a billion people, two-thirds of them women, will enter the 21st century unable to read a book or write their names,” warns UNICEF in a new report, “The State of the World’s Children 1999.”
UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, points out that the illiterate “live in more desperate poverty and poorer health” than those who can read and write. The shocking number — 1 billion people illiterate — generated frightening headlines in major newspapers.
Poverty in the poorest countries is indeed something that ought to concern all of us, especially in a season when we pause to remember the less fortunate. But as usual, there’s more to this striking statistic than UNICEF tells us. Consider three points.
The Good News. Bad news sells, news watchers tell us. And 1 billion people unable to read and write — about 16 percent of world population — is certainly bad news. But let’s deconstruct the news.
First, UNICEF’s actual number is 855 million, a figure that did not appear in major newspapers. That’s still a large number, but it is 15 percent less than 1 billion.
1. Cope, treat, control, handle, treat
2. trouble, worry, dilemma
3. Relax, unwind, rest, unlax
4. Healthy, healthful
5. Adequate, abundant, decent, sufficing
6. Daily, day-to-day, often, periodically, regularly, regular, routinely
7. belittle, criticize, slam, slander,
8. abounding, bounteous, bountiful, countless, innumerable, plentiful
9. Cramped, inflexible, solid, rigid, stiff, tense, tightened
10. Depressed, morose, pessimistic, unhappy, blue, destroyed, dispirited, down, dragged low, bad, cast-down, glum, grim, let-down, low-spirited, woebegone
11. Afraid, anxious, panicky, startled, petrified, shaken, terrified, aghast, panic-stricken, terror-stricken
12. Fatigue, weariness, debilitation, enervation, expenditure, feebleness, lassitude, prostration
Answer:
He realizes that Odysseus was destined to take his eye.
Explanation:
The epic narrative "The Odyssey" by Homer is about the journey of Odysseus and his men after the Battle of Troy. Their journey would lead them through encounters with mortals, gods, demons, monsters, etc. testing their very being.
In the given excerpt from the epic, the Cyclops admitted that Odysseus was destined to inflict the physical wound in his eye. He revealed, <em>". . . he foretold for time to come: my great eye lost, and at Odysseus' hands. . ."</em> But what he didn't expect was that Odysseus would be <em>"small, pitiful and twiggy"</em>. Nevertheless, he accepted his fate and invited Odysseus to come back to the island.
Thus, the correct answer is the first option.
Answer: C is a good hook for a personal essay.
Explanation: It uses first person, has great adjective usage, and allows readers to wonder what happens next.
