1 Long-distance footraces, known as marathons, are celebrated events in American culture.
Hundreds and sometimes thousands of people come together to test their endurance and to
take part in good-natured competition. One of the world's most famous marathons takes place
every year in Boston, Massachusetts. Incredibly, women have only been able to officially run
in the Boston Marathon since 1972. Before that time, it was widely believed that women's
bodies and minds were not strong enough for long-distance running. The idea of women
running in marathons was so strange to people that the Boston Marathon didn't even have a
rule barring women. People just assumed that only men would sign up for the race.
2 In 1967, however, a young woman named Kathrine Switzer changed all that. As a twenty-year-old student, Switzer registered for the marathon under the name “K. V. Switzer.”
Because she didn't write Kathrine, race officials did not know that “K. V.” was, in fact, a
woman. On the day of the race, Switzer, dressed in a sweatsuit and proudly wearing the
number 261, set off with her boyfriend, Tom Miller.
3 Two miles in, however, trouble struck. The race director, Jock Semple, realized that a
woman was running in the marathon as an official entrant. He became furious. He was so
angry that he joined the other runners on the route and came running after Switzer.
Photographs of the event show Semple's frustration as he tried to rip off Switzer's numbers
and disqualify her. Witnesses reported that he shouted, “Give me those numbers and get out
of my race!”
4 Luckily, Switzer avoided Semple. This was in part because her boyfriend blocked the
director's attempts to rip off her race number. Although she was scared and angry about what
had happened, Switzer continued to run until she finished the race. Her final time was four
hours, twenty minutes.
5 Today, Switzer continues to attend the annual Boston Marathon as a journalist. The female
athletes who flock to Boston to run in this world-famous race owe a debt to Switzer for
helping the world realize that women could indeed compete and enjoy long-distance running.
All races since then have invited women to participate as equals. Because of Switzer’s
courage and love of running, she helped other women discover their abilities, too.
Identify the Author's Purpose and be sure to include...
How do you know this is the author's purpose. Cite specific word choices that show the author's purpose.
What is a possible influence in the author's life that is bringing out this purpose or causing them to write the story? Support your response with a detail from this selection
9 answers
If you post what YOU THINK (no guessing! that's always obvious), someone might be able to help, but no one is going to take this test for you.
… and be sure to include...
How do you know this is the author's purpose. Cite specific word choices that show the author's purpose.
What is a possible influence in the author's life that is bringing out this purpose or causing them to write the story? Support your response with a detail from this selection
5 answers