Steps for Successful Cold Reading Practice

First things first… READ!!

Read EVERYTHING!InstructionsIntroductory informationThe text itselfThe questions and answers

Next step? WRITE!!!

The dreaded ‘A’ word…. Annotate!!Make ‘jot notes’ (quick one or two-word thoughts) next to things you think might be important

Note who the characters are…Mark/circle/etc. words to look upHighlight/underline important events/happenings

Summarize to the side occasionally

NOW you can look at the Qs!

Read each question carefully. If you need to, rewrite it in easier terms.

Can you eliminate any answers?Find in the passage where the question is referring to.

Read over that section carefully. Write down your thoughts, etc. that help you choose an answer.

Let’s try one together…#1 Based on its use in the passage, the most likely

synonym for ‘ominous’ is…

Find this word in the text… (end of the first paragraph)

Look at the rest of the paragraph to see what is going on. What ‘sense’ do you get from the text?

Try substituting those words in the place of ominous…

Let’s look at the next question… #2 In paragraph 1, what is the meaning of the phrase,

“There was a Sabbath lull in the air, which, in a settlement unused to Sabbath influences, looked ominous.”

What is Sabbath? What is lull? Put together, what does that phrase seem to mean?

Is this town ‘used to’ that kind of attitude?

So is this a good thing? A bad thing?

Let’s look at the next question… #3 Which of the following is NOT one of the ways the ‘wicked’

people in Poker Flat are being punished?

This is a NOT question!!! What can you eliminate?

Look through the story. Can you find the first place they mention punishment? How about the later one?

Did anyone notice that I forgot to take my notes out after the Q? ummm…whoops…

Let’s look at the next question… #4 Based on the phrase “It is but due to the sex, however,

to state that their impropriety was professional.

Find it in the text… paragraph 3…When you have ‘but’ put in front of a verb, that usually means ‘only’.

What is an impropriety?What would be a ‘female’ impropriety?What might ladies do that could be considered not just wrong, but ‘wicked’?

Let’s look at the next question…#5 What is the main reason people seem to want to punish

Oakhurst?

Find it in the text… paragraph 4…What ‘category’ does Mr. Oakhurst find himself in?

Can you eliminate any answers?Can you distinguish between the ‘reason’ they want to punish him and the ‘excuse’ they give?

Let’s look at the next question…#6 How is this response ironic?

This isn’t in the text, it relies upon you figuring out the answer to #5. There are ‘matching’ responses to all the options… Yes, you have to think about this one!!!

Think about the definition of irony – ironic things often seem a little ridiculous, don’t they?

Let’s look at the next question…#7 Which of the following quotes does not demonstrate

Regionalist characteristics?

This is a NOT question!!! What can you eliminate?

Well first of all, what ARE the characteristics of Regionalism?

Look at each quote from the story – one by one, decide if they demonstrate an element of Regionalism (and which one!)

Let’s look at the next question…#8 In paragraph 5 when Oakhurst refers to life as ‘an

uncertain [card] game’ and the ‘percentage being in the favor of the dealer,’ this is an example of which literary device?

Can you define all of these terms?Thinking about the definition, does the text example fit any of them?

Look back at the text and see the context in which the phrases are used…

Let’s look at the next question…#9 Which of the following actions is NOT something that

you would expect the character to do, based on his/her stereotype?

This is a NOT question!!! What can you eliminate??

Think about each character and the stereotype to which you would assign them. What are some terms/actions/attitudes you might associate with those stereotypes?

Let’s look at the next question…#10 Which of the following words best fits the author’s tone

for the beginning of this story?

This is a best question – eliminate everything you can.

Look at everything that has gone on in the story so far – assign it some words of your own. Which of the choices best matches yours?

Think about what the author would want you to feel, etc.

So how did you do?

#1 – D – threatening – change in the moral atmosphere, lull where there shouldn’t be… makes Oakhurst nervous

#2 – A – the town is not usually religious – they are using religion and ‘moral uprighteousness’ as an excuse

#3 – B – all the others are mentioned

So how did you do?

#4 – C – Prostitutes – all of the rest would be unseemly in women, but only Prostitution could be seen as ‘wicked’ and ‘criminal’

#5 – A – “A few of the committee urged hanging him as a possible example, and a sure method of reimbursing themselves from his pockets of the sums he had won from them.”

So how did you do?

#6 – B – he couldn’t have won money from them if they weren’t also gambling – it’s not his fault he beat them!

#7 – C – (A)geographical description, character’s clothing, ‘conjecture’; (B) stereotypes; (D)dialect/vernacular

#8 – D – metaphor – directly comparing life to a card game, NOT using like/as

So how did you do?

#9 – A – all of these stereotypes are negative, and the actions in B-D are as well. Oakhurst shows compassion, however, in trading his horse so that the Duchess may be more comfortable

#10 – C – the Outcasts are being kicked out (fortunately not killed), but we don’t know what danger the future holds