Activity of text interpretation, aimed at students in the seventh year of elementary school, about a life lesson. He was my student, but he was one of the wisest teachers I ever had. Tiago started taking guitar lessons at the age of 10, at the institute where I taught music. Let's get to know this emotional and reflective story told in a magazine editorial? So, carefully read the text “A Life Lesson” and then answer the various interpretative questions proposed!
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SCHOOL: DATE:
PROF: CLASS:
NAME:
Read the text below. Then, answer the proposed interpretative questions:
He was my student, but he was one of the wisest teachers I ever had. Tiago started taking guitar lessons at the age of 10, at the institute where I taught music. He soon proved to be a diligent student, despite having a lot of difficulty. At 12, he enchanted everyone by strumming classical music. What was impressive was the emotion he managed to convey in each note. There was something different about him, perhaps a strength to keep going even when the world was so hostile to his dreams.
And one day Tiago disappeared. It was sad, because, as the school is a social project that mainly served the low-income population income, the agent was constantly receiving the news that a student had been the victim of violence.
Two years have passed. One night I was preparing the room for class when the door shyly opened. It was him, with a small package and a card in his hands. He had come to tell me that his parents, stallholders, had forbidden him to continue to attend the institute, because they wanted him to devote himself more to his chores at the vegetable stand. “They think music is something for those who don't want a future”, he said. “And you, what do you think?” I asked. “Teacher, for a person like me, studying guitar is so difficult and so beautiful that I started to believe in myself. If I could play, I can learn anything. And I want to be a history teacher.”
I learned later, from a social agent, that Tiago had passed the entrance exam and won a scholarship to college. But his trajectory was interrupted on one of those many afternoons when gunshots bring silence to a poor community, while the band continues playing in the surrounding city. “He would have been an excellent teacher”, said the social agent. “He was,” I replied. Tiago taught me how knowledge frees, how it can bring new horizons even to those who society only destines walls. I still keep the blue bead necklace I got from him when I last saw him, and the handwritten card with the children's lyrics: “When you get sad and want to give up, remember that a song is made up of one note per turn".
Márcia Kedouk (editor of TODOS). “TODOS” Magazine, October/November 2019, p.4. (With a few cuts).
Question 1 - The text “A Lesson of Life” is an editorial, which presents the main subject to be addressed in the magazine. The editor's voice is explicitly present in different parts, such as:
() "He was my student, but he was one of the wisest teachers I've ever had."
() "Soon he proved to be a diligent student, despite having a lot of difficulty."
( ) “But his trajectory was interrupted in one of those many afternoons […]”
Question 2 - Point out the segment of the text in which the highlighted verb expresses a continuous fact, in a certain period of time in James' life:
( ) “The James it started taking guitar lessons at age 10 […]"
( ) “[…] enchanted everyone while strumming classical music.”
( ) “And one day James it disappeared.”
Question 3 - According to the text, Tiago stopped attending guitar lessons. Because?
A:
Question 4 – In “[…] studying guitar is so difficult and so beautiful what I came to believe in myself.”, the underlined term introduces a fact:
( ) which explains the above.
( ) which is opposed to the previous one.
( ) which is a consequence of the above.
Question 5 - The figurative language is present in the excerpt:
( ) “If I could play, I can learn anything.”
( ) “He would have been an excellent teacher”.
( ) “[…] it can bring new horizons even to those who society only designates walls.”
Question 6 – Highlight the word "o" used to return to "James" below:
“I still keep the blue bead necklace I got from him when I last saw him […]”
Question 7 – The text ends with the transcription of a message, written by Tiago to the guitar teacher. In this message, he:
( ) makes a request to the teacher.
( ) gives advice to the teacher.
( ) expresses a wish to the teacher.
By Denyse Lage Fonseca
Graduated in Languages and specialist in distance education.
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