Which statement about Randy Pausch's Last Lecture is correct?

• Pausch explains the chronological order in which goals should be set.

• Pausch explains the chronological order of the goals he set and achieved.

• Pausch uses supporting details related to his health to support his central idea.

• Pausch uses supporting details related to his childhood to support his central idea.

Read the excerpt from The Last Lecture.

So I called up my mentor, and I called up Andy Van Dam. And I said, Andy, I just gave a two-week assignment, and they came back and did stuff that if I had given them a whole semester I would have given them all As. Sensei, what do I do? [laughter] And Andy thought for a minute and he said, you go back into class tomorrow and you look them in the eye and you say, "Guys, that was pretty good, but I know you can do better.” [laughter] And that was exactly the right advice. Because what he said was, you obviously don’t know where the bar should be, and you’re only going to do them a disservice by putting it anywhere. And boy was that good advice because they just kept going. . . .

Based on this excerpt, Randy Pausch believes that his students

• need strict limits in order to succeed.

• are capable of completing any task.

• possess a great deal of potential.

• often change their life goals.

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3

Read the sentences from Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.

And I assure you I am not in denial. It’s not like I’m not aware of what’s going on.

Why is Pausch telling his audience this?

• He wants to convince them that they should stop focusing on his illness.

• He wants them to remember that he is in a difficult situation.

• He wants them to feel comfortable and accept his positive attitude.

• He wants to encourage them to have sympathy for him.

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CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3

Read the sentences from Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.

And if you’re curious about what zero gravity looks like, hopefully the sound will be working here. [slide shows videotape from Randy’s zero gravity experience] There I am. [laughter] You do pay the piper at the bottom. [laugher, as the people in the video crash to the floor of the plane on the video] So, childhood dream number one, check.

Why does Pausch show the audience a video of his zero-gravity experience?

• to prove that people are curious about zero gravity

• to show what being in zero gravity looks like

• to prove that some astronauts do wear glasses

• to show that being in zero gravity is painful

Tags

CCSS.RI.7.7

CCSS.RI.8.7

CCSS.RL.7.7

CCSS.RL.8.7

CCSS.RL.9-10.7

Read the excerpt from Last Lecture by Randy Pausch.

And after I had become somewhat of an authority on virtual reality, but not like a really important one, so I was at the level of people the World Book would badger. They called me up and I wrote an article, and this is Caitlin Kelleher [shows slide of Caitlin wearing virtual reality headset manipulating a 3D world], and there’s an article if you go to your local library where they still have copies of the World Book. Look under V for Virtual Reality, and there it is. And all I have to say is that having been selected to be an author in the World Book Encyclopedia, I now believe that Wikipedia is a perfectly fine source for your information because I know what the quality control is for real encyclopedias. They let me in.

Which statement best describes Pausch's purpose?

• He wants his audience to understand that being an authority on a subject is not as rewarding as they may think.

• He wants his audience to see how he accomplished one of his childhood goals through an entertaining story.

• He wants his audience to understand how to use a virtual reality headset and that he is an authority on the subject.

• He wants his audience to be impressed that his article is in World Book, but understand that he wishes it had appeared online.

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3

If Randy Pausch, the author of Last Lecture, had written a speech about receiving his cancer diagnosis and what he did following the diagnosis, which organizational structure would he most likely have used?

• chronological ordering

• compare and contrast

• central ideas and supporting details

• problem and resolution

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CCSS.RI.5.5

CCSS.RI.6.5

CCSS.RI.7.5

CCSS.RI.8.5

CCSS.RI.9-10.5

Which statement from Last Lecture includes advice about how to be successful?

• In fact, I am in better shape than most of you.

• Now it’s important to have specific dreams.

• And again, boy am I glad I became a professor.

• When people give you feedback, cherish it and use it.

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3

Which sentence from Last Lecture supports the idea that it's important to have far-reaching goals?

• I was going back through the family archives, and what was really amazing was, I couldn’t find any pictures of me as a kid where I wasn’t smiling….

• When you are 8 or 9 years old and you look at the TV set, men are landing on the moon, anything’s possible.

• I did not dream of being an astronaut, because when I was a little kid, I wore glasses and they told me oh, astronauts can’t have glasses.

• And he showed up for practice the first day, and you know, there’s big hulking guy, we were all scared to death of him.

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3

Which excerpt from Last Lecture supports the idea that one can benefit from helping people?

• And as you get older, you may find that “enabling the dreams of others” thing is even more fun.

• And again, boy am I glad I became a professor. What better place to enable childhood dreams?

• Be good at something, it makes you valuable.

• Everybody has a good side, just keep waiting, it will come out.

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3

Read this excerpt from "Three Addresses to Girls at School" by James Maurice Wilson.

Now that I have given away the certificates it will be expected that I should make a few remarks on that inexhaustible subject, Education. My remarks will be brief.

What is most likely the main organizational structure of the speech?

• chronological ordering

• central ideas and supporting details

• problem and resolution

• cause and effect

Tags

CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3