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The High School Step Team
Karla’s cousin Jade urged her to join the step team. “This afternoon you should definitely try out!” Jade suggested after the final bell rang.
“I know she wants the best for me,” Karla thought to herself, “but I’m not sure I’d be any good, and I’d feel embarrassed if I messed up in front of others.” Karla had seen step teams in action: they stomped, they clapped, and they performed all kinds of skillful, synchronized moves.
“Our team is not as amazing as professional steppers, but we have a lot of fun!” Jade said. “Also, if you join the team, you will instantly have forty new friends!”
“I like the idea of forty new friends,” Karla thought to herself. “Still, I’m worried about bringing up my math grade. I’d better play it safe for now," she decided.
“I really appreciate your concern, but I’ve got to say no thanks for now,” Karla told Jade. “I’m going for afterschool help in math.”
As Karla turned away from Jade and walked down the hall towards the math class, she pictured her cousin shrugging her shoulders. “Okay, do whatever you think is best,” Jade said. “I’ll see you at home.”
Karla went to the afterschool math session. The work was challenging, and she had to concentrate. The teacher said nice things to Karla about her efforts to grasp the ideas they were studying. “And yet,” Karla thought, “I still have a lot of work and study ahead of me.” When the afterschool math session ended, Karla peeked into the gym.
"Hey, that’s my cousin!” Jade cried out. “Come on over here, Karla.”
Forty male and female students stopped in midroutine to look at Karla. Too embarrassed to refuse, she joined one of the lines.
Karla soon learned that stepping requires a lot of mental energy. “It’s something like math,” she thought silently, “but not exactly the same. I have to connect my brain to my body, and make it move or stop at exactly the right moment. The key here is to execute every movement skillfully.” Very soon, Karla had mastered the team’s trademark “slap–finger–snap–slap–slap–stomp.”
That night, Karla got back to work on math. At first, she felt guilty about the time spent in the gym.
Then she reminded herself of the old saying, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” An English teacher once told her the origins of this cliché go all the way back to ancient Egypt.
As Karla worked, she was surprised to find that she suddenly understood her algebra problems better than she had before. “There must be some carryover effect from step practice,” she concluded. The concentration and focus that she exercised in step team practice seemed to help her focus more clearly on her math. Karla smiled as she thought, “Who would have guessed that spending time with a step team might be more helpful to my math grade than spending time on math work?”
Later, Karla was as much a member of the step team as anybody. “I don’t feel the least bit embarrassed anymore,” she told Jade. “When I am stepping, I feel completely focused on the rhythm of the team and working together with my ‘forty new friends.’ As an added bonus, my math work now seems much easier.”
1. Read the following sentences from "The High School Step Team."
As Karla turned away from Jade and walked down the hall towards the math class, she pictured her cousin shrugging her shoulders. "Okay, do whatever you think is best," Jade said. "I'll see you at home."
After reading these sentences, the reader can infer that
a. Jade and Karla frequently argue with each other.
b. Karla is not happy that Jade in pressuring her.
c. Jade is used to doing things that don't involve Karla.
d. Karla is familiar with Jade's nonverbal reactions.***
2. Which is the best paraphrase of the first paragraph?
a. After school, Jade tells her cousin Karla to try out for the step team.***
b. Jade cares about her cousin Karla and makes a suggestion to her.
c. Karla listens as her cousin Jade tells her about being on the step team.
d. Karla hears the bell ring and runs into her cousin Jade.
3. The author reveals Karla's character to readers by describing
a. what Karla says, does, and thinks.***
b. how Jade and other students react to Karla.
c. what Karla's teachers tell her.
d. why Karla is embarrassed in the gym.
4. Which of the following words best describes the relationship between Karla and Jade?
a. competitive
b. encouraging***
c. friendly
d. unpredictable
5. Read the following sentences form "The High School Step Team."
"I really appreciate your concern, but I've got to say no thanks for now," Karla told Jade. "I'm going for afterschool help in math."
Which of the following words best describes Karla's tone?
a. determined
b. disappointed
c. grateful***
d. resolved
