A Bread Famine
by John Muir from My First Summer in the Sierra
Chapter III passage: Founder of the Sierra Club, noted naturalist John Muir traveled to California for the first time in 1868. Once there, he was hired to accompany shepherds and a flock of sheep to summer pasture in the Sierra Nevada mountains. He kept a diary of the journey which he published in 1911. Students will read the passage and answer questions on the language and the details.
Reading Comprehension Passage
A Bread Famine
by John Muir from My First Summer in the Sierra
Reading Comprehension Questions
Vocabulary List
Vocabulary List
Each of the vocabulary words below are used in the reading passage. As you read the passage, pay attention to context clues that suggest the word’s meaning.
1. Famine
2. Accustomed
3. Desirable
4. Offensive
5. Gastric
6. Doggedly
7. Stifled
Context Clues
Context Clues
Using context clues from the sentences in the passage, underline the correct meaning of the word in boldface.
1. “Mr. Delaney has not arrived, and the bread famine is sore.”
a. supply b. order c. loaf d. shortage
2. “We must eat mutton a while longer, though it seems hard to get accustomed to it.”
a. sickened b. adapted c. connected d. averted
3. “Just at this moment mutton seems the least desirable of food, though of good quality.”
a. enjoyable b. unworthy c. healthy d. disgusting
4. “We pick out the leanest bits, and down they go against heavy disgust, causing nausea and an effort to reject the offensive stuff.”
a. overly salty b. bitter c. rancid d. unpleasant
5. “We try to ignore our gastric troubles, rise and gaze about us, turn our eyes to the mountains…”
a. stomach b. food c. physical d. emotional
6. “…and climb doggedly up through brush and rocks into the heart of the scenery.”
a. like a dog b. slowly c. quickly d. with determination
7. “A stifled calm comes on, and the day's duties and even enjoyments are languidly got through with.”
a. surprising b. expected c. overwhelming d. smothered