Concept Vocabulary & Word Study
1. If you took a piece of paper and folded it precisely in half, you would have made a ___________ fold.
symmetrical spiral aesthetic
What is symmetrical?
How does Tammet use numbers to understand other people’s emotions?
What is Tammet is able to understand people’s emotions by relating those emotions to his own responses to numbers. For example, Tammet can experience sadness by picturing himself in the hollow of a number 6; he can understand feeling intimidated by imagining himself next to the number 9?
Which of the following is an example of reflective writing from the first paragraph of the selection?
a. The author reflects that Wednesdays and the number 9 are always blue.
b. The author reflects that he likes his birth date and explains why.
What is b. The author reflects that he likes his birth date and explains why?
Pick the correct pronoun and identify the pronoun case.
(He, Him, His) has a condition known as “savant syndrome.”
What is He and nominative?
...I find some combinations of numbers more beautiful than others: ones go well with darker numbers like 8s and 9s, but not so well with 6s.
The author's relationship with numbers is most like which of the following?
a. a farmer's relationship to his fields
b. an actor's relationship to her fans
c. a mechanic's relationship to a car
d. an artist's relationship to colors
What is d. an artist's relationship to colors?
A ___________ staircase is a staircase that twists and turns.
symmetrical spiral aesthetic
What is spiral?
How is Tammet’s relaxation technique different from or similar to ways people commonly relax?
What is Tammet counts as a relaxation technique. This technique is not uncommon: Many people “count to 10” in order to get emotions under control. Unlike most people, however, Tammet’s counting leads to a fully realized visualization of the numbers, and pictures and patterns emerge?
Which of the following statements from the selection shows the author’s attitude toward numbers?
a. “Thinking of numbers helps me to become calm again.”
b. “The cube, or third power, of 51 is equivalent to 51 x 51 x 51 = 132,651.”
What is a. “Thinking of numbers helps me to become calm again"?
Pick the correct pronoun and identify the pronoun case.
Thinking about numbers helps to calm (I, me, mine).
What is me and objective?
What is the author's purpose for writing this memoir?
What is to help readers understand how he experiences numbers?
If you judged a painting on its ___________ qualities, you would be judging it on its beauty.
symmetrical spiral aesthetic
What is aesthetic?
What does Tammet mean when he says numbers are his “first language”?
What is Tammet means that it is primarily through numbers (and not through language), he is able to make sense of the world?
Why might the author have included the following example of reflective writing? “…if the numbers don’t match my experience of them—if, for example, a shop sign’s price has ‘99 pence’ in red or green (instead of blue)—then I find that uncomfortable and irritating.”
a. to show that he can be impatient and can feel frustration like anyone else
b. to show that he experiences numbers in a way that is different from most people
What is b. to show that he experiences numbers in a way that is different from most people?
Pick the correct pronoun and identify the pronoun case.
He can do sums in his head because (he, his, him) is able to visualize the numbers.
What is he and subjective?
A reader might ask the following questions after reading the memoir. Which question best shows that the selection is an effective piece of reflective writing?
a. How did the author organize the selection?
b. What makes my way of seeing things unique?
c. Where can I learn more about savant syndrome?
d. Might I also be diagnosed with a rare condition?
What is b. What makes my way of seeing things unique?
The fantasy novel contains several _________ beasts, including a unicorn.
ecological • fantastical • atypical • historical • archaeological
What is fantastical?
What do the final two paragraphs of the text suggest about Tammet?
What is Tammet prizes safety and happiness, perhaps because he fears those are hard to achieve. Since Tammet sometimes has a hard time falling asleep, he may experience some anxiety. Tammet has a great appreciation for order and beauty—his descriptions of the numbers are beautiful and soothing?
Which of the following is more likely one of the central ideas of the selection?
a. There are different ways to measure and express intelligence.
b. People who don’t know math well cannot appreciate math geniuses.
What is a. There are different ways to measure and express intelligence?
Pick the correct pronoun and identify the pronoun case.
Some people see numbers as shapes in (they, their, theirs) head.
What is their and possessive?
The word musical contains the Latin suffix -ical. Choose the sentence that most strongly suggests the meaning of musical. Base your answer on your knowledge of the suffix -ical.
a. The band released a new album.
b. The piano is a string instrument.
c. The poem sounded like a song.
d. The flute has three main parts.
What is c. The poem sounded like a song?
We doubted the __________ accuracy of the facts in the essay.
ecological • fantastical • atypical • historical • archaeological
What is historical?
(a) In what ways might having synesthesia be useful? (b) In what ways might having synesthesia prove challenging?
What is (a) Having the ability to see numbers and other data as colors might help with school work. (b) Synesthesia might be distracting and isolating: Since it is rare, other people would not be able to understand your perceptions?
Reflective writing can help reveal and give insight to the author's ____________, or main points, in a memoir.
What is central idea?
Pick the correct pronoun and identify the pronoun case.
(I, Me, My) brain can recognize every prime number up to almost 10,000.
What is my and possessive?
a. It is written in the first person.
b. It contains many of the same details as Rain Man, a famous movie about autism.
c. The author has Asperger's syndrome, and people with Asperger's often have trouble relating to others.
d. The author is able to put his experiences into words, even though he considers numbers to be his first language.
What is d. The author is able to put his experiences into words, even though he considers numbers to be his first language?