Question
“So where are you from, Judy?”
“New York,” I told my classmates. After all, I had been born blocks away at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.
“I mean, originally.”
“From the Caribbean,” I answered vaguely, for if I specified, no one was quite sure what continent our island was located.
“Really? I’ve been to Bermuda. We went last April for spring vacation. I got the worst sunburn! So, are you from Portoriko?”
“No,” I shook my head. “From the Dominican Republic.”
“Where’s that?”
“South of Bermuda.”
They were just being curious, I knew, but I burned with shame whenever they singled me out as a “foreigner,” a rare, exotic friend.
What evidence from the passage best supports the inference that the teenaged Alvarez just wants to fit into American culture?
“New York,” I told my classmates. After all, I had been born blocks away at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.
“From the Caribbean,” I answered vaguely, for if I specified, no one was quite sure what continent our island was located.
“No,” I shook my head. “From the Dominican Republic.”
They were just being curious, I knew, but I burned with shame whenever they singled me out as a “foreigner,” a rare, exotic friend.
“New York,” I told my classmates. After all, I had been born blocks away at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.
“I mean, originally.”
“From the Caribbean,” I answered vaguely, for if I specified, no one was quite sure what continent our island was located.
“Really? I’ve been to Bermuda. We went last April for spring vacation. I got the worst sunburn! So, are you from Portoriko?”
“No,” I shook my head. “From the Dominican Republic.”
“Where’s that?”
“South of Bermuda.”
They were just being curious, I knew, but I burned with shame whenever they singled me out as a “foreigner,” a rare, exotic friend.
What evidence from the passage best supports the inference that the teenaged Alvarez just wants to fit into American culture?
“New York,” I told my classmates. After all, I had been born blocks away at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital.
“From the Caribbean,” I answered vaguely, for if I specified, no one was quite sure what continent our island was located.
“No,” I shook my head. “From the Dominican Republic.”
They were just being curious, I knew, but I burned with shame whenever they singled me out as a “foreigner,” a rare, exotic friend.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
The evidence that best supports the inference that the teenaged Alvarez just wants to fit into American culture is found in the following line:
"They were just being curious, I knew, but I burned with shame whenever they singled me out as a 'foreigner,' a rare, exotic friend."
This line indicates that Alvarez feels uncomfortable with her identity being highlighted as different or exotic, which suggests a desire to blend in with her classmates and be accepted as part of the American culture rather than being viewed as an outsider.
"They were just being curious, I knew, but I burned with shame whenever they singled me out as a 'foreigner,' a rare, exotic friend."
This line indicates that Alvarez feels uncomfortable with her identity being highlighted as different or exotic, which suggests a desire to blend in with her classmates and be accepted as part of the American culture rather than being viewed as an outsider.