Reading Assignment #2 – Group B

       Either the well was very deep, or she fell very slowly, for she had plenty of time as she went down to look about her and to wonder what was going to happen next. First, she tried to look down and make out what she was coming to, but it was too dark to see anything; then she looked at the sides of the well, and noticed that they were filled with cupboards and book-shelves; here and there she saw maps and pictures hung upon pegs. She took down a jar from one of the shelves as she passed; it was labelled “ORANGE MARMALADE”, but to her great disappointment it was empty: she did not like to drop the jar for fear of killing somebody underneath, so managed to put it into one of the cupboards as she fell past it.

Question 1 – Alice now has a lot of time to think of what will occur next. Why does she have so much time to wonder?
Question 2 – Why was Alice disappointed?
Question 3 – Why was Alice afraid to let go of an empty jar?

       “Well!” thought Alice to herself, “after such a fall as this, I shall think nothing of tumbling down stairs! How brave they’ll all think me at home! Why, I wouldn’t say anything about it, even if I fell off the top of the house!” (Which was very likely true.)

Question 4 – What does ‘tumbling’ mean?
Question 5 – Why will Alice now think nothing of tumbling down the stairs?
Question 6 – What would Alice say if she fell off the roof of her house and why?

       Down, down, down. Would the fall never come to an end? “I wonder how many miles I’ve fallen by this time?” she said aloud. “I must be getting somewhere near the centre of the earth. Let me see: that would be four thousand miles down, I think—” (for, you see, Alice had learnt several things of this sort in her lessons in the schoolroom, and though this was not a very good opportunity for showing off her knowledge, as there was no one to listen to her, still it was good practice to say it over) “—yes, that’s about the right distance—but then I wonder what Latitude or Longitude I’ve got to?” (Alice had no idea what Latitude was, or Longitude either, but thought they were nice grand words to say.)

Question 7 – What does Alice think will never end?
Question 8 – How many miles does Alice say to reach the center of the earth?
Question 9 – What does ‘showing off’ mean?
Question 10 – Even though Alice can’t show off her knowledge, she can still do what?
Question 11 – Why does Alice ask about Latitude & Longitude even though she doesn’t know what they mean?