A Different View by Judy Camplin

A Different View by Judy Camplin

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8 / Icy shivers raced down Cerise’s back as she peered up at the dark, red brick building looming above her. This was where her beloved Josie had to live?
Josephine Davis was a famous artist who for years had been Cerise’s neighbor. Visiting Josie’s home was always an adventure. Mesmerized by her stories of traveling to exotic places, Cerise loved discovering the treasures Josie had collected from all over the world.
One night Josie fell. While she recuperated in the hospital, her niece and nephew claimed Josie couldn’t live by herself any longer. They sold her place and moved all her things to Wedgwood Lodge. It sounded like a nice old English estate.
Cerise knew it was a retirement home.
Cerise missed her friend and had been anxious to call on her, but now she had to
force her feet to move down the poorly-lit
hallway and knock on Josie’s door.
“Come in!” Josie welcomed Cerise with
open arms.
Josie smelled fresh, like soap, but she looked different. Without makeup, her skin appeared luminous and pale and showed pink through her white hair. The sparkle was gone from her chocolate brown eyes. The gray dress hung on her.
Her rooms were dull, with heavy, old colorless furniture. Gone was the bedroom
set with hand-carved pineapple bed posts
draped with a filmy white mosquito netting;
the black ebony chest and its hundred drawers filled with surprises; glass-topped
display tables exhibiting Josie’s collections of ivory pieces, seashells, polished rocks and
beautiful jewelry. Not a single picture
decorated the walls. / 9
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22 / “Where’s Images of Africa?” Cerise asked.
Josie shrugged. “In the University Gallery.”
Cerise recalled the huge paintings decorating the walls in Josie’s old home. Under vivid blue skies, hairy gray elephants, mired to their knees in a mud hole, raised their trunks to spray streams of water at long-necked giraffes, nibbling on tree leaves. Through high golden grass, sleek-bodied cheetahs chased frightened gazelles; their hooves never appearing to touch the ground.
“The animals symbolize natural beauty and freedom,” Josie always said.
“I could drive you to see your paintings,” Cerise offered.
“I don’t get out much anymore,” Josie said.
Aching inside, Cerise fought to control her emotions. How could Josephine Davis,
adventurer and traveler all her life, accept
confinement in this dull, dreary place?
“I know she isn’t happy,” Cerise told Mama.
“She’s getting old, honey,” Mama said.
On Cerise’s next visit, Josie appeared smaller and more frail. Worse, she was losing interest in the world outside. The drapes were shut tightly.
“Should I open them for you?” Cerise asked.
“Nothing to look at,” Josie shrugged.
Cerise couldn’t stop fretting about Josie or erase the vision of her sad friend.
She tried. On each visit, she brought a gift. But Josie picked at the food and didn’t read or listen to music.
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32 / Today had been the worst. Josie shuffled to greet Cerise in floppy, white slippers and a threadbare bathrobe.
“Can I help you with your clothes?” Cerise offered.
“I don’t feel like getting dressed.”
Tears wet Cerise’s cheeks. It hurt her to think about Josie existing in such stark surroundings. No wonder Josie was letting go of her life. What was she going to do? She had to help Josie.
One night Cerise dreamed that she and Josie were strolling across an emerald green lawn, laughing together.
It was not just a dream! Cerise remembered her birthday a few years ago. Josie had joined the family at Cerise’s party and gave Cerise a wonderful camera.
“So you can see the world through different eyes,” Josie had said.
“I’ve got an idea,” Cerise told Mama.
At the University Gallery, excitement tingled inside Cerise as she clicked photographs of Images of Africa.
After they were developed, she fit her favorites into frames. Cerise couldn’t wait to
place the wrapped gift in Josie’s lap. / 33
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44 / When Josie opened the box, tears splashed from the crinkled eyes.
Cerise smiled. “Since you couldn’t go to Images of Africa, I brought it to you.”
Josie whispered, “Thank you so much!”
Arranging the photographs around the room, she told Cerise stories about her adventures while sketching and painting the panels.
“The bull elephant didn’t want his portrait painted, so he charged the truck. We had to skedaddle!”
They laughed together. Cerise eased the drapes back. Fingers of sun streamed in.
“Look, a cardinal.” Cerise pointed to the tree outside the window.
“I’d like to paint a picture of him,” Josie said.
“I’ll bring you art supplies,” Cerise offered.
Josie plucked at her robe. “Next time you come to see me, I’ll be dressed.”
That night Cerise was bursting with plans.
“I’m taking her brushes, paper, paints and a seashell. She can hold it up and hear the crashing waves—listen to the world through another ear.”

“A Different View” by Judy Camplin. Reprinted with permission from Skipping Stones magazine, May-August 2003,

COMPHREHENSION

Directions: Answer the following questions about the excerpt from A Different View.

1In the first paragraph, why does Cerise feel “icy shivers” when she looks up at the building?

A / She is afraid for her safety and fears entering. / C / She is not dressed warmly enough for the weather.
B / She dreads what she will find in Josie’s new home. / D / She fears that her friend will not recognize her.

2In the third paragraph, what does recuperated mean?

A / hibernated / C / recovered
B / prospered / D / weakened

3What is the effect of mentioning the missing items in paragraph 8?

A / It indicates Josie’s wealth. / C / It shows that Josie is a collector.
B / It shows that Josie is a famous artist. / D / It emphasizes the emptiness of Josie’s room.

4Whatinference can you make about Cerise?

A / She is artistic. / C / She is lonely.
B / She is indifferent. / D / She is thoughtful.

5Which experience can you infer would most likely have helped the author write this selection?

A / caring for an elderly friend or relative / C / reading an article about birds
B / taking a photography class / D / visiting a history museum

6All of the following phrases describe the setting EXCEPT

A / dull, dreary place / C / poorly-lit hallway
B / heavy, old colorless furniture / D / sounded like a nice old English estate

7Paragraph 2 is the story’s

A / falling action / C / exposition
B / conflict / D / climax

8Josie’s conflict described in paragraph 25 is

A / rising / C / falling
B / internal / D / external

9Which of the following phrases in paragraphs 32-36 is a sequence clue?

A / After they were developed / C / Arranging the photographs around the room
B / Since you couldn’t go to Images of Africa / D / she fit her favorites into frames

10In paragraph 38, “Fingers of sun” is an example of:

A / hyperbole / C / personification
B / alliteration / D / metaphor

11In paragraph 7, “chocolate brown eyes” is an example of:

A / simile / C / personification
B / metaphor / D / alliteration

12In paragraph 15, “dull, dreary place” is an example of:

A / simile / C / personification
B / metaphor / D / alliteration

13The use of dash in paragraph 44 is most likely to communicate:

A / break in thought / C / missing words
B / dramatic pause / D / none of the above

14In paragraph 33 the word “crinkled” is a(n)

A / gerund / C / infinitive
B / participle / D / none of the above

A Story Full of the Stuff of Sorrow

by Leonard Pitts Jr.

THE MIAMI HERALD

Friday, December 5, 2008

1 I like stuff as much as the next guy.

2 My closet is stuffed with stuff, my shelves groan with stuff, boxes full of stuff jam my garage. I like stuff just fine.

3 But I would not kill for it.

4 Last week, a 34-year-old man was trampled to death by a mob rushing into a discount store to buy stuff. Jdimytai Damour was a seasonal worker manning the door of a store in Valley Stream, N.Y., as shoppers eager for so-called “Black Friday” bargains massed outside. The store was scheduled to open at 5 a.m., but that was not early enough for the 2,000 would-be shoppers. At five minutes before the hour, they were banging their fists and pressing their weight against the glass doors, which bowed and then broke in a shower of glass. The mobstormed in.
5 Four people, including a pregnant woman, were injured. And Damour was killed as people stomped over him, looking for good prices on DVDs, winter coats and game systems. Nor was the mob sobered by his death. As authorities sought to clear the store, some defiantly kept shopping; others complained that they had been on line since the night before.
6 And here, it seems appropriate to observe the obvious irony: Black Friday is the traditional beginning of the Christmas shopping season, Christmas being the holiday when, Christians believe, hope was born into the world in the form of a baby who became a man who preached a gospel of service to, and compassion for, our fellow human beings.
7 It is hard to see evidence of either in the mob’s treatment of Jdimytai Damour and if your inclination is to heap scorn upon them, I don’t blame you. But I would caution against regarding them as freaks or aberrations whose callous madness would never be seen in sane and normal people like ourselves. That would be false comfort.
8 You may think I’m talking about mob psychology and to a degree, I am. From soccer riots to the Holocaust itself, human beings have always had a tendency to lose individual identity and accountability when gathered in groups. You will do things as part of a crowd that you never would as an individual. Theoretically, anyone who lacked a strong enough moral center and sense of self could havàe been part of that mob in Valley Stream.

9 But it’s not just our common vulnerability to mob psychology that ties the rest of us to last week’s tragedy. It is also our common love of stuff. Indeed, it is hard to imagine a starker illustration of our true priorities. Oh, we pay lip service to other things. We say children are a priority, but when did people ever press against the door for Parents’ Night at school? We say education is a priority, but when did people ever bang against the windows of the library? We say faith is a priority, but when did people ever surge into a temple of worship as eagerly as they do a temple of commerce?

10 No, sale prices on MP3 players, that’s our true priority. Jdimytai Damour died because too many of us have bought, heart and soul, into the great lie of American consumerism: acquiring stuff will make you whole. “You, Happier,” is how a sign at my local electronics store puts it. As if owning a CD, a DVD, an HDTV, will elevate you to a level of joy otherwise impossible to attain.

2. retinue: assistants attending an important person.

11 Hey, you might be a total loser, might not have a friend, might not have an education, might not have a job, might not have a clue, but it will all be OK as soon as you get that new digital camera, especially if you get it for 50 percent off.

12 It would be nice to think—I will not hold my breath—that Damour’s death would lead at least some of us to finally see that for the obscene lie it is, to realize that seeking wholeness in consumer goods is an act of emptiness, not joy.

13 You, Happier? No.

14 Just you, with more stuff.

COMPHREHENSION

Directions: Answer the following questions about the excerpt from A Story Full of the Stuff of Sorrow.

15One message of “A Story Full of the Stuff of Sorrow” is that —

A / people have too many possessions / C / happiness comes from having more than others do
B / people should not buy anything but essentials / D / happiness does not come from things

16The last event in paragraphs 4-5 occurs when

A / customers line up outside the store / C / the glass doors broke
B / customers defiantly kept shopping / D / Jdimytai Damour is trampled to death

17The word compassion in paragraph 6 combines the Latin prefix com-, which means “together” or “with,” and the Latin root -pati-, meaning “to suffer.” The word compassion means —

A / to feel / C / to feel sympathy
B / to be unfeeling / D / to compare

18The word callous in paragraph 7 comes from the Latin word callum, which means “hard skin.” Callous means —

A / charitable / C / severe
B / gentle / D / unfeeling

19In the first sentence of paragraph 8, the author defines mob psychology as —

A / things that you do, but that most people do not / C / things people do by themselves
B / things everybody does / D / things people do because they are in a crowd

20The author says that “the great lie of American consumerism” is that

A / bigger and better things will make you happy / C / spending money is good for the economy
B / advertising convinces consumers to buy / D / Americans are “born consumers”

21Which of the following describes the conflict in the selection?

A / human vs. society / C / Human vs. self
B / human vs. nature / D / human vs. fate

22This format of this article can best be described as

A / compare and contrast / C / cause and effect
B / main idea and details / D / chronological order

REVISING AND EDITING

Directions: Read this passage, and answer the questions that follow.

(1) Why are people so afraid of stepping outside their social circles? (2) Every day in class, I notice how students congregate in separate groups. (3) Cheerleaders are in one corner. (4) Even though we might have different interests that doesn’t mean we can’t try to find some common ground. (5) Breaking out of your mold can be good for you. (6) I recommend that you try speaking to someone you don’t usually speak to. (7) There are art students who are in another corner. (8) Just go up to someone start a conversation. (9) You might find that it’s not so bad. (10) It’s even possible that the two of you might like each other. (11) In conclusion, the actress Shirley MacLaine once said “Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends”.

23What change, if any, should be made to sentence 1?

A / Change of stepping to stepped / C / Change ? to .
B / Change circles to circle’s / D / Make no change

24What is the most effective way to improve the organization of the paragraph?

A / Move sentence 1 to follow sentence 5. / C / Move sentence 7 to follow sentence 3.
B / Move sentence 2 to follow sentence 8. / D / Move sentence 8 to follow sentence 10.

25In sentence 7, the pronoun who refers to

A / cheerleaders / C / the reader
B / the narrator / D / art students

26What change, if any, should be made in sentence 4?

A / Change we to I / C / Insert a comma after interests
B / Insert a comma after Even / D / Make no change

27What is the most effective way to combine sentences 5 and 6 to form one complex sentence?

A / Because breaking out of your mold can be good for you, I recommend that you try speaking to someone you don’t usually speak to. / C / If breaking out of your mold can be good for you, I would recommend that you try speaking to someone you don’t usually speak to.
B / Breaking out of your mold can be good for you, thus I recommend that you try speaking to someone you don’t usually speak to. / D / Breaking out of your mold can be good for you, but I recommend that you try speaking to someone you don’t usually speak to.

28What change, if any, should be made in sentence 8?

A / Insert and after someone / C / Insert a comma after someone
B / Change start to starting / D / Make no change

29Sentence 4 contains

A / The writer’s first point / C / Supporting detail
B / Explanation of supporting detail / D / Thesis statement

30How would you correct the following sentence which uses quotations?

A / In conclusion, the actress Shirley MacLaine once said, “Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends”. / C / In conclusion, the actress Shirley MacLaine once said, “Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends.”
B / In conclusion, the actress Shirley MacLaine once said “Fear makes strangers of people who would be friends.” / D / Sentence is correct as is.

GRAMMAR

Directions: Indentify the choice that forms the best sentence.

31I am not allowed to ride on the sidewalk. People walk on the sidewalk.

A / I am not allowed to ride on the sidewalk; people walk on the sidewalk. / C / I am not allowed to ride on the sidewalk, but people walk on the sidewalk.
B / I am not allowed to ride on the sidewalk because people walk on the sidewalk. / D / Sentences are best as is.

32I like to ride my bike everywhere. I like to ride on smooth payment best.

A / I like to ride my bike everywhere but riding on smooth payment is best. / C / I like to ride my bike everywhere; therefore, I like to ride on smooth payment best.
B / I like to ride my bike everywhere, but I like to ride on smooth payment best. / D / Sentences are best as is.

33I have time. I ride on the bike trail in the park.

A / Whenever I have time, I ride on the bike trail in the park. / C / I have time, I ride on the bike trail in the park.
B / I have time, and I ride on the bike trail in the park. / D / Sentences are best as is.

GRAMMAR

Directions: Indentify the underlined word as a gerund phrase, participial phrase, or infinitive phrase.

34Jogging three miles every day is good for you.

A / gerund phrase / C / infinitive phrase
B / participial phrase / D / none of the above

35The water boiling on the stove is hot.

A / gerund phrase / C / infinitive phrase
B / participial phrase / D / none of the above