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Ambition and Manipulation
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Ambition and Manipulation
Read the original story below, then answer the questions using evidence from the text. When quoting, use short, accurate phrases.
By Friday afternoon, the student council would choose its next president. Eli had wanted the role since the start of the year. He had designed posters, memorised his speech and practised smiling without looking nervous.
His friend Mara watched him rehearse in the empty hall. “You have the strongest plan,” she said. “But nobody remembers a plan. They remember a moment.”
“What sort of moment?” Eli asked.
Mara lowered her voice. “Tell them the current president ignored the broken lights in the gym. Don’t say you know the repair was delayed because the parts hadn’t arrived. Just ask why the president let students practise in the dark.”
Eli frowned. “That isn’t fair.”
“Is it fair that your opponent gets another year in charge?” Mara replied. She tapped his speech with one finger. “You can win, or you can watch someone else take the job you deserve.”
The next day, Eli stood before the assembly. He described the dark gym and asked, “What does it say about leadership when students are left in the shadows?” A few people murmured. He did not mention the missing parts.
After the vote, Eli won by three ballots. In the corridor, Mara grinned and said, “I knew you had it in you.” But Eli’s eyes stayed on the hand-written note in his pocket: PARTS ARRIVED THIS MORNING. The gym lights would be fixed that afternoon.
At the celebration, people congratulated him on his powerful speech. Eli smiled for the photographs. Each time someone praised his honesty, the smile felt a little harder to hold.
Understand the story
Track what Eli wants, what Mara advises, and what his choice costs him.
1.What does Eli want to achieve, and how long has he wanted it?
2.Which advice from Mara most clearly encourages Eli to mislead the assembly?
- Practise smiling without looking nervous.
- Describe the broken lights but leave out why the repair was delayed.
- Tell the assembly that the parts have arrived.
- Ask the current president to explain the repair schedule.
3.In Mara’s question, “Is it fair that your opponent gets another year in charge?”, what is the main effect of the rhetorical question?
- It invites Eli to consider both candidates calmly.
- It makes Eli feel that losing would be unfair and pressures him to act.
- It proves that the opponent has behaved dishonestly.
- It changes the conversation to the gym repairs.
4.Match each of Mara’s tactics to its likely effect on Eli.
- A. “You can win, or you can watch someone else take the job you deserve.”
- B. “Why the president let students practise in the dark.”
- C. “Nobody remembers a plan. They remember a moment.”
- 3. Pushes Eli to value impact over a fair explanation.
- 1. Makes Eli imagine a public criticism of the president.
- 2. Frames the role as something Eli is entitled to.
5.Eli tells the assembly that the repair was delayed because the parts had not arrived.
TrueFalse
6.Explain the double meaning of Eli’s question, “What does it say about leadership when students are left in the shadows?”
7.What information in the note changes how the reader understands Eli’s speech?
8.Complete the sentence with a word that captures the conflict Eli feels: After winning, Eli’s smile becomes harder to hold because he feels about the way he won.
9.Is Mara mainly helping Eli, manipulating him, or doing both? Give one short quotation and explain how it supports your view.
10.Who is more responsible for Eli’s misleading speech: Eli, Mara, or both? Write a brief judgement using two details from the story.
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