Calm in Storm
by Charles Dickens
Book the Third—the Track of a Storm, Part IV passage: Published in 1859, Charles Dickens’ masterpiece “A Tale of Two Cities” takes place in London and Paris during the French Revolution. This passage reflects on the most infamous symbol of the Revolution: the guillotine. After reading the passage, students will answer questions on the figurative language used by Dickens and discuss the meaning of behind some of Dickens’ references.
Reading Comprehension Passage
Calm in Storm
by Charles Dickens
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.
- Interval
- Raging
- Tribunal
- Hideous
- Jests
- Infallibly
- Superseded
- Eloquent
Context Clues
Context Clues
Using context clues from the sentences in the passage, underline the correct meaning of the word in boldface.
1) “There was no pause, no pity, no peace, no interval of relenting rest, no measurement of time.”
a. time frame b. alone time c. meeting d. place
2) “Hold of it was lost in the raging fever of a nation, as it is in the fever of one patient.”
a. high b. stopping c. growing d. intense
3) “A revolutionary tribunal in the capital, and forty or fifty thousand revolutionary committees all over the land…”
a. party b. church c. assembly d. gravesite
4) “Above all, one hideous figure grew as familiar as if it had been before the general gaze from the foundations of the world—the figure of the sharp female called La Guillotine.”
a. hidden b. large c. strange d. ugly
5) “It was the popular theme for jests; it was the best cure for headache…”
a. artwork b. jokes c. stories d. plays
6) “…it infallibly prevented the hair from turning grey…”
a. unmistakably b. usually c. quickly d. jokingly
7) “It superseded the Cross.”
a. covered b. healed c. replaced d. minimized
8) “It hushed the eloquent, struck down the powerful, abolished the beautiful and good.”
a. stylish b. talkative c. attractive d. curious