47 pages 1 hour read

Judith Ortiz Cofer

American History

Fiction | Short Story | Adult | Published in 1993

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Answer Key

Reading Check

1. El Building (Paragraph 1)

2. The old Jewish couple (Paragraph 6)

3. Skinny Bones (Paragraph 4)

4. Mr. DePalma (Paragraph 17)

5. Church (Paragraph 23)

Short Answer

1. She went to Puerto Rico for her grandmother’s funeral and was glad to return to Paterson. (Paragraph 11)

2. Her father has a good job at the blue jeans factory. (Paragraph 11)

3. She wants to cry for the assassinated president but finds that she is crying for herself. (Paragraph 36)

4. She says the streets feel “eerie” and unusually quiet. (Paragraph 18)