Read the following paragraph and answer the questions after each paragraph.
I began working in journalism when I was eight years old. It was my mother’s idea. She wanted me to “make something” of myself and, after a levelheaded appraisal of my strengths, decided I had better start young if I was to have any chance of keeping up with the competition.
The flaw in my character which she had already spotted was the lack of “gumption.” My idea of a perfect afternoon was lying in front of the radio rereading my favorite Big Little Book, Dick Tracy Meets Stooge Viller. My mother despised inactivity. Seeing me having a good time in repose, she was powerless to hide her disgust. “You’ve got no more gumption than a bump on a log,” she said. “Get out in the kitchen and help Doris do those dirty dishes.”
—Russell Baker
1. What is the main point of this paragraph?
2. List and answer the six journalistic questions.
3. Give two vivid details the author provides in this paragraph. Why are they vivid?
4. How does Baker organize the details in this paragraph?
1. The writer explains why he entered the workforce.
2. Who? Russell Baker
What? how he got involved in journalism
When? when he was eight years old
Where? at home
Why? to “make something” out of his life
How? by working hard
3. Answers will vary.
4. Chronologically
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calories. What will be an ideal response?
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a. la même conception b. une conception différente c. une conception similaire
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What will be an ideal response?
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Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).