 Terry Fox A Marathon of Hope
CLB Competencies: Speaking:
I Take turns by interupting (CLB
6)
I
Encourage conversation by adding supportive
comments (CLB 6)
III
Make a simple formal suggestion (CLB 6)
IV
Propose/recommend that certain
changes be made in a familiar area (CLB 7)
IV
Participate in a small group
discussion on non-familiar topics and issues (CLB
6)
Reading:
III Identify factual details
and some inferred meanings in moderately
complex texts containing advice, requests,
specifications (CLB 6)
Writing:
IV
write 1 or 2 paragraphs
to relate a familiar sequence of events,
tell a story (CLB 6)
Computer Connection:
Instructions:
Discuss the following
questions with your group. Select one member to
record your group’s ideas which will later be
shared with the rest of your classmates.
1. What is your definition of a ‘hero’?
2. Make a list of 3 heroes who are real and 3
heroes from fiction.
3. What’s the difference between a hero and a
celebrity?
4. When you were a child, who was your greatest
hero?
5. In your opinion, can a political leader be a
hero; if so, why and how?
Instructions: Complete the following
vocabulary chart.
(An
example has been provided.)
Vocabulary Word
Word Form
Definition
Your Sentence
extraordinary
adj
incredible,
astonishing
The author received
critical acclaim for her extraordinary
first novel.
diluted
brittle
artificial
disillusionment
mobility
jeopardy
excelled
accolades
Instructions: Read the following text
and replace the missing vocabulary using the
words from the exercise above. When you have
finished reading the article, complete the
comprehension questions that follow.
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a
single step.”
Lao-tzu, Chinese philosopher (604 BC - 531 BC) [1] Close your
eyes and imagine the following: When you wake
up tomorrow, I’d like you to run 26 miles (42.2
km) on the hard pavement. Now imagine doing it
day after day. One more thing, imagine doing it
with an ____________ limb. This astonishing
feat, which for the average individual is
beyond comprehension,
is exactly what Terry Fox did over the course of
143 days in his epic “Marathon of Hope” during
his quest to raise funds and awareness for
cancer research.
[2] To many,
Terry Fox is not merely an inspiration but also
a hero. What is a hero? What does one do to
become a hero? The true meaning of this word
gets ____________ in our
contemporary
society where we casually refer to the person
who scored the goal in the dying moments of a
hockey or soccer game as a “hero”. The true
definition of a hero is someone ordinary who
does something ____________. Another important
facet to this definition is that a hero
generally doesn’t consider himself/herself to be
‘special’ and tends to shy away from the
spotlight. In view of this definition, without
a doubt, Terry Fox rightly deserves to be
labeled a hero.
[3] Terry
Stanley Fox was born on July 28, 1958 in
Winnipeg, Manitoba. His family later moved to
British Columbia where Terry ____________ and
his gift in athleticism contributed to his being
named “Athlete of the Year” in high school.
Terry went on to compete in sports at the
university level but it was at this time that
his promising future came into ____________.
After running around the track, Terry complained
of a sharp pain in his right knee so his mother
decided to take him to the hospital for an
x-ray. It was then that Terry received the
shattering news that he had osteogenic sarcoma,
a form of cancer which makes bones very
____________. Doctors decided to amputate the
leg just above the knee and Terry was eventually
fitted with an artificial leg. Just three weeks
after his surgery, Terry was up and walking and
quickly adapting to his altered ____________.
[4] After
reading an article about the New York Marathon,
Terry, always the athlete, decided to train to
set his sights on running his own marathon.
Terry’s doctors developed a special artificial
limb which contained a motorcycle shock
absorber. In 1979, Terry ran his first marathon
finishing only 10 minutes behind the last
able-bodied runner. That fall, Terry came up
with a plan to raise money for cancer research
by running across Canada. His goal was to
collect $1 for every Canadian. Fox mailed
letters to a number of companies asking for
donations and he ended every letter by stating:
“I’m not saying that this will initiate any kind
of definitive answer or cure to cancer, but I
believe in miracles, I have to.” After learning
of his plan, sponsors began to donate much
needed supplies. Ford supplied a van; Adidas
provided the shoes; Imperial oil donated the
gas; and Safeway provided the food.
[5] On the
cold misty morning of April 12, in St. John’s,
Newfoundland, Fox dipped his artificial leg into
the Atlantic and began his trek across Canada.
Terry was accompanied by his close friend Doug
Alward who drove the van and assisted Terry
along the route. On June 23, after 73 days of
isolated running and feelings of ____________,
Fox arrived in Montreal and had his first day
off. As Fox neared Ontario, interest in his
incredible feat started to
mount. More
than 10,000 people came to see him outside
Toronto’s City Hall and the Canadian Cancer
Society estimates that Fox raised over $100,000
on that day alone. By August 12, Terry Fox had
raised $11.4 million.
[6] Tragically
on August 31, just outside of Thunder Bay, Fox
began to cough and complain of pains in his
chest and neck. The news was not good. The
cancer had returned and spread to Terry’s
lungs. From the hospital bed, surrounded by his
family, Terry Fox announced that he was ending
his journey having run 3,339 miles (5,376 km).
At the news conference Terry said: “How many
people do something they really believe in? I
just wish people would realize that anything is
possible if you try.”
[7] Terry
received ____________ from around the country.
He was the youngest person ever to be awarded
the Order of Canada, our highest honour, and he
also received the Lou Marsh Trophy for
“outstanding achievement in sport”. On June 28,
1981, Terry Fox passed away surrounded by his
family. That September, the inaugural Terry Fox
Run was held in Canada and in other places
around the world. Incredibly, more than 300,000
people participated raising $3.5 million.
Terry’s legacy lives on as the race which bears
his name is held annually and to date, more than
$360 million has been raised to fight this
devastating disease. Indeed, “anything is
possible if you try.”
1. In your opinion, what adjective best
describes Terry Fox? (a) belligerent (b)
inconsistent (c) steadfast (d) petrified
2. The word “contemporary”
(in
paragraph two) is: (a) a noun (b) a
verb (c) an adverb (d) an adjective
3. The word “mount”
(in
paragraph five) is: (a) a noun (b) an
adjective (c) a verb (d) an adverb
4. Using your own words, explain what the
phrase “beyond comprehension”
(in
paragraph 1) means.
_______________________________________________________________________
5. Find a word in the text that means
“alone”. ________________
6. Find a word in the text that means
“devastating”. ________________
7. Why do you think Terry Fox is not only
fondly remembered but also celebrated so many
years after his untimely death?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Many university entrance exams such as those
at York University and Ryerson University,
and general English proficiency exams such
as TOEFL and IELTS, require students to
compose a short essay on an assigned topic.
A well-written essay is one which is
organized and contains an introduction
(including a thesis statement), two or three
body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Using
the template provided below, write your own
short essay.
Instructions: On a separate piece of
paper,
write your own essay response to
the following question:
Who do you consider
to be a hero?
When you
have finished, your instructor will ask you to
read your essay in front of your classmates.
[INTRODUCTION]
(1) In my opinion, a hero is a person who
________________. {Insert your definition of a
hero.} (2) In light of this, I think that
_________________ {Insert hero’s name.} is a
hero because he/she not only _______ (A)
__________ {Insert your first reason.} but
also ________ (B)______ . {Insert your second
reason.}
[BODY PARAGRAPH ONE]
(1)[Topic Sentence] On the one hand,
___________________ {Insert hero’s name.} is a
hero because _____________________________.
{Repeat reason “A” above.} (2) First,
_______________. {Provide a lengthy reason and
example to support your topic sentence.} (3)
Second, _____________________. {Provide another
lengthy reason and example to support your topic
sentence.}
[BODY PARAGRAPH TWO]
(1) [Topic Sentence] On the other hand,
___________________ {Insert hero’s name.} is a
hero because _____________________________ .
{Repeat reason “B” above.} (2) First of all,
_______________. {Provide a lengthy reason and
example to support your topic sentence.} (3)
Second of all, _____________________. {Provide
another lengthy reason and example to support
your topic sentence.}
[CONCLUSION]
(1) From the evidence above, it is clear that
_______________ {Insert hero’s name.} fits the
definition of a ‘hero’. (2) As you can see,
_______________ {Insert hero’s name.} is hero
because he/she both _________________________
{Repeat reason “A”.} and
_________________________. {Repeat reason “B”.} |
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