adapted from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Changing America

Question

by Barbara Radner



1 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was a great leader. He inspired many people and is known around the world. Dr. King inspired changes that are important to everyone in the United States. He was the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Peace Prize is given to a person who is important to the world. It is a prize for using a peaceful method of change to inspire freedom.

2 Dr. King used a method of change called non-violent protest. He protested for civil rights. Civil rights are the rights of citizens to freedom and equality. When Dr. King led protests, people were angry. Even though people were angry, he kept marching.

3 People who had been afraid to protest were inspired to join the protest. Dr. King gave them confidence. Together they would overcome. Thousands of people joined the protest. The protests changed America.

4 Dr. King organized boycotts. A boycott means that people do not buy an item. They may not shop at a store or use a service. Before 1955, African Americans could not ride in the front of a bus. They had to sit or stand in the back. Only whites could sit in the front. Dr. King led the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It took months, but the boycott worked. African Americans got the freedom to sit anywhere in the bus.

5 Dr. King inspired many people. He inspired them with his books and speeches. He gave an inspiring speech in Washington, D.C. It is called his “I Have a Dream” speech. In the speech, he talked about what he had seen. He talked about the changes in America, and he talked about the future.

6 Today the United States celebrates Dr. King with a special holiday every year. On that day, people remember what he accomplished. They think about how he changed America.

“Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Changing America” by Barbara Radner. Copyright © 2005 by Barbara Radner. Reprinted withpermission, all rights reserved.
5071_As Luck Would Have It
Read the selection and choose the best answer for each question.

As Luck Would Have It

1 Becky had everything Sarah wanted: a pool in her backyard, popularity, and new clothes. Worse, it seemed (at least to Sarah) that Becky had a special touch. Everything she touched turned to gold. She won the class lottery and $50! She guessed how many jelly beans were in the jar in the yearly guess-how-many contest and won all 768 of them. She won every race she entered, every art competition, and every award the school offered. She had all the luck in the world.

2 Sarah was an only child. She wore hand-me-downs from her older cousin Clementine. She didn’t have many friends. Her best friend Kiara was really the best in a lot of ways: kind, generous, and loyal. Just the kind of person you would want for a best friend. But Sarah most certainly did not have good luck. She never won anything. On the days she carried an umbrella, it never rained; on the days she forgot her umbrella, dark rain clouds seemed to follow her around.

3 One rainy day in April, though, Sarah and Becky swapped luck. That’s how Sarah thought of it, anyway. It wasn’t expected, and it certainly wasn’t planned. But after weeks of wishing for it, Sarah woke up and things felt different. She felt lucky.

4 She rolled out of bed and noticed a small package on her desk. She opened it: it was a brand new dress, the same one she had been eyeing for weeks. “Mom!” she called. “Did you get me this dress?”

5 “It’s from your grandmother,” her mother called back. “Early birthday gift!”

6 Sarah shrugged. Her birthday wasn’t until August.

7 “And I made your favorite! Chocolate chip pancakes!” her mother shouted.

8 “Pancakes on a Wednesday?” This truly was a different kind of day.

9 And it didn’t stop there. On the school bus, Carlos, the most popular boy in school, saved her a seat. Then Mrs. Nelson picked her to take care of the class rabbit over the weekend. The cafeteria lady gave her two extra cookies and said with a wink, “Your lucky day!”

10 But the best part of the day was art class. Mr. Rodriguez, her art teacher, walked around the room slowly. Sarah hadn’t spent much time on her project. But it was still pretty, still unique. Mr. Rodriguez walked past Becky’s art project and didn’t even pause. Becky looked devastated. Her hair was still wet from that morning’s rain. She had forgotten to bring an umbrella.

11 “Well, class!” Mr. Rodriguez said. “I think our winner for this month is Sarah! Excellent work, Sarah—this shows a lot of progress!”

12 Sarah smiled proudly. “Guess you have some competition,” she whispered to Becky.

13 Sarah was on top of the world. She didn’t feel like a normal fourth grader at all. Today, she felt like a better-than-average fourth grader, possibly the best fourth grader who had ever existed. She wondered what was next.

14 Becky, she noticed, had spent most of the day sulking. “Let someone else have a shot at being lucky for once,” Sarah thought to herself. Then she noticed that Becky was crying. Small tears dripped down onto her t-shirt.

15 “What’s wrong?” Sarah asked.

16 “I just spent a lot of time on that project,” Becky said between sobs.

17 Sarah was beginning to feel awful. After all, she hadn’t spent much time on her project at all.

18 Then she felt Kiara tap her on the shoulder. “You know, Sarah,” Kiara started. She looked angry and hurt at the same time. “You haven’t been very nice today. You’ve been acting like...like you’re the best person in the world.” She shook her head. “This just isn’t like you at all.”

19 Now Sarah felt even worse. It was one thing to have the class pet dislike you, but another thing entirely to disappoint your best friend. “I’m sorry, Kiara,” she said. “It’s just been a weird day.”

20 She walked over to Becky and gave her a hug. “Don’t worry,” she whispered, “your luck will change soon enough.” Luck, Sarah was beginning to think, was not so special after all.


1.
The authors of both selections would most likely agree that everyone —
A.gets what they fairly deserve, whether lucky or unlucky
B.has equal opportunities to find success
C.deserves equal respect, whether lucky or unlucky
D.can change their luck if they really want

2.
One thing that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Becky have in common is that both characters —
A.gave a speech
B.were part of a protest
C.were popular in school
D.earned a prize

Answer 1

1. The authors of both selections would most likely agree that everyone — C. deserves equal respect, whether lucky or unlucky

2. One thing that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and Becky have in common is that both characters — D. earned a prize