Inspirational Team
by Judy Clark

It was Tabitha's turn to give her presentation on a historical figure. The assignment was for each student to pick a person who was recognized for an accomplishment, research the person, and then give a short speech on something that was inspirational about that person. Tabitha walked up to the front and displayed a presentation titled "Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan" in block letters on the smartboard.
Raising my hand, I said,"I thought we were only supposed to choose one person."
She smiled and replied, "You'll see why I picked two. Helen Keller was born in 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama, and was healthy for the first two years of her life. But in 1882, she became very sick and lost her ability to see and hear. It must have been very difficult for her, not being able to communicate very well with everyone around her." Looking around, I could tell that other students were thinking the same thing that I was—that it would be difficult to live in a world that was both dark and silent.
"Helen Keller's parents wanted to do anything they could to help her," Tabitha continued. "They took her to different experts. In fact, one expert was Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the telephone. At the time, Bell was helping hearing impaired children, and he had the idea of sending the Kellers to the Perkins Intstitute for the Blind in Boston, Massachusetts. That was where Helen met Anne Sullivan. For the next 49 years, Anne Sullivan helped Helen by teaching her a new way of communicating. She would hand Helen an object such as a doll, then trace the letters that spelled out the object on Helen's palm. Helen quickly picked up on what Anne was teaching her."
Tabitha looked at me and smiled again. "The reason I picked two people as being inspirational is because they both did something amazing. Anne Sullivan helped connect Helen to the world in a way she would not have been able to connect on her own. And Helen used the skills that Anne taught her to go to college and then to go on to help other people who had challenges similar to her own. They were, in fact, an inspirational team." I found myself nodding in agreement as I joined in with the other students in clapping our approval.
5
Which of these is the best summary of the third paragraph?
A.
The class thought about how difficult it would be to live in a world that was not only dark, but also silent.
B.
The class thought about how dark and silent Helen Keller’s life must have been as Tabitha described it.
C.
Tabitha described how Helen Keller had trouble communicating after she lost her sight and hearing.
D.
Tabitha described how Helen Keller was healthy for two years of her life before she became sick.