A Critique of the Proposed National Education Policy Reform
Level i Questions on the stories
1. QUESTIONS ON THE STORIES
Page 18 A STORY TO REFLECT UPON
Watch the power point in Spanish at any of these sites:
http://www.todohumor.com/humor/powerpoint/quesignificaserpobre2
http://www.todohumor.com/humor/powerpoint/quesignificaserpobre
http://presentacionespower.blogspot.com/2007/08/que-significa-ser-pobre.html
1.- How much money did Terry have? He had a lot of money. He was wealthy.
2.- Where did Terry take his son? He took him on a trip to the countryside.
3.- Why did he take him on such a trip? Because he wanted to show him how the poor
people lived.//To show him how the poor people lived.
4.- Where did they spend two days and two nights? They spent two days and two nights
on the farm of a very poor family.
5.- What did Bob think of the trip? He thought it was great.
6.- Did he see how poor people lived? Yes, he did.
7.- Did the poor people in the story have things that Terry and Bob didn’t have? Yes, they
did.
8.- Who was surprised at Bob’s reaction to the trip? Terry was.
9.- Could Terry say anything? No, he couldn’t. He was speechless.
10.- Are money and material things the most important things in life in Bob’s opinion? No,
they aren’t.
11- What did Bob learn from the trip? He learned to appreciate every single thing he had,
especially his friends.
Page 35-36 MY FIRST TIME
1.- What did the narrator’s mother do at the front door? She said good bye to her.
2.- What did the narrator’s mother look like? She was tall, slim, good looking and had
beautiful eyes.
3.- How old was she? She was in her forties.
4.- How did the narrator feel after her first day at university? She felt disappointed.
5.- Why did she feel like that? Because the university was not what she had expected.
6.- What was it like at the university? It was huge, more crowded and noisier than St.
Mary’s.
7.- What was St. Mary’s? It was her high school.
8.- Were the walls shorter at the university? No, they weren’t. They were higher.
9.- What did she notice about the university windows? They weren’t colourful and didn’t
have any funny stickers.
10.- What was her classroom at university like? It was cold, pictureless and crammed with
seats and a desk in front of the blackboard.
11.- Did the narrator want to go back to university the next day? No, she didn’t.
12.- What did she think would happen to her if she went back there the next day? She
thought she would probably die.
13.- Did the narrator tell this to her mother? No, she didn’t.
14.- Who reassured her everything would be all right the next day? Her mother did.
15.- Did the narrator follow her mother’s advice in the end? Yes, she did.
Page 55-56-57 ILLUSIONS
1.- How old was the main character? He was 18.
2. 2.- What did he use to do ten years before? He used to play with his friends, veg out, ask
his parents for everything he wanted to have and get angry when they said “No!”
3.- Who did he fall in love with when he was eleven? He fell in love with Corinne.
4.- Had he had any other girlfriend before Corinne? No, he hadn’t. It was his first crush.
5.- Why didn’t Corinne accept his love? Because she was older and had a boyfriend.
6.- What was he looking forward to receiving? He was looking forward to receiving a letter
from the university.
7.- What kind of letter was he expecting? He was expecting an admission letter.
8.- How did the narrator feel? He felt very anxious.
9.- Did the university accept him? Yes, it did.
Page 63 THE LAST LEAF PART I (questions in the book)
1.- Where did Johnsy and Sue meet? They met in a small restaurant in Greenwich Village.
2.- What did they do? They were artists.
3.- Why did they rent a flat together? To set up a studio./Because they wanted to set up a
studio.
4.-What happened to Johnsy in November? She fell ill.
5.- Did she have many chances of recovering? No, she didn’t.
6.- What did she count? Why? She counted the ivy leaves on the wall because she
thought that when the last leaf fell off the vine she would die.
Page 64 THE LAST LEAF PART II
1.- Who was Mr. Behrman? He was a painter.
2.- Where did he live? He lived downstairs from Johnsy and Sue
3.- How old was he? He was past sixty.
4.- Was he a successful artist? No, he wasn’t. He was a failure.
5.- What was his lifelong dream? It was to paint a masterpiece.
6.- Had he been able to paint a masterpiece so far? No, he hadn’t.
7.- What did Sue tell Mr. Behrman about? She told him about Johnsy’s obsessive idea
8.- How did Mr. Behrman feel about Johnsy? He felt sorry.
9.- Why was Johnsy surprised the next morning? Because the last leaf was still on the ivy
vine in spite of the wind and the rain of the night before.
10.- Did the last leaf fall the next day? No, it didn’t.
11.- When did the doctor come? He came in the afternoon.
12.- How did he find Johnsy? He found her much better.
13.- How did Sue look after her friend? She looked after her very well.
14.- Who did the doctor have to see after Johnsy? He had to see Mr. Behrman.
15.- What was the matter with him? He had pneumonia.
16.- Was there any hope for him? No, there wasn’t.
Page 66-67 THE LAST LEAF PART III
1.- What did the doctor say the next day? He said Johnsy was out of danger.
2.- Why was Sue happy? Because Johnsy was recovering O.K.
3.- Where did Johnsy want to go the next day? She wanted to go to Mr. Behrman’s
apartment.
3. 4.- What were Sue and Johnsy going to do there? They were going to model for him.
5.- Why wouldn’t this be possible? Because Mr. Behrman had died of pneumonia the day
before.
6.- Where did the janitor find him dead? He found him dead on his room floor.
7.- What were Mr. Behrman’s shoes and clothes like? They were wet and cold.
8.- What did some people find in the yard outside? They found a lantern, a ladder, some
brushes, and a palette with green and yellow colours on it.
9.- When did Mr. Behrman paint his masterpiece? He painted it the night the last leaf fell.
Page 72-73 AESOP’S FABLES
THE CAGE BIRD AND THE BAT
1.- Where was a bird singing? He was singing in a beautiful cage outside a window.
2.- When did he sing? He sang at night when all the other birds were asleep.
3.- Who asked him why he only sang at night? A bat did.
4.- Why did he only sing at night? Because once he was singing during the daytime and he
attracted a hunter who caught him.
5.- Was it any use singing at night? No, it wasn’t.
6.- How might he be if he had sung at night before he was caught? He might still be free.
THE FATHER AND HIS SONS
1.- What were the sons always doing? They were always quarrelling.
2.- Why did the father decide to give them a practical example of the evils of disunion?
Because he couldn’t stop them from quarrelling.
3.- What did he tell them to bring him? He told them to bring him some sticks.
4.- What did he do with them? He united them into a bundle.
5.- What did he order his first son to do? He ordered him to break the bundle.
6.- Could he do that? No, he couldn’t.
7.- Could the second son break the bundle? No, he couldn’t either.
8.- What did the father do then? He untied the bundle.
9.- Where did he put the loose sticks? He put them into his first son’s hands.
10.- How could he break the sticks now? He could break them easily.
11.- How would the sons be if they were of one mind and united to assist each other?
They would be strong and invincible.
THE FOX AND THE GOAT
1.- Where did the fox fall? He fell into a deep well.
2.- Could he get out? No, he couldn’t.
3.- Who heard the fox shouting for help? A goat did.
4.- What did she ask him? She asked him why he was there.
5.- Did the fox tell the goat the truth? No, he didn’t.
6.- What explanation did he give her? He said he had gone into the well because he
wanted to drink plenty of water because there was going to be a great drought.
7.- What did the fox invite the goat to do? He invited her to go into the well too.
8.- Why did the goat believe the fox? Because she was innocent.
9.- How did the fox manage to get out of the well? He jumped onto the goat’s back and
put his feet on her long horns.
Page 90-91
4. THE CHOICE
Questions on page 92:
1.- Why weren’t the sofa and the wardrobe in their usual position? Because Pete and Meg
Wilson were barricaded against the police.
2.- What problem did the Wilsons have? They had two children but the law allowed them
only one.
3.- How did The Law get to know that the Wilsons were lawbreakers? Because Patsy told
her teacher about her baby brother.
4.- Which ending di you prefer I or II? Why? (open question)
To be added to questions 1-4 on page 92:
5.- Who did Patsy tell about her little brother? She told her teacher.
6.- How did Patsy feel about her little brother? She felt proud and jealous.
7.- What weren’t the Wilsons allowed to do? They weren’t allowed to have more than one
child.