6. What did Michael begin to do from the age of 14?
Now switch roles.
7. How did Michael feel about his successful attempt at beating his personal best by three inches?
8. At what moment did Michael begin to feel nervous?
9. What helped Michael overcome his nervousness?
10. What made Michael associate his final jump with his childhood dream?
11. How did Michael think his parents might feel about his success? And what was his father's reaction to his feat?
12. Why would Michael attract a lot of media attention?
Keys
1. Because the pole was set at 17 feet which was three inches higher than his personal best.
2. Because pole-vaulting combines the grace of a gymnast with the strength of a body builder.
3. His childhood dream was to fly. His mother read him numerous stories about flying when he was growing up.
4. Because he believed in hard work and sweat. His motto is: If you want something, work for it!
5. Michael's mother wished he could relax a bit more and be that \little boy. On one occasion she attempted to talk to him and his father about this, but Michael's father quickly interrupted, smiled and said, \
work for it!\
6. He began a very careful training program.
7. He seemed unaware of the fact that he had just beaten his personal best by three inches. He was very calm.
8. He began to feel nervous when the bar was set at nine inches higher than his personal best.
9. What his mother had taught him about how to deal with tension or anxiety helped him overcome his nervousness.
10. The singing of some distant birds in flight made him associate his final jump with his childhood dream.
11. He could imagine the smile on his mother's face. He thought his father was probably smiling too, even laughing. However, in fact, his father hugged his wife and cried like a baby in his wife's arms.
12. Because he was blind.
Organizationally the text can be divided into four parts. Part One narrates the most challenging competition in Michael's career. In
Part Two, the author goes back to talk about Michael's childhood dreams. Part Three resumes the narration of the competition, and Part Four serves as a conclusion. Now write down the main idea of each part. The last one has been done for you. Parts Part Paras. 1-2 One Part Paras. 3-5 Two Part Three Part Paras. 13 Four Paras. 6-12 Paragraphs Main Ideas What was most unusual about Michael's victory was that he wasKeys
Paras. 1-2 Michael faced the most challenging competition in his pole-vaulting career.
Paras. 3-5 Michael's childhood was marked with dreams and tough training. Paras. 6-12 Michael topped his personal best, won the championship and set a new world record.
As the text consists of the main story and a flashback, the narration has to switch from the ongoing competition to earlier events and then return to the ongoing competition. How, then, does the author manage to make these parts in the text flow smoothly?
One way is to repeat a key word in the last sentence of a paragraph in the first sentence of the next paragraph. Now find out the key
word that helps join Part One and Part Two, and then copy down the two sentences that contain it.
1.
Another way is to pick up a key idea from a previous paragraph and repeat it in the sentence introducing the next paragraph. Now find the key idea that helps join Part Two and Part Three, and then copy down the sentence that uses it. 2.
Keys
1. It also has the element of flying, and the thought of flying as high as a two-story building is a mere fantasy to anyone watching such an event. As long as Michael could remember he had always dreamed of flying.
2. All of Michael's vaults today seemed to be the reward for his hard work.
Read aloud Paragraphs 9 and 10 until you have learned them by heart. Then try to complete the following passage from memory.
The runway felt different this time. It moment. Then it all hit him like a wet (1) him for a brief (2). The bar was set at nine (3) the inches higher than his personal best. That's only one inch National record, he thought. The mind with anxiety. He began more (4) of the moment filled his (5). It wasn't working. He became (6). Why was this happening to him now, he thought. He (7). began to get nervous. Afraid would be a more accurate