Discovering Solitude: How Ramen Fueled My Reading Journey
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Diocesan Girls' School**We aren't endorsed by this school
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SECONDARY IDK
Subject
Mechanical Engineering
Date
Dec 11, 2024
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5
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— Name: 3035 fi‘”‘( . Qrace Lee Class: __| i Date: |3th Cot 2022 Reading Comprehension Read the following passage by Veronique Greenwood and answer all the questions. Write down all your answers on the answer sheet provided. . How Ramen Got Me Through Adolescence 10 15 20 25 30 35 When I was in fifth grade, I developed an extreme dislike of eating around other people. The cafeteria was a place of foul odors, gelatinous spills, horrific mixtures of chocolate pudding, fruit cocktail and ketchup consumed on dares, and I found myself fasting from breakfast, at about 6am, until 3:35pm, when I walked home through the woods from the bus stop. Each step up our hill, along a narrow pathway in rural California, I fantasized about the big bowl of ramen I would make myself when I reached the top. You could buy /i in flats, at 25 cents a packet — my favorite flavors were beef (red wrapper) and pork (brown wrapper), followed closely by the mysterious spices of Oriental (blue wrapper). Chicken (orange) and shrimp (pink) lacked the savory punch of the darker flavors, but in a pinch, they would do. The sight of those oblong packets nested together into a 24-pack brick aroused a feeling of warm contentment. I knew [ would be fed upon reaching home. Instead of eating during the school day, I read. Every day at lunch, when the other kids ambled toward the cafeteria, I went the other way, to the library. The school let you check out two books at a time, and at lunch break, I would borrow what I could. I read with my book hidden under my desk in nearly every class until the end of middle school. This is when I read many books that might not have been suitable for kids my age, but the teachers never bothered me about it. I got high scores on homework and tests, and they had other things to deal with. The only teacher who exacted revenge for my reading was my eighth-grade English teacher. She took “One Hundred Years of Solitude” away from me and made me sit at my desk for the rest of class, powerless, alone, unsupported. I waited furiously for this time to pass. At home, I assembled my ramen meal over and over. If was perfectly satisfying every time I had it, and the kitchen was a private place, with a different kind of solitude than at school. With my parents at work and my sisters elsewhere, no one was watching. I put the water on to boil with a practiced hand. While I waited, I tipped a few dried noodles into my mouth — a crunch, a tiny bit of salt and the hint of something fatty, like an old French fry, dehydrated until it became something delicious all over again. Reading was not allowed at family meals, but at my afternoon feeding, I could prop my book against the bowl of noodles and read while I slurped. Ramen was so critical to my existence that my parents turned to it to pacify me on road trips. To them, it was a portable satisfaction system for someone who was hard to satisfy. “There was something about hot food, something about warmth, that you needed,” my mom says. Most of the time I didn’t want their help; I didn’t want to show them 1 needed them. But, trapped in a car, I had no choice. I remember on one trip,
40 45 when [ was almost crying from hunger and frustration, my mother leaping out of !he car, red beef packet in hand, saying over her shoulder, “I need to go find some boiling water.” For more than three years | ate a packet nearly every day, a thousand stearping Powls. I easily read hundreds of novels. My life had two poles: the reliable, satisfying bite of those shelf-stable noodles and the warm cocoon of the world’s books. I was a survivalist. | was waiting to get to a place where there were other people like me and to figure out exactly what “like me” meant. I was sure for a long time that my feeling of isolation was the result of growing up so far away from cities and universities and people outside of my family who cared about words and ideas. But I now know there are others out there. When I encounter children with that haunted look, I have something to say. Don’t worry, I want to tell them. You’ll find your people. For now, eat your ramen. Part 1: Vocabulary (10 marks) Match the following words from the passage to the appropriate meaning. The first one has been done as an example. Vo_cabulary Line | Answer | s ljefinition‘ 1. eg. odors 2 (& 4. put together 2. rural 5 v@ b. tocalm down 3. aroused 11 ‘2,/ £ peculiar, unpleasant smells 4. ambled 14 d/ & walked slowly 5. exacted 19 J/ £. relating to the countryside 6. assembled 23 @ | & the act of practicing skills to stay alive 7. solitude 24 d/ g. caused 8. prop 29 g | # holdup 9. critical 31 & | & demanded 10. pacify 31 \L/ e 4- the state of being alone 11. survivalist 42 -F/ k: essential
Part 2: References (5 marks) Identify what the bold, italic words refer to in the passage. The first one has been done as an example, Sentence ' Line Answer 1. e.g. You could buy it in flats . . . 7 |eg Ramen Obout the narrator reading many 2. ... but the teachers never bothered me about it... 18 | Looks that might not Hat been guitalle for kids her ag® @ 3. ...they had other things to deal with. 19 the tevé ers 4. She took “One Hundred Years of Solitude” away... | 20 | The ““"0*7{ Eighth-grade English “feacher the warrator assembling 5. It was perfectly satisfying... 23 her Romen meal over g over 6. I didn’t want to show them I needed them. 34-35 the n 0‘"“*\9/5 porents -\ ‘@ Part 3: True or False or Not Given (5 marks) ( Based on the passage, state whether the following statements are true (I) or false (F) or not given (NG). The first one has been done as an example. Statement Answer 1. The narrator likes eating around other people. 2. The narrator eats when walking home from school. F F 3. The narrator checks out up to two books from the library every lunch break. ;Y/
4. The narrator’s performance is above average in school. N ®< 5. The narrator never showed her parents that she needed them. E/ 6. The narrator has stopped eating ramen now. F‘)( (-3 Part 4: Comprehension Questions (15 marks) Answer the following questions in your own words and in full sentences unless otherwise specified. Your answers must clearly explain the ideas you are presenting. Answers should only be written in the spaces provided. Marks will be deducted for failing to follow these instructions. 1. Has the narrator always had an extreme dislike towards eating around other people? Provide evidence from the text. (2 marks) grade’. 2. List the narrator’s top two flavors for ramen. (1 mark) 1) loee/r’, 2) par k 3. Describe how the narrator is different from other people at school. Provide evidence for your answer. (2 marks) ln the passoge She nocrador enfioned " lren %; other kids mble r e _cofeterio 1 o library’ ) 4. a. What emotion does the narrator experience in line 227 (1 mark) lonekf( b. What happens that makes the narrator feel the emotion from 4.a? (1 mark) The warrator's eioptn- grade Enolidh tencher didn't let Ler vead in close and_mode her sit ot hey deske {or the rcst her class. The, norrator Sk lonely NO'\‘\‘KOW\' books. ’ becouse she had 4o Se-\' J{kfous‘\ e \esson (-1) Y &
Her mo Per answer. (O w5 c,urmo/ hex wother Sovid | heed 4p ao Find some boi\ans c. Write down one thing that reading makes the narrator feel. Provide evidence for your answer, (2 marks) Rm(}mo« vokes the. woarrafor feel worwm as ghe meniantd one a’(’ Iy (ife's two nol% WwAS ‘*HA&JNAVW\ (‘n(‘AoOV\/O{ Jhe. world's Looks®. 5. Provide a phrase from the passage that might indicate the narrator being skilled at making ramen. (1 mark) ‘I Ioud’ the oty on o woil with o ?rac\'icei lhond.’ 6. a. Identify the simile used to describe dried noodles. (1 mark) : like an old Frehch ?ry’ b. What word appeals to the sense of hearing when describing dried noodles? (0.5 mark) Qrw v c. Identify the literary technique from 6.b. (0.5 mark) Onomotof oelo 1) 7. Write down one adjective to describe the narrator’s mother. Provide evidence for your (1 mark) \NW\'?A‘ Yo so¥isty the woarvodoc 8. Tick the box that best describes what the narrator wants as a child: (1 mark) To move somewhere else [ ] To feel like he/she belongs To survive childhood [_] 9. Tick the box that best describes what ramen represents: (1 mark) Loneliness [_] Comfo@ Support [} Fulfillment [_] €0