structure. rapture (RAP chur) n. a feeling of great joy (p. 1124) The two felt that nothing could destroy the rapture of their wedding day. seasoned (SEE zund) adj. made fit by experience; adjusted to (something) because of experience (p. 1125) A more seasoned player might have been able to predict what was coming next. English Language Coach English as a Changing Language In “The Electric Summer,” the main character is Geneva (juh NEE vuh), which is also the name of a city in Switzerland. Some people are named for places. Many places are named for people. Two places mentioned in the story were named for kings of France—Louis IX and Louis XIV. The French don’t say the –s at the end of Louis, but Americans are more flexible. Read the words and pronunciations in the chart below. St. Louis, Missouri Louisville, Kentucky Louisiana LOO ee or LOO us LOO ih vil or LOO ih vul loo ee zee AN uh or loo zee AN uh Countless other U.S. place names come from foreign languages but have peculiarly American pronunciations. Here are three examples. Spanish Los Angeles, California lohs AHN hay lays mah DREED Madrid, Iowa MEH hee koh New Mexico “American” lahs AN juh lus MAD rid MEK sih koh What Is the American Dream? AP Wide World Photos 1112-1113_U8BYR_845478.indd 1112 3/14/07 12:31:18 PM READING WORKSHOP 3 • Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details Skills Preview Get Ready to Read Key Reading Skill: Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details Connect to the Reading Most of the time, fiction authors don’t directly state their main ideas. Instead, they provide details to help you figure them out. When you’re reading fiction, use these questions to help identify the main idea: • What points is the author trying to make about the characters’ personalities and relationships? • Which details support those points? Think about the characters’ behavior and reactions to events. • What is the main message of the story? • What supporting details—such as events and their consequences—help the reader understand this message? Literary Element: Dialogue In literature, dialogue is the conversation between characters and it offers a great way to learn things about them. In “The Electric Summer,” the dialogue gives readers a better understanding of the personalities of the major characters—Geneva, her mother, and her Aunt Elvera. In a story with a first-person narrator, you need to be careful. It’s easy to confuse what the narrator says with what the characters themselves reveal in the dialogue. Here, Geneva is the narrator, so she gives her ideas about characters and events, as well as her own thoughts and feelings. The other characters’ dialogue reveals their own thoughts and feelings. Use these tips as you read “The Electric Summer”: • What do you learn about each character’s personality from what she says in the dialogue? • What does the dialogue tell you about the events and situations? • How does the dialogue help you understand what the characters experience in the story? Partner Talk Have a dialogue with your partner. Choose a topic and discuss it for a couple of minutes. Then talk about your dialogue. What did you learn about your partner from what he or she said? Do you recall the first time you saw a kangaroo or some other creature from a faraway place? How did you feel when you first flew in a plane or rode a roller coaster? In this story, a farm girl visits a big-city fair to see wonders from around the world. Build Background Long before TV and the Internet, world’s fairs were held every few years in different cities around the world. Nations presented their food, art, and culture. Businesses showed off products and technologies. Visitors had the time of their lives! At the 1904 world’s fair in St. Louis, Missouri, the new products on display included everything from automatic egg boilers to pianos that played themselves. An automobile at one exhibit featured silk curtains, armchairs, a writing desk, an icebox, and a wash basin. (The car cost $18,000, a huge sum in 1904.) Set Purposes for Reading Read “The Electric Summer” to find out how a girl and her mother discover new ideas about the American dream. Set Your Own Purpose What would you like to learn from the story to help you answer the Big Question? Write your own purpose on the “Electric Summer” page of Foldable 8. Interactive Literary Elements Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, go to www.glencoe.com. Keep Moving Use these skills as you read the following selection. The Electric Summer 1113 READING WORKSHOP 3 by Richard Peck I was sitting out there on the old swing that used to hang on the back porch. We’d fed Dad and the boys. Now Mama and I were spelling each other to stir the preserves.1 The screen door behind me was black with flies, and that smell of sugared strawberries cooking down filled all out-of-doors. A Maytime smell, promising summer. Just turned fourteen, I was long-legged enough to push off the swing, then listen to the squeak of the chains. The swing was where I did my daytime dreaming. I sat there looking down past Mama’s garden and the wind pump to the level line of long distance.2 1 Like watching had made it happen, dust rose on the road from town. A black dot got bigger, scaring the sheep away from the fence line. It was an automobile. Nothing else churned the dust like that. Then by and by it was the Schumates’ Oldsmobile, turning off the crown of the road and bouncing into our barn lot. There were only four automobiles in the town at that time, and only one of them driven by a woman—my aunt Elvera Schumate. She cut the motor off, but the Oldsmobile was still heaving. Climbing down, she put a gloved hand on a fender to calm it. As Dad often said, Aunt Elvera would have been a novelty even without the automobile. In the heat of the day she wore 1. In spelling each other, they were taking turns. Here, the preserves are strawberries being made into jam or jelly. 2. The level line of long distance refers to the horizon. Vocabulary novelty (NAH vul tee) n. anything new, strange, or unusual 1114 UNIT 8 SuperStock, Inc. / SuperStock What Is the American Dream? Practice the Skills 1 Reviewing Skills Visualizing Take a moment to form mental pictures of Geneva and the farm. Imagine, too, the smells and sounds she describes. READING WORKSHOP 3 a wide-brimmed canvas hat secured with a motoring veil tied under her chin. Her duster was a voluminous poplin garment,3 leather-bound at the hem. My cousin Dorothy climbed down from the Olds, dressed similarly. They made a business of untangling themselves from their veils, propping their goggles up on their foreheads, and dusting themselves down the best they could. Aunt Elvera made for the house with Dorothy following. Dorothy always held back. 2 Behind me Mama banged on the screen door to scare the flies, then stepped outside. She was ready for a breather even if it meant Aunt Elvera. I stood up from the swing as Aunt Elvera came through the gate to the yard, Dorothy trailing. Where their goggles had been were two circles of clean skin around their eyes. They looked like a pair of raccoons. Mama’s mouth twitched in something of a smile. “Well, Mary.” Aunt Elvera heaved herself up the porch steps and drew off her gauntlet gloves. “I can see you are having a busy day.” Mama’s hands were fire red from strawberry juice and the heat of the stove. Mine were scratched all over from picking every ripe berry in the patch. “One day’s like another on the farm,” Mama remarked. “Then I will not mince4 words,” Aunt Elvera said, overlooking me. “I’d have rung you up if you were connected to the telephone system.” “What about, Elvera?” She and Mama weren’t sisters. They were sisters-in-law. “Why, the Fair, of course!” Aunt Elvera bristled5 in an important way. “What else? The Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis. The world will be there. It puts St. Louis at the hub of the universe.” Aunt Elvera’s mouth worked wordlessly. “Well, I do know about it,” Mama said. “I take it you’ll be going?” Practice the Skills 2 English Language Coach A Changing Language The word goggles comes from the Middle English gogolen, which meant “to squint.” Later, goggle came to mean “to stare at with wide eyes,” which seems the opposite of its older meaning. 3. Early cars were open, like horse carriages, and early roads were unpaved. To protect against dirt and bad weather, drivers and passengers wore dusters, long coats that were large (voluminous), to fit over their clothes, and made of a strong, woven fabric (poplin). A woman was likely to wear a hat with a motoring veil, a long, thin scarf that tied around her face. The next paragraphs mention more of a motorist’s costume: gauntlet gloves, which extended over the wrists, and goggles, which protected the eyes. 4. Here, to mince is to speak in an unnaturally careful or dainty way. 5. Here, bristled (BRIH suld) means “showed anger or annoyance.” The Electric Summer 1115 READING WORKSHOP 3 Aunt Elvera waved her away. “My stars, yes. You know how Schumate can be. Tight as a new boot. But I put my foot down. Mary, this is the opportunity of a lifetime. We will not see such wonders again during our span.6” “Ah,” Mama said, and my mind wandered— took a giant leap and landed in St. Louis. We knew about the Fair. The calendar the peddler gave us at Christmas featured a different pictorial view of the Fair for every month. There were white palaces in gardens with gondolas7 in waterways, everything electric-lit. Castles from Europe and paper houses from Japan. For the month of May the calendar featured the great floral clock on the fairgrounds. 3 “Send us a postal,8” Mama said. “The thing is . . .” Aunt Elvera’s eyes slid toward Dorothy. “We thought we’d invite Geneva to go with us.” My heart liked to lurch out of my apron. Me? They wanted to take me to the Fair? “She’ll be company for Dorothy.” Then I saw how it was. Dorothy was dim, but she could set her heels like a mule. She wanted somebody with her at the Fair so she wouldn’t have to trail after her mother every minute. We were about the same age. We were in the same grade, but she was a year older, having repeated fourth grade. She could read, but her lips moved. And we were cousins, not friends. “It will be educational for them both,” Aunt Elvera said. “All the progress of civilization as we know it will be on display. They say a visit to the Fair is tantamount9 to a year of high school.” “Mercy,” Mama said. “We will take the Wabash Railroad directly to the gates of the Exposition,” Aunt Elvera explained, “and we will be staying on the grounds themselves at the Inside Inn.” She 6. A span is a period of time; here, it’s a synonym for “lifetime.” 7. Gondolas (GAHN duh luz) are long, narrow, high-ended boats such as are used on the canals of Venice, Italy. 8. This is short for postal card, which we now call a postcard. 9. Tantamount (TAN tuh mownt) means “equal in value, importance, or effect.” 1116 UNIT 8 Bettmann/CORBIS What Is the American Dream? Analyzing the Photo What aspect of the fair does this photo capture? Practice the Skills 3 Literary Element Dialogue Review the last few paragraphs of conversation between Mama and Aunt Elvera. What can you tell about Elvera’s personality from this dialogue? READING WORKSHOP 3 leaned nearer Mama, and her voice fell. “I’m sorry to say that there will be stimulants for sale on the fairgrounds. You know how St. Louis is in the hands of the breweries.” Aunt Elvera was sergeant-at-arms of the Women’s Christian Temperance Union, and to her, strong drink10 was a mocker. “But we will keep the girls away from that sort of thing.” Her voice fell to a whisper. “And we naturally won’t set foot on the Pike.” 4 We knew what the Pike was. It was the midway of the Fair, like a giant carnival with all sorts of goings-on. “Well, many thanks, but I don’t think so,” Mama said. My heart didn’t exactly sink. It never dawned on me that I’d see the Fair. I was only a little cast down because I might never get another glimpse of the world. “Now, you’re not to think of the money,” Aunt Elvera said. “Dismiss that from your mind. Schumate and I will be glad to cover all Geneva’s expenses. She can sleep in the bed with Dorothy, and we are carrying a good deal of our eats. I know these aren’t flush11 times for farmers, Mary, but do not let your pride stand in Geneva’s way.” “Oh, no,” Mama said mildly. “Pride cometh before a fall. But we may be running down to the Fair ourselves.” 5 Aunt Elvera’s eyes narrowed, and I didn’t believe Mama, either. It was just her way of fending off12 my aunt. Kept me from being in the same bed with Dorothy, too. Aunt Elvera never liked taking no for an answer, but in time she and Dorothy made a disorderly retreat. We saw them off from the porch. Aunt Elvera had to crank the Olds to get it going while Dorothy sat up on the seat, adjusting the magneto13 or whatever it was. We watched Aunt Elvera’s rear elevation as she stooped to jerk the crank time after time. If the crank got away from you, it could break your arm, and we watched to see if it would. 6 10. Here, stimulants and strong drink refer to alcoholic beverages. In the early 1900s, St. Louis breweries (beer factories) produced a large portion of the nation’s beer. The Women’s Christian Temperance Union (WCTU) was founded in 1874 to improve moral life, especially by encouraging people not to drink alcohol. As sergeant-at-arms, Elvera was an officer who maintained order at WCTU meetings. Practice the Skills 4 Reviewing Elements Cultural Reference The WCTU still exists, but its period of greatest influence and activity was in the early 1900s. Watch for other cultural references as you continue reading. 5 Literary Element Dialogue Judging from Mama’s part of this long dialogue, what would you say is her opinion of Elvera? 6 Key Reading Skill Identifying Main Idea The author wants to make it clear that the automobile was an imperfect invention at this time. What details support that idea? 11. Here, flush means “prosperous; having extra money.” 12. Fending off is defending against or fighting off. 13. To start the engine, one had to turn a crank and adjust various controls, such as the magneto. The Electric Summer 1117 READING WORKSHOP 3 But at length the Olds coughed and sputtered to life. Aunt Elvera climbed aboard and circled the barn lot—she never had found the reverse gear. Then they were off back to town in a cloud of dust on the crown of the road. I didn’t want to mention the Fair, so I said, “Mama, would you ride in one of them things?” “Not with Elvera running it,” she said, and went back in the house. I could tell you very little about the rest of that day. My mind was miles off. I know Mama wrung the neck off a fryer, and we had baking-powder biscuits to go with the warm jam. After supper my brothers Visual Vocabulary hitched up Fanny to the trap14 and went A lamp chimney is the glass tube that into town. I took a bottle brush to the lamp surrounds the flame chimneys and trimmed the wicks. After on an oil lamp. that I was back out on the porch swing while there was some daylight left. The lightning bugs were coming out, so that reminded me of how the Fair was lit up at night with electricity, brighter than day. Then Mama came out and settled in the swing beside me, which was unusual, since she never sat out until the nights got hotter than this. We swung together awhile. Then she said in a quiet voice, “I meant it. I want you to see the Fair.” 7 Everything stopped then. I still didn’t believe it, but my heart turned over. “I spoke to your dad about it. He can’t get away, and he can’t spare the boys. But I want us to go to the Fair.” Oh, she was brave to say it, she who hadn’t been anywhere in her life. Brave even to think it. “I’ve got some egg money put back,” she said. We didn’t keep enough chickens to sell the eggs, but anything you managed to save was called egg money. “That’s for a rainy day,” I said, being practical. “I know it,” she said. “But I’d like to see that floral clock.” Mama was famous for her garden flowers. When her glads were up, every color, people drove by to see them. And there was nobody to touch her for zinnias. Oh, Mama, I thought, is this just a game we’re playing? “What’ll we wear?” I asked, to test her. “They’ll be dressy down at the Fair, won’t they?” she said. 14. A fryer is a young chicken. The trap is a light one-horse carriage. 1118 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? The Art Archive / Ara Collection Paris / Dagli Orti Practice the Skills 7 Key Reading Skill Identifying Main Idea What detail shows that Mama is serious about wanting Geneva to see the fair? READING WORKSHOP 3 “You know those artificial cornflowers I’ve got. I thought I’d trim my hat with them. And you’re getting to be a big girl. Time you had a corset.15” So then I knew she meant business. That’s how Mama and I went to the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis that summer of 1904. We studied up on it, and Dad read the Fair literature along with us. Hayseeds we might be, but we meant to be informed hayseeds. They said the Fair covered twelve hundred acres, and we tried to see that in our minds, how many farms that would amount to. And all we learned about the Fair filled my heart to overflowing and struck me dumb with dread.16 8 Mama weakened some. She found out when the Schumates were going, and we planned to go at the same time, just so we’d know somebody there. But we didn’t take the same train. 9 When the great day came, Dad drove us to town, where the Wabash Cannonball stopped on its way to St. Louis. If he’d turned the trap around and taken us back home, you wouldn’t have heard a peep out of me. And I think Mama was the same. But then we were on the platform with the big locomotive thundering in, everything too quick now, and too loud. We had to scramble for seats in the day coach, lugging one straw valise between us and a gallon jug of lemonade. And a vacuum flask of the kind the Spanish-American War17 soldiers carried, with our own well water for brushing our teeth. We’d heard that St. Louis water came straight out of the Mississippi River, and there’s enough silt in it to settle at the bottom of the glass. We’d go to their fair, but we weren’t going to drink their water. When the people sitting across from us went to the dining car, Mama and I spread checkered napkins over our knees and had our noon meal out of the valise. All the while, hot wind blew clinkers and soot in the window as we raced along like a crazed horse. Then a lady flounced up and Practice the Skills 8 English Language Coach A Changing Language Originally, hayseeds were bits of straw that clung to farmers’ clothes. Later, city people began to use the word to refer to the farmers themselves. 9 Key Reading Skill Identifying Main Idea In the next few paragraphs, notice the many details about the train trip. What idea(s) about train travel do you think the author wants to get across? 15. A corset (KOR sut) is a long, tight, girdle-like undergarment for a grown woman. 16. She is temporarily unable to speak (dumb) because of great fear and worry (dread). 17. A valise (vuh LEES) is a suitcase. A vacuum flask (what we now call a “thermos”) is used to keep liquids either hot or cold. The Spanish-American War was a brief conflict in 1898 between Spain and the United States over Spain’s treatment of Cuba. The Electric Summer 1119 READING WORKSHOP 3 perched on the seat opposite. She had a full bird on the wing18 sewed to the crown of her hat, and she was painted up like a circus pony, so we took her to be from Chicago. Leaning forward, she spoke, though we didn’t know her from Adam. “Would you know where the ladies’ rest room is?” she inquired. We stared blankly back, but then Mama said politely, “No, but you’re welcome to rest here till them other people come back.” The woman blinked at us, then darted away, hurrying now. I chewed on19 that a minute, along with my ham sandwich. Then I said, “Mama, do you suppose they have a privy on the 10 English Language Coach train?” 10 “A what?” she said. A Changing Language The word privy, short for private, Finally, we had to know. Putting the valise on my seat and first appeared in the 14th the hamper on hers, Mama and I went to explore. We walked century. But a toilet by any through the swaying cars, from seat to seat, the cornflowers on other name is still a toilet. And Mama’s hat aquiver. Sure enough, we came to a door at the end another one of those names of a car with a sign reading LADIES. We crowded inside, and appears in the next paragraph. there it was. A water closet like you’d find in town20 and a chain hanging down and a roll of paper. “Well, I’ve seen everything now,” Mama said. “You wouldn’t catch me sitting on that thing in a moving train. I’d fall off.” But I wanted to know how it worked and reached for the handle on the chain. “Just give it a little jerk,” Mama said. We stared down as I did. The bottom of the pan was on a hinge. It dropped open, and there below were the ties of the Wabash tracks racing along beneath us. We both jumped back and hit the door. And we made haste back to our seats. I guess we were lucky not to have found the lady with the bird on her hat in there, sitting down. Then before I was ready, we were crossing the Mississippi River on a high trestle.21 There was Practice the Skills 18. Clinkers and soot—cinders and fine ashes—were from the coal burned as fuel in the locomotive. The bird, whether real or artificial, was made to look as though it were flying (on the wing). 19. The expression chewed on means “thought over.” 20. Water closet is another word for toilet. In the early 1900s few farms had indoor toilets. 21. A trestle (TREH sul) is a railroad bridge, especially a high one over a river or valley. 1120 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? CORBIS Covering nearly 16 acres, the Palace of Transportation exhibited 140 automobiles. Can you imagine Aunt Elvera in one of these cars? READING WORKSHOP 3 nothing between us and the brown water. I put my hand over my eyes, but not before I glimpsed St. Louis on the far bank, sweeping away in the haze of heat as far as the eye could see. We didn’t stay at the Inside Inn. They wanted two dollars a night for a room, three if they fed you. We booked into a rooming house not far from the main gate, where we got a big square room upstairs with two beds for a dollar. It was run by a severe lady, Mrs. Wolfe, with a small, moon-faced son named Thomas clinging to her skirts. The place suited Mama, once she’d pulled down the bedclothes to check for bugs. It didn’t matter where we laid our Analyzing the Photo How does the heads as long as it was clean. size of the Ferris wheel reflect the fair’s We walked to the Fair that afternoon, following the crowds, grand scale? trying to act like everybody else. Once again I’d have turned back if Mama had said to. It wasn’t the awful grandeur of the pavilions22 rising white in the sun. It was all those people. I didn’t know there were that many people in the world. They scared me at first, but then I couldn’t see enough. My eyes 11 Reviewing Elements began to drink deep. 11 23 We took the Intramural electric railroad that ran around Figurative Language What does the last sentence mean? the Exposition grounds, making stops. The Fair passed before What kind of figurative language us, and it didn’t take me long to see what I was looking for. It is used? was hard to miss. At the Palace of Transportation stop, I told Mama this was where we got off. There it rose before us, 250 feet high. It was the giant wheel, the invention of George Washington Gale Ferris. A great wheel24 with thirty-six cars on it, each holding sixty people. It turned as we watched, and people were getting on and off like it was nothing to them. “No power on earth would get me up in that thing,” Mama murmured. Practice the Skills 22. The pavilions (puh VIL yunz) are the fair’s exhibit halls and other buildings. 23. The Intramural railroad ran only within the fairgrounds. 24. At the time, this was the only Ferris wheel in existence. Invented and built for the 1893 World’s Columbian Exhibition in Chicago, it was moved to St. Louis in 1903. After the fair there, it was sold as scrap metal. Vocabulary grandeur (GRAN jur) n. the state of being large and impressive; greatness The Electric Summer Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, [reproduction number, e.g., LC-USZ62-123456] 1121 READING WORKSHOP 3 But I opened my hand and showed her the extra dollar Dad had slipped me to ride the wheel. “Dad said it would give us a good view of the Fair,” I said in a wobbly voice. “It would give me a stroke,” Mama said. But then she set her jaw. “Your dad is putting me to the test. He thinks I won’t do it.” Gathering her skirts, she moved deliberately toward the line of people waiting to ride the wheel. We wouldn’t look up while we waited, but we heard the creaking of all that naked steel. “That is the sound of doom,” Mama muttered. Then, too soon, they were ushering us into a 12 English Language Coach car, and I began to babble out of sheer fear. 12 “A lady named Mrs. Nicholson rode standing on the roof of A Changing Language The word babble may come from one of these cars when the wheel was up at the Chicago fair, a place name. In the Bible, the eleven years ago.” people of Babylon start to build Mama turned to me. “What in the world for?” a tower up to heaven—the Tower “She was a daredevil, I guess.” of Babel. They fail after God “She was out of her mind,” Mama said. makes them “babble,” or speak different languages, so that they Now we were inside, and people mobbed the windows as can’t communicate. we swooped up. I meant to stand in the middle of our car and watch the floor, but I looked out. In a moment we were above the roofs and towers of the Fair, a white city unfolding. There was the Grand Basin with the gondolas drifting. There was the mighty Festival Hall. Mama chanced a look. It was cooler up there. My unforgiving Warner’s Rust-Proof Corset had held me in a death grip all day, but I could breathe easier that high. Then we paused, dangling at the top. Now we were one with the birds, like hawks hovering over the Fair. “How many wind pumps high are we?” Mama pondered. As we began to arch down again, we were both at a window, skinning our eyes to see the Jerusalem exhibit and the Philippine Village and, way off, the Plateau of States—a world of wonders. Giddy when we got out, we staggered on solid ground and had to sit down on an ornamental bench. Now Mama was game for anything. “If they didn’t want an arm and a leg for 13 Key Reading Skill the fare,” she said, “I’d ride that thing again. Keep the ticket Identifying Main Idea What stubs to show your dad we did it.” 13 is the main idea or message in Practice the Skills Vocabulary hovering (HUV ur ing) v. remaining in or near one place in the air this passage about the Ferris wheel ride? (Hint: What is the author saying about doing what you’re afraid to do?) 1122 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? 1114-1125_U8SEL_845478.indd 1122 3/14/07 12:32:12 PM READING WORKSHOP 3 Braver than before, we walked down the Pike, as it was still broad daylight. It was lined with sidewalk cafes in front of all manner of attractions: the Streets of Cairo and the Palais du Costume, Hagenbeck’s Circus and a replica of the Galveston25 flood. Because we were parched, we found a table at a place where they served a new drink, tea with ice in it. “How do we know we’re not drinking silt?” Mama wondered, but it cooled us off. As quick as you’d sit down anywhere at the Fair, there’d be entertainment. In front of the French Village they had a supple young man named Will Rogers doing rope tricks. And music? Everywhere you turned, and all along the Pike, the song the world sang that summer was: “Meet me in St. Louis, Louis, meet me at the fair.”26 We sat over our tea and watched the passing parade. Some of those people you wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley. Over by the water chutes a gang of rough men waited to glimpse the ankles of women getting out of the boats. But the only thing we saw on the Pike we shouldn’t have was Uncle Schumate weaving out of the saloon bar of the Tyrolean27 Alps. I can’t tell all we saw in our two days at the Fair. We tried to look at things the boys and Dad would want to hear about—the Hall of Mines and Metallurgy, and the livestock. We learned a good deal of history: the fourteen female statues to stand for the states of the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, and the log cabin that President U. S. Grant had been born in. But most of what we saw foretold the future: automobiles and airships and moving pictures.28 14 Practice the Skills 14 Geneva says that the things she saw at the fair “foretold the future.” What does this tell you about the American dream in 1904? Write your answer on the “Electric Summer” page of Foldable 8. Will Rogers (1879–1935) was one of the most popular entertainers of the time. In his live performances, he told jokes and performed rope tricks. 25. In 1900, a terrible hurricane hit Galveston, Texas, killing 5,000 people and destroying much of the city. 26. In the song, a woman leaves a note telling her husband Louis (LOO ee) where to meet her in St. Louis (LOO ee). 27. Tyrolean (tuh ROH lee un) refers to a region, mostly in Austria, of the eastern Alps Mountains. 28. Cars, planes, and movies existed in 1904; they just weren’t yet widely available or easily affordable. Vocabulary replica (REP lih kuh) n. a faithful copy The Electric Summer 1123 Hulton Archive/Getty Images 1114-1125_U8SEL_845478.indd 1123 3/14/07 12:33:01 PM READING WORKSHOP 3 Our last night was the Fourth of July. Fifty bands played, some of them on horseback. John Philip Sousa, in gold braid and white, conducted his own marches. Lit in every color, the fountains played to this music and the thunder of the fireworks. And the cavalry from the Boer War29 exhibit rode 15 Key Reading Skill in formation, brandishing torches. 15 Mama turned away from all the army Identifying Main Idea Again, numerous details are given about uniforms, thinking of my brothers, I the fair. What point is the author suppose. But when the lights came on, making? every tower and minaret picked out with electric bulbs, we saw what this new Visual Vocabulary A minaret is a tall, century would be: all the grandeur of slender tower on an ancient Greece and Rome, lit by lightning. Islamic temple. A new century, with the United States of America showing the way. But you’d have to run hard not to be left behind. 16 16 What part does electricity play We saved the floral clock for our last morning. It lay across in the American dream of the a hillside next to the Agriculture Palace, and it was beyond early 1900s? Write your answer anything we’d ever seen. The dial of it was 112 feet across, on the “Electric Summer” page of and each giant hand weighed 2,500 pounds. It was all made Foldable 8. of flowers, even the numbers. Each Hour Garden had plants that opened at that time of day, beginning with morning glories. We stood in a rapture, waiting for it to strike the hour. Then who appeared before us with her folding Kodak camera slung around her neck but Aunt Elvera Schumate. To demonstrate her worldliness, she merely nodded like we were all just coming out of church back home. “Well, Mary,” she said to Mama, “I guess this clock shames your garden.” Mama dipped her head modestly to show the cornflowers on her hat. “Yes, Elvera,” she said, “I am a humbler woman for this experience,” and Aunt Elvera didn’t quite know what to make of her reply. “Where’s Dorothy?” Mama asked innocently. “That child!” Aunt Elvera said. “I couldn’t get her out of the bed at the Inside Inn! She complains of blistered feet. Wait till she has a woman’s corns! I am a martyr to mine. I cannot get Practice the Skills 29. Sousa (SOO zuh) was a popular composer and band leader. The cavalry (KAH vul ree) were soldiers on horseback. In the Boer War (1899–1902), Great Britain fought two of its former colonies in southern Africa. Vocabulary rapture (RAP chur) n. a feeling of great joy 1124 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? L Hobbs/PhotoLink READING WORKSHOP 3 her interested in the Fair. She got as far as the bust of President Roosevelt sculpted in butter, but then she faded.” Aunt Elvera cast me a baleful30 look, as if this was all my fault. “Dorothy is going through a phase.” But there Aunt Elvera was wrong. Dorothy never was much better than that for the rest of her life. Mama didn’t inquire into Uncle Schumate’s whereabouts; we thought we knew. On the train ride home we were seasoned travelers, Mama and I. When the candy butcher hawked his wares through our car, we knew to turn our faces away from his prices. We crossed the Mississippi River on that terrible trestle, and after Edwardsville31 the land settled into flat fields. Looking out, Mama said, “Corn’s knee high by the Fourth of July,” because she was thinking ahead to home. “I’ll sleep good tonight without those streetcars clanging outside the window.” A daily guide helped visitors choose But they still clanged in my mind, and “The Stars and from among hundreds of exhibits and Stripes Forever” blended with “Meet Me in St. Louis, Louis.” activities. “But Mama, how can we just go home after all we’ve seen?” 17 Thinking that over, she said, “You won’t have to, you and the boys. It’s your century. It can take you wherever you want to go.” Then she reached over and put her hand on mine, a 17 thing she rarely did. “I’ll keep you back if I can. But I’ll let How has Geneva’s idea of the you go if I must.” American dream been affected That thrilled me, and scared me. The great world seemed to by her visit to the fair? Write your answer on the “Electric Summer” swing wide like the gates of the Fair, and I didn’t even have a page of Foldable 8. Your plan. I hadn’t even put up my hair yet. It seemed to me it was responses will help you complete time for that, time to jerk that big bow off the braid hanging the Unit Challenge later. down my back and put up my hair in a woman’s way. “Maybe in the fall,” said Mama, who was turning into a mind reader as we steamed through the July fields, heading for home. ❍ Practice the Skills 30. A martyr (MAR tur) is someone who willingly dies for a cause. Theodore Roosevelt was president from 1901 to 1909. Baleful means “menacing; threatening harm or evil.” 31. Butcher is an old term for someone who sells (hawks) products (wares). Edwardsville, Illinois, is about 25 miles northeast of St. Louis. Vocabulary seasoned (SEE zund) adj. made fit by experience; adjusted to (something) because of experience The Electric Summer akg-images 1125 READING WORKSHOP 3 • Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details After You Read The Electric Summer Answering the 1. How does technology fit into the American dream? 2. Recall What is the first thing that Geneva wants to do after she and Mama arrive on the fairgrounds? T IP Right There 3. Recall What is the exhibit that gives Geneva and Mama such joy on their second day at the fair? T IP Think and Search Critical Thinking 4. Draw Conclusions Geneva lives on a farm, but the story doesn’t say directly where the farm is located. Identify the state, and explain how you came to this conclusion. T IP Think and Search 5. Evaluate Before visiting the fair, Geneva got her ideas about the world mostly from what she had read. How does the fair change her? T IP Author and Me 6. Infer At the end of their visit, Mama tells Geneva that the century “can take you wherever you want to go.” What do you think Mama wants for Geneva? T IP Author and Me Write About Your Reading Objectives (pp. 1126–1127) Reading Identify main idea and supporting details • Make connections from text to self Literature Identify literary elements: dialogue, cultural reference Vocabulary Identify English language changes Writing Respond to writing: postcard Grammar Capitalize sentences Postcards Imagine that Geneva sent herself two postcards from the fair. (If she’d sent them to her dad and brothers, she probably would have been home before the mail arrived.) Describe the postcards you think she might have chosen, and write a brief message for each one. For each of the two postcards: • Choose an image of something Geneva saw or did at the fair that she found especially enjoyable or impressive. • Describe the image. • Write the message. (Keep it to about 30 words.) Remember that you’re pretending to be Geneva writing to herself. What would you say to remind yourself why you liked the thing pictured on the card? 1126 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? SuperStock, Inc. / SuperStock READING WORKSHOP 3 • Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details Skills Review Key Reading Skill: Identifying Main Idea and Supporting Details 7. What is the main idea or message of this story? 8. It seems obvious that Geneva and Mama are not used to traveling by train. Note at least three details from the story that support this idea. Literary Element: Dialogue 9. Choose two or more pieces of dialogue from the story that helped you understand Geneva’s personality. Explain your choices. 10. How does the dialogue between Mama and Aunt Elvera show the differences in their personalities? Reviewing Elements: Cultural Reference 11. Identify five cultural references in the story, with the page numbers where they’re mentioned. List, for example, specific brand names or products, famous people, world events, or social movements that relate to the time of the story. Vocabulary Check Rewrite each sentence with the correct word. novelty grandeur hovering replica rapture seasoned helicopter circled the air above the roof 12. The but didn’t land. 13. The man couldn’t resist buying a of the Statue of Liberty in the gift shop. 14. Kria is a soccer player. She’s played in more than a hundred games this year. 15. Jesse was filled with as he stood on the Olympic stand, a gold medal around his neck. 16. I enjoyed seeing Mount Rushmore, but I was more impressed by the of South Dakota’s Badlands. 17. That’s a ! I’ve never seen anything like it. 18. English Language Coach What does Mississippi mean in its original language? Grammar Link: Capitalization of Sentences You enter a house through a door. A capital letter is the door through which you enter a sentence. Always capitalize the first word of every sentence and the first word of every direct quotation. • There were only four automobiles in the town. • Looking out, Mama said, “Corn’s knee high by the Fourth of July.” When a quoted sentence is interrupted by explanatory words, such as he said, do NOT begin the second part of the quotation with a capital letter. • “I’d ride that thing again,” she said, “if I could.” People often don’t speak in complete sentences. Even if a quotation is just a single word or phrase, capitalize the first word. • “That child!” Aunt Elvera said. Grammar Practice Rewrite the following paragraph, correcting the three capitalization errors. “it will be a fun trip,” Rena thought. her class was going to see an exhibit and eat at a French restaurant. “thanks,” Rena told her teacher, “for planning this!” Writing Application Review the postcards you wrote. Make sure you capitalized the first letter in each sentence and in any quotation. Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection Quick Checks, and other Web activities, go to www.glencoe.com. The Electric Summer 1127 WRITING WORKSHOP PART 2 Letter Revising, Editing, and Presenting ASSIGNMENT Write a letter Purpose: To evaluate and respond to the media Audience: A TV producer or head of a media company Revising Rubric Your revised letter should have • a clear beginning, middle, and end • a clearly-stated opinion supported by relevant details • well-organized paragraphs • correct forms of irregular verbs • correct business letter presentation See page 1130 for a model of a letter. Objectives (pp. 1128–1131) Writing Revise your letter for main idea and supporting details, clarity, fluency, style, and word choice • Present your writing Grammar Edit for grammar, mechanics, usage In Writing Workshop Part 1, you generated ideas for your letter and developed a first draft. In Part 2 you’ll revise and edit your draft to make your letter even better. After you’ve finished your letter, you’ll choose a method of publishing it. Remember to keep a copy in your writing portfolio so that you and your teacher can evaluate your writing progress over time. Revising Make It Better Revising is all about improving your draft. But first you have to decide what improvements it needs. You must become your own editor, evaluating your writing and deciding what to fix. Take a Fresh Look As you read over the draft of your letter, ask yourself the questions below. You can either make changes now or write notes to yourself so you can go back and make the changes later. • Does the opening paragraph state your purpose for writing and your overall opinion? • Does each paragraph in the body of your letter have a topic sentence that clearly states that paragraph’s main idea? • Does each paragraph in the body follow up the topic sentence with supporting details and specific examples from the show? • Does your concluding paragraph provide closure by praising and/or criticizing the program and how it shows America and Americans? Do you offer suggestions to improve the show? • Have you made your points clearly? You might want to swap letters with a partner to get a fresh perspective. Ask your partner if anything you wrote is confusing. Work together to phrase your comments in a way that’s more understandable. • Does your letter read smoothly? Read it out loud. If there are parts that you stumble over, find better ways to express them. 1128 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? WRITING WORKSHOP PART 2 Editing Finish It Up Revising Tip Read the model on the next page. Look at the notes on the side to see how the writer revised and edited his letter about The Simpsons. Then read your letter one sentence at a time and use the Editing Checklist below to help you spot errors. Use the proofreading symbols in the chart on page R19 to mark needed corrections. If you’re using a word processing program, you can use the grammar and spell-checking features to catch some kinds of mistakes. However, remember that a computer’s spell-checker can’t tell the difference between a misspelled word and its homophone. For example, if you meant to type “their” but accidentally typed “there,” the computer won’t alert you. Editing Checklist Using Technology If you’re writing on a computer, save your draft and make your revisions in a new file copy. By saving the original, you’re free to experiment and make mistakes. If necessary, you can open up your original draft and try again. Writing Models For models and other writing activities, go to www.glencoe.com. ✓ Your letter is free of sentence fragments and run-on sentences. ❑ ✓ Verbs and subjects agree and all tenses are correct. You’ve used ❑ irregular verbs correctly. ✓ You’ve correctly spelled words that are easily confused, including ❑ homophones. ✓ ❑ You’ve used the proper letter format. You’ve correctly capitalized and punctuated direct quotations and the names of TV programs. Publishing Show It Off After you’ve made your final revisions and corrections, make a final copy of your letter. If your letter is written by hand, it must be neat and legible. Ask someone else to make sure your handwriting can be read. Then figure out who should receive your letter and get it ready to send! To do that, be sure you have everything in the right format for a business letter. (Follow the guidelines on page 1131 and see page R25 of the Writing Handbook for extra help.) Revising Tip Choosing Your Audience You could send your letter to the show’s creator, director, producer, or writer. You could also write to the head of the network that runs the show or to the show’s sponsors. The best place to send the letter is in care of (“c/o”) the company that distributes the program or the TV network or local station that broadcasts it. Most TV and radio stations have Web sites that give their mailing addresses. Writing Workshop Part 2 Letter 1129 WRITING WORKSHOP PART 2 Active Writing Model The introduction states the writer’s purpose and his opinion. The writer’s first reason for his opinion is stated in the topic sentence. He follows up with specific details from the show to support the topic sentence. Notice how paragraphs 2–5 all follow this pattern. The writer expresses disagreement with the way the program shows the American dream. The writer closes by summarizing his message in the final paragraph. He thanks the show’s creator but advises him on how to fix the show’s flaw. Writer’s Model Dear Mr. Groening: I am in eighth grade. My English class is evaluating how TV shows portray America. In my opinion, The Simpsons shows both the good and the bad. First, the mix of characters is fairly true to life. The show revolves around a white family, but there are also African Americans (Carl and Dr. Hibbert) and immigrants (Apu and his family). Every community contains people like Police Chief Wiggum, Mayor Joe Quimby, Moe, Marge’s sisters, Principal Skinner, and even greedy power-plant owner Mr. Burns. Second, like many American communities today, Springfield faces a range of problems, including natural disasters (Mt. Springfield erupts), corruption (the mayor takes bribes), and schoolyard bullies. Finally, The Simpsons shows good things about Americans too. Homer and Marge are a loving couple with a lasting marriage. Lisa is the voice of reason. Even Bart is a creative problem solver. The community takes on tough problems. The Simpsons’ America is going through a lot of change, but people do their best to cope with it. However, I have one complaint. My classmates and I agree that you don’t always show both sides of an issue. Sometimes you leave out the way we feel. My classmate Ken Aya, age 14, said, “I didn’t like the episode that made Milhouse’s dad and all the other divorced dads in his building look so pathetic. Many divorced men cope just fine. My dad lives in an apartment building, but he’s not a loser.” Thanks, Mr. Groening, for making us laugh at ourselves while encouraging us to solve our problems. But please, don’t always poke fun at the characters who share my outlook on life. 1130 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? WRITING WORKSHOP PART 2 Applying Good Writing Traits • Greeting or salutation: begins with “Dear,” then the name of the person to whom you are writing, followed by a colon Presentation What Is Presentation? Dear Mr. Groening: A piece of writing is presented well if it’s pleasing to the eye and easy to read. Its form should be right for the assignment. Why Is Presentation Important? No matter how hard you’ve worked on what you have to say, your letter will have little effect if it doesn’t look good. How Do I Use Presentation in My Writing? Make sure your letter has the right format (the parts it contains and how they’re laid out on the page). Business letters contain these elements: • Heading and date: your address and the date • Body of the letter: all of the text (In the student model, the body is six paragraphs.) • Complimentary close: “Sincerely,” “Yours truly,” or a similar closing, followed by a comma Yours truly, • Signature: your signed name, followed by your name either typed or block-printed Present Your Letter Add a copy of your letter to a binder for a class book. Give the book a title, such as As Seen on TV: The American Dream. Set up a book party to discuss the shows you and your classmates wrote about. To spark the conversation, read some of the letters. Raphael Thompson 136 Matthews Street Binghamton, New York 13905 March 30, 2007 • Inside address: the name and address of the person to whom you’re writing (Note that this example is addressed “in care of” the local Fox TV station.) Mr. Matt Groening Creator of The Simpsons c/o FOX 40 WICZ-TV BINGHAMTON 4600 Vestal Parkway East Vestal, NY 13850 Analyzing Cartoons Jeremy’s presentation of his skills probably won’t lead to a job. What kind of business card would you design for yourself? ion of King Features Syndicate, Inc. © Zits Partnership. Reprinted with Permiss Writing Workshop Part 2 Letter 1131 © Zits Partnership. Reprinted with Permission of King Features Syndicate, Inc. READING WORKSHOP 4 Skills Focus You will practice using these skills when you read the following selections: • “I, Too” p. 1136 • from Dandelion Wine, p. 1142 Skill Lesson Identifying Author’s Purpose Reading • Identifying author’s purpose Learn It! Literature • Identifying and understanding metaphor • Recognizing hyperbole Vocabulary • Learning about English as a changing language Writing/Grammar • Understanding and using verbals • Spelling and using homophones correctly What Is It? Whether it’s a novel or a poem, a newspaper article or a play, a cartoon or an ad, everything you read was written for a reason. Every author has some purpose in mind when he or she sits down to write. The most common purposes are • to entertain • to describe • to inform or explain • to persuade • a combination of the above . TE. All rights reserved AL PRESS SYNDICA permissionof UNIVERS Amend. Reprinted with FOXTROT © 2002 Bill Analyzing Cartoons Objectives (pp. 1132–1133) Reading Identify author’s purpose. 1132 UNIT 8 FOXTROT © 2002 Bill Amend. Reprinted with permission of UNIVERSAL PRESS SYNDICATE. All rights reserved. Paige needs a bright idea. A larger bulb might help, but it might be more helpful for her to think about her purpose. What do you think is her purpose for writing the essay? READING WORKSHOP 4 • Identifying Author’s Purpose Why Is It Important? You read many different types of text each day. In the morning you read about prehistoric animals in your science book. Later you study a story for English. In the afternoon you do research on the Web. At home you check the directions before you microwave a snack. Before bed there’s the newspaper sports section. Knowing why the authors wrote these texts can help you understand and evaluate what they say. Study Central Visit www.glencoe .com and click on Study Central to review evaluating. How Do I Do It? Use these tips to help you identify an author’s purpose. • Consider the audience for whom a work is intended. Persuasive writing has a different target audience than poetry. Many nonfiction works are intended for experts, not casual readers. • Examine the author’s word choices. All writers select words for their suggested meanings as well as for their definitions. But a poet might want to suggest ideas indirectly while an editorial writer tries to be specific. • Look at the text structure. Fiction is likely to be organized in time order, and cooking and assembly instructions had better be chronological. Other nonfiction is often organized as problem-solution or cause-effect. Here’s how one student identified the author’s purpose while reading the short story “The Electric Summer”: I think Mr. Peck was writing to entertain and inform. I think he wants people to see that it was exciting to live in the early 1900s. There were new things like electricity and cars and indoor plumbing. That’s kind of a funny list, but only because we’re so used to those things today. Mr. Peck had a third purpose too, I think, and that was to say to keep your mind open to new ideas and experiences. Practice It! Look over the titles of the selections you read in Units 6 and 7. Choose five selections and, in your Learner’s Notebook, briefly note what you think was the author’s main purpose in each selection. Use It! As you read, look in the text for clues about the author’s purpose. Then decide whether the author did a good job and achieved that purpose. Reading Workshop 4 Identifying Author’s Purpose John Evans 1133 READING WORKSHOP 4 • Identifying Author’s Purpose Before You Read I, Too Vocabulary Preview English Language Coach Lan gs to n H u g he s Meet the Author Langston Hughes was one of the first African American writers to make a living as a writer and public speaker. He once said he wrote about people who are “up today and down tomorrow, working this week and fired the next, beaten and baffled, but determined not to be wholly beaten.” See page R3 of the Author Files for more on Hughes. English as a Changing Language So what is all this stuff about “Old English” and “Middle French” and “Old High German”? It has to do with etymology (et uh MOL uh jee), the study of the origins and histories of languages. Each language has its own history, of course. Most grew out of another, older language. Some borrow from one another. Old English was a Germanic language, meaning it grew out of an early form of German. Then, in 1066, the Normans came over from the north of France and conquered England. The Normans spoke Old French, which was a Latin language (coming out of ancient Italy). With the Normans governing, the English adopted many French words relating to law and government. In most matters relating to daily life, however, people stuck to the language they knew. So, modern English is really the offspring of Old German crossed with Old French. The neat thing about etymology is that it shows that bits and pieces of old languages survive in modern-day English. To see them, you need to be a detective, looking for and understanding root words and their origins and meanings. Look at the example below. You’ll see this word in the selection “I, Too.” Brackets contain information about a word’s etymology. Author Search For more about Langston Hughes, go to www .glencoe.com. Scholars sometimes have to make educated guesses about the origins of a word. kitchen n. a room or an area equipped for preparing and cooking food [Middle English kichene, from Old English cycene, probably from Vulgar Latin cocina, from Late Latin coquinus, “of cooking,” from coquus, “cook,” from coquere, “to cook”] Objectives (pp. 1134–1137) Reading Identify author’s purpose • Make connections from text to self Literature Identify literary devices: metaphor Vocabulary Identify English language changes Etymology usually begins with the most recent historical influence, and traces the word back in time to its earliest roots. 1134 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture Scholars have given these names to different periods in time. Vulgar Latin refers to Latin the way it was spoken by ordinary people (as opposed to the “high” language of priests and kings). READING WORKSHOP 4 • Identifying Author’s Purpose Skills Preview Get Ready to Read Key Reading Skill: Identifying Author’s Purpose Connect to the Reading You’re about to read a poem by Langston Hughes. Poetry is a very focused kind of writing. A poem is intended to make you feel a certain feeling or think about a certain idea. “I, Too” is very brief and seemingly simple, but Hughes packs a lot into it. As you read, think about who the speaker—the “I” of the poem’s title—might be. Also, look closely at Hughes’s word choices. Because most poems are short, poets are very careful to use words that mean and suggest exactly the right things. Finally, to help you understand what Hughes was writing about, recall what you know about him and the times he lived in. Write to Learn Find out what you can about the “Harlem Renaissance.” In your Learner’s Notebook, make notes to answer the five basic questions—who, what, when, where, and why. Key Literary Element: Metaphor A metaphor is a figure of speech that compares seemingly unlike things without using words such as like and as. Here’s an example that makes two comparisons: “When I first arrived in the city, I was a mouse in a maze.” The writer or speaker is compared to a mouse and the city to a maze. An extended metaphor is continued over a passage. In a poem, it might run throughout the entire piece. In a story or essay, it might run a few paragraphs or, in a short work, throughout the whole piece. Hughes uses an extended metaphor in “I, Too” that’s implied. In the earlier example, the comparison is directly stated: “I was a mouse.” In “I, Too,” the speaker mentions the “kitchen” and a “table” but leaves it to the reader to decide what they represent. Class Discussion Hughes’s poem “Mother to Son“ (page 472) also uses an extended metaphor. Reread the poem and talk about the crystal staircase. Imagine that, because of your hair color, you aren’t allowed to eat in a certain restaurant. Or imagine that you’re required to sit in the back corner of the theater because you’re left-handed. Imagine that you’re told to leave the room whenever visitors come. Write to Learn Write a paragraph describing your feelings when you’ve been treated unfairly for reasons that you couldn’t control or that made no sense. Build Background • In 1855 American poet Walt Whitman published a poem called “I Hear America Singing.” • In the 1920s Hughes wrote “I, Too.” It includes lines that echo Whitman’s. The United States was still a segregated nation in which African Americans and other minorities were treated unjustly. • Poets express their own ideas and feelings in a poem, but readers should not assume that a poem’s speaker is the poet. Think of the speaker as a poem’s narrator or as a character. Set Purposes for Reading Read “I, Too” to see how someone who feels left out views the American dream. Set Your Own Purpose What would you like to learn from the selection to help you answer the Big Question? Write your purpose on the “I, Too” page of Foldable 8. Interactive Literary Elements Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, go to www.glencoe.com. Keep Moving Use these skills as you read the following selection. I, Too 1135 READING WORKSHOP 4 by Langston Hughes 1136 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC / Art Resource, NY READING WORKSHOP 4 Practice the Skills I, too, sing America. 5 Besides, They’ll see how beautiful I am And be ashamed— I, too, am America. 3 ❍ Key Literary Element Metaphor The extended metaphor begins almost immediately. Who is the speaker? I am the darker brother. 1 They send me to eat in the kitchen When company comes, But I laugh, And eat well, And grow strong. Tomorrow, I’ll be at the table 10 When company comes. Nobody’ll dare Say to me, “Eat in the kitchen,” Then. 2 15 1 2 Key Reading Skill Identifying Author’s Purpose What do you think Hughes wants his readers to understand? 3 What is the American dream to the speaker? Write your answer on the “I, Too” page of Foldable 8. Your response will help you complete the Unit Challenge later. Self Portrait, 1934. Malvin Gray Johnson. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. I, Too 1137 READING WORKSHOP 4 • Identifying Author’s Purpose After You Read I, Too Answering the 1. After reading “I, Too,” what are your thoughts about the American dream? What are some of the restrictions people face in trying to achieve it? 2. Recall How is the speaker of the poem treated? T IP Right There 3. Recall How does the speaker respond to this treatment? T IP Right There 4. Summarize In one sentence, summarize what the speaker plans to do the next time there are guests. T IP Right There Critical Thinking 5. Interpret How do you interpret “darker brother” (line 2) and “They” (line 3)? Who are they? What is their relationship? Explain. T IP Author and Me 6. Analyze What satisfaction does the speaker look forward to having “tomorrow”? T IP Think and Search 7. Interpret What does the speaker mean when he says, “I, too, sing America”? What does he mean by saying, “I, too, am America”? Why might he feel the need to say these things? T IP Author and Me Talk About Your Reading Objectives (pp. 1138–1139) Reading Identify author’s purpose Literature Identify literary devices: metaphor Vocabulary Identify English language changes Grammar Identify sentence elements: verbals Discussion “You are what you eat,” according to an old saying. It means that what you eat says things about you as a person. Change that saying to “You are where you eat,“ and discuss these questions: • Each room in a home has one main purpose, even though it is likely used for many purposes. What is the difference between eating in a kitchen and eating in a dining room? How would you describe the sort of occasion when a meal is traditionally eaten in the dining room? What might it suggest when a meal is eaten in front of the living room TV? How does the event (not the food) of a restaurant meal differ from eating at home? Now discuss this variation of the saying: “You are who you eat with.“ 1138 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC / Art Resource, NY READING WORKSHOP 4 • Identifying Author’s Purpose Skills Review Grammar Link: Verbals Key Reading Skill: Identifying Author’s Purpose A verbal is a verb form that functions in a sentence as a noun, an adjective, or an adverb. There are three kinds of verbals: participles, gerunds, and infinitives. 8. Why do you think Hughes chose beautiful for line 17? How would the meaning of this stanza (or the poem) be different if he had used another word, such as powerful, angry, or happy? 9. Walt Whitman’s poem “I Hear America Singing” celebrates the courage, “stick-to-it” attitude, and unity of Americans. “I, Too” is a response to Whitman’s work. What is that response? Does Hughes disagree about the qualities Americans possess? Is he adding something that Whitman might have overlooked? If so, what? 10. Do you think that, in this poem, Hughes is hopeful about the future? Explain. Key Literary Element: Metaphor 11. Look at the word brother in line 2. If it is used to mean “a male born of the same parents as another child,” how does this word fit the metaphor? Who would be the speaker’s other family members? If it is used to mean “one who shares the same racial origin,” would your interpretation of the metaphor change? Which meaning of brother do you think makes the most sense, and why? 12. The table of line 9 is apparently in the dining room. Interpreting the metaphor, what might each of the two rooms—kitchen and dining room—represent? 13. Explain how the poem’s extended metaphor shows the speaker’s feelings about being an outsider in the house where he lives. A participle is a verb form that functions as an adjective. You form a present participle by adding -ing to a verb. You usually form a past participle by adding -ed. • The soaring biplane flew 120 feet. • The awed spectators watched in amazement. A gerund is a verb form ending in -ing that is used as a noun. It can be used as the subject or the direct object of a sentence. • Moving involves a lot of work. (subject) • People enjoy traveling. (direct object) An infinitive is made up of the word to and the base form of a verb. It may function as a noun and can be used as the subject or the direct object of a sentence. • To skate is my ideal winter pastime. (subject) • Many children like to skate. (direct object) Grammar Practice Copy each of the following sentences and underline the verbals. (There is only one verbal in each sentence.) 15. The girls gathered all the used containers and put them in the trash. 16. “Going home ten minutes ago will not be soon enough,” the woman joked. 17. The cheering crowd rooted for the home team. 18. Drying the dishes became a sort of game. 19. To finish that novel will be an achievement. Vocabulary Check 14. English Language Coach The word company came from the Latin com- (“with; together”) and panis (“bread; food”). Explain how these meanings make sense with the modern definition: “guests; visitors.” Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection Quick Checks, and other Web activities, go to www.glencoe.com. I, Too 1139 READING WORKSHOP 4 • Identifying Author’s Purpose Before You Read from Dandelion Wine Vocabulary Preview R ay B b ur y ra d Meet the Author Ray Bradbury was born in 1920 in Waukegan, Illinois, where he discovered the pleasure of reading comic strips and science fiction. As an adult, he often wrote from the point of view of a kid growing up in small-town America. He has said, “It is nice to be in the twenty-first century. It is like a new challenge. It is really a good and threatening new century to create for!” See page R1 of the Author Files for more on Bradbury. Author Search For more about Ray Bradbury, go to www.glencoe.com. Objectives (pp. 1140-1149) Reading Identify author’s purpose • Make connections from text to self Literature Identify literary devices: hyperbole Vocabulary Identify English language changes capsize (KAP syz) v. to overturn or upset (especially a boat) (p. 1142) He felt as if the whole place would capsize and sink beneath the ground. proprietor (pruh PRY uh tur) n. a person or firm that owns a property or a business (p. 1145) The proprietor took pride in his shoe displays. rave (rayv) v. to speak about very favorably or with great enthusiasm (p. 1146) How can you rave about a shoe you’ve never worn? alien (AY lee un) adj. strange; odd; peculiar (p. 1147) The tennis shoes looked alien beneath the man’s business suit. yielding (YEEL ding) adj. giving way to force or pressure (p. 1148) The carpet was soft and yielding, like freshly turned soil. Write to Learn High-tops! Sandals! Loafers! Flip-flops! Why do some people have such strong feelings about footwear? What is it about shoes? Explain why certain people seem to have shoes “on their brains.” Express your ideas in a few sentences using at least four vocabulary words. English Language Coach English as a Changing Language Etymology can be useful because, in learning about one word, you’re actually learning about a family of words. When you come upon an unfamiliar word, you may be able to recognize the word family it belongs to. This chart shows a word from Dandelion Wine. Word Meaning Etymology emporium a retail store offering a variety of merchandise Latin, from Greek emporion, from emporos traveler, trader, from em- in + poros journey Related Words pore, porous Remember, though, that a word part may be spelled the same in different words but have different meanings. For example, portfolio and transport come from the Greek poros. However, corporate and portray have different roots, even though they include the word part por. Write to Learn Look up pore and porous. How are their modern meanings related to the original meaning of the root poros? 1140 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Satelight/Gamma Liaison/Getty Images READING WORKSHOP 4 • Identifying Author’s Purpose Skills Preview Get Ready to Read Key Reading Skill: Identifying Author’s Purpose Connect to the Reading Short-story writers might have several purposes for writing. They usually want to entertain you, of course; and they usually want to make a point about life or about people. They may also want you to imagine events, people, and experiences you might not come across in your own life. To help you identify an author’s purpose in a short story, think about • word choices How do the author’s word choices affect how you feel about the characters and events? • intended audience Who is the author writing for? Which readers are most likely to make connections between the story and their own lives? • main idea or theme What is the author’s message? Partner Work With a partner, identify the author’s purpose in one of the short stories in this book. Literary Element: Hyperbole Hyperbole (hy PUR buh lee) is a figure of speech that uses exaggeration to express strong emotion, emphasize a point, or create humor. Most of us use hyperbole in ordinary conversation. (Have you ever said something “drove you crazy”?) Writers often use it too. For example, Langston Hughes says in a story that a woman carried “a large purse that had everything in it but hammer and nails.” Use these tips to help you learn about hyperbole. • Look for any statement that may be hyperbole. Does the statement present a fact or an opinion? Is the exaggeration a really big one? • Consider why the hyperbole is used. Does exaggeration add humor? Does it emphasize a point that’s important to the speaker or writer? Does it express a strong emotion? In this story, the main character spots a pair of tennis shoes in a store window—and he has to have them. He can’t explain why he needs them, but he can feel why. Write to Learn In your Learner’s Notebook, write a paragraph or two about wanting something so badly that if you didn’t get it, you’d just die. (This is the kind of situation where we all often use hyperbole.) Build Background This selection is an excerpt from Dandelion Wine, a novel first published in 1957. • Bradbury’s vision for this story is rooted in the past— his own and America’s. The values he expresses are values he remembers from his childhood. • Life in the 1950s was simple, in many ways. There were no cell phones, video games, or Internet. On TV, you probably got three channels. The only computers that existed were room-sized and belonged to the government. Set Purposes for Reading Read Dandelion Wine to consider the American dream from the point of view of a boy growing up in a small Midwestern town. Set Your Own Purpose What would you like to learn from the selection to help you answer the Big Question? Write your purpose on the “Dandelion Wine” page of Foldable 8. Interactive Literary Elements Handbook To review or learn more about the literary elements, go to www.glencoe.com. Keep Moving Use these skills as you read the following selection. from Dandelion Wine 1141 READING WORKSHOP 4 by Ray Bradbury L ate that night, going home from the show with his mother and father and his brother Tom, Douglas saw the tennis shoes in the bright store window. He glanced quickly away, but his ankles were seized, his feet suspended, then rushed. The earth spun; the shop awnings slammed their canvas wings overhead with the thrust of his body running. His mother and father and brother walked quietly on both sides of him. Douglas walked backward, watching Visual Vocabulary the tennis shoes in the midnight window An awning is a covering over the left behind. 1 outside of a window “It was a nice movie,” said Mother. or door for protection from the rain and sun. Douglas murmured, “It was . . .” It was June and long past time for buying the special shoes that were quiet as a summer rain falling on the walks. June and the earth full of raw power and everything everywhere in motion. The grass was still pouring in from the country, surrounding the sidewalks, stranding the houses. Any moment the town would capsize, go down and leave not a stir in the clover and weeds. And here Douglas stood, trapped on the dead cement and the red-brick streets, hardly able to move. Vocabulary capsize (KAP syz) v. to overturn or upset (especially a boat) 1142 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Owen Franken/Corbis Practice the Skills 1 Literary Element Hyperbole As soon as Douglas sees the tennis shoes, what happens to him? Do you think this is actually happening, or is the author using hyperbole? Explain. Remember the reasons for using hyperbole. READING WORKSHOP 4 “Dad!” He blurted it out. “Back there in that window, those Cream-Sponge Para Litefoot Shoes . . .” His father didn’t even turn. “Suppose you tell me why you need a new pair of sneakers. Can you do that?” “Well . . .” It was because they felt the way it feels every summer when you take off your shoes for the first time and run in the grass. They felt like it feels sticking your feet out of the hot covers in wintertime to let the cold wind from the open window blow on them suddenly and you let them stay out a long time until you pull them back in under the covers again to feel them, like packed snow. The tennis shoes felt like it always feels the first time every year wading in the slow waters of the creek and seeing your feet below, half an inch further downstream, with refraction,1 than the real part of you above water. 2 “Dad,” said Douglas, “it’s hard to explain.” Somehow the people who made tennis shoes knew what boys needed and wanted. They put marshmallows and coiled springs in the soles and they wove the rest out of grasses bleached and fired in the wilderness. Somewhere deep in the soft loam of the shoes the thin hard sinews2 of the buck deer were hidden. The people that made the shoes must have watched a lot of winds blow the trees and a lot of rivers going down to the lakes. Whatever it was, it was in the shoes, and it was summer. Douglas tried to get all this in words. “Yes,” said Father, “but what’s wrong with last year’s sneakers? Why can’t you dig them out of the closet?” Well, he felt sorry for boys who lived in California where they wore tennis shoes all year and never knew what it was to get winter off your feet, peel off the iron leather shoes all full of snow and rain and run barefoot for a day and then lace on the first new tennis shoes of the season, which was better than barefoot. The magic was always in the new pair of shoes. The magic might die by the first of September, but now in late June there was still plenty of magic, and shoes like these could jump you over trees and rivers and houses. And if you wanted, they could jump you over fences and sidewalks and dogs. 3 Practice the Skills 2 Key Reading Skill Identifying Author’s Purpose In this paragraph, what is the author’s purpose? Bradbury chooses words that create strong images to help you get a feel for how Douglas feels about the tennis shoes. 3 Literary Element Hyperbole Which parts of this paragraph would you say are hyperbole? Note those words and phrases in your Learner’s Notebook. 1. Refraction is the bending of light rays as they travel through different substances. Light passing from air to water, for example, produces the effect the narrator describes here. 2. Loam is a rich, black soil. Sinews are tendons, the tissues that attach muscles to bones. from Dandelion Wine 1143 READING WORKSHOP 4 Children Playing, Grez-sur-Loing. Alexander Harrison. Oil on canvas, 50 x 61 cm. “Don’t you see?” said Douglas. “I just can’t use last year’s pair.” For last year’s pair were dead inside. They had been fine when he started them out, last year. But by the end of summer, every year, you always found out, you always knew, you couldn’t really jump over rivers and trees and houses in them, and they were dead. But this was a new year, and he felt that this time, with this new pair of shoes, he could do anything, anything at all. 4 They walked up on the steps to their house. “Save your money,” said Dad. “In five or six weeks—” “Summer’ll be over!” Lights out, with Tom asleep. Douglas lay watching his feet, far away down there at the end of the bed in the moonlight, free of the heavy iron shoes, the big chunks of winter fallen away from them. “Reasons. I’ve got to think of reasons for the shoes.” Well, as anyone knew, the hills around town were wild with friends putting cows to riot, playing barometer to the 1144 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Réunion des Musées Nationaux / Art Resource, NY Practice the Skills 4 Reviewing Skills Analyzing How does the narration help you understand why Douglas wants the shoes so badly? READING WORKSHOP 4 atmospheric changes, taking sun, peeling like calendars each day to take more sun. To catch those friends, you must run much faster than foxes or squirrels. As for the town, it steamed with enemies grown irritable with heat, so remembering every winter argument and insult. Find friends, ditch enemies! That was the Cream-Sponge Para Litefoot motto. Does the world run too fast? Want to catch up? Want to be alert, stay alert? Litefoot, then! Litefoot! He held his coin bank up and heard the faint small tinkling, the airy weight of money there. Whatever you want, he thought, you got to make your own way. During the night now, let’s find that path through the forest. . . . Downtown, the store lights went out, one by one. A wind blew in the window. It was like a river going downstream and his feet wanting to go with it. In his dreams he heard a rabbit running running running in the deep warm grass. Old Mr. Sanderson moved through his shoe store as the proprietor of a pet shop must move through his shop where are kenneled animals from everywhere in the world, touching each one briefly along the way. Mr. Sanderson brushed his hands over the shoes in the window, and some of them were like cats to him and some were like dogs; he touched each pair with concern, adjusting laces, fixing tongues. Then he stood in the exact center of the carpet and looked around, nodding. There was a sound of growing thunder. One moment, the door to Sanderson’s Shoe Emporium3 was empty. The next, Douglas Spaulding stood clumsily there, staring down at his leather shoes as if these heavy things could not be pulled up out of the cement. 5 The thunder had stopped when his shoes stopped. Now, with painful slowness, daring to look only at the money in his cupped hand, Douglas moved out of the bright sunlight of Saturday noon. He made careful stacks of nickels, dimes, and quarters on the counter, like Practice the Skills 5 Literary Element Hyperbole Hyperbole emphasizes how heavy Douglas’s shoes feel to him—as if they were stuck in cement. 3. An emporium is a store. Vocabulary proprietor (pruh PRY uh tur) n. a person or firm that owns a property or a business from Dandelion Wine 1145 READING WORKSHOP 4 someone playing chess and worried if the next move carried him out into sun or deep into shadow. “Don’t say a word!” said Mr. Sanderson. Douglas froze. “First, I know just what you want to buy,” said Mr. Sanderson. “Second, I see you every afternoon at my window; you think I don’t see? You’re wrong. Third, to give it its full name, you want the Royal Crown Cream-Sponge Para Litefoot Tennis Shoes: ‘LIKE MENTHOL4 ON YOUR FEET!’ Fourth, you want credit.” 6 “No!” cried Douglas, breathing hard, as if he’d run all night in his dreams. “I got something better than credit to offer!” he gasped. “Before I tell, Mr. Sanderson, you got to do me one small favor. Can you remember when was the last time you yourself wore a pair of Litefoot sneakers, sir?” Mr. Sanderson’s face darkened. “Oh, ten, twenty, say, thirty years ago. Why . . . ?” “Mr. Sanderson, don’t you think you owe it to your customers, sir, to at least try the tennis shoes you sell, for just one minute, so you know how they feel? People forget if they don’t keep testing things. United Cigar Store man smokes cigars, don’t he? Candy-store man samples his own stuff, I should think. So . . .” “You may have noticed,” said the old man, “I’m wearing shoes.” “But not sneakers, sir! How you going to sell sneakers unless you can rave about them and how you going to rave about them unless you know them?” Mr. Sanderson backed off a little distance from the boy’s fever, one hand to his chin. “Well . . .” “Mr. Sanderson,” said Douglas, “you sell me something and I’ll sell you something just as valuable.” 7 “Is it absolutely necessary to the sale that I put on a pair of the sneakers, boy?” said the old man. “I sure wish you could, sir!” 4. Menthol is a chemical that has the odor and cooling effect of peppermint. Vocabulary rave (rayv) v. to speak about very favorably or with great enthusiasm 1146 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Practice the Skills 6 English Language Coach A Changing Language The word menthol comes from German, which took it from the Latin word for mint. 7 Reviewing Skills Analyzing What is Douglas doing in this conversation? What does he want to “sell” to Mr. Sanderson? READING WORKSHOP 4 The old man sighed. A minute later, seated panting quietly, he laced the tennis shoes to his long narrow feet. They looked detached and alien down there next to the dark cuffs of his business suit. Mr. Sanderson stood up. 8 “How do they feel?” asked the boy. “How do they feel, he asks; they feel fine.” He started to sit down. “Please!” Douglas held out his hand. “Mr. Sanderson, now could you kind of rock back and forth a little, sponge around, bounce kind of, while I tell you the rest? It’s this: I give you my money, you give me the shoes, I owe you a dollar. But, Mr. Sanderson, but—soon as I get those shoes on, you know what happens?” “What?” “Bang! I deliver your packages, pick up packages, bring you coffee, burn your trash, run to the post office, telegraph office, library! You’ll see twelve of me in and out, in and out, every minute. Feel those shoes, Mr. Sanderson, feel how fast they’d take me? All those springs inside? Feel all the running inside? Feel how they kind of grab hold and can’t let you alone and don’t like you just standing there? Feel how quick I’d be doing the things you’d rather not bother with? You stay in the nice and cool store while I’m jumping all around town! But it’s not me really, it’s the shoes. They’re going like mad down alleys, cutting corners, and back! There they go!” Mr. Sanderson stood amazed with the rush of words. When the words got going the flow carried him; he began to sink deep in the shoes, to flex his Practice the Skills 8 English Language Coach A Changing Language The word alien hasn’t changed much from the original Latin alienus. The word can also refer to a person of another family, race, nation, or planet. Vocabulary alien (AY lee un) adj. strange; odd; peculiar from Dandelion Wine Marc Volk/Getty Images 1147 READING WORKSHOP 4 toes, limber his arches, test5 his ankles. He rocked softly, secretly, back and forth in a small breeze from the open door. The tennis shoes silently hushed themselves deep in the carpet, sank as in a jungle grass, in loam and resilient6 clay. He gave one solemn bounce of his heels in the yeasty dough, in the yielding and welcoming earth. Emotions hurried over his face as if many colored lights had been switched on and off. His mouth hung slightly open. Slowly he gentled and rocked himself to a halt, and the boy’s voice faded and they stood there looking at each other in a tremendous and natural silence. 9 A few people drifted by on the sidewalk outside, in the hot sun. Still the man and boy stood there, the boy glowing, the man with revelation7 in his face. “Boy,” said the old man at last, “in five years, how would you like a job selling shoes in this emporium?” “Gosh, thanks, Mr. Sanderson, but I don’t know what I’m going to be yet.” “Anything you want to be, son,” said the old man, “you’ll be. No one will ever stop you.” The old man walked lightly across the store to the wall of ten thousand boxes, came back with some shoes for the boy, and wrote up a list on some paper while the boy was lacing the shoes on his feet and then standing there, waiting. The old man held out his list. “A dozen things you got to do for me this afternoon. Finish them, we’re even Stephen, and you’re fired.” “Thanks, Mr. Sanderson!” Douglas bounded away. “Stop!” cried the old man. Douglas pulled up and turned. Mr. Sanderson leaned forward. “How do they feel?” The boy looked down at his feet deep in the rivers, in the fields of wheat, in the wind that already was rushing him out 5. Here, flex, limber, and test all mean “to bend or loosen up.” 6. Anything that’s resilient (rih ZIL yunt) is capable of returning to its original size, shape, or position. 7. Generally, a revelation (rev uh LAY shun) is the act of revealing something, such as a truth. Vocabulary yielding (YEEL ding) adj. giving way to force or pressure 1148 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Practice the Skills 9 Literary Elementl Hyperbole This paragraph includes figurative language, but is there any hyperbole? If so, what part(s)? If not, what kinds of figurative language are included? READING WORKSHOP 4 The antelope is a swift, graceful animal with long curved horns, and the gazelle is a type of small antelope. Although they look like deer, antelopes and gazelles are in the goat family. They live in Africa and Southwest Asia. of the town. He looked up at the old man, his eyes burning, his mouth moving, but no sound came out. 10 “Antelopes?” said the old man, looking from the boy’s face to his shoes. “Gazelles?” The boy thought about it, hesitated, and nodded a quick nod. Almost immediately he vanished. He just spun about with a whisper and went off. The door stood empty. The sound of the tennis shoes faded in the jungle heat. Mr. Sanderson stood in the sun-blazed door, listening. From a long time ago, when he dreamed as a boy, he remembered the sound. Beautiful creatures leaping under the sky, gone through brush, under trees, away, and only the soft echo their running left behind. “Antelopes,” said Mr. Sanderson. “Gazelles.” He bent to pick up the boy’s abandoned winter shoes, heavy with forgotten rains and long-melted snows. Moving out of the blazing sun, walking softly, lightly, slowly, he headed back toward civilization. . . . 11 ❍ Practice the Skills 10 Literary Element Hyperbole This paragraph has a series of metaphors. Individually, the metaphors just compare the shoes’ “feel” to different parts of nature. Together, they become hyperbole. 11 What would you say is Douglas’s idea of the American dream? Write your purpose on the “Dandelion Wine” page of Foldable 8. Your response will help you complete the Unit Challenge later. from Dandelion Wine Christophe Courteau/TMC / SuperStock 1149 READING WORKSHOP 4 • Identifying Author’s Purpose After You Read from Dandelion Wine Answering the 1. Do you think life in America has changed much since Bradbury wrote his novel in 1957? Do you think the American dream has changed? Explain. 2. Recall To what does the author compare Old Mr. Sanderson, the shoe store proprietor? T IP Right There 3. Summarize In your own words, tell why Douglas feels he needs a new pair of tennis shoes. T IP Think and Search Critical Thinking 4. Interpret On page 1144, find the paragraph that begins “Well, as anyone knew . . .” Tell what you think the first two sentences mean. T IP Author and Me 5. Clarify What does Douglas mean when he says to Mr. Sanderson, “you sell me something and I’ll sell you something just as valuable”? T IP Author and Me 6. Evaluate The narrator says, “Somehow the people who made tennis shoes knew what boys needed and wanted.” Do you think this is true? Explain. T IP Author and Me 7. Explain Why does Mr. Sanderson ask Douglas if he would like a job selling shoes in five years? T IP Think and Search Objectives (pp. 1150-1151) Reading Identify author’s purpose • Make connections from text to self Literature Identify literary devices: hyperbole Vocabulary Identify English language changes Writing Respond to literature: journal entry Grammar Distinguish between homophones Write About Your Reading Journal Entry Put yourself in Douglas’s shoes. Write the journal entry that he might have written after he got home with his new Royal Crown Cream-Sponge Para Litefoot Tennis Shoes. First, think what he might have to say about getting the shoes and about his plans for the rest of the summer. Then start writing. (Don’t be afraid to use some hyperbole; it’s what Douglas would do.) 1150 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Marc Volk/Getty Images READING WORKSHOP 4 • Identifying Author’s Purpose Skills Review Key Reading Skill: Identifying Author’s Purpose 8. Who would you say is Bradbury’s intended audience for Dandelion Wine? Why do you think this? 9. Tell what purpose(s) you think Bradbury had in mind and whether he was successful. Use details from the selection to support your answers. Literary Element: Hyperbole 10. Explain the hyperbole in saying that “shoes like these could jump you over trees and rivers and houses.” 11. Douglas says that, once he’s wearing the new tennis shoes, Mr. Sanderson will “see twelve of me, in and out, in and out, every minute.” Is Douglas exaggerating to express strong emotion, to emphasize a point, to create humor, or for a combination of these reasons? Explain. Vocabulary Check Write the vocabulary word and the word or phrase in parentheses that is its synonym. 12. capsize (straighten, tip over) 13. proprietor (salesman, owner) 14. rave (praise, scold) 15. alien (ordinary, unusual) 16. yielding (flexible, resisting) Copy each sentence, filling in the blank with one of the vocabulary words. 17. My neighbors are so weird that even Martians would think they’re ___! 18. I don’t mean to ___, but you’ve made me the happiest person in the history of the universe! 19. If this thing were to ___, we’d sink faster than you can say “Glub!” 20. English Language Coach What do proper, property, and proprietor have in common, besides their similar spellings? Grammar Link: Homophones Homophones are words that sound alike but have different spellings and different meanings. • My brother is a musician; he plays the bass. • My sister is a ballplayer; she plays first base. Not recognizing a homophone could result in an embarrassing spelling error. Even a computer spellchecker can’t fix your mistake if you wrote lone when you want a loan. Always check a dictionary if you’re unsure about which homophone to use. Some Common Homophones breaks, brakes meat, meet by, buy prints, prince for, four there, their, they’re here, hear to, too, two lessen, lesson weight, wait Grammar Practice Copy the following sentences and circle the homophone that correctly completes each sentence. If you need help, use a dictionary. 21. Angela couldn’t (wait, weight) to see the sunrise. 22. I need to (by, buy) a necktie and a pair of shoes. 23. The boys will wait in (here, hear). 24. I got my (prints, prince) from the photo shop. 25. The truck’s (breaks, brakes) screeched to a stop. 26. Let’s (meet, meat) at the Aerosmith concert. Web Activities For eFlashcards, Selection Quick Checks, and other Web activities, www.glencoe.com. from Dandelion Wine 1151 READING ACROSS TEXTS WORKSHOP & AMERICA Coming to by Joe McGowan, Marisa Wong, Vickie Bane, and Laurie Morice by Marianne Szegedy-Maszak Skill Focus You will use these skills as you read and compare the following selections: • “Coming to America,” p. 1155 • “Coming to America,” p. 1162 Reading • Reading and understanding informational texts • Analyzing a writer’s claims and conclusions Writing • Writing to compare and contrast Objectives (pp. 1152–1153) Reading Compare and contrast: authors’ ideas across texts 1152 UNIT 8 Writers help you form opinions all the time. How have the writers in this unit helped you form an opinion about the American dream? As you read the selections in this workshop, think about how the writers view the American dream. How do their views influence yours? How to Read Across Texts When you read two similar texts, it’s important to compare and contrast the way different writers address the same subject. To do this, ask questions about the writers’ purposes for writing, their credibility (how trustworthy they are), and the evidence they use to support their opinions. Also, pay attention to point of view. Thinking about how and why writers present information helps you decide whether to believe what you read. The selections in this workshop deal with immigration. As you read, ask yourself the following questions: • Why is the author writing about this subject? Is the purpose to inform, to entertain, to persuade, or something else? • Is the author credible? What makes him or her qualified to write this story about this subject? • Does the writer support his or her ideas by providing evidence, such as facts, examples, or interviews? • What does the evidence in these selections say about the immigrant experience in America? READING ACROSS TEXTS WORKSHOP Get Ready to Compare In your Learner’s Notebook, draw a graphic organizer like the one below. Use it to keep track of the details in the selections you are about to read. Your notes will help you better understand the subject and compare the selections. (By the way, et al. is the abbreviation of a Latin phrase that means “and others.” It’s used when it would be clumsy to repeat all the names in a list of people.) “Coming To America” by Joe McGowan, et al. Details shared by both selections “Coming To America” by Marianne Szegedy-Maszak Purpose: Purpose: Credibility: Credibility: Evidence: Evidence: Point of view: Point of view: Use Your Comparison Think of a time when a friend told you about something that happened to him or her. Now think of a time when a friend told you a story about something that happened to someone else. What details did you get from the first story that you didn’t get from the second one? Do you trust a story told from a third-person point of view, or would you rather hear a first-person account? As you read, use your graphic organizer to help you answer these questions about point of view: • What do I learn about the immigrant experience from a story told in first-person point of view? • What do I learn from a story told in third-person? • Is one point of view more helpful than the other, or are both equally valuable? The selections in this workshop deal with the same issue in different ways. Both articles are about immigration, but one relies heavily on first-person accounts. The other tells a story, but uses fewer direct quotations. Reading Across Texts Workshop 1153 READING ACROSS TEXTS WORKSHOP Before You Read Did You Know? Did you know that emigrating from China was once a very serious crime? In 1712 the Chinese emperor decreed that all Chinese emigrants should return to be beheaded. Of course, that policy eventually changed. In the mid1800s, the Qing (chin) dynasty was forced to open China to the West. Almost 150 years after the emperor’s threatening anti-emigration decree, the first major wave of Chinese immigrants arrived on American soil. Coming to America by Joe McGowan, Marisa Wong, Vickie Bane, and Laurie Morice Vocabulary Preview toiled (toyld) v. worked hard (p. 1155) Many immigrants toiled in factories, hoping to build a good life in America. discriminates (dis KRIM uh nayts) v. treats unfairly (p. 1160) In many places in the world, the law still discriminates against women. English Language Coach A Changing Language Immigrants have brought many words to English, but the word immigrant came from Latin. The root migrare (“to move”), along with a few prefixes and suffixes, gave us ten useful words. migrate emigrate immigrate to move from one country or local place to another —migration, migrant, migratory to leave one place to live elsewhere —emigration, emigrant to come into a place to live permanently —immigration, immigrant Migrate is used to describe the movements of people and animals (“migratory birds,” for example). Emigrate and immigrate almost always describe movements of people only. To keep these two words straight, use their initials. Think e as in exit and i as in into. The next selection talks about a family that emigrated from (or exited) China and immigrated to (or into) the United States. Get Ready to Read Connect to the Reading Imagine that you had to move to a new place, adjust to a new way of life, R and possibly learn a new language. That is the immigrant experience. Set Purpose for Reading Objectives (pp. 1154–1160) Reading Compare and contrast: authors’ ideas across texts Vocabulary Identify English language changes Read to find out about three school-age immigrants and their search for the American dream. Set Your Own Purpose What would you like to learn from this selection to help you answer the Big Question? Write your own purpose on the “Coming to America” page of Foldable 8. 1154 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? 1154_U8BYR_845478.indd 1154 3/14/07 12:35:22 PM READING ACROSS TEXTS WORKSHOP AMERICA AP Wide World Coming to PLEDGING ALLEGIANCE Proud, brand-new American citizens The nation’s newest immigrants share a timehonored dream with groups from the past. By JOE MCGOWAN, MARISA WONG, VICKIE BANE, and LAURIE MORICE T he United States is a nation built by immigrants. From 1840 to 1870, the first wave of immigrants came from Ireland, England, Germany, and China to dig waterways and lay railroad tracks. From 1890 to 1924, a second wave crashed over Ellis Island,1 the historic immigration station in New York Harbor, from countries such as Italy and Russia. These newcomers toiled in factories and built cities. Now, a new wave of immigrants is coming to America. Over 31 million immigrants live in the U.S. They make up about 11.5% of the population. Like those who came before, these immigrants are arriving in hopes of building their own version of the American Dream. 1 A New Era with New Challenges Since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, America has been rethinking its immigration policy. Some people want to 1 Reading Across Texts Point of View What point of view do the writers use here? How do you know? Make notes in your organizer. 1. During these years, more than 20 million immigrants entered the United States through Ellis Island, a small island off the southern tip of Manhattan. Vocabulary toiled (toyld) v. worked hard Coming to America AP Wide World Photos 1155 READING ACROSS TEXTS WORKSHOP limit the number of new immigrants to 300,000 a year. All foreign visitors face new delays, including high-tech screening and longer waiting periods. Still, more than 3.3 million new immigrants arrived between 2000 and 2004. On January 7, 2004, President George W. Bush proposed a plan to make it easier to track the 8 million illegal immigrants in the country. 2 Once here, immigrants need help. “Family is always the first resource,” says Lily Woo, the principal of Public School 130, in New York City, where many Chinese newcomers attend school. Extended immigrant families help one another find housing and work. Other support groups, like churches and community centers, are not as strong as they once were. As a result, about 25% of immigrant households receive government assistance, typically for health care and school for their children. Some 30% of immigrants have not graduated high school, and many have low-paying jobs. Early immigrants quickly took on all aspects of American culture. But, today, many immigrants have one foot in the U.S. and one foot in their native land. With cell phones and the Internet, it’s now easier for newcomers to keep in touch with the country they left behind. “I’m the luckiest kid in the world,” says Prudence Simon, 10, who now lives in New York. “I have two homes, Trinidad and the U.S.A.” Only the future will reveal how the new immigrants will build their American Dream. But one thing is certain, they have a rich history on which to lay a foundation. 3 2 Reading Across Texts Evidence What do you learn about immigration from the facts presented here? Make notes in your organizer. How does the use of evidence build the writers’ credibility? 3 Reading Across Texts Purpose The writers say that new immigrants have a “rich history.” What might their purpose be for writing about that history? 4 Reading Across Texts Evidence Writers often use examples and direct quotations as evidence, or support, for their main idea. How does the use of examples help you find and understand the main idea in what you read? How does it build the writers’ credibility? They may come from different places, but immigrants share similar experiences. Starting over in a new country often takes time and can be hard. Here’s a look at how three young immigrants dealt with their new American lives. 4 Corbis Bettmann Immigrants Past and Present OPEN DOORS Immigrants arrive at Ellis Island, in New York Harbor, in 1920. Nearly 14 million foreign-born people were living in the U.S. that year. 1156 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Bettmann/CORBIS READING ACROSS TEXTS WORKSHOP Jin Hua Zhang In my hometown of Ting Jiang, in southeastern China, people always said that America was very good, like some kind of wonderland. They said you could have a good life here. So when my mother, my brother, and I flew into New York City’s LaGuardia Airport, I was so happy. It was night, and I thought, “This city is so good, so beautiful.” I knew at that moment my life would be changing. I thought it would be great. But then I came to my apartment. I was Jin Hua shares this bedroom with her parents and older brother. shocked. In China, my parents were bosses at a company that made bricks. We had a big house; it was very comfortable. Here, there were four of us squeezing into two small rooms [in Chinatown]. Everything is shared—I can’t do anything in private. The next day, when I went down to the street, it was so noisy. And, oh, my gosh, so stinky! Starting school was hard too. In China, I’d been a good student—I completed every exam perfectly. Here, I didn’t understand what the teacher was saying. It was the 5 Reading Across Texts [toughest] time I’ve ever had. 5 But the biggest difference between China and here was that Point of View The point of view has changed. What do you I was lonely. Some Americans look at you differently [if learn about Jin Hua and her you’re an immigrant]; they look down on you. I had to make move to New York from this firstall new friends. In China, teenagers come together as a group person account? How does this and go out to play. Here, my parents didn’t want me to hang paragraph show her personality? out outside; they thought I could get lost or [might] hang out with bad people. I know that my family decided to come here so my brother and I could get a better education. In China, they made money more easily, but they never felt like it was enough; they always wanted more. Now, they work all the time, every morning until midnight, [because they] want me to go to college [instead of] working in a factory like most Chinese Coming to America Erin Patrice O’Brien 1157 Erin Patrice O’Brien When she was 11 years old, Jin Hua’s father brought his family to New York City. Although Jin Hua has made friends and is doing well in school, she still misses her home in China. READING ACROSS TEXTS WORKSHOP immigrants [we know]. But I feel like I have less. I don’t know if I consider myself an American. I feel like I’m really more Chinese. 6 6 Point of View How does the point of view help you understand Jin Hua’s experience? Are you surprised to learn that she feels more Chinese than American? Why or why not? Sonia Diaz In 1994, Sonia’s family moved to Asheboro, North Carolina, from the tiny town of San Francisco de Asis, Mexico. Caught between two worlds, she struggled to stay loyal to her Hispanic heritage while making the most of her new life in America. 7 Jason Dewey I wasn’t ready for the racism I found when I started school here. In seventh grade, kids used to laugh at my accent when the teacher asked me to read in front of the class. By the time I was in ninth grade, my Mexican friends didn’t like to talk to American people. They were scared of having people laugh. So they didn’t want to get involved in anything, no clubs, no sports. I wanted to, but I never could because no other Hispanics were. Sonia (with her little brother, Jose Luis) strikes a pose in front of her house in Asheboro, North Carolina. 1158 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Jason Dewey Reading Across Texts 7 English Language Coach A Changing Language The word heritage comes from Middle English, Old French, and Medieval Latin. Use a dictionary to find out more about its origins and meaning. READING ACROSS TEXTS WORKSHOP Then in 11th grade, I got put in mostly honors classes, because I had good grades. Back then, it was all Americans in those classes. So I needed to talk to them, and we made friends. My Hispanic friends would get mad—they’d say that I didn’t know who I was. But after a while I was like, I’m going to talk to whomever I want to. And I did. I made American friends, and I had Mexican friends. I even have an American boyfriend. Things are different at my school now. There are lots more Mexican kids, and they’re more involved, more open. The soccer team used to be mostly white; now it’s mostly Hispanic. Looking back, I wish I could do high school over again. I’d take every honors class, join every club. I missed so many things because I didn’t want people to make fun of me. I’m glad it’s not like that anymore. 8 Peter Deng 8 Reading Across Texts Evidence In your organizer, make notes about Sonia’s experience. How is it similar to and different from Jin Hua’s? When I first came to Denver, [Colorado,] I had never slept in a bed. I had never seen television or snow. Even women in shorts—that’s not so common in Africa. I was born in the village of Jale, in the southern part of Sudan. Our homes were huts made out of long grasses. So the first week [that the Lost Boys were in Denver], we stayed inside, not coming out. Gerard Gaskin Peter was one of Sudan’s “Lost Boys,” thousands of boys who were separated from their families by the ongoing civil war in their country, and then walked by themselves for months before finally finding safety at a refugee camp in Kenya. In March 2001, he was allowed to emigrate2 to the United States, where he’s building a brand-new life. Peter stands tall at his school, the University of Colorado. 2. If you emigrate, you leave a country or region to live somewhere else. Coming to America Gerard Gaskin 1159 READING ACROSS TEXTS WORKSHOP There were eight of us sharing a house, two to a room. Ecumenical Refugee Services [who helped sponsor the Lost Boys] gave us a television. They also bought us clothes and groceries for the first two months and showed us how to cook. 9 There were so many things—the stove, the refrigerator— that we didn’t know how to use. I was one of the first Lost Boys to get a job, as a warehouse clerk, processing customer orders. When I got my first paycheck, I didn’t know what to do with it. I kept it under the bed for two weeks—until [somebody] told me I had to put it in the bank. Now I write checks. I’ve even bought a car. I love the United States. I like to watch basketball. I’ve started college, and I have friends—some African, some American. 10 Sometimes we get together for parties. People are so friendly and polite, and nobody discriminates or takes advantage of you. My mother died in 1998, but my younger brother is still in the camp in Kenya. I want to bring him here, to get the same opportunities as me. This is a very free life. It’s very, very exciting. 11 —Updated 2005, from TIME FOR KIDS, January 30, 2004, and Teen People, March 2003 9 Reading Across Texts Point of View How is Peter’s story different from Jin Hua’s and Sonia’s? What do the first-person accounts reveal about their likes, dislikes, and hopes for the future? 10 Are Jin Hua, Sonia, and Peter living the American dream? Why or why not? 11 Reading Across Texts Purpose How would you describe the writers’ purpose now? Make notes in your organizer. Vocabulary discriminates (dis KRIM uh nayts) v. treats unfairly 1160 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? 1155-1160_U8TIM_845478.indd 1160 3/14/07 12:33:57 PM READING ACROSS TEXTS WORKSHOP Before You Read Coming to America Vocabulary Preview M a ri ann e Sz eg e d y - M a sz a k trivial (TRIV ee ul) adj. of very little value or importance (p. 1163) His skates appeared trivial next to larger concerns. incongruous (in KONG groo us) adj. not in agreement (p. 1164) The woman’s dress seemed incongruous with her environment. immersed (ih MURSD) v. completely occupied mentally; form of the verb immerse (p. 1165) He immersed himself in his studies. Meet the Author English Language Coach Prize-winning journalist Marianne Szegedy-Maszak has worked for several major news sources, including Newsweek, ABC Radio, and National Public Radio. Currently, she is a senior editor at U.S. News and World Report. SzegedyMaszak taught journalism at American University in Washington, D.C., and has lived in both the United States and Europe. A Changing Language English is the official language of the United States because the country used to be British colonies. Britain was once a part of the Roman Empire. The Latin-speaking Romans were greatly influenced by the culture and language of Greece. So let’s go straight back to Greek and Latin in the next selection. Watch for these words: Word architect television Roots Greek archi + Greek tekton Greek tele + Latin visio Meaning master + builder far + seeing Get Ready to Read Connect to the Reading What challenges do you face in your daily life? What sacrifices would you be willing to make for your dreams to become a reality? Author Search For more about Marianne Szegedy-Maszak, go to www.glencoe.com. Objectives (pp. 1161–1165) Reading Compare and contrast: authors’ ideas across texts Vocabulary Identify English language changes Build Background The families in this selection came to the United States as refugees. Refugees are people who flee their homelands to escape war, oppression, persecution, or natural disaster. What does the American dream mean to refugees? It often means freedom, opportunity, and sacrifices. Set Purpose for Reading Read to find out about two refugee families and their search for the American dream. Set Your Own Purpose What else would you like to learn from this selection to help you answer the Big Question? Write your own purpose on the “Coming to America” page of Foldable 8. Coming to America 1161 Marianne Szegedy-Maszak 1161_U8BYR_845478.indd 1161 3/14/07 12:34:33 PM READING ACROSS TEXTS WORKSHOP MAGAZINE Good Housekeeping by Marianne Szegedy-Maszak “W hat day is today?” the teacher asks slowly, tossing a basketball to 11-year-old Dardan Osmani. “Today is Monday,” the boy answers with a slight accent. Then, passing the ball to a child in a Winnie-the-Pooh T-shirt, Dardan asks, “What day is tomorrow?” “Tomorrow is Wednesday,” the little boy starts to say, but the other children quickly interrupt with the correct answer. 1 There are 21 children learning English in this class at Marymount College in New York City—young survivors of the genocide in Kosovo.1 Their parents are in another classroom down the hall. They are doctors, engineers, architects—highly educated professionals now trying to learn enough English to get jobs as dishwashers, maids, janitors. Nearly 10 percent of the U.S. population—26.3 million— was born in other countries. Mostly they’ve come here for the reason immigrants usually leave their homes: hoping to find a better life for themselves and their children. But a small fraction, including Dardan Osmani’s family, had no choice: They were fleeing civil wars or brutal governments. Last year our TV screens showed them leaving Kosovo. Before that, we saw them running from Bosnia, Rwanda, Laos, Cambodia. And then something remarkable happened. We began to see these same people not on our televisions but in the supermarket or at school. 2 1. Kosovo was one of the six provinces of Yugoslavia. In the 1990s the country fought a civil war and split apart. The leader of Serbia, another former province, ordered thousands of murders in Kosovo. He was later convicted of genocide (JEN uh syd), the organized destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group. 1162 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Practice the Skills 1 English Language Coach A Changing Language The Romans had named the days of the week for their gods. Much later, the English chose new names to honor their own gods, one of whom was Woden. Woden’s day eventually became Wednesday. 2 Reading Across Texts Purpose Do you think the writer’s purpose is to entertain, inform, or persuade? Explain your answer in your organizer. READING ACROSS TEXTS WORKSHOP Which is, perhaps, the greatest gift America can offer: the gift of an ordinary life. 3 At the time that we’re talking, the Osmanis have been in New York City just a month. But the father, Elez, 44, and his four oldest children—Dardan, his brother, Begatim, 15, and two sisters, Besarta, 14, and Dhurata, 6—move through the crowded streets like natives as they make their way from English class to an apartment in the Bronx. Nurije, a trim woman of forty, hugs her family as they enter, while baby Rrita, 13 months, wobbles happily among her sisters and brothers. 4 Speaking through an interpreter. Elez tells the family’s story. On April 1, 1999, Serbian soldiers forced them to leave their apartment. They went to Macedonia.2 “Waiting for the train was tough,” Elez recalls. “It was raining. The children and old people were already scared. Meanwhile, the Serbian police, trying to create a panic, kept saying they would kill us all.” Conditions at the refugee camp were even rougher. Says Elez grimly, “There was mud everywhere, little food, no showers. And a lot of sickness—twenty-three people died that first week.” 5 But the Osmanis were lucky. A week after they arrived, a friend invited the family to his home. Elez’s uncle then contacted a cousin in America, who was willing to sponsor the family. Since they left Kosovo, they’ve heard that their apartment has been looted. Nurije loses some of her calm self-control as she talks about the lost baby pictures. Dardan mentions his skates, then seems embarrassed that he’s thinking about something so trivial. But Elez’s encouragement keeps them all going. “I want to see my children working, learning,” he says emphatically. “I want them to become citizens and not be threatened like their parents were once.” Now, that’s beginning to happen. Last fall, the children started school. Elez, who was a magazine editor in Kosovo, found work as a maintenance worker. Nurije, a biology Practice the Skills 3 Why do you think “an ordinary life” is a part of the American dream? 4 Reading Across Texts Point of View What point of view does the writer use here? Why might the writer use this point of view to tell about each member of the Osmani family? 5 Reading Across Texts Evidence What information do you get from direct quotations? How do these direct quotations help you better understand the Osmanis’ experience? 2. Macedonia was another province of Yugoslavia. Vocabulary trivial (TRIV ee ul) adj. of very little value or importance Coming to America 1163 READING ACROSS TEXTS WORKSHOP teacher, is at home.) He knew he’d have to take a job doing unskilled work, but it doesn’t matter. All that counts, the parents agree is that this life “is better for the children.” 6 The apartment in Silver Spring, Maryland, was small, and Eva Wilson shared it with a roommate. But on the day in 1996 when Eva welcomed her four children at Newark International Airport and brought them to live with her in that too-small space, only one thing mattered: They were together. “We didn’t mind being crowded, all five of us in one room,” says Eva, “because where we had been was worse.” 7 “I want them to go to college, to learn all they can,” says Eva Wilson of her daughters, Manny, Faith, and Peaches. Where they’d been was Liberia, a country on Africa’s west coast. A civil war had broken out there early in 1990, Eva’s husband, Francis, had been killed, and she had been separated from her children—Franklin, then 12; Peaches, 8; Faith, 5; and her tiny daughter, Kimmy, only a month old. Unbelievably, it took three and a half years for them to be reunited. Even more unbelievably, Eva then had to leave her children again. Her visa3 to the United States had finally come through. “I knew I had to go to the U.S. if I was going to provide any kind of stable life for my family,” she says. “But it was tough, I will tell you. I had to tighten my heart and be strong.” She was granted asylum4 by the United States in 1995, and her children were permitted to join her a year later. 8 Today, Eva, 43, is telling her story in her Gaithersburg, Maryland, home. It feels incongruous, this woman in a brightly printed African dress describing her ordeal amid town houses in a Washington, D.C. Visual Vocabulary suburb. The adjustment has been tough, Town houses are but, like so many generations of immigrants houses that share walls with the houses before, the Wilsons know that education is around them. the key. Franklin, who had lost some time Practice the Skills 6 Reading Across Texts Evidence What did you learn about the Osmanis? Think about how their story is similar to and different from the stories of Jin Hua, Sonia, and Peter from the first selection. 7 Reading Across Texts Point of View and Evidence The writer uses third-person point of view. She supports her statements with direct quotations. What statement about the Wilsons does this quotation support? 8 Reading Across Texts Point of View Do you get a better overview of events from a third-person account? Why might a writer choose this point of view to tell about several people, and the things that happen to them over time? 3. A visa is a document that permits entry to or travel within a country. 4. Refugees who can’t return to their home country can be granted asylum, (uh SY lum), or permission to live, work, and eventually apply for citizenship in the United States. Vocabulary incongruous (in KONG groo us) adj. not in agreement 1164 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? C. Borland/PhotoLink /Getty Images 1162-1165_U8SEL_845478.indd 1164 3/14/07 12:36:04 PM READING ACROSS TEXTS WORKSHOP Analyzing the Photo In this April 1999 photo, ethnic Albanian refugees wait at a checkpoint on the Kosovo-Macedonia border. How does this photo capture the frustration and uncertainty of the refugee experience? in school, immersed himself in the eleventh grade and graduated on time, winning a scholarship to a college in Florida. The older girls, too, excel at their studies, and little Kimmy, who’d never had a normal life before coming here, is now studying hard. 9 For Eva, the challenge was work. She had a job at a school, but most days she had to be there from four in the afternoon until eight the next morning. Now, having just earned her certificate in early-childhood education, she is working at a day-care center. 10 But the struggle has been worth it, says Eva. “Coming here was our only hope. Otherwise, we would have always been refugees.” ❍ Practice the Skills 9 Reading Across Texts Purpose How would you describe the writer’s purpose now? Make notes in your organizer. 10 Do you think the American dream means the same thing to the Wilsons as it does to the Osmanis? Why or why not? Vocabulary immersed (ih MURSD) v. completely occupied mentally Coming to America AP Photo/Eric Draper 1165 READING ACROSS TEXTS WORKSHOP After You Read & AMERICA Coming to Vocabulary Check Each vocabulary word below is followed by a synonym. Copy each set, adding at least one synonym. (It can be a word or a phrase.) If you get stuck, use a thesaurus. Be sure to choose synonyms that are close to the meanings given on pages 1154 and 1161. 1. discriminates: shows prejudice 2. incongruous: mismatched 3. immersed: caught up in 4. trivial: insignificant 5. toiled: labored Write each vocabulary word and an example of the thing described. 6. a job that requires people to toil 7. a hobby or activity that you find trivial 8. a color that you think is incongruous with purple 9. a recent project or activity you’ve had to immerse yourself in 10. a way that people in wheelchairs are sometimes discriminated against English Language Coach Objectives (pp. 1166–1167) Reading Compare and contrast: author’s ideas across texts Vocabulary Identify English language changes Writing Compare and contrast across texts: authors’ ideas Each word below came into English from a modern foreign language with little or no change in spelling or pronunciation. Identify the original language (Spanish, for example, not the word’s roots in Latin or Anglo-Saxon). If you’re not sure, make a guess before you look up the word. 11. arcade 15. matinee 12. chili 16. pretzel 13. confetti 17. tundra 14. karaoke 18. wok 1166 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? (t)AP Wide World Photos, (b)AP Photo/Eric Draper READING ACROSS TEXTS WORKSHOP Reading/Critical Thinking 19. What do Jin Hua, Sonia, and Peter want to achieve in America? How are their dreams alike and different? T IP Author and Me 20. Recall What does Sonia wish that she could do over again? T IP Right There 21. Infer Why do you think Jin Hua feels more Chinese than American? T IP Author and Me 22. Interpret Eva uses a figure of speech when she says that she had to “tighten her heart.” What does she mean? T IP Author and Me 23. Interpret Why do you think that so many people choose to immigrate to the United States? What opportunities exist here that don’t exist elsewhere? T IP On My Own 24. Analyze Do the Osmanis and the Wilsons think their struggles have been worthwhile? Are they living their dreams? T IP Author and Me Writing: Reading Across Texts Use Your Notes What have you learned about the immigrant experience from these selections? As you review your chart and other notes, ask yourself these questions: • What facts and examples did I find in each selection? • How did the selection’s direct quotations and first- person accounts help me better understand the immigrant experience? 25. Use the notes in your organizer to compare and contrast what you learned from the selections in this workshop. Step 1: Look at your notes about purpose and credibility. Did you find similarities between the selections? Write them in the appropriate circle in your organizer. How did the writers’ purposes differ? Underline the differences you noted. Step 2: Write a paragraph comparing or contrasting the writers’ purposes. Step 3: Look at your notes about evidence and point of view. Record the similarities you found in the appropriate circle in your organizer. Underline the differences you noted. Step 4: Write a paragraph comparing or contrasting the types of evidence used in these selections. Which selection contained the most information? From which selection did you learn the most? Step 5: Write a paragraph comparing or contrasting point of view in both selections. Which point of view was most appealing? Did you learn more about the immigrant experience from a first- or third-person account? Get It On Paper To compare what you’ve learned from these selections, answer the questions below. . 26. In the first selection, the writer’s purpose was 27. In the second selection, the writers’ purpose was . 28. I learned from the first selection that I didn’t learn from the second selection. 29. I learned from the second selection that I didn’t learn from the first selection. 30. I found the (first, second) selection more interesting because I learned from it. 31. You’ve read what the American dream means to people from other parts of the world. What does the American dream mean to you? Comparing Literature Workshop 1167 UNIT 8 WRAP-UP Answering What Is the American Dream? You’ve just about read about the American dreams of real people and fictional characters. Now use what you’ve learned to do the Unit Challenge. The Unit Challenge Choose Activity A or Activity B and follow the directions for that activity. A. Group Activity: American Dream Newsletter Form a small group and create a newsletter that contains articles about people who obtain their American dreams. can also choose to write about your version of the American dream in an opinion piece or in a persuasive essay. 1. Talk about American Dreams Choose one group member to be the note-keeper for the discussion. This person should make a chart with two columns labeled Character/ Person and American Dream/Values. As a group, brainstorm a list of characters and real people from these Unit 8 selections whom you’d like to write about. Use your Foldable notes for ideas. • What versions of the American dream do the characters and people on your list have? What do they value in life? • What do they do or plan to do to accomplish their goals and achieve their dreams? First, decide on the type of article you’d like to write. Here are some ideas: • a news article about a specific event in the person’s life that helps him or her get closer to achieving the American dream • a feature article presenting a brief biography, including what the person has done to obtain the American dream • a feature article about the person’s values and how they relate to the American dream • an article about the people and events that have influenced the person’s ideas of the American dream • an opinion piece in which you present your idea of the American dream and why it’s important to you • an essay that tries to persuade readers of the best ways to achieve the American dream 2. Choose an Article Group members can choose to write a newsletter article about a character or person from a selection or about a real person who isn’t in the reading—a famous person, a friend, or a relative, for example. You 1168 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? UNIT 8 WRAP-UP 3. Write Your Article Sit down and write. • Decide what facts to include. • Decide on a main idea and back it up with supporting details. • Choose a text structure to help you present your ideas clearly. • Open with an attention-getter—something that will make your readers want to keep reading. • Create a title for your article. 4. Create the Newsletter Get together with your group again, and put the newsletter together. • Decide on a name, and have someone design it for the top of the newsletter. • Draw a rough draft of the layout, including ideas for photos and other text features. • Exchange articles with another group member for proofreading. If you have questions, ask the writer to clarify. • Type up or print out all the articles and cut and paste them into your newsletter. Add photos or other illustrations. Then make copies for your classmates. B. Solo Activity: American Dream Spokesperson You’ve read how people in different times and places have interpreted the American dream. Now choose someone to be an “American Dream Spokesperson.” 1. Make the Call Review your Foldable notes, and then list the people and characters from the selections. • Add to the list people you know personally who have in some way lived, or worked toward, the American dream. • Choose a person or character from your list to be a spokesperson for the American dream. 2. Speaking for Your Spokesperson Decide how you want to honor your spokesperson. Here are some ideas: • Write a biography. You may need to research the details of a real person’s life. If you chose a fictional character, you can write his or her biography based on details you know from the selection as well as from your imagination. • Write a speech. Have your spokesperson describe and explain his or her American dream. Be as specific as possible. • Create a poster. Include images and words that help show your spokesperson’s idea of the American Dream. 3. Go Public! Take your American Dream Spokesperson public. Publish your biography, speech, or poster. Display it in the classroom, read it aloud, present it to the class, or put it on your class’s Web site (if you have one). Link to Web resources to further explore the Big Question at www.glencoe.com. Wrap-Up 1169 UNIT 8 Your Turn: Read and Apply Skills To s h i o M o r i Meet the Author Toshio Mori was born in Oakland, California, in 1910. He knew at an early age that he would become a writer. But just before his first book was published, Japan attacked the U.S. Navy base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The United States entered World War II and sent 110,000 Japanese-American citizens to specially built camps. Mori’s family wound up in Utah. After the war, his book was published, and Mori was recognized as an important new writer. Author Search For more about Toshio Mori, go to www.glencoe .com. 1170 UNIT 8 by Toshio Mori W hen he came to our house one day and knocked on the door and immediately sold me a copy of The Saturday Evening Post, it was the beginning of our friendship and also the beginning of our business relationship. His name is John. I call him Johnny and he is eleven. It is the age when he should be crazy about baseball or football or fishing. But he isn’t. Instead he came again to our door and made a business proposition. “I think you have many old magazines here,” he said. “Yes,” I said, “I have magazines of all kinds in the basement.” “Will you let me see them?” he said. “Sure,” I said. I took him down to the basement where the stacks of magazines stood in the corner. Immediately this little boy went over to the piles and lifted a number of magazines and examined the dates of each number and the names. “Do you want to keep these?” he said. “No. You can have them,” I said. “No. I don’t want them for nothing,” he said. “How much do you want for them?” “You can have them for nothing,” I said. “No, I want to buy them,” he said. “How much do you What Is the American Dream? (l)Image courtesy of Caxton Press, (r)Royalty-Free / Masterfile YOUR TURN: READ AND APPLY SKILLS want for them?” This was a boy of eleven, all seriousness and purpose. “What are you going to do with the old magazines?” “I am going to sell them to people,” he said. We arranged the financial matters satisfactorily. We agreed he was to pay three cents for each copy he took home. On the first day he took home an Esquire, a couple of Saturday Evening Posts, a Scribner’s, an Atlantic Monthly, and a Collier’s. He said he would be back soon to buy more magazines.1 When he came back several days later, I learned his name was John so I began calling him Johnny. “How did you make out, Johnny?” I said. “I sold them all,” he said. “I made seventy cents altogether.” “Good for you,” I said. “How do you manage to get seventy cents for old magazines?” Johnny said as he made the rounds selling The Saturday Evening Post, he also asked the folks if there were any back numbers2 they particularly wanted. Sometimes, he said, people will pay unbelievable prices for copies they had missed and wanted very much to see some particular articles or pictures, or their favorite writers’ stories. “You are a smart boy,” I said. “Papa says, if I want to be a salesman, be a good salesman,” Johnny said. “I’m going to be a good salesman.” “That’s the way to talk,” I said. “And 1. All the magazines named in this story are or were known for printing new works by top American writers. As of 2006, only three of the magazines were still being published: Atlantic Monthly (which began in 1857), The New Yorker, and Esquire. what does your father do?” “Dad doesn’t do anything. He stays at home,” Johnny said. “Is he sick or something?” I said. “No, he isn’t sick,” he said. “He’s all right. There’s nothing wrong with him.” “How long have you been selling The Saturday Evening Post?” I asked. “Five years,” he said. “I began at six.” “Your father is lucky to have a smart boy like you for a son,” I said. That day he took home a dozen or so of the old magazines. He said he had five standing orders, an Esquire issue of June 1937, Atlantic Monthly February 1938 number, a copy of December 11, 1937 issue of The New Yorker, Story Magazine of February 1934, and a Collier’s of April 2, 1938. The others, he said, he was taking a chance at. “I can sell them,” Johnny said. Several days later I saw Johnny again at the door. “Hello, Johnny,” I said. “Did you sell them already?” “Not all,” he said. “I have two left. But I want some more.” “All right,” I said. “You must have good business.” “Yes,” he said, “I am doing pretty good these days. I broke my own record selling The Saturday Evening Post this week.” “How much is that?” I said. “I sold 167 copies this week,” he said. “Most boys feel lucky if they sell seventyfive or one hundred copies. But not for me.” “How many are there in your family, Johnny?” I said. “Six counting myself,” he said. “There is my father, three smaller brothers, and two small sisters.” 2. Back numbers refers to old issues. Your Turn: Read and Apply Skills 1171 YOUR TURN: READ AND APPLY SKILLS “Where’s your mother?” I said. “Mother died a year ago,” Johnny said. He stayed in the basement a good one hour sorting out the magazines he wished. I stood by and talked to him as he lifted each copy and inspected it thoroughly. When I asked him if he had made a good sale with the old magazines recently, he said yes. He sold the Scribner’s Fiftieth Anniversary Issue for sixty cents. Then he said he made several good sales with Esquire and a Vanity Fair this week. “You have a smart head, Johnny,” I said. “You have found a new way to make money.” Johnny smiled and said nothing. Then he gathered up the fourteen copies he picked out and said he must be going now. “Johnny,” I said, “hereafter you pay two cents a copy. That will be enough.” Johnny looked at me. “No,” he said. “Three cents is all right. You must make a profit, too.” An eleven-year-old boy—I watched him go out with his short business-like stride. Next day he was back early in the morning. “Back so soon?” I said. “Yesterday’s were all orders,” he said. “I want some more today.” “You certainly have a good trade,” I said. “The people know me pretty good. And I know them pretty good,” he said. And about ten minutes later he picked out seven copies and said that was all he was taking today. “I am taking Dad shopping,” he said. “I am going to buy a new hat and shoes for him today.” “He must be tickled,” I said. “You bet he is,” Johnny said. “He told me to be sure and come home early.” So he said he was taking these seven copies to the customers who ordered them and then run home to get Dad. Two days later Johnny wanted some more magazines. He said a Mr. Whitman who lived up a block wanted all the magazines with Theodore Dreiser’s stories inside. Then he went on talking about other customers of his. Miss White, the schoolteacher, read Hemingway, and he said she would buy back copies with Hemingway stories anytime he brought them in. Some liked Sinclair Lewis, others Saroyan, Faulkner, Steinbeck, Mann, Faith Baldwin, Fannie Hurst, Thomas Wolfe.3 So it went. It was amazing how an eleven-year-old boy could 3. The writers named here are among the best American short story writers. Some of them also wrote novels and nonfiction. 1172 CORBIS UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? YOUR TURN: READ AND APPLY SKILLS remember the customers’ preferences and not get mixed up. One day I asked him what he wanted to do when he grew up. He said he wanted a book shop all his own. He said he would handle old books and magazines as well as the new ones and own the biggest bookstore around the Bay Region.4 “That is a good ambition,” I said. “You can do it. Just keep up the good work and hold your customers.” On the same day, in the afternoon, he came around to the house holding several packages. “This is for you,” he said, handing over a package. “What is this?” I said. Johnny laughed. “Open up and see for yourself,” he said. I opened it. It was a book rest, a simple affair but handy. “I am giving these to all my customers,” Johnny said. “This is too expensive to give away, Johnny,” I said. “You will lose all your profits.” “I picked them up cheap,” he said. “I’m giving these away so the customers will remember me.” “That is right, too,” I said. “You have good sense.” After that he came in about half a dozen times, each time taking with him ten or twelve copies of various magazines. He said he was doing swell. Also, he said he was now selling Liberty along with the Saturday Evening Posts. Then for two straight weeks I did not see him once. I could not understand this. He had never missed coming to the house in two or three days. Something must be wrong, I thought. He must be sick, I thought. One day I saw Johnny at the door. “Hello, Johnny,” I said. “Where were you? Were you sick?” “No. I wasn’t sick,” Johnny said. “What’s the matter? What happened?” I said. “I’m moving away,” Johnny said. “My father is moving to Los Angeles.” “Sit down, Johnny,” I said. “Tell me all about it.” He sat down. He told me what had happened in two weeks. He said his dad went and got married to a woman he, Johnny, did not know. And now, his dad and this woman say they are moving to Los Angeles. And about all there was for him to do was to go along with them. “I don’t know what to say, Johnny,” I said. Johnny said nothing. We sat quietly and watched the time move. “Too bad you will lose your good trade,” I finally said. “Yes, I know,” he said. “But I can sell magazines in Los Angeles.” “Yes, that is true,” I said. Then he said he must be going. I wished him good luck. We shook hands. “I will come and see you again,” he said. “And when I visit Los Angeles some day,” I said, “I will see you in the largest bookstore in the city.” Johnny smiled. As he walked away, up the street and out of sight, I saw the last of him walking like a good businessman, walking briskly, energetically, purposefully. ❍ 4. The Bay Region is the area around San Francisco, California. Your Turn: Read and Apply Skills 1173 UNIT 8 Reading on Your Own To read more about the Big Question, choose one of these books from your school or local library. Work on your reading skills by choosing books that are challenging to you. Fiction Fair Weather The House on Mango Street by Richard Peck by Sandra Cisneros In 1893 Rosie Beckett’s farm life has few thrills. And then her aunt invites Rosie’s family to stay at her house for a week so that they can visit the Columbian Exposition, or World Fair. Now Rosie’s dreams of how her life might unfold are much more exciting. House Made of Dawn by N. Scott Momaday This book tells the story of Abel, a young Native American, who journeys from a reservation and experiences the difficult environment of an American city. 1174 UNIT 8 (tl tr bl br)Eclipse Studio What Is the American Dream? Esperanza Cordero is a young girl coming of age in a Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago. She uses poems and stories to express her feelings about growing up in an environment that she thinks is oppressive. Esperanza dreams of the house that she will own someday—a house that will not be on Mango Street. Ellis Island: Land of Hope by Joan Lowery Nixon Rebekah Levinsky and her family are the main characters in this story of the American immigrant experience of the early 1900s. The book tells of the Levinsky family’s voyage from Russia to America and their struggle to survive on New York’s Lower East Side. UNIT 8 READING ON YOUR OWN Nonfiction Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters’ First 100 Years Manners and Customs by Sarah and A. Elizabeth Delany This book is from the series Life in America 100 Years Ago, which tells of the effects that immigration, technological advances, and the factory system had on daily life. It also paints a picture of the confusing American lifestyle that was the dream of many immigrants. Two feisty African American women who each lived to be more than a century old tell their life stories. They describe the social history of the twentieth century as they saw it, from the days of Jim Crow laws to the Harlem Renaissance, the Civil Rights movement, and beyond. By Jim Barmeier Words That Make America Great Stride Toward Freedom: The Montgomery Story Edited by Jerome Agel by Martin Luther King Jr. This book presents 200 documents that have helped define America’s character and ideals from its earliest days to the present. Included are many documents of the years 1750–1850, from the Declaration of Independence to the earliest rules of baseball. This is the basis of the American dream. Dr. King tells the story of the Montgomery bus boycott. He explains how it was conceived and organized. He describes the many violent threats on his life, and the obstacles that American society placed before those striving for their versions of the American dream. Reading on Your Own (tl tr bl br)Eclipse Studio 1175 UNIT 8 SKILLS AND STRATEGIES ASSESSMENT Test Practice Part 1: Literary Elements Read the passage. Then write the numbers 1–7 on a separate sheet of paper. Write the letter of the right answer next to the number for that question. from Letters from a Slave Girl by Mary E. Lyons This fictional letter is part of a novel based on the true story of Harriet Ann Jacobs, a girl born into slavery. In 1842, Jacobs escaped from Edenton, North Carolina, in a boat. Evening Dear Aunt Betty, Worry sticking to me like cockleburs. The captain, he has our ticket money now. Nothing to stop him from turning us in for the reward. But Sarah says dont fret. In her three days on the ship everybody been kind. When the captain brung me down to our little box of a cabin, Sarah just sat there with her mouth open. Harriet, is it you, she says, or your ghost? We hold each other tight, and my fears flow out in great sobs. Then the captain comes back to shush us. For my safety and yours, he says, it would be prudent1 not to attract any attention. As far as the sailors know, he told us, you are Women going to meet your husbands in Philadelphia. The boat is passing the Snaky Swamp now, and there is still enough light to make out the buildings that rim the bay. From here, Edenton is a toy town, like the ones John used to make out of sticks and sand. The wind is against us, so the boat moves slow as a giant snail. Me and Sarah, we are anxious to put the miles behind us. Dont want to be playing peep squirrel with the constables who search the ships. I am weary in my bones, but I wont sleep. Harriet 1 Prudent means “wise.” Objectives Literature Identify literary elements: style, cultural reference, sequence • Identify literary devices: metaphor 1176 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? SKILLS AND STRATEGIES ASSESSMENT 1. According to the letter, which of these events happens first? A. B. C. D. The boat passes Snaky Swamp. Sarah and Harriet hold each other tight. The captain brings Harriet down to her cabin. The captain tells Sarah and Harriet to stay quiet. 2. According to the letter, which of these events happens after the captain tells Harriet and Sarah to be quiet? A. B. C. D. Sarah thinks Harriet is a ghost. Sarah and Harriet are reunited. The boat passes Snaky Swamp. Harriet gives the captain her ticket money. 3. Which of the following best describes the writing style of the letter? A. B. C. D. stuffy formal academic conversational UNIT 8 5. What problem does Harriet think could result from giving the captain her ticket money? A. B. C. D. The captain might turn her in. The sailors might steal the money. The sailors might discover she is a slave. She might not have enough money for food. 6. Which of the following helps to create the writing style of the letter? A. B. C. D. the use of difficult words the use of long sentences the use of proper grammar the use of everyday language 7. In the letter, which of the following is a cultural reference? A. B. C. D. a ghost a giant snail playing peep squirrel passing Snaky Swamp 4. Which of the following phrases from the letter is an example of metaphor? A. B. C. D. “my fears flow out in great sobs” “From here, Edenton is a toy town” “Worry sticking to me like cockleburs” “the boat moves slow as a giant snail” Unit Assessment To prepare for the Unit Test, go to www.glencoe.com. Skills and Strategies Assessment 1177 UNIT 8 SKILLS AND STRATEGIES ASSESSMENT Part 2: Reading Skills Read the passage. Then write the numbers 1–6 on a separate sheet of paper. For the first five questions, write the letter of the right answer next to the number for that question. Next to number 6, write your answer to the final question. from Apprentices: Craftspeople in Training by Bernardine S. Stevens 1 Starting a new life in early seventeenth century America was not easy. Lack of proper food, poor medical care, and severe weather are a few of the things that killed many settlers. Despite these brutal conditions, people wanted to move to the young colonies. Not all of them were humble people who desired religious freedom. Many new arrivals dreamed of owning businesses, land, and homes. Those who didn’t have the money for their passage to the colonies often signed contracts called indentures. As indentured servants, which included children, they agreed to work for the individuals who paid their passage. Children indentured to artisans were called apprentices. 2 An apprentice vowed to keep any trade or other secrets his master showed him. He promised to be loyal to his master. He said he wouldn’t lie about his master or allow others to speak badly about him. He swore he would not leave his master’s service without permission, even for one day. He promised he wouldn’t buy or sell anything that belonged to him or his master without permission. He pledged he wouldn’t gamble or go to taverns, alehouses, or playhouses (theaters). Finally, the apprentice swore he wouldn’t get married or be guilty of any immoral behavior for as long as he served his master. 3 The master promised to teach his apprentice the art and mystery of his craft. He was to ensure that the youth learned to write and do arithmetic, if capable. At the end of the servitude, the master usually gave the apprentice a set of tools and any other freedom dues, or terminal gifts, that had been set forth in the indenture. As long as the young person stayed in his service, the master was to provide Objectives him with food, clothing, and a Reading Read historical text • Analyze text place to sleep. • Identify text structure: cause and effect • Identify main idea and supporting details • Identify author’s purpose 1178 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? SKILLS AND STRATEGIES ASSESSMENT 1. In the first three sentences, the writer shows that A. life in early America was easy. B. hardships prevented people from coming to America. C. settlers did not know how difficult life in America would be. D. settlers were willing to face great risks for better opportunities. 2. According to the passage, people became indentured servants because they A. wanted to learn a craft. B. wanted religious freedom. C. couldn’t pay for their passage. D. feared dying in the harsh conditions. 3. Which of the following best states the main idea of paragraph 2? A. B. C. D. Apprentices lived in total solitude. Apprentices had to follow strict rules. Masters were cruel to their apprentices. Masters worried that apprentices would run away. UNIT 8 4. Which of the following details best supports the main idea of paragraph 2? A. Apprentices usually began their service as children. B. Apprentices had the opportunity to learn much about their craft. C. Apprentices vowed not to leave their masters without permission. D. Apprentices could get married after they finished their service. 5. Which of the following best describes the main idea of paragraph 3? A. Masters usually gave apprentices gifts. B. Masters had to teach and take care of their apprentices. C. Apprentices had to learn school subjects. D. Apprentices needed their masters’ permission to buy things. 6. Briefly explain the author’s purpose for writing this piece. Skills and Strategies Assessment 1179 UNIT 8 SKILLS AND STRATEGIES ASSESSMENT Part 3: Vocabulary Skills On a separate sheet of paper, write the numbers 1–9. Next to each number, write the letter of the right answer for that question. Write the letter of the word or phrase that means about the same as the underlined word. 1. too much refuse A. fun B. garbage C. property D. nonsense 2. it accumulated A. piled up B. adjusted C. dried up D. opened up 3. a wealthy proprietor A. bank B. uncle C. owner D. explorer 4. her avid friend A. shy B. eager A. eraser B. e-mail C. notebook D. blackboard 7. Read the quotation below. Which is most likely an older meaning of dear? “I can’t afford that necklace,” sighed Judy. “It’s just too dear.” A. B. C. D. pretty expensive sweet worthless 8. Which place was most likely named after a person? C. new D. selfish 5. to capsize A. call out B. dress up 6. Which of the following words is most likely the newest addition to the English language? C. spy D. overturn A. B. C. D. 9. Which part of the dictionary definition of dog is the word’s etymology? A. B. C. D. Objectives Vocabulary Identify English language changes Grammar Capitalize correctly • Use irregular verbs correctly 1180 UNIT 8 What Is the American Dream? Hamilton Street Big City Theater Prairie Valley Value Market \dog\ noun Middle English, from Old English docga a domestic mammal that is closely related to the gray wolf SKILLS AND STRATEGIES ASSESSMENT UNIT 8 Part 4: Grammar and Writing Skills Write the numbers 1–8 on a separate sheet of paper. Then write the letter of the right answer next to the number for that question. 1. In which of these sentences is the underlined word misused? A. Bring your science book home today. B. The video store is between my house and my school. C. Concern for the hurricane victims spread among the public. D. Remember to take me a souvenir from your trip to Mexico City. 2. Which of these sentences is written correctly? A. My jacket is missing one of its buttons. B. First you toast the bread and than you butter it. C. Everyone accept Jermaine went on the field trip. D. If we loose this game, we’ll be out of the competition. 3. Which of these verbs correctly completes the following sentence? By the time I got to class, the bell . A. B. C. D. ring rang had rang had rung 4. What change or changes should be made to the following sentence? Atlanta, georgia, was the birthplace of dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A. B. C. D. lowercase King capitalize georgia capitalize georgia and dr. capitalize georgia and birthplace 5. What changes should be made to this sentence? My Uncle Emil lives on the west coast. A. B. C. D. capitalize the and west lowercase Uncle and Emil capitalize west and coast lowercase Uncle and capitalize west and coast 6. Which of these sentences is correctly capitalized? A. the phoenix is a mythological creature. B. The tales of Coyote are native American myths. C. Someday I would like to learn to speak Japanese. D. “Some Japanese myths,” Susan said, “Are like Greek myths.” 7. Which of these words or phrases correctly completes the sentence? is a fun way to get in shape. A. Danced B. Dancing C. Is dancing D. Had danced 8. Which pair of words correctly completes the following sentence? I plan to my new of jeans tomorrow. A. B. C. D. wear, pair where, pair wear, pear where, pear Skills and Strategies Assessment 1181