Question
To the best of my knowledge, there’s never been a regulation
that forbids one to keep pets in a space station. No one ever
thought it was necessary—and even had such a rule existed, I am
quite certain that Sven Olsen would have ignored it.
With a name like that, you will picture Sven at once as a six-
foot-six Nordic giant, built like a bull and with a voice to match.
Had this been so, his chances of getting a job in space would have
been very slim. Actually he was a wiry little fellow, like most of
the early spacers, and managed to qualify easily for the 150-pound
bonus that kept so many of us on a reducing diet.
Sven was one of our best construction men, and excelled at
the tricky and specialized work of collecting assorted girders as
they floated around in free fall, making them do the slow-motion,
three-dimensional ballet that would get them into their right
positions, and fusing the pieces together when they were precisely
dovetailed into the intended pattern: It was a skilled and difficult
job, for a spacesuit is not the most convenient of garbs in which
to work. However, Sven’s team had one great advantage over
the construction gangs you see putting up skyscrapers down on
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2
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ANCHOR TEXT | SHORT STORY
Feathered Friend
Arthur C. Clarke
Feathered Friend 195
Copyright © Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
NOTES
Earth. They could step back and admire their handiwork without
being abruptly parted from it by gravity. . . .
Don’t ask me why Sven wanted a pet, or why he chose the one
he did. I’m not a psychologist, but I must admit that his selection
was very sensible. Claribel weighed practically nothing, her
food requirements were tiny—and she was not worried, as most
animals would have been, by the absence of gravity.
I first became aware that Claribel was aboard when I was
sitting in the little cubbyhole laughingly called my office, checking
through my lists of technical stores to decide what items we’d
be running out of next. When I heard the musical whistle beside
my ear, I assumed that it had come over the station intercom, and
waited for an announcement to follow. It didn’t; instead, there was
a long and involved pattern of melody that made me look up with
such a start that I forgot all about the angle beam just behind my
head. When the stars had ceased to explode before my eyes, I had
my first view of Claribel.
She was a small yellow canary, hanging in the air as motionless
as a hummingbird—and with much less effort, for her wings
were quietly folded along her sides. We stared at each other for
a minute; then, before I had quite recovered my wits, she did a
curious kind of backward loop I’m sure no earthbound canary
had ever managed, and departed with a few leisurely flicks. It was
quite obvious that she’d already learned how to operate in the
absence of gravity, and did not believe in doing unnecessary work.
Sven didn’t confess to her ownership for several days, and by
that time it no longer mattered, because Claribel was a general pet.
He had smuggled her up on the last ferry from Earth, when he
came back from leave—partly, he claimed, out of sheer scientific
curiosity. He wanted to see just how a bird would operate when it
had no weight but could still use its wings.
Claribel thrived and grew fat. On the whole, we had little
trouble concealing our guest when VIPs from Earth came visiting.
A space station has more hiding places than you can count; the
only problem was that Claribel got rather noisy when she was
upset, and we sometimes had to think fast to explain the curious
peeps and whistles that came from ventilating shafts and storage
bulkheads. There were a couple of narrow escapes—but then who
would dream of looking for a canary in a space station?
We were now on twelve-hour watches, which was not as bad
as it sounds, since you need little sleep in space. Though of course
there is no “day” and “night” when you are floating in permanent
sunlight, it was still convenient to stick to the terms. Certainly
when I woke that “morning” it felt like 6:00 a
.
m
.
on Earth. I had
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5
6
7
8
9
CLOSE READ
ANNOTATE: Mark
details in paragraph
6 that describe the
canary’s appearance and
movements.
QUESTION: Why does the
author include so much
descriptive detail about
the canary?
CONCLUDE: What aspects
of life in space does this
description help readers
imagine?
196 UNIT 3 • MODERN TECHNOLOGY
Copyright © Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
NOTES
a nagging headache, and vague memories of fitful, disturbed
dreams. It took me ages to undo my bunk straps, and I was still
only half awake when I joined the remainder of the duty crew in
the mess. Breakfast was unusually quiet, and there was one seat
vacant.
‘’Where’s Sven?” I asked, not very much caring.
“He’s looking for Claribel,” someone answered. “Says he can’t
find her anywhere. She usually wakes him up.”
Before I could retort that she usually woke me up, too, Sven
came in through the doorway, and we could see at once that
something was wrong. He slowly opened his hand, and there lay
a tiny bundle of yellow feathers, with two clenched claws sticking
pathetically up into the air.
“What happened?” we asked, all equally distressed
.
“I don’t know,” said Sven mournfully. “I just found her like
this.”
“Let’s have a look at her,” said Jock Duncan, our cook-doctor-
dietitian. We all waited in hushed silence while he held Claribel
against his ear in an attempt to detect any heartbeat.
Presently he shook his head. “I can’t hear anything, but that
doesn’t prove she’s dead. I’ve never listened to a canary’s heart,”
he added rather apologetically
.
“Give her a shot of oxygen,” suggested somebody, pointing to
the green-banded emergency cylinder in its recess beside the door.
Everyone agreed that this was an excellent idea, and Claribel was
tucked snugly into a face mask that was large enough to serve as a
complete oxygen tent for her.
To our delighted surprise, she revived at once. Beaming
broadly, Sven removed the mask, and she hopped onto his finger.
She gave her series of “Come to the cookhouse, boys” trills—then
promptly keeled over again.
“I don’t get it,” lamented Sven. “What’s wrong with her? She’s
never done this before.”
For the last few minutes, something had been tugging at my
memory. My mind seemed to be very sluggish that morning,
as if I was still unable to cast off the burden of sleep. I felt that I
could do with some of that oxygen—but before I could reach the
mask, understanding exploded in my brain. I whirled on the duty
engineer and said urgently:
“Jim! There’s something wrong with the air! That’s why
Claribel’s passed out. I’ve just remembered that miners used to
carry canaries down to warn them of gas.”
“Nonsense!” said Jim. “The alarms would have gone off. We’ve
got duplicate circuits, operating independently.”
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11
12
pathetically (puh THEHT
ihk lee) adv. in a way that
causes someone to feel pity
13
distressed (dih STREHST)
adj. troubled; upset
14
mournfully (MAWRN fuh
lee) adv. in a way that
expresses grief or sadness
15
16
apologetically (uh pol uh
JEHT ihk lee) adv. in a way
that shows someone is
sorry for having done or
said something; regretfully
17
18
19 lamented (luh MEHN tihd)
v.
said in a way that showed
sadness or sorrow
20
21
22
Feathered Friend 197
Copyright © Savvas Learning Company LLC. All Rights Reserved.
NOTES
“Er—the second alarm circuit isn’t connected up yet.” His
assistant reminded him. That shook Jim; he left without a word,
while we stood arguing and passing the oxygen bottle around like
a pipe of peace.
He came back ten minutes later with a sheepish expression. It
was one of those accidents that couldn’t possibly happen; we’d
had one of our rare eclipses by Earth’s shadow that night: Part of
the air purifier had frozen up, and the single alarm in the circuit
had failed to go off. Half a million dollars’ worth of chemical
and electronic engineering had let us down completely. Without
Claribel, we should soon have been slightly dead.
So now, if you visit any space station, don’t be surprised if you
hear an inexplicable snatch of birdsong. There’s no need to be
alarmed; on the contrary, in fact. It will mean that you’re being
doubly safeguarded, at practically no extra expense.
Introduction:
In the story "Feathered Friend," one theme is that it can be risky to depend on technology
The story shows that depending on technology too much can...
The question is whether the story is right to be worried about...
The story illustrates that technology can be a disadvantage because ___________________ and __________________________
Body Paragraph 1:
In the story, the character uses technology to...
When the technology stops working, the character...
In the text on page ____, it states that…
This shows that relying on technology can...
Body Paragraph 2:
The story also teaches us that technology can make people forget to...
The character must solve the problem by...
In the text on page ____, it states that…
This teaches us that it’s important to...
Conclusion:
The story “Feathered Friend” shows that depending too much on technology can...
The story’s warning is important because...
Society should remember to use technology but also...
write in 6th grade perspective
Answers
GPT-4o mini
**Introduction:**
In the story "Feathered Friend," one theme is that it can be risky to depend on technology. The story shows that depending on technology too much can lead to serious problems and even dangers in unexpected situations. The question is whether the story is right to be worried about how much we rely on gadgets and machines. The story illustrates that technology can be a disadvantage because it can fail at crucial moments and make people forget to pay attention to the world around them.
**Body Paragraph 1:**
In the story, the character uses technology to help create a safe environment in the space station, relying on a special air purifier to keep the air clean. When the technology stops working, the character, Sven, discovers that the air is not safe for Claribel, his pet canary, because the alarms didn’t go off as they were supposed to. In the text, it states, “we’d had one of our rare eclipses by Earth’s shadow that night: Part of the air purifier had frozen up, and the single alarm in the circuit had failed to go off.” This shows that relying on technology can be dangerous because if it breaks, important signals are missed, which can lead to life-threatening situations.
**Body Paragraph 2:**
The story also teaches us that technology can make people forget to pay attention to important details. While everyone is busy relying on the machines and their systems, they neglect their natural instincts and observations. When Claribel fainted due to the bad air, it was up to Sven and his friends to remember the lessons from Earth about using canaries as a warning. In the text, it states, “I whirled on the duty engineer and said urgently: ‘Jim! There’s something wrong with the air! That’s why Claribel’s passed out. I’ve just remembered that miners used to carry canaries down to warn them of gas.’” This teaches us that it’s important to stay aware and not let technology do all the thinking for us, as human knowledge and instincts are still very valuable.
**Conclusion:**
The story “Feathered Friend” shows that depending too much on technology can lead to dangerous situations when it fails. The story’s warning is important because it reminds us that while technology helps us, we should not ignore our own senses and experiences. Society should remember to use technology but also stay vigilant and aware of the environment around us, so we can catch problems before they become too serious.
In the story "Feathered Friend," one theme is that it can be risky to depend on technology. The story shows that depending on technology too much can lead to serious problems and even dangers in unexpected situations. The question is whether the story is right to be worried about how much we rely on gadgets and machines. The story illustrates that technology can be a disadvantage because it can fail at crucial moments and make people forget to pay attention to the world around them.
**Body Paragraph 1:**
In the story, the character uses technology to help create a safe environment in the space station, relying on a special air purifier to keep the air clean. When the technology stops working, the character, Sven, discovers that the air is not safe for Claribel, his pet canary, because the alarms didn’t go off as they were supposed to. In the text, it states, “we’d had one of our rare eclipses by Earth’s shadow that night: Part of the air purifier had frozen up, and the single alarm in the circuit had failed to go off.” This shows that relying on technology can be dangerous because if it breaks, important signals are missed, which can lead to life-threatening situations.
**Body Paragraph 2:**
The story also teaches us that technology can make people forget to pay attention to important details. While everyone is busy relying on the machines and their systems, they neglect their natural instincts and observations. When Claribel fainted due to the bad air, it was up to Sven and his friends to remember the lessons from Earth about using canaries as a warning. In the text, it states, “I whirled on the duty engineer and said urgently: ‘Jim! There’s something wrong with the air! That’s why Claribel’s passed out. I’ve just remembered that miners used to carry canaries down to warn them of gas.’” This teaches us that it’s important to stay aware and not let technology do all the thinking for us, as human knowledge and instincts are still very valuable.
**Conclusion:**
The story “Feathered Friend” shows that depending too much on technology can lead to dangerous situations when it fails. The story’s warning is important because it reminds us that while technology helps us, we should not ignore our own senses and experiences. Society should remember to use technology but also stay vigilant and aware of the environment around us, so we can catch problems before they become too serious.