The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West
by John Muir from Our National Parks
Chapter I passage: John Muir was a noted naturalist of his time and founder of the Sierra Club in 1892. This passage is from a series of essays published in 1901 about the the beauty of the wild areas of the United States and the need to preserve this areas. Students will read the passage and respond to questions on the main idea of the passage and the language used by Muir.
Reading Comprehension Passage
The Wild Parks and Forest Reservations of the West
by John Muir from Our National Parks
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. Necessity
2. Stupefying
3. Briskly
4. Sauntering
5. Preservation
6. Artificial
Context Clues
Context Clues
Using context clues from the sentences in the passage, underline the correct meaning of the word in boldface.
1. “…that wildness is a necessity; and that mountain parks and reservations are useful not only as fountains of timber and irrigating rivers, but as fountains of life.”
a. commodity b. requirement c. useful d. fun
2. “Awakening from the stupefying effects of the vice of over-industry and the deadly apathy of luxury…”
a. astonishing b. numbing c. stupid d. three-dimensional
3. “Briskly venturing and roaming, some are washing off sins and cobweb cares of the devil's spinning in all-day storms on mountains…”
a. slowly b. quickly c. strategically d. cautiously
4. “…sauntering in rosiny pinewoods or in gentian meadows…”
a. walking b. running c. dancing d. hiking
5. “So also is the growing interest in the care and preservation of forests and wild places in general, and in the half wild parks and gardens of towns.”
a. pressing b. chopping c. honoring d. saving
6. “Even the scenery habit in its most artificial forms, mixed with spectacles, silliness, and kodaks…”
a. plastic-like b. concrete c. fake d. real