Monday/Tuesday

Day One: Characters

Characters
The Dance
Deanne could not believe that all of the kids were dancing to the music that her friend Gina was playing for them. She was used to school dances where most of the boys stood on one side of the gym trying to embarrass their friends and the girls stood on the other side of the gym pretending that they were too cool to talk to all those nerdy boys. She was always one of the few brave souls who decided to throw caution to the wind and get out on the dance floor.
However, on that night she was the wallflower, while everybody else was throwing caution to the wind. To tell the truth, she was not really paying attention to the other kids. She saw them as a shaking and gyrating mass. Her real focus was Gina. She was happy for her friend, but at the same time, she could not help but think about how she would have done things differently if shewasthe DJ.
She worked her way through the mass of kids and towards Gina. When she got to the stage, she did not congratulate her friend; rather, she told Gina what she would do differently if shewasthe DJ. She looked at her friend and said, "The music you are playing is pretty cool, Gina, but it'skindaold. I think everybody wants to hear something new."
Gina, looking a little annoyed, responded by asking Deanne what made her think the other kids wanted to hear newer songs. Deanne responded by telling Gina that it was just "a feeling," and that she knew that the kids would have more fun if they were dancing to music they were more familiar with.
Gina, still looking annoyed, said, "Deanne, see that boy over there in the plaid shirt and matching baseball cap? He was the first person on the dance floor. He didn't come out until I started playing old songs."
"So?" Deanne responded.
"Well," said Gina, "after he started dancing, that girl right there in the multi-colored hooded sweatshirt started dancing. That's when the floodgates opened and everybody but you got out on the dance floor."
"What does all of that have to do with anything?" asked Deanne.
"That," answered Gina, "told me that if I kept those first two dancers moving, the rest of the kids would follow along. About 15 minutes ago, while you were sulking in the corner, I put on a new song, and as soon as I did, that kid in the plaid shirt and hat went and sat down. Had I played another new song, the girl in the hoodie would have left the dance floor. By the third new song, the entire floor would have been empty."
Deanne had no idea that Gina put so much thought into what she was going to play. She spent the rest of the evening standing next to Gina, watching everything she did.
1. / Deanne's relationship with Gina canbestbe described as
/ A. / strained, but consistent.
/ B. / judgmental, but caring.
/ C. / courteous, but fake.
/ D. / friendly, but competitive.
2. / Gina is able to keep the crowd on the dance floor because
/ A. / shelistens to Deanne's advice about what to play.
/ B. / sheplays new songs that she knows the kids like.
/ C. / sheputs a lot of thought into what she should play.
/ D. / sheuses the highest quality equipment she can find.
3. / Deanne doesn't congratulate Gina because she is more interested in
/ A. / learninghow Gina convinced the kids to dance.
/ B. / encouragingthe apprehensive kids to dance.
/ C. / howshe would have done things differently.
/ D. / watchingthe girl in the hooded sweatshirt.


Thursday/Friday

Day Two

Characters
The Dance
Deanne could not believe that all of the kids were dancing to the music that her friend Gina was playing for them. She was used to school dances where most of the boys stood on one side of the gym trying to embarrass their friends and the girls stood on the other side of the gym pretending that they were too cool to talk to all those nerdy boys. She was always one of the few brave souls who decided to throw caution to the wind and get out on the dance floor.
However, on that night she was the wallflower, while everybody else was throwing caution to the wind. To tell the truth, she was not really paying attention to the other kids. She saw them as a shaking and gyrating mass. Her real focus was Gina. She was happy for her friend, but at the same time, she could not help but think about how she would have done things differently if shewasthe DJ.
She worked her way through the mass of kids and towards Gina. When she got to the stage, she did not congratulate her friend; rather, she told Gina what she would do differently if shewasthe DJ. She looked at her friend and said, "The music you are playing is pretty cool, Gina, but it'skindaold. I think everybody wants to hear something new."
Gina, looking a little annoyed, responded by asking Deanne what made her think the other kids wanted to hear newer songs. Deanne responded by telling Gina that it was just "a feeling," and that she knew that the kids would have more fun if they were dancing to music they were more familiar with.
Gina, still looking annoyed, said, "Deanne, see that boy over there in the plaid shirt and matching baseball cap? He was the first person on the dance floor. He didn't come out until I started playing old songs."
"So?" Deanne responded.
"Well," said Gina, "after he started dancing, that girl right there in the multi-colored hooded sweatshirt started dancing. That's when the floodgates opened and everybody but you got out on the dance floor."
"What does all of that have to do with anything?" asked Deanne.
"That," answered Gina, "told me that if I kept those first two dancers moving, the rest of the kids would follow along. About 15 minutes ago, while you were sulking in the corner, I put on a new song, and as soon as I did, that kid in the plaid shirt and hat went and sat down. Had I played another new song, the girl in the hoodie would have left the dance floor. By the third new song, the entire floor would have been empty."
Deanne had no idea that Gina put so much thought into what she was going to play. She spent the rest of the evening standing next to Gina, watching everything she did.
4. / Whichbestdescribes both Deanne and Gina?
/ A. / They are both very jealous.
/ B. / They both enjoy dancing.
/ C. / They are both very angry.
/ D. / They both enjoy music.
5. / Deanne chooses not to dance because
/ A. / sheis not a good dancer.
/ B. / themusic is too loud.
/ C. / sheis too anxious.
/ D. / sheis focusing on Gina.
6. / Gina is portrayed as being
/ A. / observant.
/ B. / careless.
/ C. / conceited.
/ D. / unpopular.

Monday/Tuesday

Day Three

In the Country
by A.Gautam
Every day after the wedding,Saritasat underneath a big fig tree looking sad. She would sit under the tree after finishing all the chores. At first, I thought she was sad from having to cook elaborate meals for a family of eight, but she seemed to enjoy cooking. She sang a song while peeling the potatoes, cleaning the rice, cutting the vegetables, and making the fire. I had noticed the way she constantly poked the wood into the clay oven. There was a hint of restlessness aboutSaritaeven during the morning worship when everybody in my family closed their eyes and listened to her melodious psalms. She would squat like everybody else in front of the idols but move her knees about constantly.
Back then, I was a young boy of twelve, andSaritatreated me like her little brother. It hurt me to see her unhappy. I wanted to ask my brother if he had noticed the sadness in his wife's eyes, but my brother was a man of few words. He would probably have said that it is hard for a young woman to leave her parents' home and adopt a new one as her own. Perhaps he would have expected me to understand that without him having to say it. I waited for things to change and forSaritato spend her afternoon talking to the neighbors or reading a book instead of brooding under the fig tree.
A change came, and it was not what I expected at all. One morning after the morning meal, my brother, Raj, announced that he was moving to the capital withSarita.
"She is expecting our first child, and we believe that we need to move to the city to give the child a better education and healthcare," Raj said without meeting my parents' eyes.
My mother, who was ready to take a nap on the hemp mattress, got up suddenly—as if to protest. My father kept looking into my brother's eyes for an explanation. He had crumpled the newspaper in his hands, but he was silent. Rita, my elder sister, stood by the door looking very shaken. We all waited for our grandparents, the oldest and the most respected members of our family, to say something. Only my grandmother took a break from reading her book and spoke, "If that is what you have decided. You are a man with your own family now." She stopped my grandfather from sayinganythingas he was about to open his mouth.
"We will come home at every festival. We will only be a bus ride away—only five hours apart," mybrotherexplained his decision. "Now, Ravi has to take responsibility and look after you," he was talking about me. He did not give the responsibility to Rita, who was much older and abler than me. She was the right age for marriage, and I knew she would move away from the house soon.
I would have never left my family and moved so far away, I thought. "You are abandoning us," I screamed at Raj and stormed out of the house. As I looked back at my old house falling apart in places and four old people sitting inside it, I realized I wanted to grow up fast. I needed to show my brother that I was better than him.
10. / How does Ravi feel about his brother leaving the village?
/ A. / upset, because he feels abandoned by his brother
/ B. / sad, because he feels lonely without his sister-in-law
/ C. / confused, because his brother is not taking him along
/ D. / hurt, becauseSaritadoes not ask for his opinion
11. / Which of thesebestshows that Ravi's relationship with his brother is troubled?
/ A. / " 'Now, Ravi has to take responsibility and lookafter..."
/ B. / "I would have never left my family and moved sofar..."
/ C. / "'We will only be a bus ride away—only fivehours...'"
/ D. / "My father kept looking into my brother's eyesfor..."
12. / What does this passage suggest about how the grandmother feels aboutRaj'sdecision to move?
/ A. / She thinks Raj should make his decision because he has a family.
/ B. / She does not want Raj to move because Ravi is just a young boy.
/ C. / She hopes Raj will not move because the family will be separated.
/ D. / She wants Raj to think about moving because it is a big decision.

Thursday/Friday

Day Four

DAY ONE: MAIN IDEA

Main Ideas and Supporting Details
1. / ShuttleEndeavourwill thunder into orbit this week with an American flag on its right wing. The ship will carry its most international crew ever launched. The spaceship is headed for the International Space Station. Four Americans are on board, along with Russian, Canadian, and Italian astronauts. This multinational crew will be symbolic of those who will work and live on the growing outpost. The station is a joint project of 16 nations on four continents.
This paragraph is mainly about
/ A. / the Russian aboard the American space shuttle.
/ B. / the American flag on the space shuttle's wing.
/ C. / the brand new International Space Station.
/ D. / the cultural crew aboard the space shuttle.
Guy Fawkes Night is a holiday in England that celebrates the failure of the Gunpowder Plot. It is remembered on the 5th of November. On November 5, 1605, a group of Roman Catholics tried to blow up King James I and the Houses of Parliament. They did not like the king's treatment of Catholics. They hoped that English Catholics would take over the country after the murder of the King, his ministers, and Parliament members.
The plotters rented a cellar under the Houses of Parliament. Guy Fawkes hid twenty barrels of gunpowder there just a few days before Parliament was due to meet. One of the plotters warned a relative, Lord Monteagle, not to go to Parliament on November 5th. Lord Monteagle warned the government, and Guy Fawkes was found in the cellar and arrested. All of the conspirators died resisting arrest or were tried and executed.