Unit 13: A Day Without Sight

Word List

  • n. An aspect is one part or feature of something.
    I thought about the different aspects of owning two dogs.
  • n. An asset is a skill or quality that is useful or valuable.
    The coach realized the boy's speed was an asset to the team.
  • n. An assignment is task that is given to you to do.
    He was given a difficult assignment but he felt he could succeed in doing it.
  • n. An awareness is knowledge or perception or a situation or fact.
    She has little awareness of what needs to be done.
  • n. A bud is a part of a plant that turns into a flower or a leaf.
    Two weeks after planting the seed, a small bud appeared.
  • v. To coordinate things is to make different parts work together.
    Each skating team had to coordinate their movements for the show.
  • n. Credit is something good in your favour.
    His bank account is in credit, so he has money he can spend.
  • v. To disprove something means to show that it is not true.
    The scientist disproved the theory that the sun moved around the Earth.
  • adj. If something is humanitarian, it is connected to helping people's lives.
    After the flood, several humanitarian organizations offered help.
  • n. A hypothesis is an idea about something that has not been proved yet.
    The teacher did an experiment to prove whether his hypothesis was right.
  • adj. When something is informative, it provides a lot of information.
    The travel guide had a lot of informative facts about the region.
  • adj. When something is optic, it relates to the eyes or light.
    Her blindness was caused by a problem with her optic nerve.
  • n. A premise is an idea on which something is based.
    The premise of the movie that Bobbi and I watched was unrealistic.
  • n. A rack is an object with shelves that holds things.
    He stored his tools on a rack.
  • n. The Renaissance was a period between the 14th and 17th centuries.
    Leonardo da Vinci was a popular artist of the Renaissance.
  • adj. When something is spatial, it relates to the position and size of things.
    He was asked where the books were located to test his spatial awareness.
  • v. To specify is to describe something clearly.
    The poster didn't specify where the concert was taking place.
  • v. If you tie two things together, you fasten them with rope, string, etc.
    The dog is used to being tied up.
  • v. To undertake a particular task is to take on the responsibility of doing it.
    We undertook to make sure everybody was well informed of current progress.
  • n. Wax is a substance that is slightly shiny and melts when heated.
    The candles are made of wax.

 

Exercise

A ‣ Circle the one that is similar in meaning to the given word.

  1. informative
    • a. thoughtless
    • b. careful
    • c. helpful
    • d. untrue
  2. coordinate
    • a. to work together
    • b. to break
    • c. to listen
    • d. to finish
  3. premise
    • a. an important part
    • b. a solution
    • c. an idea
    • d. a purpose
  4. aspect
    • a. a valued thing
    • b. a feature
    • c. an idea
    • d. a location
  5. assignment
    • a. job
    • b. prison
    • c. presence
    • d. amount
  6. rack
    • a. a baker
    • b. a holder
    • c. a shelter
    • d. a waiter
  7. awareness
    • a. understanding
    • b. thoughtful
    • c. medical
    • d. restful
  8. credit
    • a. sign language
    • b. hearing aid
    • c. plant
    • d. reward
  9. bud
    • a. tree
    • b. sprout
    • c. bark
    • d. leaves
  10. wax
    • a. candle
    • b. light
    • c. fire
    • d. ice

 

B ‣ Circle the one that is opposite in meaning to the given word.

  1. disprove
    • a. to invent
    • b. to validate
    • c. to lie
    • d. to guess
  2. undertake
    • a. to ignore
    • b. to go fast
    • c. to keep
    • d. to encourage
  3. humanitarian
    • a. inhumane
    • b. parasite
    • c. assistant
    • d. artist

 

C ‣ Write the word that best fits each sentence.

  1. humanitarian / informative
    _____ aid will arrive within the next few days.
    This _____ essay was well received by peers in the field.
  2. premise / rack
    Many moviegoers didn't understand the _____ of the film.
    The man chained his bicycle to the _____ out front.
  3. undertakes / disproves
    She _____ to ensure the program was properly funded.
    This experiment _____ your theory on language learning.
  4. bud / wax
    A _____ emerged from the small plant.
    All of the sculptures in the museum are made from _____.
  5. tie / credit
    I don't know how to _____ a knot properly.
    I must give you _____ ,you did a fantastic job.
  6. assignment / hypothesis
    The _____ you were given for homework must be completed by 9 am.
    In order to test out this _____ ; we will be conducting a small experiment.
  7. aspect / asset
    The documentary focused on the negative _____ of the event.
    The boy's parents assured him he was a great _____ to his soccer team.
  8. spatial / awareness
    The _____ distribution of the buildings is not even.
    Babies begin having _____ of their limbs after a few months.
  9. optic / Renaissance
    During the _____, many great pieces of art were created.
    The surgery seemed to have created a problem with the _____, nerve.
  10. coordinate / specify
    It took a lot of effort to _____ all of the teachers' schedules.
    Please _____ which color you would like the dress in.

 

A Day Without Sight

On Friday afternoon, Sam's teacher had a special assignment.

"Next week, we'll be studying humanitarian efforts around the world since the time of the Renaissance, including those to help the blind, she said. “Over the weekend, I want each of you to undertake the difficult task of wearing a blindfold for an entire day. The premise of this experiment is that it will help you understand what it's like to be blind," she said.

Sam was a skeptic. He really didn't think the assignment would be too challenging. On Saturday morning, Sam took a piece of cloth and tied it around his head to cover his eyes. Then he went into the kitchen for breakfast. He heard the voices of his parents and brothers but couldn't specify where each voice was coming from. He thought about how important hearing is for blind people.

"Could you pass me the newspaper, please?” he asked. Just then, he remembered he couldn't see the words on the page. He wondered if newspapers were ever made for the blind.

After finishing breakfast, his brothers asked him to play soccer. As he followed them, he accidentally walked into the bike rack. He also found that he couldn't play soccer. He wouldn't be able to coordinate his actions without being able to see. Without his optic senses, he had no spatial awareness. Furthermore, he couldn't easily do normal activities because he had to make sure he was safe first.

He sat on the lawn. Suddenly, he realized that, although he couldn't see, his other senses worked perfectly fine. In fact, he began to realize new and different aspects of common objects. For example, he took a flower bud and felt it with his finger. He realized for the first time that it seemed to be covered with wax.

His hypothesis about being blind was disproved. The informative experiment had an strong effect on him. It showed him sight was an asset that should be appreciated and taught him to appreciate and give credit to the talents of blind people.

 

Reading Comprehension

Part A: Mark each statement T for true or F for false. Rewrite the false statements to make them true.

  1. _____ Sam's class was going to study humanitarian efforts since the time of the Renaissance the following week.
    __________
  2. _____ At first, Sam's hypothesis was that the assignment was going to be difficult.
    __________
  3. _____ Sam found it easy to read the newspaper that day.
    __________
  4. _____ Sam ran into the baker's rack on his way outside.
    __________
  5. _____ Without his sense of sight, Sam had better spatial awareness and could coordinate his movements more easily.
    __________

 

Part B: Answer the questions.

  1. What is the passage about?
    • a. Making a blind friend
    • b. Asking family for help
    • c. Appreciating blind people
    • d. Conducting experiments
  2. What was the premise of the experiment, according to Sam's teacher?
    _____
  3. What aspect of the flower bud did Sam notice after he realized all his other senses worked fine?
    _____

 

Answer Key

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