First Encounter With a Bandit
The Battle of Athens
Causes and Effects
Vocabulary
Speeding up or slowing down
100

Which word best describes the Corporal's personality?

pessimistic or negative

100

What nickname does Dahl give Flight Lieutenant Prattle?  

the ace of aces

100

If the effect is that the German planes got in each other's way and probably shot at each other, what caused that to happen? 

There were way more German planes than British ones: 200 to 15.

100

Tell me what someone particular might be like. 

picky eater

choosey

notices details 

100

 I find it almost impossible to describe vividly what happened during the next half-hour. I don’t think any fighter pilot has ever managed to convey what it is like to be up there in a long-lasting dog-fight. You are in a small metal cockpit where just about everything is made of riveted aluminium. There is a plexiglass hood over your head and a sloping bullet-proof windscreen in front of you. Your right hand is on the stick and your right thumb is on the brass firing-button on the top loop of the stick. Your left hand is on the throttle and your two feet are on the rudder-bar. Your body is attached by shoulder-straps and belt to the parachute you are sitting on, and a second pair of shoulder-straps and a belt are holding you rigidly in the cockpit. You can turn your head and you can move your arms and legs, but the rest of your body is strapped so tightly into the tiny cockpit that you cannot move. Between your face and the windscreen, the round orange-red circle of the reflector-sight glows brightly.

In this paragraph, name two techniques Dahl uses to slow down the moment. 

Describe the physical environment in great detail and show how the character feels.

200

What is the most likely reason the Corporal focuses more on what "appens" to the kite more than the pilots? 

A. He  builds the planes engines, therefore he feels form of a connection to the "kites".

B. He has already seen so many pilots die that he focuses on the planes to spare his mental health.

C. He cares more about mechanics and objects than people.

He has already seen so many pilots die that he focuses on the planes to spare his mental health.

200

Dahl and the British fighters had about 15 planes in the Battle of Athens. About how ______________ German planes were in the battle.

200

200

The effect of events in "The Battle of Athens" is that Dahl develops a close bond of friendship with David Coke. What causes that to happen?

David is the only one to ask Dahl about his experience, offer advice, and attempt to prepare him for battle.

200

Give me an example of a building that would be considered stately.

mansion 

castle 

Empire State Building.

200

Over Athens on that morning, I can remember seeing our tight little formation of Hurricanes all peeling away and disappearing among the swarms of enemy aircraft, and from then on, wherever I looked I saw an endless blur of enemy fighters whizzing towards me from every side. They came from above and they came from behind and they made frontal attacks from dead ahead, and I threw my Hurricane around as best I could and whenever a Hun came into my sights, I pressed the button. It was truly the most breathless and in a way the most exhilarating time I have ever had in my life. I caught glimpses of planes with black smoke pouring from their engines. I saw planes with pieces of metal flying off their fuselages. I saw the bright-red flashes coming from the wings of the Messerschmitts as they fired their guns, and once I saw a man whose Hurricane was in flames climb calmly out on to a wing and jump off. I stayed with them until I had no ammunition left in my guns. I had done a lot of shooting  but whether I had shot anyone down or had even hit any of them I could not say. I did not dare to pause for even a fraction of a second to observe results. The sky was so full of aircraft that half my time was spent in actually avoiding collisions. I am quite sure that the German planes must have often got in each other’s way because there were so many of them, and that, together with the fact that there were so few of us, probably saved quite a number of our skins.

Is this an example of speeding up a moment or slowing it down?  What techniques does Dahl use?

Speeding up

Vivid verbs and Action sequences in short run-on sentences.

300

Who does David think should do a better job of preparing new pilots? 

the squadron leader  

300

On what date did the Battle of Athens take place? 

April 20

300

What was the effect of Dahl's plane crash?

Dahl was six months late to his assignment in Greece because he needed time to recover from the plane crash. 

300

What can be packaged as a medley? 

Vegtables

fruits

trail mix

mixed nuts

300

Show how the character(s) feel 

Describe the physical environment in great detail

Use sensory details 

Are all the techniques for _____________ ________ a moment.

slowing down

400

How many "urricanes" (hurricanes) does the Corporal tell Dahl the British have to fight against the 1000 German planes? 

fifteen 

400

When Dahl states, " They came from above and they came from behind and they made frontal attacks from dead ahead, and I threw my Hurricane around as best I could and whenever a Hun came into my sights, I pressed the button," Who is the pronoun they referring to?

The German fighter pilots.

400

The effect is that Dahl has to aim his plane at a target to fire accurately. What caused him to take such an action? 

The guns on the plane can not move, so Dahl must move his plane so that the guns line up with his target. 

400

Why did Dahl consider going to war an escapade? 

He was young and thought he was invincible. He sees war as an adventure.

400

Use action verbs or images in short phrases, one after another 

Short Rapid-fire dialogue 

Use vivid verbs 

These are all ways to _____________ _________ a momment. 

Speed up

500

Both the Corporal and David think the situation is bleak and that Dahl will likely die. Describe how their attitudes and approaches are different?

The Corporal is very negative about the situation. All he wants to do is complain about how hopeless things are, and he is ready to give up. David, on the other hand, keeps trying his best and tries to help Dahl do well. 

500

Who are the Krauts?

The Germans 

500

" I was quite literally overwhelmed by the feeling that I had been into the very bowels of the fiery furnace and had managed to claw my way out." These feelings are the effect of an event in Dahl's life. What event caused him to feel this way?

He is leaving the Battle of Athens and realizes his plane has been hit. He realizes he barely got out of the battle alive.

500

Give two synonyms and two antonyms for moderate.  

s- frugal conservative

a- abundance imensity 

500

From The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon by Stephen King, Scribner, 1999

...Halfway out, something moved under her. She looked down and saw a fat black snake slithering through the leaves. For a moment every thought in her mind disappeared into a silent white explosion of revulsion and horror. Her skin turned to ice and her throat closed. She could not even think the single word snake but only feel it, coldly pulsing under her warm hand. Trisha shrieked and tried to bolt to her feet, forgetting that she wasn't yet in the clear. A stump of branch thick as an amputated forearm poked agonizingly into the small of her back. She went flat on her stomach again and wriggled out from under the tree as fast as she could, probably looking a bit like a snake herself…

Is this an example of speeding up or slowing down? Explain how you know your choice is correct. 

This is an example of slowing down. The author describes the character's thoughts and feelings in great detail. He shows us how Trisha feels through her actions (shrieking and bolting to her feet)

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