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Context Clues and Inferencing

Last updated over 2 years ago
15 questions
Norway fell quickly to Nazi Germany’s superior military during World War II. Many individuals surreptitiously worked to fight back against the Nazis while managing to go unnoticed. Jan Baalsrud was someone that helped in the fight against Germany after the Nazis invaded Norway. He escaped Norway after the Nazi invasion and ended up joining a resistance movement in Britain. He returned to Norway in 1943 as part of a mission to undermine the German army there. He was working with a group of eight other men that planned on using explosives to destroy an air control tower. Their group spent a lot of time planning their mission, but a grave mistake ended up endangering the safety of everyone involved.
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1. What does surreptitiously mean?

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2. What does grave mean?

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What word from the paragraph helped you understand the meaning to surreptitiously?

6

What is the effect of the foreshadowing in the last sentence?

Jan Baalsrud and the rest of the crew arrived in Norway on a ship that contained nearly eight tons of explosives that they were going to use to destroy an air control tower. Part of their mission depended on them contacting someone that had committed to helping. Unfortunately, they contacted someone else that had the same name. The man they mistakenly got in touch with alerted the Germans to their plan. Baalsrud and his companions were attempting to escape on their ship the next day when they were attacked by the Nazis. The men managed to detonate the explosives after they jumped off the ship, which destroyed much of the evidence. Baalsrud was able to circumvent capture but many in his group were caught by German soldiers.
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1.What does detonate mean?

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2.What does circumvent mean?

6

Which phrase helped you understand the meaning of circumvent?

7

What inference can be made about today’s passage?

Baalsrud was the only one from his mission that was able to make it out of the icy Norwegian waters uncaptured. He managed to swim to a nearby island where he immediately began running through the snowy landscape. Baalsrud was fortunate to encounter accommodating people who were willing to endanger their lives in order to help him. He was often provided with food and shelter. He could never safely stay in one place for very long and had to walk for extended periods of time through the frozen wilderness. At one point, he saw the lights from German soldiers who were undoubtedly still trying to locate the escaped saboteur. He finally was able to get help from a man who took him by boat to the Norwegian mainland in the middle of the night.
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1.What does accommodating mean?

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Which phrase from the text helped you understand the meaning of accommodating?

Baalsrud faced constant threats from both German soldiers and the harsh Norwegian weather as he attempted to escape to the neighboring country of Sweden. The man who rowed him to the Norwegian mainland provided him with skis to help expedite his journey and Baalsrud was able to make great time despite the terrible snowstorms he encountered. Unfortunately, Baalsrud got caught in an avalanche and fell nearly 300 feet and became trapped in the snow. His skis were mangled in the fall and he suffered a concussion but he did manage to survive. He was able to find help and was pulled on a sled back up the mountain where someone was supposed to come and pick him up and take him on the next leg of his journey. Unfortunately, the weather prevented this from going as planned.
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1.What does expedite mean?

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2. What does mangled mean?

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Which of the following quotes show that the author wanted Baalsrud to survive?

Once Jan Baalsrud reached the top of the mountain, his companions left him under a shed to wait for the men who were supposed to pick him up to complete his journey to Sweden. Baalsrud was still confined to the sled and was injured, frostbitten, and starving. A storm prevented the men from picking up Baalsrud as planned, and he was left alone for nearly a week before someone came and discovered that he was still alive. He was given food and other supplies and continued to wait there for nearly a month. Eventually, Baalsrud was able to complete the final leg of his journey to Sweden with the aid of men who used reindeer to carry him across the border.
Once in Sweden, it took Baalsrud nearly two months to recover from his formidable experience. Exposure to the elements and frostbite had caused permanent damage and he had to learn how to walk again. Once well enough, Baalsrud continued to work for the resistance and eventually was able to return to Norway. Baalsrud was in Norway when the war ended and he was finally able to reunite with members of his family that he hadn’t seen in five years. His incredible story of survival has captivated the hearts of many people. He was honored with awards in both Britain and his home country of Norway. Every year in Norway, a group of people spend nine days retracing the steps of his journey. His story has been published as a book and has also been turned into a movie.
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1.What was the most important factor in Jan Baalsrud’s survival?

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Write a summary of the whole text.