Jacob the Great	

Jacob hated finishing things almost as much as he loved starting them.  As a result, he had gotten into a million hobbies and activities, but he never stuck with any of them long enough to get any good.  

He begged his mother for months for a guitar so that he could play Black Eyed Peas songs to Angie, a girl he liked, but after he finally got one for Christmas, he found out that guitars don’t play themselves.  He took a few lessons, but strumming the strings hurt his fingers and he didn’t like holding the pick, so now the five-hundred pound guitar lives under his bed.  

After reading an ad in the back of one of his comic books, Jacob decided that he wanted a Wonder-Sweeper 5000 metal detector, so that he could find buried pirate treasure.  So he mowed lawns all summer and didn’t spend his money on ice-cream like his younger brother, Alex.  He saved it all in a shoe box in his closet.  Then he shoveled driveways all winter and he didn’t spend his money on sweets and chips like his classmates.  By the time spring came he had saved £200 and he purchased the Wonder-Sweeper 5000 metal detector.   He beeped it around the park for a while, but he soon found out that no pirates had ever set sail in his neighborhood and if they had, they didn’t leave any treasure.  Even though he found a key ring, forty-seven pence and all the bottle caps he could throw, he buried the metal detector in his closest.   

Given Jacob’s history with hobbies, it was no surprise that Jacob’s father was reluctant to buy him a magician’s kit for his birthday.  “Geez, Jacob… Don’t you just want more guitar lessons?”  he asked.  Jacob was insistent.  “Dad, you’ve got to get me the magician’s kit.  This time I’ll stick with it for real.  I promise!  Come on, Dad,” Jacob begged.  Jacob’s father sighed and then replied, “Oh, I don’t know, Jacob.  Things are awfully tight right now.”  But Jacob’s father was reminded of his own youth long ago, when he quit football and started karate practice before hardly getting his equipment dirty.  So when Jacob’s birthday came around, Jacob was both surprised and pleased to find the magician’s kit that he had desired so badly with a big bright bow on it.   

Jacob opened up the box and unwrapped the many parts in the kit.  As he did so, he imagined sawing his pet cat in half and putting it back together to the amazement of his friends and family.  He took the many fake coins, trick cards and rope pieces of varying length on the kitchen table and imagined pulling rabbits out of his hat and turning them into pigeons with a mysterious puff of smoke.  As Jacob continued pulling plastic thumbs, foam balls and giant playing cards out of the magic kit, a commercial on the TV caught his attention.  “Hey kids!  Have you ever wanted to go to space?  Experience what it’s like to be an astronaut?  Do you want to explore the universe?  Well, now you can.”  As the commercial continued playing, Jacob walked away from the magic kit on the kitchen table and stared at the TV screen longingly.  “For only £195 you can go to space camp and live life like an astronaut for a whole weekend.  Enroll now for a once in a life time experience.”  Jacob’s cry rang throughout the house as he yelled, “MUM!”  He now knew what his true purpose in life was.  
Comprehension and Inferential Questions

1.  According to the text, why does Jacob stop playing the guitar?

2.  To whom did Jacob want to play Black Eyed Peas songs?

3.  According to the passage, why does Jacob decide that he wants a metal detector?

4.  How does Jacob get the items that he wants in the story?

5.  When did Jacob buy the metal detector?

6.  Was the metal detector a good investment for Jacob? Explain your answer.

7.  Why doesn’t Jacob’s father want to get him the magician’s kit for his birthday?

8.  Why does Jacob’s father buy Jacob the magician’s kit?

9.  What is another word which means the same as the italicized word in the following sentence from 
     paragraph four: “It was no surprise that Jacob’s father was reluctant to buy him a magician’s kit for 
     his birthday”?

10.  What distracts Jacob from the magician’s kit?

Literary Elements Questions

11.  Which character trait best describes Jacob in regards to his hobbies?

12.  What was the author’s purpose in writing this text?

13.  In which pattern is the text organized?

a.  Problem and Solution   b.  Chronological		      c.  Sequence		d.   Cause and Effect

14.  From what point is view is the story narrated?

a.  First-Person			b.  Third-Person Objective (reported by neutral observer)

c.  Second-Person			d.  Third-Person Omniscient (reported by all-knowing reporter)

15.  Which poetic technique is used in the following line: “He beeped it around the park for a while”?

a.  Onomatopoeia	      b.  Simile			      c.  Personification		d.   Hyperbole