PASSAGE FOUR (Questions 15-19)

Territoriality

 

1   In many species, members of the species exhibit aggressive behavior toward one another, often with a focus on territoriality, the fight for exclusive control of a particular area. The level of violence in territorial aggression varies  to species, though few species fight other members of the species to death and instead rely on non-lethal contests for control of territory that involves noise-making maneuvers such as roaring or hissing or aggressive posturing or gestures.

2   Most bird species are known to be territorial to some degree, though the territorial behaviors exhibited by most species are limited to singing contests, which can go on for days, or threatening postures with wings lifted or extended. The swan, on the other hand, is quite unlike other birds in this respect. The swan may seem particularly elegant and serene as it glides across the surface of a lake; however, male swans are, in reality, quite territorial and will fight other male swans for the exclusive use of a lake no matter how large the lake is. Males will engage in ferocious contests, with their necks entwined as they attempt to cause mortal injury to each other.

 

15. Why does the author include the fight for exclusive control of a particular area in paragraph 1?

1. It presents an argument against a previously stated point.
2. It provides a definition of a previously stated term.
3. It presents a second area of focus of aggressive behavior.
4. It introduces a new idea to be further developed in the paragraph.

 

16. The author uses the word instead in paragraph 2 to show that that follows

1. contradicts what precedes it
2. expands upon what precedes it
3. provides an example of what precedes it
4. explains an effect of what precedes it

 

17. Why does the author mention singing contests in paragraph 2?

1. To demonstrate that birds create beautiful sounds
2. To provide an example of unusual behavior by birds
3. To show how violently aggressive some bird behavior is
4. To demonstrate that some types of territorial behaviors are not very aggressive

 

18. The author discusses the swan in paragraph 2 to provide an example of

1. a bird that makes threatening postures with its wings
2. a bird whose territorial behavior is extremely aggressive
3. non-lethal contests for control of territory
4. the limited aggressive behavior generally exhibited by birds

 

19. The author mentions with their necks entwined in paragraph 2 in order

1. to indicate that swans are really rather affectionate
2. to emphasize how long swans' necks are
3. to make the point that the swans are only pretending to hurt one another
4. to create a mental image for the reader of fighting swans

 

READING EXERCISE (Skills 7-8): Read the passage.

 

Ella Deloria

1   In was not until her posthum9us novel Waterlily was published in 1988 that Ella C. Deloria became known for her literary ability in addition to her already-established reputation in the academic arena of linguistics and ethnology. During her lifetime, she was recognized for the linguistic ability and cultural sensitivity that went into the production of a collection of traditional short stories entitled Dakota Texts (1932). After her death, her versions of a number of longer traditional stories and the novel Waterlily were published; with the publication of Waterlily came the recognition of her true literary ability and the awareness that it was the strength of her literary ability, in addition to her linguistic expertise and her deep cultural understanding, that had made her versions of traditional stories so compelling.

2   Ella Cara Deloria was born into a Nakota-speaking family in 1889; however, she grew up among the Lakota people in North Dakota, where her father was a leader in the Episcopal Church. Her father, the son of a traditional Nakota medicine man, valued both the cultural traditions of his family and those of the country of his citizenship. As a result, Deloria primarily spoke Nakota at home and Lakota when she was out in the community, and she was well versed there in the cultural traditions of her Sioux ancestors (with a complex kinship structure in which all of a child's father's brothers are also considered fathers, all of a child's mother's sisters are also considered mothers, and all of the children of all these mothers and fathers are considered siblings). Her education, however, was in English, at the Episcopalian Saint Elizabeth Mission School and the All Saints School. After high school, she attended Oberlin College in Ohio for one year, and then she transferred to Columbia University to study linguistics under Franz Boas, the founder of American Indian linguistics.

3   After graduating from Columbia, she was encouraged by Boas to collect and record traditional Lakota stories. She was in a unique position to take on this task because of her fluency in the Lakota language as well as in English, her understanding from childhood of the complexities and subtleties of Lakota culture, and her linguistic training from Columbia. The result of her research was the Dakota Texts, a bilingual collection of 64 short stories. To create this remarkable work, Deloria was able to elicit stories from venerable Sioux elders, without need for translators and with an awareness of appropriately respectful behavior. She listened to the stories as numerous generations had before her, and then, unlike previous generations, recorded them in writing-initially in Lakota and later in English. She transcribed them essentially as they were told but with her own understanding of the nuances of what was being told.

4   In addition to the shorter stories that were published in Dakota Texts, Deloria spent 1937 working on transcribing a number of longer and more complicated texts, which were not published until after her death. "Iron Hawk: Oglala Culture Hero" (1993) presents the diverse elements of the culture-hero genre; "The Buffalo People" (1994) focuses on the importance of tribal education in building character; "A Sioux Captive" (1994) tells the story of a Lakota woman who rescued her husband from the Crow; "The Prairie Dogs" (1994) describes the sense of hope offered by the Sioux warrior-society ceremonies and dances.

5   Her novel Waterlily, which was first published 40 years after it was completed and 17 years after her death, reflects her true literary talent as well as her accumulated understanding of traditional culture and customs. The novel recounts the fictional story of the difficult life of the title character, with a horrendous childhood experience as witness to a deadly enemy raid and a first marriage terminated by the untimely death of her husband in a smallpox epidemic, and comes to a close with the hopeful expectations of an impending second marriage. At the same time, it presents a masterful account of life in a nineteenth- century Sioux community with its detailed descriptions of interpersonal relationships and attitudes, everyday tasks and routines, and special ceremonies and celebrations.

 

GLOSSARY

The Lakota, Nakota, and Dakota are related groups of people who are part of the Sioux nation.

 

Questions

1. It can be inferred from paragraph 1 that, while she was alive, Ella Deloria

1. did little to make use of her education in linguistics
2. achieved acclaim more for her transcriptions than for her novel
3. was the published author of a number of types of fiction and nonfiction
4. was recognized for the literary maturity of her novel

 

2. Why does the author use the word however in paragraph 2?

1. To emphasize that she was born in an earlier century
2. To clarify the differences between the Lakota and the Dakota
3. To show that she was raised in a different environment from the one where she was born
4. To demonstrate that she was very different from other members of her family

 

3. Why does the author include the information with a complex kinship structure in which all of a child's father's brothers are also considered fathers, all of a child's mother's sisters are also considered mothers, and all of the children of all these mothers and fathers are considered siblings in parentheses?

1. To provide details to emphasize how the Nakota and the Lakota differed
2. To introduce the idea that Deloria's education in English was completely different from her home life
3. To provide an alternate explanation for Deloria's use of Nakota at home and Lakota in the community
4. To provide an example of one cultural tradition of the Sioux

 

4. Why does the author begin paragraph 3 with After graduating from Columbia

1. To indicate that paragraph 3 follows paragraph 2 in chronological order
2. To clarify that paragraph 3 describes Deloria's education at Columbia
3. To recognize the importance of education throughout Deloria's life
4. To demonstrate that paragraph 3 provides examples of a concept presented in paragraph 2

 

5. It is implied in paragraph 3 that Dakota Texts was written

1. only in English
2. only in Dakota
3. in Dakota and Lakota
4. in Lakota and English

 

6. Why does the author mention an awareness of appropriately respectful behavior inparagraph 3?

1. To show one way that Deloria was qualified to elicit stories from Sioux elders
2. To show that Deloria's linguistic training had been effective
3. To show the difference between Deloria's transcriptions and her novel
4. To show why Deloria needed to work with a translator

 

7. It can be inferred from paragraph 4 that "Iron Hawk: Oglala Culture Hero" was published

1. in the same year that it was written
2. just prior to Deloria's death
3. long after it was transcribed
4. long before Waterlily was published

 

8. Why does the author discuss "The Prairie Dogs" in paragraph 4?

1. It was written by Deloria.
2. It describes Deloria's own life story.
3. It provides insight into rituals and dances.
4. It was one of the earliest short stories that Deloria transcribed.

 

9. It can be inferred from the passage that Waterlily was completed

1. in 1937
2. in 1948
3. in 1954
4. in 1988

 

10. Why does the author mention the untimely death of her husband in a smallpox epidemic in paragraph 5?

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