➊ Read the introduction and lines 1 to 11.
a. The author is writing in 1999. She is
The author is writing in 1999. She is an adult.
The narrator is speaking in 1948. She is a child.
The story takes place in 1948.
b. The author was born in Holland.
When she was a child, she lived in Chicago. She is an adult now,
and she remembers her first job, when she was thirteen. The memoir is written in the first person,
from the point of view of the child. The story took place a long time ago, but the narrator tells it in the
present tense.
c. The narrator has to work 8 hours every day.
Yes, it’s a lot, because she’s only a child. She must get tired.
➋ Read lines 11 to 18.
a. Their diet is unhealthy.
Their mother is poor.
b. know / don’t know
young / unknowing
c. Maybe someone could knock at the door, or the children could have an accident, etc.
➌ Read lines 19 to 27.
a. What sense is mentioned in this passage? sight
Verbs: look and see
b. Line 23, when the narrator is looking for her. Before that, she only calls them the little girls, like
total strangers.
➍ Read lines 28 to 31.
a. She thinks it’s terrible, and she’s shocked.
b. The young narrator feels relieved and thankful.
The older narrator feels shocked/surprised/sad.
