CHAPTER V

GETTING ACQUAINTED

"Dick, we have made two enemies, that's sure," remarked Sam to his brother as they watched Flockley and Koswell depart.

"It couldn't be helped if we have, Sam," was the reply. "You are not sorry for what we did at the Sanderson house, are you?"

"Not in the least. What we should have done was to give those chaps a sound thrashing."

"They seem to have a number of friends here. Probably they will do all they can to make life at this college miserable for us."

"Well, if they do too much, I reckon we can do something too."

Some new students had been standing at a distance watching the scene described in the last chapter. Now one of them approached and nodded pleasantly.

"Freshmen?" he asked.

"Yes," answered both of the Rovers.

"So am I. My name is Stanley Browne. What's yours?"

"Dick Rover, and this is my brother Sam."

"Oh, are you Dick Rover? I've heard about you. My cousin knows you real well."

"Who is your cousin?"

"Larry Colby."

"Larry!" cried Dick. "Well, I guess he does know us well. We've had some great times together at Putnam Hall and elsewhere. So you are Larry's cousin? I am real glad to know you." And Dick held out his hand.

"Larry is one of our best chums," said Sam, also shaking hands. "I remember now that he has spoken of you. I am glad to know somebody at this place." And Sam smiled broadly. Soon all three of the boys were on good terms, and Stanley Browne told the Rovers something about himself. What are the answers to this following set of questions: 1. Who began interacting with the main characters?
2. What does he want to know initially?
3. Are they?
4. What are their names?
5. Are they related?
6. In what way?
7. Who had been leaving before Stan showed up?
8. Were they buddies with them?
9. Did they regret not being buddies?
10. What did one of them think they should have done?
11. Are they in high school or higher education?
12. Did Stan know someone they also knew?
13. Who?
14. How did Stan know him?
15. Did the connection make the boys happy?
16. Where had they spent time with Larry?
17. Is he just a distant acquaintance?
18. What did they call him then?
19. Had he told them about Stan?
20. Did their conversation take a sour turn at the end?
Answer: 1. Stanley Browne
2. If they are freshman.
3. yes
4. Dick and Sam Rover
5. yes
6. They are brothers.
7. Flockley and Koswell
8. no
9. no
10. give them a sound thrashing
11. Higher education.
12. Yes.
13. Larry Colby.
14. Larry is his cousin.
15. yes
16. Putnam Hall and elsewhere
17. no
18. "one of our best chums"
19. Yes.
20. No.

Problem: (CNN) -- The Supreme Court has just agreed to take on the case of Fisher v. University of Texas. Abigail Fisher, a white woman, argues that she has been a victim of the university's race-conscious admission policies; the university contends that its drive for racial and ethnic diversity is educationally enriching -- a benefit to all students.

Will the ugly discourse that generally characterizes debate over racially preferential policies disappear with the wave of a magic Supreme Court wand? It seems unlikely. The issue is a cat with many more than nine lives. It arrived in the early 1970s and, despite many attacks, some of which have taken the form of amendments to state constitutions, it has survived in pretty fine fettle.

The court will have only eight justices to hear the arguments. Elena Kagan, having been involved in the case as solicitor general in the Obama administration, has bowed out of participation. Her absence, however, leaves five justices likely to express at least some degree of skepticism about the racial preferences given to non-Asian minorities in the admissions process.

Has the University of Texas been enriched by academic diversity? Maybe. But equally likely is the possibility that racial double standards reinforce stereotypes about smart whites and even smarter Asians. There are certainly wide gaps in the average SAT scores between blacks and Hispanics, on the one hand, and whites and Asians, on the other hand.

Among freshmen entering the University of Texas in 2009 who did not fall into the top 10% of their high school class (automatic admission at the university), Asians scored at the 93rd percentile of 2009 SAT takers nationwide, whites at the 89th percentile, Hispanics at the 80th percentile and blacks at the 52nd percentile. Startling? No. This picture has been well known for a long time. Heartbreaking, yes, because the numbers mean the underperforming minority students are being woefully ill served by the K-12 school system. Moreover, arriving at institutions of higher education with an academic disadvantage, they do not catch up, as it has become clear.
1. How many judges will be involved?
2. Is anyone not going to hear the case?
Answer: 1. eight
2. yes

question: CHAPTER VI

Lady Margaret, who chanced to be the first arrival on the night of the dinner party in David Thain's honour, contemplated her sister admiringly. Letitia was wearing a gown of ivory satin, a form of attire which seemed always to bring with it almost startling reminiscences of her Italian ancestry.

"So glad to find you alone, Letty," she remarked, as she sank into the most comfortable of the easy chairs. "There's something I've been wanting to ask you for weeks. Bob put it into my head again this afternoon."

"What is it, dear?" Letitia enquired.

"Why don't you marry Charlie Grantham?" her sister demanded abruptly.

"There are so many reasons. First of all, he hasn't really ever asked me."

"You're simply indolent," Lady Margaret persisted. "He'd ask you in five minutes if you'd let him. Do you suppose Bob would ever have thought of marrying me, if I hadn't put the idea into his head?"

"You're so much cleverer than I," Letitia sighed.

"Not in the least," was the prompt disclaimer. "I really doubt whether I have your brains, and I certainly haven't your taste. The only thing that I have, and always had, is common sense, common sense enough to see that girls in our position in life must marry, and the sooner the better."

"Why only our class of life?"

"Don't be silly! It's perfectly obvious, isn't it, that the daughters of the middle classes are having the time of their lives. They are all earning money. Amongst them it has become quite the vogue to take situations as secretaries or milliners or that sort of thing, and it simply doesn't matter whether they marry or not. They get all the fun they want out of life."
1. Who arrived first to the dinner?
2. Who is wanting their sister to get married?
3. Why did Bob marry her?
4. What does Letitia have that Lady Margret doesn't?
5. What social class are the women not in?
6. What is the sisters ancestry?
7. What has Lady Margret had for a long time?
8. Who was she happy to find alone?
9. What is her full first name?
10. What reason does she give for not getting married?
11. Who is having a great time in their lives?
12. What kind of jobs do they take?
13. Who reminded Lady Margret to question her sister?
14. What is Charlie's last name?
15. Why was the party being held?
16. What was Letty wearing?
17. How long had her sister been waiting to question her?
****
answer:
1. Lady Margaret
2. Lady Margaret
3. the idea was put into his head
4. her brains
5. lower class, upper class
6. Italian
7. she had been wanting to ask for weeks
8. Letty
9. Letitia
10. he hasn't really ever asked me
11. the daughters of the middle classes
12. secretaries or milliners
13. Bob
14. Grantham
15. in David Thain's honour
16. a gown
17. weeks