Chapter Test: Chapter 15 Fifteen Minutes of Fame

VOCABULARY (Evaluation: 15 points)

A.Choose the correct definition for each vocabulary word. (1 points each answer, /5)

1. propel
a) join together b) watch c) push forward

2. ultimate
a) best of its kind b) destined c) part of a whole

3. spotlight
a) focus b) camera flash c) clean up

4. viral
a) not spread b) spread rapidly c) spread slowly

5. famous
a) a bit of fire b) spreading quickly c) well-known

B.Fill in the blanks with the words below. (1 point each, /10)

affect audience climb celebrity connect

likely dream release social zany

1. It can be difficult to be a famous .

2. Celebrities may like performing for an , but most still want some
privacy.

3. Many about becoming famous, but it can be stressful.

4 Celebrities find that media is a beast that is always hungry for gossip.

5. In some cases, it can your health.

6. Many celebrities no longer online.

7. It’s hard because you spend so much time trying to to the top of your
field.

8. But the of each album or movie is only an invitation to criticism.

9. It’s pretty how far some social media sites go to get gossip on
celebrities.

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10. It’s that some celebrities break under the pressure.

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COMPREHENSION (Evaluation: 30 points)

Read this text. Then, answer the questions that follow.

The Bead of Humility

“The old man says this bead is for sorrow.”

Habib the translator turns to Carter to be sure he understands. Carter publishes the fashion magazine
Mode. His job doesn’t require him to write stories himself, but he is envious of journalists who earn their
fifteen minutes of fame by winning awards at glamorous social gatherings. So, Carter sometimes picks a
story to write, usually about a celebrity in an exotic location. This is why he is sitting on a carpet sipping
mint tea in a dark corner of Mutrah Souk, the central bazaar of Muscat, Oman.

Carter wants to write about movie star Titania de Trimble’s necklace. Titania is everything Carter is not.
Titania is young. She is happy and wealthy. Her wedding to a handsome man led to two flawless children.

Titania also has a necklace. Just one.

Although it is common for Titania to pose with the necklace, she shakes her head in publicity interviews
when asked about it. The simple necklace, made of dozens of brightly coloured beads, is Titania’s
signature piece. This is despite being able to afford anything from any jewellery store in the world. Carter
has looked at thousands of photos of Titania wearing the necklace, but recently noticed something others
had not. After a recent trip to Oman, Titania’s necklace changed. One inconspicuous small pale blue bead
was added.

In a flash, Carter guessed Oman was where Titania first acquired the necklace. Carter had to know more.

“Do you understand sorrow?” Habib is asking.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Carter snaps. He now understands that each bead in the shop carries a different emotion.
“But why would anyone want to wear a bead of sorrow?”

Habib talks to the old bead seller and translates, explaining that beads must be worn in balance. The old
man continues to sputter away in Arabic, pointing at an even older man in a nearby stall, crumpled up in
a wheelchair but with a smile like sunshine. His simple necklace features four large round orange beads.
“Those beads are for happiness. His family died in a house fire–the same house fire that cost him the use
of his legs. Can you imagine how such a thing affects a man? He doesn’t need a balancing bead. But, for
the rest of us, I have to warn you, with the wrong beads, we risk not balancing our emotions–both good
and bad.

“Ask him about the blue bead,” Carter already has a long list of notes about the color, shape and meaning
of each bead they discussed, but is most interested in the one Titania has added.

A translation, an answer, a translation: “Humility.”

Carter comes to a decision. “I’ll buy everything in the shop.”

“What?”

“Everything,” Carter repeats. “All the contents of the shop. Make him agree to a fair price and you can
include ten percent for yourself.”

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 Habib shakes his head in surprise, but he is paid to translate for Carter, and he turns back to the
bead seller.

The instant the words are out of Habib’s mouth, Carter sees failure. The bead seller gets up from his
carpet and stands like a statue. He will not even nod goodbye to his guests; the insult is too great. Carter
and Habib have no choice but to leave. Back in the car, Habib asks Carter where he wants to go next.
“First a luggage store, then a hardware store,” he says.

Carter’s flight is at five a.m. the next morning but, on the way to the airport, he stops again at the souk,
this time without Habib. Only one sleepy guard is on duty and before he can protest, Carter shoves a thick
wad of money into his hands. The guard opens the door and follows Carter and his large suitcase
to the metal sliding door of the bead seller’s stall. When Carter takes out his bolt cutters, the guard wants
to stop him, but the money is more than he would make in months. In the end, he helps Carter cut off
the lock.

In a frenzy, Carter stuffs the suitcase with as many beads as he can and is soon on his way to the airport.
Back home, in his penthouse apartment, Carter opens the suitcase like a pirate’s treasure. He wastes no
time picking up a random handful of beads and, for fun, stringing them around his neck.

***

A day later, Titania answers the door to find a young police officer. “I’m so sorry to disturb you,
Mrs. de Trimble, but your name came up in a rather odd investigation.”

After she invites him in, the officer shows Titania the pages of notes with her name written on, as well
as photos of Carter’s apartment with the open suitcase.

“I suspect those beads are stolen,” Titania frowns. “If you like, I could tell you about the place in Oman
from which they were likely taken.”

The officer thanks her and almost doesn’t show her the last photo, the one of Carter on the street where
he died after leaping from his balcony. In the photo, a necklace of small purple beads is barely visible.

“Ah, poor man,” Titania says. Then she whispers something the police officer doesn’t understand.
“Those are beads of madness.”

1. Who is Carter? (2 point)

2. Who is Carter visiting in Oman? (3 point)

3. Why does Carter write if it’s not really his job? (2 point)

4. Carter is the opposite of Titania. How would you describe him? (3 point)

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 5. Why did the old man in the wheelchair wear orange beads – and no other beads
to balance them? (3 point)

6. What was the purpose of Titania’s blue bead and why might she need it? (4 point)

7. Why did Carter need to buy a suitcase and bolt cutters? (3 points)

8. What are two reasons why Carter thought the beads were like a pirate’s treasure? (3 points)

9. Why does the police officer visit Titania, and what does her final comment explain? (3 points)

10. What caused Carter to leap from his balcony, and how could he have avoided it?
(4 point)

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