Read the excerpt from “Clara Barton’s Childhood.” When she was eight years old, her father left his hill farm and moved down to the Learned house, a much bigger farm of three hundred acres, with the brook-like French river winding through its broad meadows, and three great barns standing in the lowlands between the hill and the house. Although her siblings remained to care for the smaller farm, Clara was not lonesome in the new home in the valley. What can be inferred by the description of this setting?
Read the excerpt from “Clara Barton’s Childhood.” Stephen Barton, or Captain Barton as he was called, was a man of marked military tastes. In the evening, after dinner, the family would gather near the fireplace, with its thick hand-cut mantel and river rock surround. With mother in her rocking chair, knitting, and her sister Sally on the sofa with a book, Clara would perch in the armchair on her father’s knee, next to the crackling fire, and listen as he regaled her with tales of his service. “…surrounded by darkness, we sat quietly waiting for our orders to advance,” he would say. Which detail from the excerpt best characterizes Stephen Barton as a loving father?
Read the excerpt from “Clara Barton’s Childhood.” From that time on, through long months, she was the member of the family whose entire thought and care was centered around her brother. David was very sick for such a long time that it seemed as if he could never rally. Hour after hour, and day after day, she sat by his bedside, his thin hand clasped in her strong one. “Will I ever get better?” he would ask, sometimes several times a day. She practically shut herself up in that sick-room for two whole years. In this excerpt, the author characterizes Clara’s actions to reveal that Clara
Read the excerpt from “Clara Barton’s Childhood.” When she was not listening to her father's stories or helping her mother with the housework, which, good housewife that Mrs. Barton was, she took great pains to teach her youngest daughter how to do well, Clara was as busy as possible in some other way. In that household there were no drones, and the little girl was not even allowed to waste time in playing with dolls, although she was given time to take care of her pets, of which she had an ever-increasing collection, including dogs, cats, geese, hens, turkeys, and even two heifers which she learned to milk. The descriptive details in this excerpt suggest that the story takes place somewhere that has
Read the excerpt from “Clara Barton’s Childhood.” There was, directly in front of the house, a small, circular, natural pond, fed by springs in the bottom and surrounded by a circle of hills forming a basin in which the little pond basked and slept through the summer, welcoming visitors who wished to escape the summer heat. But in winter it became a thing of beauty and a joy forever to the skater. From its sheltered position it froze smooth, even, and dazzling, and had no danger spots. Based on the descriptive details of the setting, what can be inferred about the pond?
Read the excerpt from “Clara Barton’s Childhood.” Clara quickly tidied the sick-room, ensuring that her patient had everything he needed to speed his recovery. Blankets were folded neatly at the foot of the bed. The curtains were closed, and David’s medicine was stored neatly on the bedside table. “What have we here?” the doctor said when he returned to find that the eleven-year-old he had earlier reprimanded was now fully in charge of his patient. Yet, he couldn’t ignore the peaceful room or the young nurse who was so clear-minded and ready to obey his slightest order. When she begged him to let her take care of her brother, he gave his hearty permission, and Clara had won her way. Based on the words used to characterize Clara in this excerpt, what does the author reveal about her? Select three answers.
Read the excerpt from “Clara Barton’s Childhood.” Clara put on the skates and was linked with a scarf to one of the boys. Faster and faster they skated, until they hit a patch of jagged ice and down she went! She tried for days to hide the cuts on her knees, but was eventually found out by her mother. Her mother soothed her as she cleaned and dressed the wounds, telling her, “I once persisted in riding a high mettled unbroken horse in opposition to my father’s commands, and was thrown from the horse.” What can be inferred from this excerpt?
Read the excerpt from “Clara Barton’s Childhood.” Her warning was not heeded. Up went the sure-footed athlete until he had almost reached the topmost peak of the barn. Crash! a board gave way under his feet, and down to the ground he was hurled, landing on his back on a pile of heavy boards. Limp and lifeless he lay there, a strange contrast to the vigorous young man who had climbed up the building only a few moments earlier. The accident seemed to paralyze the faculties of those who saw it happen. It was not the builders or the older persons present who spoke first, but small, dark-eyed, determined Clara. What does this excerpt indicate about the setting?
Read the excerpt from “Clara Barton’s Childhood.” With the patience of a much older, wiser nurse, nothing was too hard for Clara to do well and quickly, if in any way it would make David more comfortable. She remained by his side through many new treatments and failed attempts. David’s cure finally came through a new treatment using a vapor bath, and Clara Barton fulfilled her earliest apprenticeship as a nurse. How does the author best reveal that Clara idolized her brother?
Read the excerpt from “Clara Barton’s Childhood.” Hiding her fear, the five-year-old took her first unsanctioned lesson on one of the beautiful colts which were a feature of her father's farm. Together in the pasture, the pair approached a couple of those beautiful grazing creatures, broken only to the halter and bit. David bridled both horses and, holding the reins of both bridles in one hand, threw Clara on the back of one colt. She nearly bounced off the horse. Already aloft on his colt, David swiftly reached down, catching her foot, and pushing her back into place. “Hold the reins in one hand and twist your other hand in the mane!” he called, and with that advice, her lesson was complete. Horse and rider as one, they galloped away through the field, in and out among the other colts, in wild glee. In this excerpt, the author uses words to characterize David Barton as a man who
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