Directions: Read the given passage and answer the questions that follow.

The small Texas school that I went to had a tradition carried out every year during the eighth-grade graduation: a beautiful gold and green jacket (the school colours) was awarded to the student who had maintained the grade for eight years.

The scholarship jacket — a beautiful gold and green jacket had a big gold S on the left front side and your name written in gold letters on the pocket. My oldest sister, Rosie, had won the jacket a few years back, and I fully expected to also. I had been a straight ‘A’ student since the first grade and in the eighth grade had looked forward very much to own that jacket.

My father was a farm labourer who couldn’t earn enough money to feed eight children, so when I was six I was given to my grandparents to raise. We couldn’t participate in sports at school because there were registration fees, uniform costs, and trips out of town; so, even though our family was quite agile and athletic there would never be a school sports jacket for us. This one, the scholarship jacket, was our only chance. Another hour of sweating in basketball was coming up and I was walking up to the gym. Then I remembered my P.E. shorts and I had to walk all the way back and get them. I was almost back at my classroom door when I heard voices raised in anger as if in some sort of argument.

I recognized the voices: Mr. Schmidt, my history teacher, and Mr. Boone, my math teacher, seemed to be arguing about me. I heard them say ‘Martha’ and I couldn’t believe it. “Martha has a straight A-plus average and you know it.” That was Mr. Schmidt and he sounded very angry. “I refuse to do it! I don’t care who Joann’s father is, her grades don’t even begin to compare to Martha’s,” he continued. My heart sank.