Republic of the Philippines

Department of Education
REGION VI – WESTERN VISAYAS
SCHOOLS DIVISION OF BACOLOD CITY

PROJECT DEAR- DROP EVERYTHING AND READ

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow. Refer to the text
to check your answers when appropriate.
Did you know that there is a fiber that is as
flexible and lightweight as nylon yet five times
stronger than steel? Did you know that this fabric
is resistant to temperatures higher than 500
degrees Fahrenheit? Did you know that a woman
invented this fiber? This miraculous fabric is
called Kevlar and it is used to make everything
from body armor to musical instruments.
The year was 1964. There were gasoline
shortages due to conflict in the Middle East. A
Polish-American chemist named Stephanie
Louise Kwolek was working for DuPont, an American chemical company. She and her group
were trying to make a lightweight, yet durable fiber to be used in tires. Lighter tires would allow
vehicles to get better gas mileage, but the tires had to be strong enough to resist the wear and
tear of the road. They had been working on the problem for some time and had little success,
until Kwolek had a breakthrough.
Kwolek and her group were synthesizing or creating fibers to test. During one of the steps in the
process, Kwolek created a milky white solution by mixing two chemicals that were often used in
the process. This solution was usually thrown away, but Kwolek convinced one of the
technicians to help her test it. They were amazed to discover that the fabric that Kwolek had
created was not only more durable than nylon, it was more durable than steel. Kwolek had
invented Kevlar.
Kevlar is a remarkable fabric known for its strength and durability. Since its invention it has
found its way into a wide variety of products. Kevlar is used in sporting equipment like bike
tires, bowstrings, and tennis racquets. It is used in musical instruments like drum heads, reeds,
and speaker cones. And it is used in protective gear like motorcycle safety jackets, gloves, and
shoes. However, Kevlar is best known for its ability to stop bullets.
Richard Armellino created the first Kevlar bulletproof vest in 1975. It contained 15 layers of
Kevlar, which could stop handgun and shotgun bullets. The vest also had a steel plate over the
heart, which made the vest strong enough to stop rifle rounds. Vests like Armellino's were
quickly picked up by police forces and it is estimated that by 1990, half of all police officers in
America wore bulletproof vests daily. By 2006 there were over 2,000 documented police vest
"saves," or instances where officers were protected from deadly wounds by wearing bulletproof
vests.
Kevlar is an amazing fabric not only for its hardness and durability, but also for its heat
resistance. Because of this it has been used to replace asbestos. Asbestos is a naturally
occurring material that is known for its ability to resist fire. Asbestos can resist temperatures
over 1000 degrees Fahrenheit. For this reason it was used in roofs, electrical cables, and brake
pads, until people discovered that it causes cancer and other serious health problems. Kevlar
poses no such risks. It is lightweight, flexible, and resistant to fire. Ther efore, it has proven to
be a good replacement for asbestos in many cases.
Since its invention in 1964, Kevlar has won its way into our lives. From musical instruments and
brake pads to protective equipment and sporting gear, Kevlar is everywhere. Every day of your
life you are exposed to something that was made better by Kevlar. Who'd have known?

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

B 1. Which of the following is not a product that has been made with Kevlar?
a. Tennis racquets b. Bungee jumping cords
c. Brake pads d. Body armor

B 2. When was the first bulletproof vest invented?

a. 1964 b. 1975
c. 1990 d. 2006

D 3. For which of the following characteristics is Kevlar known?

a. Heat resistance b. Strength
c. Durability d. All of the above

C 4. Who is credited with inventing Kevlar?

a. Robert Kevlar b. Richard Armellino
c. Stephanie Kwolek d. None of the above

A 5. Which of the following caused the search for a fabric like Kevlar?
a. A shortage in the gasoline supply b. A desire to protect police
officers
c. The need to replace asbestos d. The want of better musical
instruments

C 6. A vest made of 15 layers of Kevlar with no steel plates could stop all but which
of the following rounds?
a. Handgun rounds b. Shotgun pellets
c. Rifle rounds d. It could stop all of the above

D 7. Why did people begin using asbestos in buildings?

a. It was extremely durable b. It was very heavy
c. It was poisonous to insects d. It was resistant to fire

C 8. According to the article, how many American police officers are estimated to wear
bulletproof vests daily?
a. 1,000 b. 2,000
c. Over half d. Almost all of them

C 9. How much stronger is Kevlar than steel?

a. Half as strong b. As strong
c. Five times as strong d. 200 times as strong

A 10. What product was Kwolek trying to improve when she invented Kevlar?
a. Tires b. Milk
c. Brake pads d. Armor
 Summer Rain
The worst days of any summer are the rainy ones.
We spend all year looking forward to nice weather
and long, hot days. All of winter, with its dreary
gray days and bitter cold, we dream of those endless days at the beach, laying on the
sand and soaking in the bright and burning sun. And then, summer comes, and it rains.
As a child, I would wake up to rainy summer days and come close to crying. It wasn’t
fair. We suffered through months of school and miserable weather for those scant ten
weeks of freedom and balmy weather. Any day that I could not spend at the beach or
playing ball with my friends seemed like a punishment for something I didn’t even do.
On those rainy summer days, I had nothing fun to do and could only sit inside, staring
out at the rain like a Dickensian orphan. I was an only child, so there was no one else to
play with. My father worked from home, so I was not truly alone, but he could not
actively play with me since he was technically at work. It was those days that I would
resign myself to whatever was on television or any books that I could find lying around.
I’d crawl through the day and pray each night that the rain would not be there the next
day.
As an adult, though, my opinion of summer rain has changed. When you have to work
every day, summer is not as eagerly anticipated. Mostly, the days run together,
bleeding into each other so that they no longer seem like separate entities and instead
feel like continuations of the same long day. Everything seems monotonous and dull,
and an ennui or listlessness kicks in. Such a mindset makes you cheer for anything
new or different. I spend the winter dreaming of summer and the summer dreaming of
winter. When summer comes, I complain about how hot it is. And then I look forward to
the rain, because the rain brings with it a cold front, which offers a reprieve—admittedly
one that is all too short—from the torture of 100° and humid days. Rainy days are still
the worst days of the summer, but summer rain today means positively beautiful—and
considerably cooler—weather tomorrow.

ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:

1) The passage makes use of language that is
A. metaphorical B. rhetorical C. formal D. ambiguous

2) According to the passage, summer is different for adults because

A. rain brings with it cold temperatures for the following days
B. the weather is much warmer than it is for children
C. they do not get a long time off from work for the season
D. they better know how to occupy their downtime

3) According to the passage, which of the following is a true statement about the
narrator as a child?
A. He or she was often bored on summer days.
B. He or she preferred cooler weather.
C. He or she liked staying indoors.
D. He or she had no siblings

4) Compared to how he or she was as a child, the narrator as an adult is

A. more realistic B. less excitable C. more idealistic D. less calm
5) As used in the final paragraph, the word reprieve most nearly means
A. a permanent conclusion
B. a short continuation
C. a higher level of pain
D. a temporary break

ANSWER KEY:
 Republic of the Philippines
Department of Education
REGION VI – WESTERN VISAYAS
 SCHOOLS DIVISION OF BACOLOD CITY

The Battle of Chancellorsville

The Battle of Chancellorsville, one of the most
famous battles of the Civil War, took place in
Virginia in the spring of 1863. For months, the
two armies had been staked out on opposite
banks of a narrow river. The Confederate
troops were led by perhaps the most revered
military tactician in American history, General
Robert E. Lee. The Union soldiers were led
by "Fighting" Joe Hooker.
In appearance, personality, and lifestyle,
these men were nearly perfect opposites.
Lee, an older man in poor health with a gray
beard, had a somber, measured demeanor.
Hooker was a blond, strapping young man
whose vanity over his appearance was but one aspect of his egotism. Whereas Lee
was devout and principled, Hooker was known for his rollicking enjoyment of both
women and whiskey.
Despite the fact that the Confederacy had won the last four major battles and the Union
soldiers were famished, exhausted, and demoralized, Hooker proclaimed, "My plans
are perfect. And when I start to carry them out, may God have mercy on Bobby Lee, for
I shall have none." Why, aside from a propensity for narcissism, was Hooker so
confident?
Hooker had used spies, analysts, and even hot air balloons to compile a vast amount of
intelligence about Lee’s army. He had discerned, for example, that Lee had only 61,000
men to Hooker’s own 134,000. Buoyed by his superior numbers, Hooker covertly
moved 70,000 of his men fifteen miles up and across the river, and then ordered them
to sneak back down to position themselves behind Lee’s army. In effect, Hooker had
cut off the Confederate soldiers in front and behind. They were trapped. Satisfied with
his advantage, Hooker became convinced that Lee’s only option was to retreat to
Richmond, thus assuring a Union victory.
Yet Lee, despite his disadvantages of both numbers and position, did not retreat.
Instead, he moved his troops into position to attack. Union soldiers who tried to warn
Hooker that Lee was on the offensive were dismissed as cowards. Having become
convinced that Lee had no choice but to retreat, Hooker began to ignore reality. When
Lee’s army attacked the Union soldiers at 5:00 p.m., they were eating supper,
completely unprepared for battle. They abandoned their rifles and fled as Lee’s troops
came shrieking out of the brush, bayonets drawn. Against all odds, Lee won the Battle
of Chancellorsville, and Hooker’s forces withdrew in defeat.

1) Based on information in the passage, it can be concluded that Hooker lost the
Battle of Chancellorsville mostly because of his
A. vanity B. ignorance C. overconfidence D. faulty information E. vices

2) The contrast drawn between Lee and Hooker in paragraph 2 is intended to

A. showcase the different backgrounds and personal histories of these two enemy
soldiers
B. provide support for the idea that Lee was a more virtuous person than Hooker, and
therefore a better military commander
C. prove that two men with very different values could end up in similar positions of
power
D. suggest that if Hooker had been more devout and principled, he might not have been
outwitted by Lee
E. imply that these men fundamentally differed in their approaches to nearly everything,
including battle

3) In paragraph 3, the author quotes Hooker as saying, “My plans are perfect. And
when I start to carry them out, may God have mercy on Bobby Lee, for I shall have
none.” The author most likely includes this quote in order to
A. demonstrate Hooker’s belief in his own infallibility
B. provide an example of the way language has changed since 1863
C. reveal that Hooker was a deeply religious man in spite of his lifestyle
D. foreshadow Hooker’s defeat at the hands of Lee’s army
E. portray Hooker as a merciless general who was compelled by his hated of Lee

4) Based on its use in paragraph 3, it can be inferred that the word propensity belongs
to which of the following word groups?
A. fondness, partiality, affection
B. flaw, fault, shortcoming
C. distaste, aversion, dissatisfaction
D. tendency, inclination, predisposition
E. confidence, self-assurance, certitude

5) How many men did Hooker position behind Lee's army?

A. 61,000 B. 70,000 C. 73,000 D. 134,000 E. 158,000
6) As used in paragraph 4, buoyed most nearly means
A. strengthened B. anchored C. floated D. sharpened E.
heartened
7) According to the author, Hooker’s advantages going into the Battle of
Chancellorsville included I. numbers II. position III. strategy A. I only B. II only C. I and II
only D. II and III only E. I, II, and III