Good morning everybody,
I hope that everyone is enjoying summer. Today's assignment is a
reading/writing practice.
Reading Comprehension:
I was 16 when my father unequivocally decided he would send me to
wilderness camp for several months. He had threatened to do it many times
before, but my mother had always managed to prevent him from actually packing
me up and shipping me off. This time he was dead set on it.
My latest transgression was viewed as the last straw. In a fit of unbridled rage, I
had shoved my math teacher down a flight of steps at school. He broke his arm
in two places and severely dislocated his shoulder. The man hadn’t done a thing
to me. I am hard-pressed to remember why I was so irritated at him.
Anyway, Mr. Ford, my math teacher, had agreed not to press charges as favor to
my dad. He was a friend of my dad’s from way back. Mr. Ford knew what was at
stake. We all did.
Dad was in the middle of a tight race for sheriff in our town. This latest “Danny
Thing,” as my reckless behavior was now called, had all my dad’s closest
advisors talking.
“John, he’s your son and he’s a kid, but he is dragging you down,” I heard Jake
Hutch tell my dad through his closed office door the night after I pushed Mr. Ford.
“If it appears you can’t set the course for enforcement in your own home, how
can you set the course for this town?”
So, off to Pisgah National Forest I went. I knew in my heart that “Wilderness
Camp” was surely just a euphemism for “Torture Center.” I imagined hours of
untold abuse at the hands of some lumberjack-sized drill sergeant. I resolved not
to be broken and to emerge from the program unchanged. I was who I was.
Nearly every day for six months, a small group of other troubled teens and I
lugged our 30-pound backpacks on a trek that covered about 10 miles. We hiked
in a rugged wilderness that seemed untouched by civilization. The grandeur of
the sky, rock, and wilderness made me reverent.
Our counselors were firm but kind, not the ogres I had imagined. We learned
how to make a fire without matches and create a shelter with twigs, branches,
and grass. We learned which plants were safe to eat out in the wild. Late into the
night, we talked about our fears and hopes.
We were devoid of radios, televisions, and cell phones. I felt myself change. I
was calm and often reflective. My old, impulsive self was gone.
One morning, six months later, my dad came to pick me up. I ran to hug him and saw relief and love in his eyes.
“So what’s it like being sheriff?” I asked on the ride home.
“I lost the race, Danny,” he said.
“I’m sorry, Dad.” I knew my behavior probably had a lot to do with his defeat.
Dad squeezed my shoulder and brought me close. “As long as I don’t ever lose
you, I’m okay.”
Task 1:
After reading the given passage, rearrange this vocabulary and hand write
them down in your notebook.
''Wild'' Word Jumble
1. UEQNUILAOVCLY...................................................................
Absolute; not subject to conditions or exceptions
2. TRAESNRSSGION..................................................................
Violation of a law, command... etc; sin
3. IBULRDNDE........................................................................
Not controlled or restrained
4. LEDCOITSAD.....................................................................
To put out of place
5. IRIRATTED..........................................................................
Anger, provoked, or annoyed
6. ENFROECEMNT................................................................
To ensure observance of or obedience to (a law, decision, etc)
7. PEMIUEHSM.........................................................................
An inoffensive word or phrase substituted for one considered offensive
or harmful
8. GEMERE............................................................................
To come up or arise
9. ERNAGDUR......................................................................
The quality or state of being impressive or awesome
10. NREVTERE........................................................................
Deeply respectful
11. SOGRE............................................................................
A monstrously ugly, cruel, or barbarous person
12. LIMPUVSIE....................................................................
Rash, quick, hasty
Task 2:
Answer the following questions:
1) Which best describes the double meaning of the title?
A. Danny goes to wilderness camp; it is in a national forest.
B. Danny is out of control; he is sent into the wilderness.
C. Danny changes at wilderness camp; his father loses a tight race for
sheriff.
D. Danny hikes in the rugged wilderness; he becomes respectful of nature
and others.
2) "I was 16 when my father unequivocally decided he would send me
to wilderness camp for several months."
Which of the following is the best way to rewrite the above sentence
(from paragraph 1) while keeping its original meaning as used in the story?
A. I was 16 when my father angrily decided he would send me to
wilderness camp for several months.
B. I was 16 when, over the course of several months, my father decided
he would send me to wilderness camp.
C. I was 16 when my father tentatively decided he would send me to
wilderness camp for several months.
D. I was 16 when my father decided without question he would send me to wilderness
camp for several months.
3) What does the idiomatic expression, "the last straw," (in
paragraph 2) suggest?
A. the biggest problem of all
B. the worst thing someone could have done
C. the last in a line of unacceptable occurrences
D. the deed someone wishes he or she could take back
4) As used in paragraph 2, which is the best antonym for unbridled?
A. amusing
B. peaceful
C. restrained
D. understandable
E. scarce
5) What lesson did Danny seem to learn in this passage?
A. Fight fire with fire.
B. Faith will move mountains.
C. Nature exceeds nurture.
D. A reed before the wind lives on, while mighty oaks do fall.
6) What is a euphemism (paragraph 6)?
A. a code word
B. a nickname
C. a different name
D. a less offensive term
E. a meaningless title
7) The grandeur of the sky, rock, and wilderness made me reverent."
Which of the following is the best way to rewrite the above sentence
(from paragraph 7) while keeping its original meaning as used in the story?
A. I was awed by the majesty of the sky, rock, and wilderness.
B. I felt small in comparison to the sheer size of the sky, rock, and wilderness.
C. The power of the sky, rock, and wilderness made me regret my past behavior.
D. The inherent danger of the sky, rock, and wilderness made me nervous.
8) What is evident by the end of the passage?
I. how much Danny has changed
II. how much John loves his son
III. that John has given up running for office
A. I only
B. I and II
C. II and III
D. I, II, and III
9) If the counselors at the wilderness camp had been ogres (paragraph
8), how might have they behaved?
A. by giving teenagers water only when they were thirsty
B. by making the teenagers figure out how to build a fort in the rain
C. by refusing to treat the teenagers' wounds when they got injured
D. by encouraging the teens to socialize with one another even if they
didn't want to
Task 3:
Having the same characters in the story, write a different ending to it.
Use your own words and write no more than two paragraphs to end the story in a
different way according to what you think is right.
