Jackie Robinson: I Never Had It Made

Bigoted means:

• marked by being prejudiced against a group of people or treating the members of a group with hatred or intolerance

• an act of resisting or acting against authority, such as a government

• clever or wily, especially in decision-making; showing good judgement

• to prevent someone from having done something

To bar a person means:

• an act of resisting or acting against authority, such as a government

• marked by being prejudiced against a group of people or treating the members of a group with hatred or intolerance

• the process of being moved to do something creative

• to prevent someone from having done something

Inspiration means:

• marked by being prejudiced against a group of people or treating the members of a group with hatred or intolerance

• the process of being moved to do something creative

• an act of resisting or acting against authority, such as a government

• clever or wily, especially in decision-making; showing good judgement

Rebellion means:

• clever or wily, especially in decision-making; showing good judgement

• the process of being moved to do something creative

• an act of resisting or acting against authority, such as a government

• to prevent someone from having done something

Shrewd means:

• the process of being moved to do something creative

• an act of resisting or acting against authority, such as a government

• clever or wily, especially in decision-making; showing good judgement

• marked by being prejudiced against a group of people or treating the members of a group with hatred or intolerance

Which of the following inferences about the narrator is best supported by the first paragraph of the excerpt?

I guess if I could choose one of the most important moments in my life, I would go back to 1947, in the Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was the opening day of the world series and I was for the first time playing in the series as a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers team. It was a history-making day. It would be the first time that a black man would be allowed to participate in a world series. I had become the first black player in the major leagues.

• The narrator regrets becoming a baseball player.

• The narrator is aware of his importance as a cultural figure.

• The narrator thinks his life was much better when he was younger.

• The narrator feels that black players should form their own league.

What do the following lines from paragraph 4 mainly reveal about the narrator’s views?

Black people supported me with total loyalty. They supported me morally: they came to sit in a hostile audience in unprecedented numbers to make the turnstiles hum as they never had before at ballparks all over the nation. Money is America’s God, and business people can dig black power if it coincides with green power, so these fans were important to the success of Mr. Rickey’s "Noble Experiment."

• He doesn’t believe that most black people actually liked the sport of baseball.

• He realizes that he was only able to keep playing because he made money for the team owners.

• He doesn’t think that Mr. Rickey was a very honest person.

• He believes that most Americans are corrupt.

Which of the following best explains the narrator’s feelings about Mr. Rickey’s intentions?

• He wonders if he’ll ever know Mr. Rickey’s true intentions.

• He thinks that Mr. Rickey wanted him to play because he was dedicated to advancing the cause of civil rights.

• He believes that Mr. Rickey wanted to sell the Brooklyn Dodgers to someone else.

• He thinks Mr. Rickey was very brave, even if he was motivated by self-interest.

What is most likely the author’s intent in the preface?

• To share the events and people in his life that inspired him

• To bring attention to ongoing discrimination in professional baseball

• To make the case that more African American athletes should play baseball, instead of other sports

• To make the reader wonder what will happen next in this story

Which of the following best identifies the narrator’s feelings about why his teammates ultimately accepted him?

• He thinks they only accepted him because he made the team more likely to win.

• He thinks some of them cared about him, and eventually saw him as a friend.

• Both A and B

• Neither A nor B