Reading Comprehension Workbook Level 10355f5fff485fd0bd834f... · The Maternal Instinct Survival An...

Reading Comprehension Workbook

Level 10

Series Designer Philip J. Solimene

Editor Sharon Diane Ortan

Reading Consultant Sidney J. Rauch, Ed.D

Professor of Reading and Education Hofstra University, New York

EDCON

Story Authors

Ruth Barrett Linda Bosson

Eleanor Coleman Walter Holden Dorothy Kroll

Barbara LaMonica Margaret Opsata

Jane Tate

Copyright © 1995 A/V Concepts Corp.

Long Island, New York

This book may be reproduced for student/classroom use. All other rights reserved.

Printed in U.S.A. ISBN 0-931334-48-9

Copyright © 2014Edcon Publishing Group, Inc.

www.edconpublishing.com

EWCR1002

ePDF ISBN 978-0-8481-1425-1

CONTENTS

NO.

11

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14

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16

TITLE SOMETHING ABOUT THE SELECTION SELECTION

The Maternal Instinct

Survival

An inspiring science fiction tale about survival and compassion.

A story of courage and fortitude during America’s westward expansion.

6

Quill’s Last Case

Ready for retirement, Detective Quill is called on to solve one last case.

11

Mike Pandora’s Box

The depths of the earth hold vast natural resources, and some unexplainable occurrences as well.

16

The Last Judgment

Twelfth century Wales is the setting for this true tale of love, friendship and ill fate.

21

Days of Venice Almost everyone knows about the canals of Venice, Italy. But what about the ones in Venice, California?

26

QUESTIONS

4

9

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19

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29

17 Nightwalkers Who are the nightwalkers, and 31 why do they walk in the dead of night?

34

1

CONTENTS

NO.

18

19

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TITLE SOMETHING ABOUT THE SELECTION SELECTION QUESTIONS

An Act of Vengeance

The Little Giant

Victims

A tale of greed, pride, and envy 36 originally told centuries ago.

When seventeen year old Carl 41 Laemmle arrived in America, he had no idea that his pipe dreams would someday become a reality.

An ironic story about a young man 46 who discovers crime really does not pay.

39

44

49

Keywords................................... 51

Comprehension CheckAnswer Key......................... 53

Vocabulary CheckAnswer Key.......................... 55

The Maternal InstinctJ-11

Learn the Key Words

dormant

embryo

maternal

nucleus

(dor' mant)

(em' bre o)

Incandescent (in ksn des' nt)

(ms ter' nl)

(n ii' kle as)

asleep; in a state of inactivity After receiving the injection, the lion lay dormant.

the undeveloped stage of a human being or animal The embryo was growing normally.

shining brightly; brilliant The room was incandescent from the spotlights.

of or like a mother; relating to mothers She inherited a small fortune from her maternal grandmother.

a central part or thing around which other parts orthings gather

The sun might be considered the nucleus o f our universe.

vigil (vij' 9l) staying awake for some purposeWaiting for his son to recover, Hank kept a lonely vigil.

Preview:1. Read the title.2. Look at the picture.3. Read the first two paragraphs of the selection.4. Then answer the following question.

You learned from your preview that____a. there was an object moving within the bio-watch.____b. there was no movement at all registering on the bio

watch’s screen.____c. the bio-watch was beginning to register activity from

the fluid sac.____d. the bio-watch was monitoring a series of shooting

stars for an astronomical observatory.Turn to the Comprehension Check on page 4 for the right answer.

Now read the selection.Read to find out about a new generation of earth beings.

1

J-11

T h e M a t e r n a l I n s t i n c t

Man has accomplished many things during his brief stay on Earth. He has created and he has destroyed. Now he has to begin again.

The silence in the chamber was as oppressive as an overcast day and the temperature slowly began to rise. The yellow incandescent lights further brightened almost in expectancy, for something was happening, but it was nothing you couJd yet see or hear. Rather it was something you could feel, much in the way you can sense the stirrings of an anxious spring following the last remnants of winter. It was like the unseen water continually flowing beneath a frozen stream or the occasional warm touch carried in the rush jjf a cold wind.

Then the bio-watch, which monitored the fluid sac, began to register activity. The thin white line, which normally appeared dormant across its screen, started to quiver and peak at regular intervals. The object inside the sac was struggling, its movements seeming as abrupt as the pitching of a small boat in a rough sea. The bio-watch responded to these irregular movements with an explosion of white lines that shot across the screen like an elaborate series of shooting stars.

This struggle signaled to

Ai-Rom, who was standing in front of the sac watching its contractions and expansions, that her long vigil would soon be over. How long had she been waiting here in this room, deep beneath the surface of the earth, where silence echoed off the green-tiled walls? Nine months, nine years, or nine hundred years? She didn’t know. She only knew to wait and keep her lens focused in constant vigil on the sac.

The long struggle was coming to an end as the bottom of the sac ballooned out and a tiny head appeared, its face screwed in a tight frown as if anticipating the bright glare. The infant slid easily through the sac and momentarily hung out of the opening like a raindrop stubbornly clinging to a branch, before lightly dropping into a cushioned basket which had swung out from the wall into position just below.

Ai-Rom silently glided over to the basket and extended her arm. She flicked one of her steel digits and, with a jack knife gesture, she cut the cord which was the last link between the newborn

child and the now empty sac.Before being delivered into the

world, the infant had been lying dormant, but the shock of this first rude contact with the world caused an ear-shattering cry to come from its mouth like an unwinding spring. The cry expanded and flooded the silence, and then splintered into many other similar cries as Ai-Rom turned and focused on a long row of mothers bending over baskets. The sound of the infant’s cry activated Ai- Rom’s maternal center, so she bent over and lifted the tiny wiggling form, cradled it for a moment and gently placed it against her shoulder cushion. Eventually, all of the crying ceased ard the room far beneath the earth now vibrated with the sound of musical instruments and tender humming as all of the mothers, moving in unison, activated their music panels to play out the notes of a long-forgotten lullaby.

For the children who were born in the chamber far beneath the earth’s surface, time passed quickly. Their days were directed by devoted maternal attention and they were comforted by the

J-11presence of their affectionate mothers, who, under the lighting of the chamber, glowed and sparkled, giving off an incandescence uniquely their own.

The children were romping about and the noise of their laughter, like the tinkling sound of raindrops against a window pane, filled the room. Ai-Rom viewed her daughter, Aria, dodging and leaping among the others in a lively running game. The sight of Aria, healthy and content, caused new images to appear across Ai-Rom’s brain screen. She perceived that the children were old enough and more time should be spent in instruction, so she aimed her light beam (the language of light being one which the children had not yet learned) in the direction of the other mothers. Immediately, Ai-Rom1, Ai-Rom2, Ai-Rom3 and all the rest operated their speaking tapes which pierced the children’s world of amusement and summoned them to the learning chamber.

Aria stopped abruptly at the sound of her mother’s familiar and smooth voice, her arms still flung high above her head in the interrupted gesture of some now forgotten frolic. She heard the reassuring whirring of her mother as Ai-Rom glided close to her and gently escorted her to the chamber.

The chamber was circular, and from its completely white, antiseptic walls and domed ceiling, three-dimensional images began to emerge. Everywhere the children looked there were splashes of color and sounds coming together in even form. Tall green shapes appeared and reached up into a seemingly endless blue space. The nucleus of this scene was a big, glowing, orange ball, and vast bodies of blue - green water rolled and splashed up against huge, rigid formations. Day after day, the children saw all this and more. Pictures of the Earth’s landscape continually emerged from the wall screens, teaching them the beauties of the world far above the chamber. It taught them about life—all the varieties of beings, like those that came from the waters, those that crawled across the land and those that

spread themselves across the skies. Eventually, creatures appeared whom the children recognized as being like themselves, and they watched these creatures move across the earth, scooping out the land and creating magnificent structures that stretched far above the trees and cast steel lace webs against the horizon. The structures formed the nucleus from which knowledge was born and grew more complicated. The children learned the knowledge of numbers and the knowledge of language, and most of all the knowledge to capture and direct all of the Earth’s energies.

For the children, less and less time was spent in amusements and more time spent in the learning chamber, for they would have a special mission to perform. Sometimes the mothers would illuminate their brain screens and play their voice tapes to answer the questions the children were beginning to ask. Aria was especially curious—why were the mothers different from the children and who were the people who had been on Earth and where were they now?

All this, Ai-Rom promised to reveal in time, when Aria was released completely from the things of childhood. But in the meantime, Ai-Rom encouraged Aria to press her music center and wistfully let the melody carry her to a forgetful sleep.

Many years passed, and the children saw the Earth convulse in violence. They saw brutality and they saw the destruction of ancient structures and the construction of new ones. The new structures increased in size, encompassing the sky, intruding on the landscape and perpetually spilling black fluid into the oceans and rivers. Birds began to tumble from the sky. and the oceans deposited dead fish all along the shorelines and, soon, the people knew that they, too, were dying.

They knew it would be thousands of years before the poison clouds would disappear and the Earth would again be hospitable to human beings. In desperation, they gathered their history and knowledge and compressed them into films and tapes to bestow on the future. From the embryo laboratories, they took the last

healthy specimens and placed them in the fully automated chambers deep beneath the earth, there to wait in frozen sleep.

But who would care for the embryos once they started to develop, since all traces of human life would have vanished by then? It was then that they constructed the Ai-Roms and made sure that they were programmed with only the best of human emotions, instincts and affections.

Having learned their ancestry, the sons and daughters were conducted for the first time up through the twisting tunnels to the surface of the Earth, where a spring rain had just fallen and left crystal droplets to blanket the grass and trees. The mothers remained by the tunnel entrance and as Aria turned to give one last loving look to Ai-Rom, she saw the brain screen flashing:

Ai-Rom: Artificial Intelligence Robot Mother DEACTIVATED.

J-11

THE MATERNAL INSTINCTPreview Answer:

the bio-watch was beginning to register activity from the fluid sac.

COMPREHENSION CHECK

11. D evelop your own sentences using any four key words found in the box on the following page.i

— —

— — —

— —

Check your answers with the key on page 53.This page may be reproduced for classroom use.

4

Ai-Rom was___ a. one of the few human survivors.___ b. not an efficient mother.___ c. an artificial robot mother.___ d. able to leave the tunnel.

Aria was born___ a. in an artificial environment.___ b. in a world of trees and flowers.___ c. under normal conditions.___ d. from a salvaged human mother.

The lessons taught in the chamber were___ a. happenings from the future.___ b. current events.___ c. happenings from the past.___ d. fictional events.

First, the last remaining human beings compressed their knowledge into films and tapes. Then, they put healthy specimens from the embryo laboratories into an underground laboratory. Next,___ a. they suspended human mothers in time.___ b. they tried to save the Earth.___ c. they flew to a distant planet to live.___ d. they constructed the Ai-Roms.

The embryos stayed dormant for many years because they were___ a. dead.___ b. frozen.___ c. sick.___ d. underground.

The children born below the ground___ a. could never leave the chamber.___ b. had strange feelings towards the robots.___ c. resented being kept below the surface.___ d. relied upon their robot mothers.

The robots___ a. were not able to do very much for the

children.___ b. could not see what the children needed.___ c. were caring and capable mothers.___ d. would often make errors in judgment.

The children from the sac would___ a. stay with their robot mothers forever.___ b. begin a new race of human beings on

Earth.___ c. return to the chamber to revive their

mothers.___ d. never know love or emotion.

Ano«.her name for this selection could be___ a. “A New Life.”___ b. “Seeing the Earth from Below.”___ c. “Mothers of the Future. ’’___ d. “Chamber of Learning.”

This selection is mainly about___ a. how tunnels were dug in the earth for

survivors of the last World War.___ b. how robots might help raise a new

race of human beings.___ c. what happens to children raised by

artificial means.___ d. the condition of the Earth in the 21st

century.

The Maternal Instinct J11VOCABULARY CHECK

dormant embryo incandescent maternal nucleus vigil

I. Fill in the blank in each sentence with the correct key word from the box above.

1. In its earliest stages of life, an animal is known as an.

2. The______________________ of an atom is difficult to split.

3. The cancer was______________________ for many years before reappearing.

4. Her______________________ feelings made her want to protect the child from harm.

5. The moon was______________________ and lit our path.

6. Karen’s______________________ at the hospital lasted for three days.

II. Are the key words used correctly? Check True or False.

1. The ocean is always dormant. ______ True --------- False

2. The fire was incandescent. ______ True --------- False

3. Anything maternal relates only to women over 25. ______ True --------- False

4. Gary’s vigil lasted for a week. ______ True --------- False

5. The nucleus surrounds other things. ______ True --------- False

6. An embryo is an undeveloped animal. ______ True --------- False

Check your answers with the key on page 55.

This page may be reproduced for classroom use. 5

SurvivalLearn the Key Words

J-12

futile

intolerable

listless

progression

recuperate

somber

(fyü ' tl) useless; unsuccessfulThe woman made a futile effort to stay dry in the rain.

(in tol' әr a bә l) unbearable; almost impossible to endureThe movie was intolerable, so we left the theater.

(list' lis) without energy; without enthusiasmThe man became listless after he left his job.

(pra gresh' ә n) moving forward in an orderly fashionThe members o f the marching band moved in progression.

(ri kü ' pә rat) to recover from a sickness; being restored to healthMrs. Jones’s operation was minor, so her doctor sent her home to recuperate.

(som ' bәr) gloomy; melancholyThe players were somber after they lost the game.


You learned from your preview that____a. the Sierra Nevada family was lost in the mountains of

Sacramento, California.____b. mountain weather doesn’t change very drastically.____c. many pioneers have gotten lost in the mountains.____d. although winter in the mountains can be brutal, most

settlers find it enjoyable.Turn to the Comprehension Check or. page 9 for the right answer.

Now read the selection.Read to find out about a terrifying ordeal.

6

What would you do if you were stranded in the mountains, in the dead o f winter with no food, minimal clothing, and makeshift shelters? How long could you survive?

From Sacramento, California we can see the towering peaks of the Sierra Nevadas away in the distance, and we have iearned to respect their awesome power. Quite frequently, however, a new settler doesn’t understand that mountain weather can be transformed from beautifully calm to terrifyingly stormy in only a few minutes. Here at the ranch, we have welcomed many frightened travelers who tell about being lost in the mountains.

Late in February, 1847, we discovered that a group of pioneers had become trapped in the mountains during the brutal winter season. With so many pioneers coming west to settle, I suppose it was only a matter of time until a group of them had to spend the winter up in the Sierra Nevadas.

One night, a very thin and very hungry man arrived at the ranch house after supper. He was talking like a demented person, but my father, who was the ranch foreman, managed to piece together his somber story. The stranger was part of a pioneer wagon train that had taken a new

route across the mountains last October. An early winter storm dropped several feet of snow on them, and they had to make camp. A progression of men volunteered to go for help, but they all returned because they could not make it through the snow. After these futile efforts to find help, everybody stayed in the camp all through the winter. There was much sickness and death, and the stranger worried very much about the others. My father agreed to let the man recuperate at the ranch and promised to take out a search party to look for the other survivors.

“ If this astonishing story is true,” my father said, “conditions at that camp must have been almost intolerable. ’ ’

When he asked for volunteers to look for the lost pioneers, every one of us raised our hands. I didn’t think my father would allow me to accompany him, because I was only sixteen, but after a moment he agreed that I could join the rescue team.

Eleven of us departed from Sacramento to locate the surviving settlers. According to the man

who came seeking our help, a Mr. Thomas, the group called itself the Donner Party. They were named after a wealthy family who organized the pioneers and led them west. Although Mr. Thomas recuperated steadily under the excellent care of my mother, he never could speak of last winter’s events without a look of horror passing across his face. At other times, he would lapse into a listless state, and he appeared too tired to discuss the subject.

Mr. Thomas could not provide us with accurate directions for reaching the campsite, since he had wandered in confusion for several days before accidentally finding our ranch. However, he mentioned a gigantic rock, shaped like a buffalo, and a place where two small streams converged, so we were able to identify the general area by locating these landmarks. After that, we moved in progression, searching for any signs of human life. Our efforts were futile until my father heard a baby’s muffled cry. We followed this sound, climbing over boulders and walking around snowdrifts

12which were everywhere.

Suddenly, we arrived at the campsite and our eyes were greeted by a somber sight. Several makeshift buildings had been constructed by piling together boulders, timber and canvas from the wagons. Near each building were human bodies, some dead and some nearly so, with the fallen carcasses of horses and dogs lying close by. A dreadful stench hung over the area, and I noticed my father holding his stomach as he sadly surveyed the depressing scene. Inside one of the huts, the baby was crying listlessly so I walked toward the noise and thrust my head inside. I observed a woman bent over an iron cooking pot, stirring a kind of soup that smelled terrible and singing softly to herself. She paid no attention to the baby or to me as I lifted the child up. I was astonished to discover how little he weighed, and as I unwrapped the dirty blanket that covered him, I could clearly see every bone in his little body.

“Your child is starving,” I said angrily to the woman, “yet you do nothing about it.”

She looked at me with a listless expression.

“My only child is here,” she answered, pointing at the cooking pot.

I realized that the unfortunate woman had been driven insane by the intolerable winter she had spent in this dreadful place.

As I carried the crying child outside, I felt someone urgently tugging at my leg. Looking down, I discovered a little boy of about five fastening his tiny hand around my knee to capture my attention.

“My name is Joshua,” he announced, “ and you are stealing my baby brother! ”

I explained that I was only carrying the child to our supplies, so I could give the starving baby some food. When I mentioned food, Joshua’s grip on my knee tightened, and he followed me closely as I returned to the others and opened a package containing bread, cheese, and cooked apples. After feeding a little fruit to the baby, he finally stopped crying. Joshua tried to eat some of the cheese and bread, but he began to vomit. My father, who had

joined us, explained that the boy’s stomach was upset because it had received so little food for so long.

After a time, Joshua was able to swallow a little of the bread without problems, and he began answering my many questions. His mother, father and older sister were dead. He and the baby had been protected by their grandmother, Mrs. Smith, who managed to locate food for them throughout the difficult winter. Many people had starved to death, some because they refused to eat the food that his grandmother had cooked. While the little boy chattered on, several other members of the Donner Party gathered around.

Suddenly, a woman began to sob loudly as she managed to cry out, “God forgive us, but we were so very hungry! First, we cooked what little food we had. Next, all the men went into the woods, hunting for any animals or wild berries. Then, we made stew from the dogs and horses that had died, and we tried to stretch these meals as long as we possibly could. Finally.. .finally, we had to eat the bodies of those who had died.”

I looked at my father in horror when the woman revealed that she and the others had become cannibals. He saw my expression and motioned me to silence, but several of the rescuers began to move away fearfully.

A forceful woman suddenly pushed her way through the gathering of people, speaking loudly as she proceeded.

“ I’m Mrs. Smith, Joshua’s grandmother,” she announced, “and before you healthy, well- nourished rescuers pass judgment on our behavior, I’m going to explain several things—and you don’t have to be afraid that we’re planning to eat you, which is the way some of you are looking at me. When we joined the Donner Party, we were ordinary people just like you. But no one can remain ordinary after a brutal winter with nothing to eat, no decent shelter and no way to obtain help. Yes, we did eat from the bodies of those who died, but we hated ourselves for it and we must live with our guilty consciences forever. We became

cannibals because that was absolutely the only way to stay alive! So, before you condemn our actions, I suggest you try spending five intolerable months in circumstances like ours, and if you are still alive at the end, it will be because you became cannibals, too!”

As Mrs. Smith finished speaking, I looked down at little Joshua, who sat trustingly at my side. If he had been my brother, and if I had been a member of the Donner Party, trapped in the mountains, what acts would I have done to have kept him and myself alive?

As I looked into his innocent face, I discovered that I could not answer that question.

COMPREHENSION CHECK

Choose the best answer.

Preview Answer:c. many pioneers have gotten lost in the

mountains.

11.i

Develop your own sentences using any four key words found in the box on the foUowhgpage.

2

T "

T


9

First, the settlers cooked what food they had. Then, the men hunted for animals and wild berries. Next,___ a. they killed other members of the wagon

train.___ b. they were forced to eat from the bodies

of those who died.___ c. they resigned themselves to the fact that

they were going to starve.___ d. they made a stew from the dogs and

horses that had died.

Mrs. Smith___ a. had taken the easy way out of a difficult

situation.___ d. did not care about what she had done.___ c. was an emotionally strong person who

had to make a difficult decision.___ d. gave a poor argument for what she and

some of the others had done.

The narrator___ a. disregarded Mrs. Smith’s words.___ b. thought Mrs. Smith was a disgrace.___ c. believed that death would have been better.___ d. understood Mrs. Smith’s plight.

Another name for this selection could be___ a. “Running from Horror.”___ b. “Staying Alive in the Alps.”___ c. “An Indescribable Winter. ’’___ d. “A Time for Nature.”

This selection is mainly about___ a. a group of cannibals in the Sierra Nevadas.___ b. living on a ranch in the 1800’s.___ c. Mr. Thomas and his will to survive.___ d. decisions that must be made in order to

stay alive.

The Donner Party was trapped___ a. in a desert in California.___ b. in the Sierra Nevada mountains.___ c. at the old ranch near the stream.___ d. at the mouth of the river.

The Donner Party had started their journey through the mountains in the___ a. fall.___ b. winter.___ c. spring.___ d. summer.

If it were not for Mr. Thomas’s brave attempts at finding help, the___ a. Donner Party would have become

cannibals.___ b. ranchers would have traveled through the

mountains in late spring.___ c. Donner Party might never have been

found.___ d. people of the wagon train would never

have made the trip.

The people at the ranch___ a. were afraid to travel in the winter.___ b. thought Mr. Thomas was making up the

story.___ c. wanted to use dogs and special equipment

for the search.___ d. were anxious to locate the survivors.

The settlers were finally discovered because of___ a. the signs along the trail.___ b. the sound of a baby’s cry.___ c. Mr. Thomas’s clear directions.___ d. a special electronic device.

J -1 2

VOCABULARY CHECK

futile intolerable listless progression recuperate somber


1. The rescuers made a la s t_____________ attempt to find the swimmer.

2. The doctor said it would take a long time for John to _____________ from his illness.

3. The dog w as_______________ because of the hot weather.

4. The line of dominoes fell in a silent, rig id______________ .

5. The mourners were a ll______________ at the loss of the family leader.

6. A fur jacket worn in 90 degree heat would b e _______________ .

II. Fill in the blanks in the following paragraph with the words from the box above. When you are done, you will have a short account of the story.

For the Donner Party, a winter in the Sierra Nevada mountains w as______________ .

After many _____________ attempts at getting through the deep snow, one man finally

reached help. Mr. Thomas dragged h is ________________ body to a Sacramento ranch,

where he was able to tell his incredible story and ____________from his long ordeal. A

search party moved in _______________ , searching everywhere for survivors. It was a

baby’s cry that finally led them to the campsite, and what they saw there was indeed a

_________________ sight.

1 0


T h is p age m ay be rep ro d u ced for classroom use.

Q u ill 's Last C aseJ-13

Learn the Key Words

anonymous

benefactor

bogus

coroner

cryptic

glib

( ә non ' ә mә s)

(ben' ә fak tә r)

(bō ' gә s)

(kôr' ә n әr)

(krip' tik)

(Slib)

referring to a person whose name is not known The kidnapper was anonymous.

a person who helps others, either by gifts of money or generous acts

The benefactor o f the youth group was a retired policeman.

not genuine; fake The twenty dollar bill was found to be bogus.

a government official who examines a corpse for the conditions of death

The coroner certified that the death occurred at about 10:15.

having a hidden meaning; secretThe coded message was o f a cryptic nature.

speaking too smoothly to be believed The salesperson was a glib talker.

Preview:1. Read the title.2. Look at the picture.3. Read the first four paragraphs of the selection.4. Then answer the following question.

You learned from your preview that____a. Detective Quill is referred to as the “anonymous

benefactor” by his friends.____b. all of the girls who disappeared were ordinary high

school girls.____c. the only persons who are ever informed about the

mysterious disappearances are the girls’ parents.____d. Detective Quill is almost ready to retire and is looking

forward to it.Turn to the Comprehension Check on page 14 for the right answer.

Now read the selection.Read to find out how an experienced detective handled a difficult case.

11

Four girls mysteriously disappear and there is nothing to link any o f them together. Or is there? That's what Detective Quill tries to find out.

My name is Quill, U.S. Quill, detective third grade. For me, each day is another day nearer my retirement, another day nearer to that little house in the country with the raised deck looking out over the mountains. It’s also another day of listening to the fresh college - boy detectives, listening to their glib statements without any facts behind them, and their sly remarks about people over fifty. It’s another day of listening to their loud music blasting everyone’s ears every time any of this younger generation gets near a radio. Even a jjolice radio.— You may think I complain a lot. But I really don’t. Not even when I get a case like this one— the one they call the “Anonymous Benefactor" case because some unknown person is giving jLway money to young girls.

Of course, giving away money is no crime. The trouble is, though, that soon after they get the money, these girls disappear without a trace. No note to the worried parents, no letter to the boyfriend, nothing.

The last girl who disappeared

wasn’t any ordinary high school kid, though. She was the daughter of the president of one of the city’s biggest banks. As near as anybody could tell, the disappearance was exactly like all the others.

When the captain called me in, he gave me some bogus story that even a three-year old kid wouldn’t believe. Something about needing an old-timer with lots of experience.

I told him, “Don’t give me that stuff, Captain. Your young heroes have fallen down on the case ever since the first girl disappeared over a year ago.”

Ignoring my response, the captain pointed at the bulging files resting on the corner of his desk.

He said, “ I’ve been through every one of those, but I couldn’t discover the slightest clue. Why does a man give money to complete strangers?”

I replied to him, “ It isn’t unusual for a man to give money to a young girl, is it?”

“But apparently there weren’t any strangers who approached these girls. We’ve tracked the movements of all four from the

time they got the mysterious money until they disappeared.”

“Maybe it wasn’t a stranger then.”

“Make sense, Quill. These girls all came from different neighborhoods in the city. They went to different high schools, had different friends, and came from different social backgrounds.”

“Nothing links these four girls?”

“Nothing we can discover. My best detectives haven’t found a clue.”

In answer to that, I gave him a cryptic look, you know, the kind that you can’t quite figure out. But after a few hours of digging through the files, I couldn’t find a solid clue either.

I took a taxi to the morgue thinking it was possible that one of these girls had turned up dead and the bright young detectives had missed it.

I got a break that afternoon and cracked the case before dark. While I was in the morgue, a girl’s body was brought in. She had been hit by a taxi on 49th Street. The driver, one of those glib young guys who would tell

Q u i l l 's La s t C a s e

you almost anything, claimed that she ran right out in front of him and he couldn’t stop in time to prevent hitting her. Three witnesses backed him up.

While the coroner was examining the body, I got one of his assistants to let me examine her clothing and personal belongings. The coroner’s assistant was young, maybe thirty. When I held up the shoes and asked him if he knew what they were, he just looked at me and said, “Shoes.”

Being patient because I needed another favor, I said, “They’re called saddle shoes. Was any other girl brought in within the last year wearing saddle shoes?”

“ Listen, we get thousands of bodies every year. Who keeps records of who’s wearing saddle shoes, especially when nobody ever heard of saddle shoes?”

Getting nowhere in the coroner’s office, I drove over to the neighborhood where the banker’s daughter was last seen. There wasn’t much there, just an expensive jewelry shop, a delicatessen, a record store, and a woman’s clothing boutique. I inquired at the clothing shop, and learned they didn’t sell shoes—the girl working there never even heard of saddle shoes.

To ease my disappointment, I entered the record store and purchased a Guy Lombardo album from a senior citizen behind the counter. The elderly gentleman was so pleased to have somebody buy that music from the forties that he wanted to talk awhile, but I told him that I was busy and had some detective work to do. With that, he gave me a funny look and let go of my jacket sleeve.

Back at headquarters, I remembered that the files listed the clothing the girls were wearing when they disappeared. I checked and learned that one girl was wearing an old white college sweater with a big block letter on it. Another was wearing a plaid wool skirt, popular during the forties. I was puzzled about the third girl until I reread one item: athletic socks, or bobby socks, as they were called in the forties. I had to call the parents to be sure. Naturally,, they thought their daughter might have turned up,

but the best news I could give them was a cryptic remark about new evidence.

Four girls disappearing mysteriously, each one wearing an item of clothing popular almost forty years ago. The clothing made a connection, but it wasn’t anything to hang your hat on.

I couldn’t think clearly; some rock singer was screaming on the radio in the office next door. Looking through the window between the offices, I saw several young detectives sitting there just as if everything were normal. When I jumped up to go over and tell them to stop bursting people’s eardrums, I knocked my new record onto the floor. If these jokers only played music like good old Guy Lombardo. Picking up the record, I started to slide it back into the white paper jacket with the name of the record store splashed across it. Why hadn’t I made the connection before?

Making four telephone calls, I found out what I needed to know. All of the girls had big record collections—including albums from the forties.

There wasn’t any problem getting the record store owner to confess. Recognizing me right away as the Guy Lombardo fan, he was tickled to spill the entire thing to somebody who might understand.

The death of the banker’s daughter had been an accident, just as the cab driver had said. Something the old man said frightened her so much that she ran out of the record store and into the street. It seems that he hated the modern music so much and admired the old forties music to such an extreme, that he had become, well, somewhat unbalanced. Whenever a pretty young girl wanted to buy a forties record, he would offer her the record free and a bundle of cash if she would promise to come back and dance to the record for him. Money is a great convincer —all four girls not only kept the crazy scheme a secret, but they also agreed to the disappearing act.

You’re probably wondering how and why they disappeared. Well, because he was afraid that the girls would finally spill everything

if they stayed with their families, the old man finally paid them enough money to hide and agree not to contact their families or anybody else. They were living upstate somewhere with the old gentleman’s sister, who’s about as crazy as he is. The girls explained that they were about to break out and return home, but I figure that their story is bogus because they were certainly dazzled by the amount of money being handed out.

Anyway, a couple of weeks from today, I’m through being a detective, retiring to that little house in the country where I’ll be whiling away the hours sitting on my redwood deck and watching the mountains. Drop around anytime, I won’t promise you dancing girls, but we can sit around listening to the sweetest music this side of heaven.

J-13

Preview Answer:d. Detective Quill is almost ready to retire

and is looking forward to it.

Deveiopyourown sentences usinganyfourkey words foundin the boxon the fblbwhgpage.


14

Q uill 's Last C ase

COMPREHENSION CHECK


The police captain___ a. was pleased with the young detectives.___ b. did not want to proceed with the investiga

tion.___ c. saw Quill as the last hope of solving the

case.___ d. had some very important clues.

First, Quill reviewed the files. Then, he went to the morgue. Next,___ a. he discovered that the girl who had been

killed was wearing saddle shoes.___ b. he notified the family that each girl was O K.___ c. he drove to a record shop in the city.___ d. he went to the neighborhood where the

girl had been killed.

The old man at the record shop was___ a. a normal character.___ b. obsessed with the forties.___ c. interested in all types of music.___ d. sure Quill would not understand.

Detective Quill stumbled upon the benefactor because he___ a. liked to visit with old people.___ b. enjoyed listening to rock music.___ c. spoke to the younger detectives about

the case.___ d. was a fan of the music of the forties.

This case showed that___ a. money is not held in high regard.___ b. no one likes to live in the past.___ c. some people have a distorted sense of

values.___ d. people are not preoccupied with them

selves or their interests.

The girls who had disappeared___ a. agreed to their benefactor’s scheme.___ b. were taken away against their will.___ c. did not find the old man’s promises of

money attractive.___ d. were afraid to refuse the old man.

The young girls were___ a. frightened and worried.___ b. greedy and insensitive.___ c. patient and understanding.___ d. trustworthy and happy.

Detective Quill was___ a. a bitter old man.___ b. critical of everyone under thirty.___ c. an experienced and competent member

of the police department.___ d. too old to do his work well.

Another name for this selection could be___ a. “Records Are Fun.”___ b. “Forties Fever.”___ c. “ Life in the City.”___ d. “Useless Clues.”

This selection is mainly about___ a. the inefficiency of young people.___ b. the stupidity that comes with old age.___ c. the people who live in the past.___ d. experience and efficiency that come

with age.

VOCABULARY CHECK

Q u il l 's Last C ase

anonymous benefactor bogus coroner cryptic glib


1. The poet of the romantic lyric preferred to remain______________________ .

2. The man offered a_______________________excuse for his absence from the meeting.

3. Susan’s______________________ made sure that she attended the finest school.

4. The______________________ examined the body for the cause of death.

5. John had a reputation for being a______________________ talker.

6. My father’s patience had reached an end and he offered one last_______________________remark.

II. Are the key words used correctly? Check True or False.

1. If someone is anonymous, their name is not known. ______ True _______False

2. A glib sales talk is too smooth to believe. ______ True _______False

3. A coroner works with sick people. ______ True _______False

4. A cryptic comment has a hidden meaning. ______ True _______False

5. A benefactor is a helpful person. ______ True _______False

6. If something is bogus, it is genuine. ______ True _______False


This page may be reproduced for classroom use.

J-14

Mike Pandora's BoxLearn the Key Words

aura

biology

confound

deteriorate

gaseous

radiate

(ôr' ә )

(bi o l ' ә jē)

(kon found')

(di tir ' ē ә rat)

(gas ' e ә s)

(rā ' dē āt)

an invisible atmosphere which surrounds a person or thing

There was an aura o f mystery about Hester.

the study of living matterThe biology laboratory has twenty microscopes.

to puzzle or confuse completelyThe hero's disguise was meant to confound the villain.

lessen in value; fall apart A fallen branch will deteriorate on the ground.

made up of gas; acting like gas A gaseous vapor floated over the swamp.

to spread or move in rays like heat or lightWithin minutes the heat will radiate throughout the entire house.


You learned from your preview that____a. Mike and Joe worked in the coal mine from midnight

to eight in the morning.____b. the “hoot owl” shift was from midnight to twelve noon.____c. there was absolute silence in the mine.____d. Mike’s job was to clear the mine o f poisonous gases .

Turn to the Comprehension Check on page 19 for the right answer.

Now read the selection.Read to find out about a strange and unexplainable event.

16

Mike Pandora’s Box

Hundreds o f feet below the surface o f the earth, Mike Pandora discovers something that may literally be "out o f this world. ”

“Mike, get yourself up here jyid crawl into this hole! ”

Mike Pandora nodded in reply to Joe’s shouting above the pounding of the mining machine and the clattering of coal dropping onto the conveyor belt. Carefully maneuvering himself around the powerful machine which was digging out huge boulders of coal, Mike heard Joe shouting again.

“Crawl into this opening I just made. Better check your gas mask because we’re likely to uncover poisonous gases whenever we open an old mine.”— Mike nodded again, grinning at Joe’s grimy, worried face covered with coal dust as it always was during the “hoot-owl” shift —midnight to eight in the morning. Time really counted very little in the deep mines— midnight looked exactly the same as twelve o’clock noon. Still,the midnight crew always felt a strange aura about the mine, something connected with beginning work at midnight rather than the way normal people started at eight o’clock in the morning.

Being Joe’s helper, Mike ran

messages, kept electrical lines clear, and made certain that the conveyor belt ran smoothly. Although Joe liked to confuse or even confound him with tricks like sending him off after a left- handed monkey wrench or the key to the switchbox, they generally got along fine.

Under the shadow of the hard- hat, Joe looked strangely like a devil.

“Better get that mask on kid. I’d have a problem explaining to the supervisor how I let you walk into an old mine full of poisonous gases.”

As Joe had backed his machine off from the hole he had broken through the wall, Mike was easily able to maneuver past. Nearly at floor level, the entrance to the newly opened chamber was barely large enough to allow Mike to crawl through. As he approached the opening, he noticed a curtain of cold air pushing forth and radiating around him from the inky blackness beyond. Sniffing and finding the air free of the gaseous odor indicating possible deadly fumes, Mike discarded his gas mask. Mike sat down allowing

his feet to enter the chamber first, then he pulled himself through the hole and landed on the smooth floor of the completely darkened chamber.

Immediately, the pounding of Joe’s machine faded, leaving a sort of silence that made Mike quiver with a fear that had nothing to do with gaseous poisons or falling boulders of coal. Nervously, he pushed the switch on his flashlight and the narrow beam illuminated strange, rounded structures reaching up and disappearing into the darkness.

“Somebody’s been here before us, Joe.”

“You sure, kid?” Joe shouted. “We aren’t within four hundred feet of another mining operation.”

Mike directed the flashlight beam toward the closest of the rounded structures. Then he shouted toward the entrance hole, “Not another mine. It’s more like —I don’t know exactly—like a giant laboratory! ”

Laughing, Joe yelled back, “Don’t feed me that old science fiction routine. I know I’ve played tricks on you because you’re new, but don’t try any ghost stories

on me. There’re a hundred ancient caverns in these mountains, and a hundred stories for every cavern. Just tell me what’s really in there, if anything, so that we can get back to work.”

Mike sensed that the entire chamber radiated some strong force, an aura or a presence of something neither animal nor human. Fear penetrated Mike’s bones, making him stagger against the wall. The flashlight, banging heavily, flickered and then regained part of its strength. As Mike Pandora slowly lifted the flashlight to direct its feeble beam about the forbidding chamber, his hand, holding the light, shook.

If Mike had been standing inside the Houston Space Center, he wouldn’t have been surprised at what greeted his eyes in this astonishing underground chamber. His mind became clouded, confounded by the aura hanging heavily and silently in that chamber, faintly illuminated by his weakened flashlight beam. Everything seemed to be falling gradually away from him, as if he were floating. His senses began to deteriorate, like dust slowly disintegrating.

“Hey, what’s happening in there? Come on out before you scare me to death! ”

The yelling snatched Mike back from his troubled sense of deterioration. He realized that Joe had shut off all his machines and was leaning into the broken hole, peering around the dim interior.

“What’s keeping you, kid? We’ve still got lots of coal to move today.”

“Look, Joe,” Mike said softly, slowly playing the beam of light around the weird, silent chamber. The feeble beam reflected the towering metal cylinders, revealing what appeared to be dials and buttons and empty screens.

“Good grief! Look at those giant computers!” Joe’s usually loud voice came out hushed.

“I thought I recognized computers, but what are computers doing way underground like this?”

“That’s not our problem, kid. Don’t touch anything, but get yourself together and back out here. The government mine inspectors are always finding peculiar things where there’s

.jg nothing peculiar. Let’s see what

J-14they say about something that really is weird.”

As Mike slowly shuffled along the perfectly even wall toward the entrance hole, his foot touched something that skidded several inches away. Glancing over, he noticed that Joe had pulled back to let him through the hole. Without looking down, Mike swept the floor with his fingers until he touched a small round, box-like object which he lifted quickly and dropped into his jacket pocket, where it rested unusually warm against his side.

Three nights later, when Mike Pandora reported for the midnight shift, the supervisor met him at the gate.

He said, “The president of the company wants to see you in his downtown office. He sent his driver and his car.”

During the entire ride to town the driver said nothing. In the modern building, so clean and so quiet—so different from the coal mines—a pretty red-haired secretary ushered Mike into the office where the president sat behind an immense wooden desk. With the president was Joe and a stranger in a blue suit. All three stared at Mike.

After an uncomfortable silence, the stranger spoke.

“My name is Legion. I’m the federal mine inspector in this area.”

Mike asked, “You’re investigating the computer laboratory we found?”

“Now, nobody’s certain that what you found is a laboratory. We’ve had engineers here from Houston, and we even brought over a professor of biology and a crew from the state university to see if they could discover any forms of living matter down there.” The inspector leaned forward. “There is absolutely nothing down there. The engineers say that the computers aren’t working, and the biology team couldn’t find anything living in the chamber. We’re sealing it up and forgetting about it. Everybody is forgetting about it.”

Mike looked around, confused. “But that’s wrong. There is something alive in there.”

The president spoke carefully, breaking off each word as if it were frozen. “It’s a matter of

national secrecy, son. We can’t afford to oppose the government on this.”

Grinning weakly, Mike said, “I don’t seem to have much of a choice, do I?”

The federal inspector nodded definitely. “You don’t have any choice.”

My driver will take you home, son,” said the president, rising from his oversized chair. “Take the night off and forget all this foolishness.”

Mike wondered if the president had ever been in his office at midnight before. Or had his secretary and driver working, too. The president seemed to be taking “all this foolishness” fairly seriously. Mike decided that the others might forget, but then the others didn’t know about his little round black box.

After the driver had dropped him at his home, Mike slowly mounted the stairway inside the dark house, entered his bedroom and softly closed the door. On the bureau top rested the innocent- looking black box. Anxious to get it into his hands again, Mike paid little attention to its glowing appearance.

Over and over, he rotated the round box, probing with eager fingers, examining the surface for openings, or for the slightest hairline crack in the egg-smooth covering. Almost as if reading his thoughts, a rattling sound began to emanate from the object, followed by a shivering and rustling movement as the seamless surface of the black box began to splinter.

Remembering the underground chamber and his panic, Mike suddenly wanted to stop this, but inside there was something shimmering, something growing, something alive. . .

M i k e P a n d o r a ' s B o x

COMPREHENSION CHECK

J-14

Preview Answer:a. Mike and Joe worked in the coal mine

from midnight to eight in the morning.

11.i

Deveiopyourown sentences usinganyfourkey words foundin the boxort the fb/bwhgpage.


19


The “ hoot owl” shift took place between____ a. midnight and eight in the morning.____ b. eight in the morning and four in the

afternoon.____ c. four in the afternoon and twelve mid

night.____ d. the summer and fall months.

In the chamber, M ike found____ a. poisonous gas.____ b. a kind o f laboratory.____ c. goldencomputers.____ d. mountains o f coal.

Before M ike left the chamber, he____ a. took one last look around.____ b. snapped a picture.____ c. insisted that Joe enter.____ d. scooped up the small box.

Three nights after his discovery, M ike arrived for work and was met at the gate by the supervisor. Next,____ a. M ike opened the strange box.____ b. M ike was asked to leave the mining

company.____ c. M ike was taken to see the president of

the company.____ d. M ike returned to his home.

The government____ a. did not know about the box in the

chamber.____ b. was honest in its dealings with M ike.____ c. was probably aware o f what was in the

chamber.____ d. did not believe what M ike had told them.

The president of the mining company___ a. took a strong stand against the

government.___ b. went along with the government’s

orders.___ c. was in agreement with Mike Pandora.___ d. intended to explore the chamber

himself.

Mike Pandora___ a. was a curious and determined fellow.___ b. was a disagreeable person.___ c. wanted to become famous.___ d. did not listen to his co-workers.

In the end, the young miner was___ a. anxious to see what was inside the

box.___ b. going to reveal his secret to the world.___ c. interested in being a scientist.___ d. sorry he had taken the box.

Another name for the selection could be___ a. “Life in the Coal Mines.”___ b. “Finding Buried Treasure.”___ c. “The Mysterious Chamber.”___ d. “ Meeting a President. ’ ’

This selection is mainly about___ a. working together in a difficult

environment.___ b. a strange discovery and its

consequences.___ c. an old coal mine.___ d. the life of a coal miner.

J-14

Mike Pandora's BoxVOCABULARY CHECK

aura biology confound deteriorate gaseous radiate


1. Margie’s smile could her warmth and kindness.

2. The well-dressed woman had an of sophistication.

3. The old car began to from rust.

4. The students dissected a frog in the laboratorv.

5. After breathing fumes, the miner fell unconscious

6. An accident will even the best driver.

II. Fill in the puzzle using the key words from the box above.

Down1. an invisible atmosphere3. to spread or move in rays5. made up of gas

Across2. fall apart4. study of living matter6. puzzle or confuse



The Last judgmentJ-15

Learn the Key Words

bereaved

dote

gore

morbid

qualm

tumult

(bi rēvd')

(dōt)

(gôr)

(môr' bid)

(kwӓm)

(tü ' mult)

left desolate and aloneThe children were bereaved by the death o f their parents.

to be too fond of Grandparents will usually dote upon their grandchildren.

blood, particularly clotted bloodThere was only gore and wreckage after the plane crash.

gloomy and depressingTo read and think about nothing but tragedy is morbid.

uneasiness; doubtWhen the children did not arrive home on time, their mother felt a qualm about letting them travel alone.

uproar or commotionThe triple play in the last inning caused a tumult in the bleachers.

Preview:1. Read the title.2. Look at the picture.3. Read the first three paragraphs of the selection.4. Then answer the following question.

You learned from your preview that____a. the marriage took place in the public drinking house.____b. everyone thought the marriage would be a happy one.____c. the celebration continued for one hundred days.____d. the prince did not really love his new bride.


Now read the selection.Read to find out about a tragic mistake.

21

The Last judgment

A place you will read about:

W ales— (walz)— part o f Great Britain.

There are many legends which tell o f masters and their hounds. Among one o f the most popular is the tale o f Prince Llewellyn and his deerhound, Gelert.

During the 12th century, in all of Wales, never was there a more elaborate festivity than the one celebrating the marriage of the handsome and beloved Prince Llewellyn and his fair bride.“ One hundred doves were set in flight with white ribbons streaming, fifty splendid untamed horses were released to run free, and there was music and dancing in the streets for seven days and gights.

After the celebration, almost every person in the public drinking house agreed that the marriage was made in heaven and that the couple would share a lifetime of joy together.

“What harm could possibly come to such a man?” the tavern keeper questioned.

“Granted, he does have a flashing temper, but never was one so handsome, so noble or so just.”

In the kitchen, an old woman sadly shook her head.

“Mind my words,” she whispered to the maid, “their boasts and laughter will be drowned in tears. The dog did howl, just

22 when he put the ring on her

finger! And you saw it for yourself, the hound was facing the setting sun.”

“The hound is but a pup,” the maid reassured her, “no more than a year old. Cheer up ma’am, the little fellow was howling only to piotest the white ribbon tied round his neck.”

The hound had definitely howled, though. Even the bride turned around when she heard it. She knew the dog was waiting for her, and everyone knew that such a howl from a hound could only be an ill omen.

The dog was a deerhound named “Gelert,” a descendant from the Royal Kennel of England. An ancestor of his had been a gift of gratitude to Llewellyn’s family and a descendant of that first hound had been presented to every bride since that day.

“Such a dog would know,” the old woman warned.

The men called the old woman a witch and mocked her prediction. It was true she could tell where to dig a well, and when the rain would come, but what could a water-witch know of royal matters?

Such was the happiness in the

castle those first years, that the seeds of tragedy rotted away, and the omen was almost forgotten. Never before had they seen a dog dote upon a mistress as Gelert did his lady. Like a thread that follows the needle, he was ever at her heel.

The only force that called Gelert from his mistress was the sound of his master’s horn.

The blast of the hunting horn filled Gelert with the savage instinct to kill. There was no keener nose than his in the field, nor fiercer teeth in a fight.

Gelert was a magnificent animal. It was a sight to see the thrill of his excitement in the chase—to watch his great stride in and out of bushes, over fences, across rivers and rocks, or through a maze of hedge and thorns. With his nose sweeping the ground he led the pack; his teeth were the first to rip the wolf. He relished bloody flesh and the hunt.

When the hunt was over, Gelert’s disposition changed. He had a proud step and followed his master with gentle devotion, took food only from his hand, and guarded his door in the night.

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That a man should be blessed with so loving a wife, and such a faithful hound seemed happiness enough, but more was to come. A baby was expected in September.

Early in August, Gelert and his master were returning from their hunt with a bag of fat birds and a string of plump rabbits, when a servant from the castle met them excitedly.

Waving his cap, he shouted, “The baby has come early! You have a son!”

Then the servant lowered his head and continued, “Your wife is dead.”

Each tragedy is accompanied by a blessing, so any happiness is always vanquished by the fearful dread of another unexpected doom. Llewellyn was so bereaved by the tragedy, that the happiness which should have been his, was diminished by an overwhelming fear of losing the infant, too.

Nothing in the castle was the same, all life seemed to leave it, and even voices were hushed as

Llewellyn grieved in sullen silence.in the evenings, Gelert no

longer frisked playfully, but, rather, spent the weary hours resting his head gently, first upon his master’s knee, then upon his regal boot.

During the day, Gelert doted upon the baby as he had the mother. Always, he lay near the tiny infant, unless he heard the sound of the horn.

All of the village was bereaved and joined Llewellyn in his mourning. In their sadness,they recalled the ill omen. Men sat in silence, while women wept openly, remembering the howls they heard.

The withered old witch in the kitchen of the inn spoke of another omen.

“Don’t forget, the hound howled twice.”

“Be gone!” the tavern keeper shouted. “Rejoice, and count our blessings. For the Prince has an heir!”

“Rejoice as you will,” said the maid, “the old woman has an instinct as knowing as the hound’s.”

“The witch is a morbid old woman. We drink to our Prince and his heir!”

And though the village drank, the fear grew with each passing day.

Then one day, Llewellyn blew his horn, and Gelert did not come. He blew again and still Gelert was nowhere to be found.

“He must be in the field,” Llewellyn said, “ Come,we will find him.”

They proceeded to the field. It was a most gloomy day—rain had left the marsh boggy and the mist was so heavy that it was almost impossible to see the ground. Llewellyn, who was an expert marksman, let three birds fly free. Without his favorite hound, the hunt was dull and boring. There was a qualm in Llewellyn’s mind that kept his thoughts from his hunting. He kept wondering where Gelert could be. Suddenly, he turned his horse and headed home.

No sooner was he on the castle grounds, then Gelert came bounding out of the door. Gelert and Llewellyn were obviously glad to see each other, but as Llewellyn was able to get a closer look, he saw that Gelert was covered with blood.

The sight shot fear through Llewellyn’s body and morbid thoughts through his brain. He bolted into the house to find the nurse in tears, her arm cut and bleeding. She was unable to control herself and was unable to speak. Llewellyn did not hesitate, but ran into his son’s room. The sight that greeted his eyes staggered him. His thoughts were in a tumult.

The room looked as if it had been ransacked—furniture and toys were scattered all over, the sheets on the crib were torn, even the curtains were in shreds. The crib was overturned and the infant was gone. For one brief moment, the entire house was silent.

In his panic, Llewellyn’s gaze fell upon Gelert. The dog was covered with the same gore that was in the room, and blood was dripping from his powerful jaw. Llewellyn had seen Gelert in action on the hunt and he knew how the animal relished blood. Llewellyn then realized that when Gelert heard the horn that day and did not come, it was because he had gone mad and attacked and devoured the infant.

His mind still in a tumult and only wanting revenge, Llewellyn reached for his sword and in one

swift, sure move, thrust it through Gelert’s chest. He heard the agony of that traitor’s gruesome wail and was comforted.

Then, Llewellyn heard the yawning cry of an infant. It was coming from under the blood- soaked blankets. There, Llewellyn found his son, covered with blood, but alive and well. Next to him lay the body of an enormous wolf, killed by Gelert.

The qualm of Llewellyn’s conscience put the morbid picture of Gelert in his memory every day, and during the night he awoke to the horrible alarm of that last pitiful wail. He never looked upon his son without remorse.

There was a meadow Gelert especially favored when they hunted, and there alongside the bending river, Llewellyn buried his faithful companion. He stacked stones around and over him to create a proper monument, then drove that wretched sword into the center so that it would never kill again.

Years later, a little village grew on that meadow, and it was named Beddgelert, a Welch word meaning, ‘Grave of Gelert.’

If you should go to Beddgelert today, where the river bends,you will find a sculpture of the hound.He stands high on the pedestal, to express man’s remorse in harming his most faithful companion.

J-15

J-15

the Last judgmentCOMPREHENSION CHECK


11.1

Developyourown sentences using any four key words found in the box on the foBowrigpage.


24

Preview Answer:b. everyone thought the marriage would

be a happy one.

Gelert was covered with blood because he___ a. had been in a horrible fight with a deer.___ b. was struck by his master’s sword.___ c. had killed a wolf while defending the

baby.___ d. had attacked the maid in the baby’s room.

The prince was___ a. justified in suspecting Gelert of the

vicious act.___ b. unaffected by the loss of his wife and his

hound.___ c. totally preoccupied with hunting.___ d. too quick to make a judgment about

Gelert’s guilt.

After the death of Gelert,___ a. the townspeople had little respect for the

prince.___ b. the prince was a changed man.___ c. killing became part of the prince’s life.___ d. no one would work at the palace.

Another name for this selection could be___ a. “The Wedding Party.”___ b. “Joy in the Palace.”___ c. “The Hunt”___ d. “Too Quick to Act.”

This selection is mainly about___ a. the effects of grief on an individual.___ b. how people predict the future.___ c. looking for a witch in a small town.___ d. how unreliable dogs are as pets.

The old woman predicted an ill fate would befall the couple because the___ a. prince and the princess were ill suited.___ b. hound howled twice at the wedding

ceremony.___ c. the princess did not want the dog.___ d. the horses could not be captured.

) Gelert___ a. was a descendant of a poor family.___ b. was very jealous of the new baby in the

palace.___ c. was an exceptionally unusual animal.___ d. did not give his loyalty to anyone but the

baby.

The prince’s first sorrow was the death of his___ a. wife.___ b. child.___ c. dog.___ d. horse.

To counteract the loss of the princess, the townspeople___ a. visited the prince and brought gifts for

Gelert.___ b. celebrated the arrival of the prince’s heir.___ c. mourned outside of the castle for many

months.___ d. had a joyous parade through the town.

First, the prince saw Gelert covered with blood. Then, he encountered the hysterical nurse. Next,___ a. he ran to his son’s room.____ b. he killed Gelert.___ c. he struck the incompetent woman.___ d. he found the baby under the blankets.

the Last judgmentVOCABULARY CHECK

bereaved dote gore morbid qualm tumult


a. left desolate and aloneb. to be too fond of

c. blood

d. gloomy, depressing

e. uneasiness; doubt

f. uproar; commotion



1. Following the death of his wife, the Prince behaved in a______________________ manner.

2. The______________________ widow mourned the death of her husband.

3. The thief didn’t have a______________________ about taking the diamond necklace.

4. It is not healthy to______________________ over every single action of a child.

5. During the battle there was much______________________ and terrifying cries of pain.

6. The______________________ during the robbery caused the woman to faint.

II. Spell out the key words by decoding the numbers. Then match each one with the correct definition.

a b d e g i l m o q r t u v

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14

A B

____1. 3-9-12-4

____2. 10-13-1-7-8

____3. 12-13-8-13-7-12

____4. 2-4-11-4-1-14-4-3

____5. 5-9-11-4

____6. 8-9-11-2-6-3

J-16

feasible

gala

incorporate

stagnant

(em bel' ish)

(fē zә bә l)

(gal' ә )

(in kôr ' pә rāt)

(stag' nә nt)

acting in an odd way; out of the ordinary Many people consider my Uncle Carl eccentric, simply because he lets his chickens run around inside the house.

decorate or adorn; add detail to She decided to embellish the gown with tiny satin bows at the bottom.

suitable; possibleYour plan to eliminate taxes sounds like a wonderful idea, but do you think it’s feasible?

festive; a festive occasionThe gala opening o f an expensive restaurant attracted the most important people in town.

include; combine into one group Perhaps Professor Hopkins can incorporate some o f his ideas into his upcoming book o f essays.

not flowing; foul from standing still An old boot lay at the edge o f the slimy, stagnant lagoon.


You learned from your preview that___ a. Abbott Kinney used to roller-skate down Venice walk.___ b. Abbott Kinney was the owner of the Los Angeles

Pacific Railroad.___ c. Abbott Kinney was a cigarette tycoon who invented

the horseless carriage.___ d. Abbott Kinney was a wealthy businessman whose

dream was to build a beachfront community similar to Venice, Italy.


Now read the selection.Read to find out about a dream that became a reality.

26

eccentric

embellish

(ek sen' trik)

Learn the Key Words

Days of venice

The early 1900’s were a time o f dreams, fantasy and a carefree attitude. Abbott Kinney was among the dreamers o f the era, and he sought to create an entire community exactly like Venice, Italy.A smiling, bearded man roller-

skates down Venice Walk, his grey- streaked, shoulder-length hair catching the ocean breeze, and his fingers busy strumming the guitar that is slung across his shoulder. He zigzags around a couple of tanned, muscular joggers who don’t even raise an eyebrow.~ In most places, this fellow would be considered eccentric, but in Venice, California—well, let’s just say people around Venice know of its outrageous history jnd are prepared for anything.

It all started in 1904. Some men were driving horseless carriages, others were building flying machines, and a cigarette tycoon named Abbott Kinney wanted to build the Venice of America.

This wealthy businessman planned to develop a beachfront community that had recently become accessible by the Los Angeles Pacific Railroad. The marshy site reminded him of Venice, Italy. He planned to build a complex of narrow canals which would have the same basic function as a highway system. His vision was a community inspired

I both architecturally and culturally [by the Italian Renaissance.

Some called it a crazy dream, but Abbott Kinney had the money and the determination to make his plan feasible.

On August 15, 1904, a crew of workers and their teams of horses began digging the four-foot deep, seventy-foot wide, half-mile long canal that was to be known as the Grand Canal. By September, other crews had constructed a 1700-foot pier, and were laying foundations for the electric power plant.

On the pier, work was progressing on the Ship Hotel and on a futuristic auditorium where Kinney was planning his summer assembly, which would offer the best of modern culture.

With spring, came sudden disaster. Stormy seas, the heaviest in a generation, wrecked the pier and severely damaged the auditorium and several other buildings. An undaunted Abbott Kinney immediately began construction on a barrier that would lessen the impact of the waves.

As the summer approached, Kinney stepped up repairs on the

buildings and had the pier rebuilt. The auditorium, which seated 3,600 people, was constructed in only twenty-eight days.

On June 30th, Venice’s eccentric founder opened the flood gates to the pipes extending hundreds of feet into the Pacific Ocean. Salt water rushed into the lagoon surrounding the canal network.

On Independence Day, 1905,40,000 people poured into Venice for its gala opening. They were greeted by the lively sounds of a seventy-five piece Italian band that was playing by the pier.

Visitors strolled along the two blocks of column-lined streets, full of arcades and vendors, that connected the lagoon to the beach. The exteriors of Kinney’s stone buildings were embellished with sculptures in the Italian tradition. The buildings’ upper floors extended over walkways, providing shade.

Twenty-four gondoliers, brought over from Italy, of course, rowed the enchanted visitors through the network of canals. Swimming and diving contests took place in the lagoon. On the pier, music

Days of Venice

and speeches kept onlookers entertained. And at night,a brilliant fireworks display exploded overhead, its reflection glowing in the still waters of the lagoon.

During that gala summer of1905, Kinney realized that his dream was not to come true, after all. People were drawn to the beach and amusement areas more than to the cultural offerings, and, for the most part, they ignored the well-known speakers and performers he featured. The Chicago Symphony, and even the great actress, Sara Bernhardt, failed to attract patrons.

Since the Venice of culture was not financially feasible, Kinney would have to alter his original dream and incorporate simpler tastes to please the residents and summer tourists.

By autumn, he had embellished his plan with amusement rides and other diversions imported from the Portland World’s Fair.

In January, 1906, eleven new businesses opened up at the edge of the lagoon, developing the new honky-tonk atmosphere. Carnival barkers outrageously described their sideshows to passing visitors, luring them in to see “Egyptian Mummies,” and human freaks like Chiquita, billed as the world’s smallest woman.

The serenity of the canals was broken by a newly installed miniature railroad system, alternate transportation for those who felt queasy on a boat. The small train crossed over the graceful bridges that spanned the canals. The ride cost a nickel and the public loved it.

By 1907, the Kinney Company had replaced a temporary tent city with houses. Small bungalows and villas rented for thirty-five dollars a month. Larger cottages owned by other business people often rented for “outrageous” sums like seventy to one hundred dollars a month!

As time went on, money problems began to crop up. The network’s single outlet to the sea failed to circulate water properly, and by 1912,the State Board of Health had already condemned the canals as a public health hazard. The sewage system was faulty, the fire protection system didn’t work, and the beachfront

J-16was eroding badly. Every spring, the sea ravaged some part of the waterfront, but every summer the resort was ready to take in more crowds.

And the crowds surged in, eager to see Abbott Kinney’s latest novelties. In the second decade of this century, Venice boasted three roller coasters, including the world-renowned “Race Through The Clouds” that stood next to the lagoon. For a few cents, you could take a ride on a real camel. America’s first bathing-beauty contest started as a promotional stunt for a local newspaper. Tourists could browse in shops that offered everything from mother-of-pearl necklaces to Italian statues. Vendors sold ice cream, candy apples, cream puffs and cotton candy.

As the 20th century took hold of America, Venice incorporated more machines into its territory.It built its own Grand Prix racing course, the first race attracting60,000 people. In the skies overhead, daredevils performed flying stunts in their biplanes, landing (if they were lucky) at the new Venice airport, built in 1914.

Just as quickly as it had grown, the tide of popularity fell back after the first World War. Radio, motion pictures and the growing ownership of automobiles suddenly began to claim the public’s entertainment dollar. Kinney’s amusement, rides were losing their appeal.

In the next few years, Venice developed into more of a residential area. Although, by 1920 it already had five public schools and several churches, the community lacked stability because of the debts Abbott Kinney had accumulated over the years. The dreamer himself died on November 4, 1920.

Residents were to become even more disturbed the following month. Five days before Christmas, fire raced through a dance hall, destroying Ship’s cafe', the auditorium, aquarium and every single amusement ride.

Kinney’s son, Thornton, managed to have the section rebuilt for the following summer despite difficulties in getting financial backers. The early twenties saw Venice as a playground for Hollywood stars. It was an era of contrasts: wild

parties and municipal scandals, lavish beach houses and underworld intrigue. It was the blazing sunset of Kinney’s dream.

Now an automobile crisis began to plague Venice. The original blueprint had not foreseen the traffic congestion and parking problem. In addition, sewage disposal was becoming increasingly dangerous and there was an undependable supply of fresh water. The year 1924 brought a second fire which leveled not only the pier,but much of the business district. With two million dollars damage, repairs would not be completed by the summer. In fact, Venice would never look the same again.

On a summer’s day, five years later, when trucks pulled up beside Coral Canal, now Main Street, to dump the first loads of fill, over a hundred protesters immediately jumped into the drained canal, trying in vain to shovel out the dirt. A few canals south of what is now Venice Boulevard were left with their stagnant waters intact.

In the succeeding decades, Kinney’s amusement pier was dismantled and by the 1960’s, building - code laws required that most of Venice’s architecture be torn apart. However, tourists and residents still can stroll under many of the original arcades. On the few remaining canals, children throw crumbs to fleets of ducks that sail under the graceful stone bridges.

Community groups are fighting for municipal funds to clean out the stagnant canals and bring back elements of the charm Venice once boasted. And on weekends, Venice’s boardwalk is crowded with visitors, vendors, artists and indescribable eccentrics, all paying tribute to the dream of Abbott Kinney.

COMPREHENSION CHECK


1. Abbott Kinney’s true dream could not be realized because___ a. he did not have the financial backing.___ b. the plans were faulty.___ c. the public was not culturally oriented.___ d. his son did not want to work with him.

Venice, California was___ a. modeled after the city of Venice, Italy.___ b. designed according to the plans of

Venicetto Buonarotti, an Italian architect.___ c. not accepted by the wealthy and the

famous.___ d. to remain just an entertainment center.

The men that rowed the boats through the channels were called___ a. fishermen.___ b. performers.___ c. vikings.___ d. gondoliers.

First, Kinney opened Venice as a cultural center. Then, he added on an amusement area. Next,___ a. a storm destroyed the pier and the

auditorium.___ b. businesses opened at the edge of the lagoon.___ c. tourists stopped coming to the area.___ d. his son took over with a new plan.

J-16

Preview Answer:d. Abbott Kinney was a wealthy business

man whose dream was to build a beachfront community similar to Venice, Italy.

5. According to the selection, which of the following statements is not true?___ a. America’s first bathing-beauty contest

took place in Venice.___ b. Venice had faulty sewage and fire con

trol systems.___ c. Motion pictures and radio affected the

popularity of Venice.___ d. By 1920, Venice was no longer a center

of recreation and amusement.

The city that Kinney hoped to create___ a. would have been of little value to

Americans.___ b. would have had little to offer the

prospective resident.___ c. is currently being recognized for

what it was meant to be.___ d. was never meant to serve a truly

worthwhile purpose.

The people of Kinney’s time___ a. respected Kinney for his goals.___ b. did not appreciate Kinney’s dream.___ c. loved the cultural environment that

Venice offered.___ d. were angered by the addition of the

rides.

Abbott Kinney was___ a. a foolish and impractical man.___ b. not a competent businessman.___ c. a man with good intentions and some

thing to offer.___ d. too old to have begun such a de

manding project.

Another name for this selection could be___ a. “Dreams Go Broke.”___ b. ‘ ‘The Realization of a Dream. ’ ’___ c. “Settlers Go West.”___ d. ‘ ‘The Quality of Culture. ’ ’

This selection is mainly about___ a. the people of the 1900’s.___ b. a man who pursued a dream.___ c. the love of a son for his father.___ d. bringing gondoliers to America.

11. D evelop your own sentences using any four key words found in th e box on the fbffowingpage.i

_

_

_


29

Days of venice

VOCABULARY CHECK

eccentric embellish feasible gala incorporate stagnant

I. Fill in the blank in each sentence with the correct keyword from the box above.

1. Lack of rainfall was making many of the smaller lakes and ponds_____________________

2. A_____________________celebration marked the opening of a new major motion picture.

3. Paul would often_____________________a story to make it more entertaining.

4. I would like to_____________________your ideas into my story.

5. It is_____________________to accommodate three hundred people in a room as large as this one.

6. Because my aunt lives in the memories of the past, her behavior is quite_____________________.

II. Fill in the blanks in the paragraph below with the key words. When you have finished, you will have a short account o f the story.

Abbott Kinney’s dream was an_____________________one. He believed that it was

_____________________to bring the culture and atmosphere of Venice, Italy, to America.

A_____________________event marked the opening of the California city called Venice after

its model. But the people of the time were not interested in the cultural aspects of Kinney’s

dream, so he was forced to_____________________other attractions into his plan. Years later,

the water in the canals of Venice would lay_____________________and many of the things

that served to_____________________the city would be gone.



Days of veniceJ-16

NIGHTWALKERS j-i

Learn the Key Words

chronic (kron' ik)

exploit

liability

malady

psychiatrist

rational

(ek' sploit)

(li ә b il' ә tē)

(mal' ә de)

(si k i ' ә trist)

(rash' ә nә l)

lasting a long time and recurring frequently She complained to her doctor about her chronic headaches.

1. a daring deed or featThe author wrote about the unusual exploit o f the pioneer.

2. to use a person without proper compensationSally felt that the company she worked for would try to exploit her.

something that works to one’s disadvantage; a hindrance Not being able to read well was a liability on his new job.

a disease or disorder Measles is a malady that affects children more often than adults.

a doctor who treats people’s mental illness He has been much happier since he consulted a psychiatrist about his fears.

based on reason; making senseThere is no rational explanation for what occurred in the haunted house.


You learned from your preview that____a. Marcia Wollner drove for twenty-three miles while

she was sound asleep.____b. Marcia Wollner drove her own car out of the garage.____c. In Wisconsin, policemen patrol the streets in civilian

clothing.____d. the policeman arrested the man walking around in

only his underclothes.Turn to the Comprehension Check on page 34 for the right answer.

Now read the selection„Read to find out about some people with strange habits.

J-17NIGHTWALKERS

The nightwalkers are people like you and me. They are perfectly ‘'normal” during the day, but at night. ..Marcia Wollner woke up at

three o’clock in the morning and found herself on a highway at the wheel of an automobile she did not know how to drive. A chronic sleepwalker, Marcia had risen in the middle of the night, gone to the garage, and climbed into her husband’s automobile which had a manual shift, though her own car was automatic. After driving twenty-three miles, Marcia awoke in utter astonishment, managed to stop the car, and frantically summoned her husband to come jyid rescue her.

In Wisconsin, a male sleepwalker was strolling along the street at midnight, wearing only his underclothes, when he was halted by a policeman. “Why don’t you let me sleep?” he complained. “Can’t you see I’m tired?” And he stumbled on along the street, still asleep, leaving a totally bewildered police- jnan gaping after him.

A strange spectacle confronted firemen in Oklahoma one night. A naked woman was sitting in a tree, sound asleep, plucking the leaves off one by one while a crowd of spectators gathered,

staring at her; 1 amazement. Her name was lone Weir, and she was a chronic sleepwalker, so her husband was accustomed to her nightly exploits and her tendency to appear in unexpected places. When neighbors called him, he climbed the tree, wrapped his shirt around lone, and dropped her into the net which firemen had spread underneath the tree.

Weird mental feats are performed by sleepwalkers, too. A completely illiterate woman used to recite long passages of ancient Greek poetry in her sleep. She had once worked as the maid for a minister who read Greek literature out loud, and she had absorbed the words without knowing it.

Other sleepwalkers have written letters, carried on rational conversations, baked cakes, played the piano or have gone shopping while they were asleep. An army officer used to sleepwalk on his hands on the roof of his house. A Florida man often sleepwalked to the kitchen of his mother’s home next door and ate a dozen bananas from her refrigerator. Then he returned to bed.

The situation was somewhat different when 14-year-old Donald Elliott sleepwalked to the refrigerator, took out something to eat, and strolled out the back door. Unfortunately, he happened to be in a camper that was traveling fifty miles an hour along a busy highway. Miraculously, he suffered only a few cuts and bruises.

These cases are not as exceptional as you might think, since more than four million people walk in their sleep and most often they are children between the ages of five and twelve. Usually a sleepwalker’s eyes are open, his facial expression is blank, his movements rigid, and his behavior may seem perfectly rational. He does not extend his arms in front of him, as some people believe. If he says anything, it is usually a question like “Have you got it?” or “Where is it?” and when somebody addresses him, the typical sleepwalker answers with just one or two syllables, as if annoyed at being interrupted.

What causes this strange habit? Sleepwalking may be a symptom of a serious malady, either men

tal or physical, or it may be hereditary. Such was the case of a German teacher who came from a family of sleepwalkers and who married his cousin. Their children inherited the liability, and the whole family would gather around the dinner table in the middle of the night, all of them still sound asleep. Once, when a daughter knocked over a chair and broke a mirror, all of them woke up, realized they had been sleepwalking and sought the help of a psychiatrist.

Most often,sleepwalking is the result of emotional problems. When a second child is born in a family, the older child may walk to his parents’ room because he feeis jealous or lonely and is afraid of losing their love. An adult may walk in his sleep after the loss of a job, promotion to a more responsible job, the death of a relative, or a financial problem.

A chronic sleepwalker usually has deep anxieties that have been suppressed from his conscious mind. By day, he may seem happy and well adjusted, but at night, he may engage in such exploits as breaking dishes and furniture, or even committing crimes.

A woman in Switzerland used to wonder why her feet were dirty when she woke up every morning and there appeared to be no rational explanation. One night the police arrested her in the local cemetery with a shovel in her hand. She had been robbing Araves in her sleep!

In New Jersey, an expert swimmer sleepwalked to his bedroom window, assumed the position of a diver, and plunged down to the concrete steps below. He died from a fractured skull.

A teen-age girl in Kentucky had a nightmare about burglars invading her house, so she fetched a couple of revolvers from a cabinet and fired them, injuring her mother. Another woman dreamed that her house was on fire and so, while asleep, she got up and threw all of her furniture out of the window.

Psychiatrists say that these are not ordinary cases of sleepwalking. Individuals who commit such violent acts in their sleep are often suffering from a mental illness.

To stop sleepwalking, some

doctors say that a person who has this liability should take a brisk walk after dinner and should avoid watching violent movies or reading exciting stories late at night.

Others recommend rigging up devices that will wake the sleepwalker, such as a dish of cold water placed so tha; he will step into it when he or she gets out of bed. This is often successful at first, but the sleepwalker quickly learns to avoid such obstacles by climbing out on the opposite side of the bed.

Usually the most effective way to prevent sleepwalking is counseling by a doctor. Only when hidden anxieties are revealed and faced can the chronic sleepwalker be cured of his strange malady.

If no cure works, sleepwalkers who commit violent acts must be guarded at night because of their tendency to hurt people. This happened in one of the oddest cases in sleepwalking history.

Some years ago, a body was found on the beach in Le Havre, France. The police could find no witness and no motive, so, since the great detective Robert Ledru was vacationing in the area, they asked for his help.

Ledru was glad to oblige. He visited the scene of the murder and inspected it very carefully. There were only a couple of clues: the bullet which apparently had killed the victim, and a footprint in the sand. The bullet originated from a Luger, a very common variety of gun. Even Ledn’ himself possessed a Luger, so that was not very revealing.

Ledru transferred his attention to the footprint, but that appeared as if it were not going to prove much either, as the killer had not been wearing shoes; only socks. As Ledru studied the footprint with a magnifying glass, he noticed something odd. There was a hole in the murderer’s sock. He then remembered that there was a hole in one of his socks as well.

The detective removed his right shoe, stepped on the sand, and examined his own footprint. It matched the other exactly. With growing uneasiness, Ledru remembered that his socks, which he wore to bed on chilly nights, had been soaking wet the morning

after the murder.Ledru removed the bullet that

had been discovered on the beach, hurried anxiously back to his hotel room, and shot his own gun into the pillow. Then he compared the pattern of grooves from the two bullets, and as he expected and dreaded, they were identical. He had discovered the murderer.

Detective Robert Ledru had committed the murder while walking in his sleep, so he turned himself into the Le Havre police, who at first refused to believe his story, but finally had to, in view of the overwhelming evidence. Ledru was not charged with murder. He was still respected as a brilliant detective, but was retired from the police department with a full pension. He spent the rest of his life in a quiet cottage in a rural area, with a guard to watch him while he slept.

J-17

NIGHTWALKERSCOMPREHENSION CHECK


1. lone Weir___ a. was fully aware of what she was doing.___ b. did not want to go back home.___ c. was not aware of what was happening.___ d. had never gone out in that condition

before.

J-17

Preview Answer:a. Marcia Wollner drove for twenty-three

miles while she was sound asleep.

11. Deveiopyourown sentences usinganyfour key words foundin the boxon the fb/fowtigpage.i_

_

34


Sleepwalkers___ a. only accomplish physical feats.___ b. never leave the safety of their homes.___ c. accomplish physical as well as mental

feats.___ d. do not talk in their sleep.

Sleepwalking___ a. is very rare in America.___ b. should not be taken seriously.___ c. is a perfectly normal thing.___ d. should be given special attention.

People who walk in their sleep___ a. will never hurt another person while they

are asleep.___ b. may have inherited the tendency.___ c. enjoy a lot of exercise in the evening.___ d. are not bothered by scary movies or

books.

During the day, a chronic sleepwalker___ a. may seem perfectly happy and well

adjusted.___ b. will remember everything that happened

the night before.___ c. will behave exactly as though they were

still asleep.___ d. performs his or her job while still asleep.

To avoid sleepwalking, a person might try___ a. staying in bed all day and all night

until cured.___ b. taking a walk after dinner.___ c. placing a dish of cold water near the

door of the bedroom.___ d. consulting another family member

about his trouble.Counseling by a doctor___ a. is the only sure cure for a sleepwalker.___ b. has not proven effective in helping

sleepwalkers.___ c. would probably prove to be a valuable

aid for a sleepwalker.___ d. should only be considered if the sleep

walker suggests it.

First, Robert Ledru noticed that the bullet was from a Luger. Then, he determined that the footprint was somewhat unusual. Next,___ a. he discovered a hole in the murderer’s

sock.___ b. he found that the bullet matched the

one from his gun.___ c. he realized that his socks were full of sand.___ d. he turned himself in to the LeHavre police.Another name for this selection could be___ a. “Davtime Delight.”___ b. “Violent Crimes.”___ c. ‘ ‘The Night Prowlers. ’ ’___ d. “Help is on the Way.”

This selection is mainly about___ a. the cures for sleepwalking.___ b. a strange and bewildering state of

mind.___ c. how the police solve difficult crimes.___ d. sleeping during working hours.

NIGHTWALKERSj

VOCABULARY CHECK

chronic exploit liability malady psychiatrist rational


1. The detective searched for a______________________ explanation for the bizarre crime.

2. The absence of a stop sign on the busy corner is a---------------------------------- .

3. Ann was known as a______________________ complainer because she was never satisfied with

anything.

4. Sometimes sleepwalking is an unexplained---------------------------------- .

5. The visiting______________________ spoke to the group about their feelings and anxieties.

6. The ski instructor told his fans about his daring_______________________on the snow-covered

mountain.

II. Find the key words hidden below. They may be written from left to right or from top to bottom. Circle each one. A sample has been done for you.


This page may be reproduced for classroom us~.

J-18

An Act of Vengeance

Learn the Key Words

allure ( ә lür')

bauble

betroth

enthrall

exotic

ravish

(bô ' bәl)

(bi trōTH)

(en thrôl')

(eg zot' ik)

(rav' ish)

strongly appealing; to temptTom found it hard to resist the allure o f a new car.

a bright ornament; a trinketThe wealthy woman considered the large emerald mere y a bauble.

to engage to marryThe young couple announced that they would betroth at the end o f June.

to fascinate or charm; to make a slave of Helen’s beauty would enthrall any man who saw her.

strangely beautiful; a foreign thingThe exotic treasures o f the Orient were tempting to the tourists.

to seiz^ by force; to overcome with joy or delight Her unusual beauty could ravish even the most cynical observer.

Preview:1. Read the title.2. Look at the picture.3. Read the first five paragraphs of the selection.4. Then answer the following question.

You learned from your preview that____a. the Goddess of Strife was preparing a feast for the

gods on Mount Olympus.____b. the Goddess of Strife was bitter and resentful because

she was not invited to the feast.____c. the Goddess of Strife offered the golden apple to Hera,

Athena, and Aphrodite, but they all refused it.____d. the Goddess of Strife hoped that if she brought the

golden apple as a gift,the gods would invite her to the feast.


Now read the selection.Read to find out about some mythological Greek gods and their problems.

36

A n A ct o f V en g ean ceJ-18

Revenge among mortals can be a serious enough matter, but when the gods of Olympus begin to show their anger, anything can happen!

The Greek gods assembled one afternoon in their magnificent garden on Mount Olympus to have an enormous feast. All had been invited with the exception of one: the malicious Goddess of Strife was not included. When she discovered that the others had planned a celebration without her, she was furious and devised a clever plan to have her jievenge.

The wicked goddess created a golden apple, and on the apple she engraved, “To the fairest.” Then, she crept to the edge of the garden and hid behind a cypress tree, observing the other gods and goddesses strolling in the sunshine among the exotic flowers, talking happily and drinking wine from golden goblets. The trouble-making goddess waited until the three most beautiful and most powerful goddesses on Olympus came near. Then, while the three were in conversation, she rolled the golden apple toward Iheir feet.

Athena, the bright-eyed goddess of wisdom, reached down and grasped the brilliant bauble. “Why, what is this? It says, ‘To

ihe fairest.’”“Obviously it was intended for

me,” said Hera, the wife of Zeus and goddess of civilization. She snatched the apple from Athena’s hands.— “Everyone knows that I am the fairest,” said Aphrodite, goddess of love. “Give it to me. Tt is mine.”

The other gods and goddesses clustered around to discover the reason behind the dispute. In the argument that followed, none detected the Goddess of Strife sneaking quietly away, laughing to herself over the disorder she had created. The brutal war god believed the prize belonged to Aphrodite, because he was in love with her. Others thought Athena was more beautiful with her shining eyes and raven hair, while still others considered that the apple was intended for Hera because not only was she attractive, but as Zeus’s wife she was the most influential of the goddesses . Finally, they all summoned Zeus to use his authority to make the decision.

Zeus, leader of the gods, was thoughtful. He realized that he

must be careful, for whatever selection was made, the two jealous losers would remain dangerous enemies of whomever made the decision.

Finally, Zeus made his declaration.

“Each of you is so beautiful that you ravish everyone who looks upon you. But additionally, your other characteristics, your lovely voices and affectionate natures, so enthrall all who know and admire you, that it would be impossible for any of the gods to make the selection. Since the apple says, ‘To the fairest,’ we must have a judge who will not be influenced by the allure of your friendship. I shall choose a mortal to decide.”

At least, Zeus thought, only a mortal will be lost and I will be free of the malicious anger of the two losers. A god would have to endure it forever.

The mortal whom Zeus selected to judge the beauty competition, was Paris, son of the King of Troy. The messenger of the gods was sent to Troy to advise Paris that Hera, Athena, and Aphrodite would appear to him on Mount

Ida near Troy where the contest was to take place the following afternoon. That evening,each of the three rival goddesses secretly traveled to Troy and entered the chamber where Paris was sleeping. Hera came first and offered to make Paris the ruler of a great civilization if he awarded her the golden apple. No sooner had Hera departed then Athena crept in and informed Paris that she would make him the wisest man in the world if she were given the prize. Afterwards, Aphrodite came and told Paris that if he selected her, she would give him the most beautiful woman in the world for his wife.

When he was alone again, Paris thought over the choices which had been presented to him. As son of the King of Troy, he expected to inherit his father’s kingdom so,therefore,he had no ambition to rule another great city. Like most foolish men, he already imagined that he was wise, so he had no desire for additional wisdom. But to possess the most beautiful woman in the world in marriage,was a temptation which had great allure. The next afternoon as he judged the beauty competition, he pretended long and careful consideration. Indeed, he was ravished by the attractions of the goddesses and enjoyed the chance to gaze at them, but his decision was already made. He awarded the golden apple to Aphrodite.

As soon as he had an opportunity, Paris whispered to the love goddess, “ I have awarded you the prize. Now how do I get my reward? Remember your promise.”

“The most beautiful woman in the world is Helen, wife of the King of Sparta,” Aphrodite told him. “Go and prepare a vessel for a long voyage. When you have made the preparations, I shall appear to guide you.”

Although Paris did not understand how he could possibly betroth a woman who was already another man’s wife, he obediently accomplished what the goddess had instructed, hiring sailors and preparing a seaworthy ship. When ail was ready, Aphrodite arrived as she had promised and commanded favorable winds to blow. Within three days, they

J-18

3o

entered a port near Sparta, and Aphrodite guided Paris to the palace of the king.

The generous King of Sparta welcomed the traveler from Troy and prepared a royal feast for the visitor. When Helen gracefully entered the banquet hall to take her place beside her husband, Paris was overcome with astonishment. Never, not even among goddesses, had he seen such ravishing beauty. Her golden hair curled softly around her face, and her dark eyes smiled gently. Unable to speak, he knelt before her and placed a small casket of jewels at her feet.

“I see that you admire my wife’s beauty,” the king said. “Every man who looks upon her is as enthralled as you are. Before Helen and I were betrothed, all the kings and varriors of Greece wanted to marry her. Helen’s father, fearing there would be fighting and bloodshed among us, made us sign a blood oath swearing that we would all protect the marriage of whatever man Helen chose.” Paris hardly heard the king. Enchanted by the allure of Helen’s beauty, he gave no thought to the warning that the king’s words implied.

The next morning, the king invited Paris to accompany him on a hunting party, but Paris, eager for the opportunity to be alone with Helen, informed the king that he had to attend to his vessel and his sailors. The king instructed his wife to make their visitor comfortable and to assist him in any way necessary.

When the hunting party had departed, Paris went to Helen and again knelt before her, saying, “Oh fairest one, forgive me for the poor baubles I brought last evening. They are not elegant enough for your beauty or for the kindness you and the king have shown me. Come with me to my ship and select what you desire from the treasures of Troy.”

Helen hesitated, but it was customary for travelers to present gifts of appreciation to the royal family, and besides, she was curious about the exotic jewels Paris had brought from Troy. They walked together to the shore and boarded the ship. Paris immediately took Helen to

the cabin below, and while she was admiring the jewelry, Aphrodite appeared on the deck and gave a signal to the sailors. As the men set the sails and lifted the anchor, the love goddess summoned such a gentle breeze that by the time Helen noticed the motion of the vessel, they were far out to sea—their destination, Troy.

When the king returned from the hunt that evening and discovered that his wife had been stolen away by the treacherous visitor, he sent messengers throughout Greece to the warrior kings who were bound by the oath to protect his marriage to Helen. Aided by the jealous goddesses, Hera and Athena, the Greek kings assembled their armies, prepared stroijg vessels, and sailed for Troy.

And thus began, over three thousand years ago, the most famous battle of the ancient world, a battle that was to rage among gods and mortals for ten years on the windy plains of Troy. This was the revenge of the Goddess of Strife, which all began with a golden apple.

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A n A c t o f V e n g e a n c e

COMPREHENSION CHECK


Preview Answer:b. the Goddess of Strife was bitter and

resentful because she was not invited to the feast.

11. D evelopyour own sentences usinganyfourkey words foundin the boxon the foDowhgpage.i_ _

— . _

— -


39

The Goddess of Strife sought revenge because she___ a. believed she was the most beautiful of all___ b. was angered at not being invited to the

feast.___ c. was saddened at the sudden abduction of

Helen.___ d. lost at an attempt to bribe Paris.

Zeus was___ a. baffled by the difficult situation.___ b. aware of the goddesses' secret plans.___ c. a clever and diplomatic ruler.___ d. a vengeful and angry god.

According to the selection, which of the following goddesses was not in the contest?___ a. Strife.___ b. Aphrodite.___ c. Athena.___ d. Hera.

First, Paris chose Aphrodite as the winner of the contest. Then, he sailed to Sparta. Next,___ a. the ship left Sparta with Helen aboard.___ b. Aphrodite broke her promise to him.___ c. Paris was overwhelmed by the sight of

Helen.___ d. Helen left her husband so that she could

be with Paris forever.

Zeus___ a. dealt fairly with his responsibility.___ b. imagined that a mortal could make a

more objective decision.___ c. knew that his wife was the fairest.___ d. neglected his responsibility by shifting it

to a mortal.

Paris___ a. was a man of little integrity.___ b. had a difficult time deciding which

goddess was the fairest.___ c. was a man of great foresight.___ d. never intended to steal Helen from

the king of Sparta.

The revenge of the Goddess of Strife___ a. was limited to the three fair goddesses___ b. never materialized.___ c. touched many more lives than was

originally intended.___ d. v. as justified.

The result of the scheme involving the golden apple was___ a. feuding among all of the gods.___ b. the downfall of the Spartan Empire.___ c. the resignation of Zeus as leader of

the gods.___ d. a ten-year war.

Another name for this selection could be___ a. “Helen Returns.”___ b. ‘ ‘The Fairest of Them All. ’ ’___ c. “Sparta at War.”___ d. “Helen and Paris.”

This selection is mainly about___ a. people of humility and self-control.___ b. the effect of one event upon another.___ c. the stealing of another man’s wife.___ d. what it is like to be a god.

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An Act of Vengeance

VOCABULARY CHECK

allure bauble betroth enthrall exotic ravish


1. The_______________________of the Caribbean Islands is difficult to resist

2. The music box will_______________________a young and curious child.

3. Her_______________________perfume attracted the attention of every man in the room.

4. The enemy planned to_______________________the village and claim all that it contained.

5. With this beautiful diamond ring, John will_______________________Susan.

6. Karen won a_______________________at the carnival.

II. Unscramble the numbers to spell out the correct key words. Then write the letter o f the correct definition for each on the line next to the word.

a b c e h i 1 n o r s t U V X

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15

A B

1 . 2-4-12-10-9-12-5 a. to tempt

a trinket2. 4-15-9-12-6-3 b.

3. 1-7-7-13-10-4 c. to engage to marry

strangely beautiful

to fascinate or charm

4. 4-8-12-5-10-1-7-7 d.

5. 2-1-13-2-7-4 e.

6. 10-1-14-6-11-5 f. to seize by force or desire

40



The Little GiantLearn the Key Words

compulsion (kә m pul' shәn)

credentials

exasperate

naive

stalwart

tawdry

(kri den' shә ls)

(eg zas' pә rat)

(nӓ ev')

(stôl' wәrt)

(tô ' drē)

a very strong desire; an impulse that is almost irresistible Whenever I get nervous, I have the compulsion to bite my nails.

references; letters showing that a person has thenecessary qualifications

The lawyer showed us his credentials to put us at ease.

to irritate or annoy very much Susan’s brother began to exasperate her when he wouldn ’t let her study.

foolishly simple; unsophisticated Do you think that people who believe in miracles are naive?

steadfast and sturdy; unyieldingThe stalwart warrior continued to shoot arrows, even after he had been wounded.

gaudy;cheapThe bright red walls and thin purple curtains gave the dance hall a decidedly tawdry look.


You learned from your preview that____a. when Carl Laemmle arrived in America from Germany,

he opened the Universal Film Company in Chicago.____b. Carl Laemmle was in his late thirties before he arrived

in America.____c. Carl Laemmle planned to go far in the clothing busi

ness.____d. Carl Laemmle was a middle-aged man when he decided

to start his own business.Turn to the Comprehension Check on page 44 for the right answer.

Now read the selection.Read to find out about a determined and clever man.

19

The Little Giant

Making it in the motion picture business requires determination and brain-power. Making it to the top is even harder.

On February 14, 1884, a five foot-tall, seventeen-year-old boy stumbled off the U.S.S. Neckar, which had just anchored in New York Harbor. The homesick, seasick immigrant, whose only employment credential was a job in a stationery store in his native Germany, never could have imagined that he would someday be known as the man who created the Universal Film empire.— In fact, Carl Laemmle didn’t see his first moving picture until ]ie was thirty-nine.

By this time, he was a family man looking for a solid investment; a hard-working individual whose compulsion to succeed in business had taken him from Manhattan to Chicago, then North Dakota and finally, Oshkosh, Wisconsin. There he had risen to the position of manager of a clothing store by displaying keen salesmanship and a special flair for publicity. For example, to spur business, he offered customers free turkeys for volume purchases.~ However, when hard work did not earn him the raise he expected, an exasperated Laemmle took his

I fa[Pifamily back to Chicago where he planned to start his own business.

He was seriously considering opening a five-and-iime store when chance led him into a nickelodeon. A nickelodeon was usually a store which was converted into a movie theater by adding chairs. The price of admission was five cents and while silent movies were shown, a pianist played suitable background music.

This type of investment looked intriguing. Customers were all paying cash at the door and this was encouraging, for storekeepers often had to give credit. Furthermore, moviegoers walked out empty-handed, leaving the film in the theater, where it could be shown hundreds of times over.

Carl could see that this new form of entertainment was progressing fast, too. In 1903, Edwin S. Porter, an American director, produced the first narrative film, The Great Train Robbery. It was the first to tell a story and it was also eleven minutes long!

Other businessmen considered moving pictures to be a fad, not the sort of venture to be entered

into by a married man with two children. Nevertheless, in January1906, Carl Laemmle rented a vacant building, transforming it into his first nickelodeon.

He may have been optimistic about the potential of the film field, but he certainly was far from naive. He knew that if he expected to make his theater a successful enterprise, he would have to make sure that it not only looked respectable, but that it was respectable as well. This was true of the films themselves, too. So, while other movie houses sometimes had a tawdry appearance, Laemmle’s gave an impression of wholesomeness—a place you could take the whole family. Its exterior was painted a sinless white.

The White Front, as it was called, became so popular that, within two months, Laemmle started his second movie house— the Family Theater. When Laemmle became dissatisfied with the services of his film distributors, he began his own film exchange. Within three years, the Laemmle Film Service was the largest film distributor in the United States.

Success soon brought Laemmle up against an exasperating group of film producers who were intent on taking control of the film industry. Their Motion Picture P aten ts Company was trying to buy out all the film exchanges. When exchange owners refused to sell, the Trust, as the Company was called, would refuse to supply them with films to distribute. Under this kind of threat, most owners either sold or quit.

S talw art Carl Laemmle was among the exceptions. Infuriated, the small, middle-aged man decided to face his opponent. His weapon would be publicity.

He announced that he was going to independent film production, and in a trade paper, he made several promises to film exhibitors that he would always supply them with films and they would get the best service and best prices possible. The film exhibitors, whether they thought he was crazy for this action or not, backed him up completely. After all, what did they really have to lose?

His next action was even more daring. He published the facts of what the Trust was attempting to do, using a cartoon character named General Flimco, a paunchy and greedy tyrant who exploited the honest, smaller film exhibitors. The General and his victims appeared regularly in full-page advertisements in Show World and Moving Pictures News.

The Trust fought back by making sure other articles ridiculed Laemmle, whom they called “little man with the big noise.” Within three years they brought nearly 300 court actions against him, and, not stopping at words, they sent professionals to smash Laemmle’s equipment and beat up his employees.

By 1912, however, the giant Trust was cut down to size by the American legal system. After Laemmle won an important court battle, the government itself filed suit against the Trust, forcing it to put an end to its illegal practices.

The exhausting battle had not stilled Laemmle’s compulsion for progress. Even while it was going on, films were being produced by Laemmle’s new film company, Moving Pictures of America, which was shortened to IMP, an appropriate description of its daring president.

Its first film was an adaptation of Longfellow’s poem, Hiawatha.

“You can bet it’s classy,” read Laemmle’s publicity, “or I wouldn’t make it my first release.”

With twelve pictures in 1909 and more th an a hundred the following year, the immigrant was on his way to building a film empire.

Carl Laemmle was also re sponsible for building up the “star system.” When other rival motion- picture companies were trying to keep the names of their actors and actresses anonymous, so that they did not have to pay excessive salaries, Laemmle decided to put his stars’ names on marquees.

When IMP’s president lured actress Florence Lawrence away from Biograph Studios, another, production company, the newspapers suddenly announced that the Biograph Girl, as she was known by her fans, had been killed by a streetcar in St. Louis. The public was shocked.

Carl Laemmle im m ediately set out to prove the story a fraud. He would have been naive not to suspect his Trust enemies of p lan ting the false item in the newspapers.

Again, he used publicity to his advantage. He published a disarm ing photograph of Miss Lawrence under the heading, “WE NAIL A LIE,” together with an article denying Miss Lawrence’s death, announcing that the actress herself would appear in St. Louis on a certain day.

When the train rolled into the St. Louis te rm inal, reporters, photographers and an emotional crowd cheered as Florence Lawrence appeared. The crowd, overjoyed that Florence was indeed

alive and well, surged toward her. They tore a t her clothing and snatched buttons for souvenirs, making her feel so tawdry that she wanted to quit the movie business.

Before she did quit the industry, however, she starred in a series of films that showed her name in all its glory. From then on, movie performers began to have their names on the screen, allowing them to command higher and higher salaries.

Now, few people in the film world could deny Carl Laemmle’s extraordinary talent for meeting conflict head-on.

He a ttrac ted many ta len ted people, too. D irectors Irving Thalberg and George Cukor, actor Lew Ayres and actress Mary Pickford, were among his many associates. There were others, some of whom were distant relatives, like the brilliant director, William Wyler whom “Uncle Carl” had brought over from Germany. Although not all the relatives on the studio lot were the most talented, everyone was impressed by Uncle Carl’s generosity.

The crowning glory of the Laemmle empire was the opening of Universal City in 1915, a whole municipality devoted to the making of films. IMP had become Universal Film Manufacturing.

Thousands of spectators cheered the little man who crossed the outdoor stage to declare the ceremonies open. Famous stars of the silent screen, government dignitaries, studio officials and costumed cowboys, Indians, soldiers and clowns all waited to hear him.

“I hope I didn’t make a mistake in coming out here,” Laemmle told them.

That unique combination of simple words, a shrewd mind, and a s ta lw art sp irit made Carl Laemmle one of Hollywood’s most memorable studio giants, or as someone said upon his death in 1939, “the little man who was a big man.”

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43

The Little GiantCOMPREHENSION CHECK


1. Carl Laemmle came from___ a. Italy.___ b. Germany.___ c. Sweden.___ d. America.

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Preview Answer:d. Carl Laemmle was a middle-aged man

when he decided to start his own business.

11. Deveiopyourown sentences using any four key words found in the box on the fb/towingpage.i

— . - — — -

1 — —

—


44

First, Laemmle worked as the manager of a clothing store in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Then, he returned to Chicago. Next,___ a. he took a job as a promoter of films.___ b. he worked for a bank called the Trust.___ c. he opened a nickelodeon.___ d. he defended his rights against the Trust.

A nickelodeon was a___ a. bookstore.___ b. film studio.___ c. moviehouse.___ d. dance hall.

According to the selection, which of the following statements does not show that the nickelodeon was a profitable business?___ a. A piano player set the mood with back

ground music.___ b. People pay cash at the door.___ c. The film can be viewed repeatedly.___ d. The film industry was an ever-growing

business.

Laemmle dealt with his rivals___ a. in a hostile, underhanded way.___ b. through a series of insulting filmstrips.___ c. with little regard for his associates.___ d. in a forthright, firm manner.

Independent Moving Pictures of America___ a. became the successful Universal Film

Manufacturing.___ b. was bought out by more powerful

interests.___ c. hired only exceptional and experi

enced help.___ d. was not selective in its film dealings.

Universal City___ a. was a new type of housing develop

ment.___ b. was a site for movie making.___ c. received its finances directly from

the Trust.___ d. lasted only a few years.

Carl Laemmle was a___ a. dreamer in a lost cause.___ b. demanding and pompous individual.___ c. man who lacked creativity.___ d. man of foresight and integrity.

Another name for this selection could be___ a. “Learning About Business.”___ b. “The Little Man with Big Ideas.”___ c. “The Film Industry.”___ d. “Making Money the Easy Way.”

This selection is mainly about___ a. the will to succeed through honest

effort and hard work.___ b. making stars out of unknown actors

and actresses.___ c. cleaning up the movie industry.___ d. coming to America to live and work.

T h e L i t t l e G i a n t

VOCABULARY CHECK

J-19

compulsion credentials exasperate naive stalwart tawdry


1. Marion was young and______________________ enough to believe Sam’s ridiculous story.

2. The man’s consistent failure to understand began to______________________ his companion.

3. His______________________ were in order so he was permitted to cross the border.

4. Peter’s______________________ to gamble lost him one month’s pay.

5. The girl’s mother was embarrassed by the______________________ dress her daughter wore to

the celebration.

6. The______________________ commander led his troops bravely into battle.

Across2. an urge or impulse4. gaudy; cheap5. steadfast; sturdy


This page may be reproduced for classroom use.45

II. Fill in the puzzle with the key words from the box above.

Down1. to irritate or annoy very much2. references3. unsophisticated

J-20

VictimsLearn the Key Words

cull (kul)

furtive

hapless

illegitimate

proficient

secluded

(fėr' tiv)

(hap' lis)

(il i jit' ә mit)

(prә fish' әnt)

(si klü ' did)

pick out; selectThe teacher reviewed the test scores in order to cull the best students for a special lesson.

secretly; sly Margaret left the house in a furtive manner.

unlucky; unfortunateThe hapless family was left homeless because o f the flood.

not legal; not according to lawThe boys were involved in the illegitimate sale o f furs.

skilled; expert Practice can make most people proficient at tennis.

isolated; hidden from othersThe Smith family liked to go to their secluded farmhouse in the mountains.

Preview:1. Read the title.2. Look at the picture.3. Read the first, two paragraphs of the selection.4. Then answer the following question.

You learned from your preview that____a. John Watson was a driving instructor and a respected

member of the community.____b. John Watson was being very cautious not to arouse

the suspicion of anyone.____c. John Watson owned a stereo warehouse and was taking

some equipment home to test it.____d. John Watson was training to be a policeman and was

assigned to the dark, dimly lit section of town.Turn to the Comprehension Check on page 49 for the right answer.

Now read the selection,Read to And out about a less than desirable occupation.

46

John Watson is a master at his work. He is skilled, shrewd and confident. Perhaps a little too confident. ..

As John Watson drove his van down the dimly lit side streets, he cautiously looked about and made certain that he observed all stop signs, traffic signals and speed limits. His furtive glances, to either side, were not attempts to be a model driver, but, rather, were efforts to avoid attracting attention. If the police were to catch him breaking any driving rules, they would most definitely learn about his illegitimate occupation. John Watson was a burglar and he had just made his last stop for the evening. He was returning home from a profitable evening’s exploits and his van was completely filled with electronic equipment and stereo systems. Having taken so much time to cull these precious items, Watson was being exceptionally ^autious to obey all of the rules.

In fact, Watson tried so hard to avoid making mistakes of any kind, it had become a natural way of life for him. The first thing John had done was to acquire a house in a secluded area, far from the main section of town. The house was set far back from all main roads and was sur

rounded by a wooded area and a large meadow. Before beginning his elusive enterprise, Watson was careful to maintain a respectable image. He acquired a job as a clerk in the town hall and returned home each night promptly after work. His objective was to suggest the image of an ordinary, quiet citizen for the benefit of all those who might be interested. Watson maintained this routine for several months before venturing out into the dark cover of the night and testing his skills as .a burglar.

While waiting for the right opportunity to arrive, John did not waste his free time in favor of worthless pursuits. He practiced his moves and plans until he believed that he was proficient enough to attempt his first job. Then he practiced the second phase of this training—picking locks and lifting heavy, bulky objects. Equipped with the necessary tools and instruments, he practiced throughout the night until the objects could be moved with ease. This last phase of lifting and transporting was necessary since Watson’s pre

ference was for electronic equipment, stereos, radios and televisions.

Watson planned to continue these illegitimate activities only for as long as it took him to accumulate a small fortune. He was not partial to work of any kind and so he was dedicated to the goal of accumulating enough money, at the expense of his hapless victims, to retire to a sunny island with nothing to do but reap the benefits of the “good life.”

Thus far, Watson’s career could be considered a success in two ways: the money he accumulated and the freedom from suspicion. Nc one ever began to suspect that the man in the secluded house could ever be anything but a fine, upstanding citizen. Meanwhile, he was putting away thousands of dollars in a dresser drawer filled with old letters and photographs. It would only be a matter of time until Watson would be lying on that sunny beach and watching the palm trees flutter in the breeze.

Watson thought with pride of his living room full of the items

Victims

he was able to cull through his illegitimate activities. He reviewed them in his mind and marvelled at his own powers of imagination, skill and daring.

Once a week, Watson would welcome some of his equally shady acquaintances into his home and allowed them to choose the items that they believed could be quickly and easily turned into cash. Right there, they would estimate the value and immediately pay Watson for his trouble. Then, under cover of darkness, they would remove their selected items and carry them away from Watson’s house, providing space in the living room for new objects.

On this particular night, Watson was especially proud of himself. He had burglarized a store that had an excellent security system. Without any trouble, he was able to penetrate the system, move quietly through the store and select some of his favorite items. His van was filled to capacity with all of the items that were favored by his fellow thieves and were sure to bring him great sums of money. He was so proficient that he no longer avoided stores with elaborate security systems.

After moving the items into a van, the difficult part was completed and the only problem left was to arrive safely at home and remove the items, unnoticed, into his living room. Watson had to admit that the latter part was not as exciting as the actual burglary because it was not as dangerous. The excitement and thrill of overcoming obstacles, such as security systems, could not be matched by the mere possibility of passing a red light and being given a traffic ticket.

As Watson drove slowly toward his secluded house, he imagined the horrified expression on the face of his most recent, hapless victim when he opened his store in the morning. He approached the dirt road to the house, drove slowly up to the driveway and turned the van around in order to back it up as close as possible to the front door.

As he opened the driver’s door, he looked around slowly and carefully to make certain that no one was around, even though it was quite unlikely at this early

J-20

4o

hour of the morning. Before opening the door to the house, he gave one final furtive glance back toward the road and over the open fields.

As he was looking around, he noticed fresh tire tracks in the mud, which he did not recognize as those from his van. John Watson suspected that something was very wrong—even before walking up the front steps and entering the house. His hands grew cold and his body began to tremble as he got out of the van and approached the front door. With a gentle touch, the door yielded, providing a clear view of the front hallway.

Watson’s heart began to beat frantically and he could feel the blood rushing to his face. He ran into the house, and stopped short at the entrance to the living room, where all his newly acquired objects had been placed.

The room was now bare, stripped of the paintings above the fireplace. It looked as though no one had been there for years.

Watson’s blood pounded in his temples and he gritted his teeth until his jaws ached. He was reluctant to admit it, but at long last he had to. He, John Watson, master burglar, had been relieved of “his” possessions in the very same way that he made his living.

Still in shock, Watson moved from the barren living room to the other rooms in the house and found a sight even more unsettling. His very own television set, that was in the bedroom, was missing, as well as his radio, his shaving equipment, his tape recorder and two expensive lamps. Watson was beside himself with anger. But his anger was to reach even greater proportions as he approached the drawer which held his fortune and the Drice of his tropical island.

His heart pounded frantically as he pulled the drawer out of the dresser and emptied its contents on the floor. Apparently, the burglars had found the drawer with his treasure and had robbed him completely of his dream for the future. All those months of saving and hard work had been erased with one vicious act.

Watson was thoroughly disgusted and was determined that the criminals would pay for their

terrible crime. He instinctively moved toward the telephone to notify police about the burglary of his home, but when he heard the operator’s voice, he realized what he was about to say and the full realization of what had happened finally struck him. He silently replaced the receiver back on the phone and sat down on the floor. He stared at the telephone for a moment, then looked around at the almost empty room.

All of a sudden, he chuckled, and the chuckle became an uncontrollable laugh. As the sun came in through the window, the tears glistened on John Watson’s cheeks, as his laughter echoed through the empty rooms.

VictimsJ-20

COMPREHENSION CHECK


1. According to the selection, which of the following was not part of Watson s plan?___ a. Driving with exceptional care.___ b. Taking a house in a secluded area of

town.___ c. Robbing stores with simple alarm systems.___ d. Holding a legitimate j ob.

2. In order to become a proficient thief, Watson___ a. went to a special electronics school.___ b. asked his friends for assistance.___ c. studied and practiced his technique.___ d. planned and executed a jail break.

3. John Watson stored his stolen goods in___ a. his living room.___ b. a warehouse.___ c. the town hall.___ d. his basement.

4.) John Watson___a. never really wanted to cause anyone pain.___b. dealt with respectable salespeople.___c. took delight in the dismay of his victims.___d. did not have a well*planned operation.

Preview Answer:b. John Watson was being very cautious

not to arouse the suspicion of anyone.

©5.) John Watson’s goods were___ a. probably taken by one of the people

he dealt with.not really valuable to anyone but himself, hidden throughout his house, probably returned to their rightful owners by the police.

First, Watson loaded his van with the stolen electronic equipment. Then, he drove home slowly. Next,___ a. he entered his house and found some

burglars there.___ b. he unloaded the goods into his living room.___ c. he called the police to report that he had

been robbed.___ d. he noticed fresh tire tracks leading up to

the front door.

John Watson___ a. was not aware that he was hurting

others.___ b. was only interested in valuable coins.___ c. was an insensitive individual.___ d. relied only on his friends to make a

living.

If John Watson had not been robbed, he would have___ a. kept his job in the town hall.___ b. never known the true feelings of his

victims.___ c. stopped his illegal activities.___ d. grown careless as he grew older.

Another name for this selection could be___ a. “The Irony of it All.”___ b. “Plans for the Future.”___ c. “Living in a Small Town.’’___ d. “An Impossible Dream.”

_b..c..d.

This selection is mainly about___ a. crime as a career in a small town.___ b. an exciting, rewarding way of life.___ c. learning how to start your own business.___ d. a criminal getting what he really

deserved.

11.i

Develop your own sentences using any four key words found in the box on the followingpage.


49

J-20

VictimsVOCABULARY CHECK

cull furtive hapless illegitimate proficient secluded


1. John became_______________________at the piano after years of dedicated practice.

2. Jane wanted to_______________________the ripest fruit for the salad.

3. Gambling is an_______________________practice in many states.

4. The Greens’ vacation cabin is located in a_______________________part of the woods.

5. The_______________________accident victims sat near their car, shocked and bewildered.

6. A fox is a_______________________animal.

II. Find the key words hidden in the box below. The words may be written from top to bottom or from left to right. Circle each one. A sample has been done for you.

A S N I H L Z I BP J D O A K H L OR A B s P Q J L MO S E c L U D E DF c P z E W L G SI H A E S G O I KC (M E) Q S I A T II K O V c J M I RE O B F w Q R M PN R C U L L N A OT I M R Z P C T DS F U R T I V E L


50 This page may be reproduced for classroom use.

KEY WORDS Lessons J-11— J-20

j-11

dormantembryoincandescentmaternalnucleusvigil

J-13

anonymousbenefactorboguscoronercrypticglib

J-15

bereaveddotegoremorbidqualmtumult

J-12

futileintolerablelistlessprogressionrecuperatesomber

J-14

aurabiologyconfounddeteriorategaseousradiate

J-16

eccentricembellishfeasiblegalaincorporatestagnant

51

KEY WORDS Lessons J-11 through J-20

J-17 J-18

chronicexploitliabilitymaladypsychiatristrational

allurebaublebetrothenthrallexoticravish

J-19

compulsioncredentialsexasperatenaivestalwarttawdry

J-20

cullfurtivehaplessillegitimateproficientsecluded

52

COMPREHENSION CHECK ANSWER KEYLessons J-11—J-20

LESSONNUMBER

QUESTION NUMBERPAGE

NUMBER1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

J-11 C a © <3> b [c ] ® A a 4

J-12 b a ® d b <3> [c ] ® A S 9

J-13 © b d © a ® A a 14

J-14 a b d <e> © ® H d A E 19

J-15 b © a b <s> c [d] ® A a 24

J-16 c a d <$> d c ® A a 29

J-17 c c © b a b [c] <S>A a 34

J-18 b © a <$>[d] ® © d A E 39

J-19 b <S> c a © a b Cd] A a 44

J-20 c c a © <3>© [b] A a 49

Code: = Inference

= Sequence

□ = Critical Judgment

A = Another Name for the Selection

□ = Main Idea

53

VOCABULARY CHECK ANSWER KEYLessons J-11 through J-20

J-11

LESSONNUMBER

J-12

THE MATERNAL INSTINCTI. 1. embryo

2. nucleus3. dormant4. maternal5. incandescent6. vigil

II. 1. False2. True3. False4. True5. False6. True

PAGENUMBER

SURVIVAL 10I. 1. futile

2. recuperate3. listless4. progression5. somber6. intolerable

II. 1. intolerable2. futile3. listless4. recuperate5. progression6. somber

55

VOCABULARY CHECK ANSWER KEYLessons j -11— J-20

J-13

LESSONNUMBER

J-14

QUILL’S LAST CASEI. 1. anonymous

2. bogus3. benefactor4. coronor5. glib6. cryptic

II. 1. True2. True3. False4. True5. True6. False

PAGENUMBER

15

MIKE PANDORA’S BOXI. 1. radiate

2. aura3. deteriorate4. biology5. gaseous6. confound

56

VOCABULARY CHECK ANSWERLessons J-11— J-20

J-15 THE LAST JUDGMENTI. 1. morbid

2. bereaved3. qualm4. dote5. gore6. tumult

LESSONNUMBER

PAGENUMBER

25II. 1. b—dote

2. e—qualm3. f—tumult4. a—bereaved5. c—gore6. d—morbid

J-16 DAYS OF VENICEI. 1. stagnant

2. gala3. embellish4. incorporate5. feasible6. eccentric

30II. 1. eccentric

2. feasible3. gala4. incorporate5. stagnant6. embellish

57

VOCABULARY CHECK ANSWER KEYLessons J-11— J-20

J-17

LESSONNUMBER

J-18

NIGHTWALKERS1. rational2. liability3. chronic4. malady5. psychiatrist6. exploit

PAGENUMBER

35II.

AN ACT OF VENGEANCE 401. allure II. 1. c—betroth2. enthrall 2. d—exotic3. exotic 3. a—allure4. ravish 4. e—enthrall5. betroth 5. b—bauble6. bauble 6. f—ravish

58

VOCABULARY CHECK ANSWER KEYLessons J-11—J-20

J-19 THE LITTLE GIANT

LESSONNUMBER

I. 1. naive2. exasperate3. credentials4. compulsion5. tawdry6. stalwart

J-20 VICTIMS1. proficient2. cull3. illegitimate4. secluded5. hapless6. furtive

II.

59

f fat, ifg go, bagh he, how

e let, beste equal, beer term, learn

b bad, robch child, muchd did, red

a hat, capa age, faceä father, farâ fault, allã air, care

i it, pini ice, five

o hot, rocko open, goô order, alloi oil, voiceou house, out

p paper, cupr run, trys say, yessh she, rush

j jam, enjoyk kind, seekl land, coalm me, amn no, inng long, bring

represents:a in aboute in takeni in pencilo in lemonu in circus

v very, savew will, womany young, yetz zero, breezezh measure, seizure

u cup, butteru full, putü rule, move

t tell, itth thin, bothTH then, smooth

PRONUNCIATION KEYThe pronunciation of each word is shown just after the word, in this way:

ab bre vi ate ( bre´ ve at).

The letters and signs used are pronounced as in the words below.

The mark ´ is placed after a syllable with primary or heavy accent, as in theexample above.

The mark ´ after a syllable shows a secondary or lighter accent, as in:ab bre via tion ( bre´ ve a´ sh n).

e

e e

e

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