Oscar De LA Torre's Story In Everyday Heroes
Test your understanding of the story about Oscar de la Torre from the reading book "Everyday Heroes" by Beth Johnson (Townsend Press).
- 1.Oscar owns a car.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 2.Oscar lives in a small apartment in a building that has a lot of cockroaches.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 3.In the sentence "He lives in a small apartment in a building infested with cockroaches." "infested with" means:
- A.
"with no"
- B.
"that has a few"
- C.
"filled with many"
- 4.What does Oscar think is more valuable than anything he could buy?
- A.
Helping people like himself
- B.
Working hard like his parents
- C.
Living in Santa Monica, California
- 5.Oscar earned his diploma from Santa Monica High School, a college degree from Santa Monica City College, and will go to graduate school at the University of Texas.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 6.How does the author describe the neighborhood where Oscar grew up?
- A.
The Pico Corridor is a beautiful and safe area in Santa Monica, California.
- B.
The Pico Corridor is a very poor area with a lot of crime in Santa Monica, California.
- 7.Oscar's parents did not speak English, but they knew a lot about American culture.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 8.Oscar has a lot of brothers and sisters.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 9.Where were Oscar's parents from?
- A.
El Salvador
- B.
The United States
- C.
Mexico
- D.
Santa Monica
- 10.How did Oscar meet a police officer for the first time?
- A.
He met the police officer during a special program at his school.
- B.
He met the police officer when his father took him to the police station to register his bicycle.
- C.
He met the police officer when the officer gave him a ticket for riding on the handlebars of his friend's bicycle.
- 11.What did the police officer who gave Oscar a ticket when he was 8 years old tell Oscar?
- A.
The police officer told Oscar that he would "grow up to be another Mexican criminal."
- B.
The police officer told Oscar to "be careful the next time you ride a bicycle."
- C.
The police officer told Oscar that he was "too young to ride a bicycle."
- 12.Why did Oscar think he was "bad" when he was a child?
- A.
His parents told him that when he got the ticket for riding on the handlebars of the bicycle.
- B.
When he looked around his neighborhood, everything that "white" people had was nice. Since he was "brown," he thought he was bad because "brown" people in his neighborhood didn't have nice things.
- C.
"White folks with nice houses and nice cars" told him he was bad.
- 13.Oscar avoided gangs, drugs and violence when he was young because he didn't want to be "bad."
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 14.According to the story, what types of things did Oscar and his friends steal when he was 9 (and 10)? Check all of the correct answers
- A.
Bicycles
- B.
Trucks
- C.
Car stereos
- D.
Crack cocaine
- E.
Wallets
- 15.Even though Oscar stole things when he was young, he never was caught, so he never spent any time in jail.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 16.When Oscar was 11 years old, his friends started using drugs.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 17.Why didn't Oscar use drugs when he saw two of his friends try it the first time?
- A.
He was scared when he saw his friend's heart beating very quickly.
- B.
He didn't have enough money to buy crack cocaine.
- C.
He remembered what the police officer told him about becoming a criminal, and he didn't want to be a criminal.
- 18.Gang violence grew worse in the Pico Corridor where Oscar lived after people there started using and selling drugs.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 19.When Oscar was a teenager, another teenager pointed a gun at him, but he didn't shoot him.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 20.Gun violence was never a big problem in Oscar's neighborhood. None of his friends were shot or wounded by guns and he rarely hears gunshots at night.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 21.What happened to change Oscar's life when he was 12 years old?
- A.
His parents moved to Texas.
- B.
Oscar was arrested and sent to jail.
- C.
Oscar saw his 14 year old neighbor die after he was shot.
- D.
Oscar became a gang member.
- 22.School had always been easy for Oscar, he was just lazy when he was a child.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 23.When Oscar was in junior high, what grades did he get?
- A.
A's and B's
- B.
B's and C's
- C.
C's and D's
- D.
D's and F's
- 24.Oscar was suspended three times in junior high.
- A.
True
- B.
False
- 25.In the sentence "The school suspended me three times." "suspended" means:
- A.
To be kicked out of school (told to leave without being able to return)
- B.
To be sent to the principal's office for 3 hours
- C.
To be temporarily told to stay home (told to leave for 1 or more days but able to return after that time).
- D.
Told to move to a different school
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