What role does the description of the Hurricane in paragraphs 19–20 play in the story?

• It shows how World War II planes were inadequate, which is the purpose of Dahl’s story.

• It supports the theory that Dahl was the best pilot and wanted to be the formation leader.

• It helps the reader better understand what Dahl went through in the Battle of Athens.

• It illustrates the similarities between Hurricane planes and hurricane storms.

Read this sentence from paragraph 18:

“On that morning of 20 April, Flight-Lieutenant Pattle, the ace of aces, who was leading our formation of twelve Hurricanes over Athens, was evidently assuming that we could all fly as brilliantly as he could, and he led us one hell of a dance around the skies above the city.”

Based on this sentence, what does the author believe about Flight-Lieutenant Pattle?

• He is reckless in his leadership of lesser skilled pilots.

• His patience and skills are what make him a great leader. 

• He is showing off in front of the German fleet.

• His lack of leadership makes him nervous to fly. 

Which of the following BEST describes the purpose of paragraph 20?

• To explain how the ground-crew prepares a Hurricane plane for war

• 
  To demonstrate the difficulty of flying a Hurricane into battle

• To describe the feeling of flying a Hurricane in a dog-fight

• To indicate the author’s hesitance in using the Hurricane’s guns

Read this sentence from paragraph 21:

“I am quite sure that the German planes must have often got in each other’s way because there were so many of them, and that, together with the fact that there were so few of us, probably saved quite a number of our skins.”

What can you infer about the battle from this detail?

• The British pilots had better equipment for battles.

• The German pilots were the best pilots in the world. 

• The British planes outnumbered the German planes.

• The German planes likely collided with their own aircraft. 

Based on the text, Dahl could be considered a brave pilot because he

• was the best marksman out of all the pilots in his formation

• spent half of his time avoiding collisions with other planes

• stayed in the battle until he had no ammunition left

• was the last pilot to defend the British in the battle

In paragraph 22, Dahl uses figurative language when he writes:

“The controls were very soggy and there was no response at all to the rudder.”

What does he mean by this?

• Dahl realized that his controls were all wet.

• The plane had quickly run out of fuel. 

• Dahl suddenly forgot how to fly the plane.

• The plane was difficult to navigate.

What purpose does paragraph 23 serve in the passage?

• It explains how scared and nervous Dahl was after the Battle of Athens was over.

• It helps transition the scene from inside the fighter plane to the Operations Room.

• It helps show how well Hurricanes could withstand a major air battle.

• It supports the idea that Dahl was the best pilot in his flight formation. 

In paragraph 24, Dahl compares his appearance and behavior after the battle to the appearance and behavior of other pilots in the Ops Room. What can you infer from this comparison?

• The other pilots did not have to fly and therefore weren’t as nervous.

• The other pilots lacked the experience to ever fly with Dahl.

• The other pilots also flew in the battle and had the same reaction as Dahl. 

• The other pilots flew in the battle but were severely wounded.