Question

read the excerpt from judith ortiz cofer’s poem “el olvido.”
a bare, cold room with no pictures on the walls,
a forgetting place where she fears you will die
of loneliness and exposure.
jesús, maría, y josé, she says,
el olvido is a dangerous thing.
which strategy would be most helpful in enhancing the reader’s comprehension of the poem?
○ skimming the lines for familiar words
○ establishing the meaning of words in english and spanish
○ breaking the lines into shorter phrases
○ rewriting each line by hand

Explanation:

The poem uses a mix of English and Spanish (e.g., Jesús, María, y José, el olvido). Understanding the meaning of these terms in both languages is critical to grasping the poem's themes of cultural identity and the danger of forgetting one's roots. Skimming only for familiar words would miss key context, breaking lines into phrases does not address the bilingual barrier, and rewriting lines by hand offers no meaningful comprehension support.

Answer:

establishing the meaning of words in English and Spanish