Reading Comprehension Quiz

Lori Arviso Alvord, “Walking the Path Between Worlds”

Read “Walking the Path Between Worlds” and check your comprehension by answering the following questions. Click the submit button when finished.

Question In the first line of paragraph 2, Alvord says she “chose to leave and get an education.” After reading this essay, what does Alvord mean by “education”?

Question Alvord ends paragraph 3 repeating the line from the Mountain Chant “standing out.” What parallel is Alvord trying to draw?

Question In paragraph 9, Alvord relates that “I thought people talked too much, laughed too loud, asked too many personal questions, and had no respect for privacy […] We were taught to be humble and not to draw attention to ourselves, to favor cooperation over competition […] to value silence over words, to respect our elders, and to reserve our opinions until they were asked for.” How does this entire essay reflect these values?

Question Why does Alvord include the series of rhetorical questions in paragraph 10?

Question Alvord writes about the kinaałdá ceremony of the Navajo people. She wonders if the ceremony would have given her more confidence at Dartmouth, but then later writes: “Nevertheless, since the Navajo culture is matriarchal, I think I was better prepared as a woman in a ‘man’s world’ than the white women I met.” Why does she link these two ideas together?

Question The writer draws a distinction between family and tribe. What does she wish for the audience to understand about these two ideas?

Question How is Alvord’s time at Dartmouth encapsulated in paragraph 27?

Question Alvord writes that “Dartmouth was good for me.” Having read this essay, what can the reader infer about the author’s feelings about her belonging to the Dartmouth community?