Test Booklet Subject: LA, Grade: 10 Grade 10 Reading - 2009 and 2005 Student name: Author: Delaware District: Delaware Released Tests Printed: Friday June 24, 2011
Read the following article to find out how the people of Middleboro feel about having a Martial Mavericks concert in their town. Then answer the questions that follow. Martial Mavericks Concert Debated Doug Kelly, Staff Reporter MIDDLEBORO The Middleboro Town Hall was the scene of a spirited debate Tuesday evening when residents, town officials, local merchants, and rock concert promoter Allan Rhodes met to discuss a proposed Martial Mavericks concert in that town. Town officials had called for a public discussion before voting on the proposed concert. Conservatively dressed in a grey, three-piece suit, Rhodes, 37, remarked at the beginning of the meeting, The Martial Mavericks is the most exciting act in show business. Their music and stylized choreography, borrowed from the martial arts, have made them a ground-breaking cross-over band their music and their performance are truly one-of-a-kind. Although this concert certainly will attract a very large number of people, there should be little difficulty controlling the audience. There is no reason to prevent this concert from happening." Next Rhodes outlined his plan to construct a stage on the edge of one of Lawrence Wilson s cow pastures, with the audience to be seated on the ground. He has agreed to pay Wilson $30,000 for the use of his land, provided Rhodes is granted permission to hold the concert. Gina Betts, 63, whose farm borders on Wilson s, responded, More than a hundred thousand people might attend this concert a hundred thousand people who will have to travel on a dirt road through my property in order to reach the Wilson farm. Don t tell me that a narrow dirt road will handle a hundred thousand people and cars! They ll be trampling all over my land and all over your front lawns before they even come to my land! Maria Montalvo, 47, President of the Middleboro Chamber of Commerce, spoke next. This town stands to make a lot of money if Martial Mavericks performs here. Not everyone will be sleeping outdoors on Mr. Wilson s farm or eating peanut- butter and jelly sandwiches. They ll pay good money to sleep in a bed and eat good restaurant food. They ll buy a lot from our stores. Also, if the people see what a lovely town we have here, they ll come back again and again and keep spending money. The whole town will benefit tremendously from this concert. Long time resident Ronald Sirois, 55, took the floor next to voice his objections. I strongly disagree. I have lived in this small, peaceful town all of my life. It s a nice town precisely because we don t have a lot of strangers coming and going all the time. I m against anything that might change that. Before Sirois could return to his seat, Linda Wong, 15, a tenth grader at Middleboro High School, strode to the front of the hall and handed the town officials petitions in support of the concert. As president of the local chapter of the Martial Mavericks Fan Club, Wong collected 1,236 signatures from high school students throughout the country. Wong told the town officials, If Martial Mavericks is not allowed to play here, we would have to travel all the way to New York City to see them. That would be too far for most of us to travel. Chairman Richard Duval asked if anyone had any further comments before the town officials prepared to vote on the matter. Police Chief Thomas Scarpetti, 45, made these remarks. Trying to crowd more than a hundred thousand people into this small town will cause all sorts of problems. We ll be running the risk of increased crime. We don t have enough officers to patrol the concert grounds, never mind the rest of the town. Also, I don t see where they ve made adequate provision for feeding these people, or for medical emergencies, or even for plumbing. And what about the weather? They don t even have a contingency plan in case it storms. Page 1
Duval thanked everyone for their comments and the town officials withdrew into executive session to discuss the matter further. A few of the townspeople left, but most stayed behind to wait for the decision. Two hours later, Chairman Duval announced that town officials needed more time to consider all the facts and would meet again on Friday, at 7 p.m., to make a final decision. 1 Maria Montalvo s perspective is most influenced by her A gender B education C occupation D experience 2 In paragraph 9, the word contingency means plans for A improbabilities B possibilities C necessities D certainties 3 Which of the following might have the greatest influence on the town council s final decision? A Betts intending to sell her property if the council agrees B Scarpetti arranging for a local hospital to provide first aid C Rhodes showing that two previous concerts have caused no damage D Montalvo convincing local restaurant workers to extend their hours Page 2
4 Does the name Martial Mavericks help or hurt the band s case? Use information from the article to support your answer. 5 Explain what the comments of Montalvo and Sirois reveal about the underlying tension regarding the future of Middleboro. Use information from the article in your explanation. Page 3
The Cinderella Tales The story of Cinderella appears in various forms in folklore traditions around the world. Most are oral traditions, passed down from one generation to another. In these tales, a kind and lovely person, usually a young woman, receives magical help that allows her to escape from a bad home life in which she is usually abused or ignored. Her true worth is finally recognized, and she usually ends up marrying royalty and living happily ever after. The version of Cinderella that most of us know was written down in 1697 by the Frenchman Charles Perrault. This is the version that Walt Disney immortalized in the 1950 animated film Cinderella. In this tale, Cinderella is an overworked stepdaughter whose fairy godmother helps her dress up and attend a ball. There she dances with the prince, fascinating him. Dashing away at the stroke of midnight as her clothes revert to rags and her coach to a pumpkin, she loses one of her glass slippers. It is this slipper that leads the prince back to Cinderella, whom he marries. An early Cinderella tale was recorded by the Greek historian Strabo two thousand years ago. According to this version, a woman in Egypt named Rhodopis was bathing one day when an eagle snatched one of her sandals, flew away with it, and dropped it into the lap of the king. The king deemed the sandal lovely, sent messengers to find its owner, and eventually wed Rhodopis. A thousand years ago, the tale of a girl who befriended a fish was written down in China. Yeh-hsien was mistreated by her malevolent stepmother and stepsister. The stepmother killed the fish and Yeh-hsien kept its bones, which were magical and made her wishes come true. Wearing golden shoes and a beautiful feathered cloak, Yeh-hsien attended a festival. She feared being recognized by her stepmother and hurried away, losing a shoe. When the delicate shoe came into the king s possession, he found its owner and married her. A Japanese tale in which the Cinderella character directly demonstrates her intelligence rather than simply fitting into a shoe is Benizara and Kakezara. One night, lost in the woods, Benizara received magical assistance from an old oni woman, an ogre with supernatural powers. Some days later, left behind by her stepmother and stepsister to work, Benizara used the magic box provided by the oni to create a splendid kimono to wear to a play. There, she caught the eye of a nobleman, who searched for her the next day. The stepmother insisted that Kakezara was the one the nobleman sought, but he cleared the matter up with a poetry contest. Benizara created a far superior poem, and he took her with him to his palace. Cinderella tales are relatively rare in African folklore, but one such story is the Zulu tale Nomi and the Magic Fish. Nomi was a tall and beautiful girl with an unkind stepmother and a stepsister named Nomsa. Sent out to care for the cattle each day without food, Nomi was thin and cold until she met a magic fish who provided food for her. When the stepmother found out about the fish, Nomi ran to warn it. The fish told Nomi to throw its bones in the chief s garden after the stepmother had eaten it, and this Nomi did. The chief announced that he would marry the girl who could pick up the bones, which slipped through everyone s fingers. Nomi picked them up, and the chief married her. Not all Cinderella characters are female. How the Cowherd Found a Bride from India is one tale with a male Cinderella character. Two impoverished brothers saved a cow from a muddy stream at the younger brother s insistence. The cow soon brought them good fortune. When the older brother married, the younger stayed and cared for the cow. The cow was magical and provided him with food to eat. One day the cowherd helped a snake, who gave him shining golden hair. The cowherd wrapped a golden hair around a leaf and sent it downstream, where a princess found it. She initiated a search for the owner of the hair, which led to their marriage. Page 4
The plot in most of these tales consists of a five-step sequence. The Cinderella heroine or hero: (1) is persecuted by the family; (2) receives magical help; (3) meets the prince or someone else of a higher status; (4) proves her or his identity; and (5) marries the prince or person of a higher status. When these tales were written down, women around the world had far fewer role options available to them. This was also true of men born into poverty or other limiting circumstances. Due to feelings of powerlessness over their fate, such individuals may have hoped that some magical reprieve would come their way, improving their lot on life. While feminists have tried to create more positive role models in modern versions of fairy tales, it is important to view these tales in their own historical context rather than judge them according to today s standards and expectations. 6 In paragraph 4, what does the word malevolent means? A Greedy B Conceited C Excitable D Evil 8 In paragraph 1, the author puts happily ever after within quotation marks to suggest that A these tales have predictable endings B this phrase comes from an authority C happiness is a matter of opinion D most of these tales are part of a series 7 The author s main purpose in writing this article is to show that A folk tales are enjoyed by both children and adults B literary themes differ across countries C similar story lines are common among many cultures D oral folklore traditions are not very old Page 5
9 What is a likely reason that the Cinderella tale from France is the most popular version in the United States? Use information from the article to support your explanation. 10 In each of the Cinderella tales, there is a powerful and wealthy character. Using examples from the article, explain the importance of this type of character to these tales. Page 6 STOP