About one-quarter of the places in Holland are located below the level of the sea. Another name for Holland is "The Netherlands," meaning the low country. To keep the sea out, they have built large earthen walls, called "dikes." (Those beautiful Dutch windmills are actually used to pump water out of the low areas, too!)
A story tells how a boy in the Netherlands was coming home one evening and saw a leak in the dike near his home. He put his finger in the hole (or some say his hand up against the hole) and stayed there all night, until someone found him in the morning. His people thought he was a hero for saving them.
But this is just a story--written by an American woman! In fact, if a dike is weak, it doesn't just get a hole: the whole thing washes away! But the story still teaches an important lesson: If you see a problem, do everything you can to keep it from becoming a bigger problem!
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SOME WORDS TO TALK ABOUT:
- earthen: made of earth
- a leak: a place where water is coming through
- to pump: to move water with a kind of machine
- windmills: large powerful motors driven by wind power
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Questions to Answer:
Choose the best answer. Correct answers are in the first comment below.
1. Why does Holland need dikes and windmills?
A. Because sometimes they leak.
B. Because much of the country is below sea level.
C. because of the Dutch boy.
2. What, exactly, is a dike?
A. a sort of dam made from earth
B. a windmill
C. a kind of pump
3. Who wrote the story of the Dutch boy and the dike?
A. an American woman
B. a Dutch boy
C. a Dutch man
4. What happens if there's a problem with a dike?
A. it gets a tiny whole
B. a large section washes away
C. people come to make a boy a hero
5. What is another lesson of the Dutch boy and the dike?
A. Even a small child can save many people.
B. Never try to be a hero.
C. Always come home before evening.
Questions to Think About:
These questions do not have "right" or "wrong" answers. They only ask your opinion.
- Why do you think Dutch people want to live in such a dangerous place, where the sea could rush in any time?
- Do you think you would do what the Dutch boy did? Why or why not?
- Do you think the Dutch boy was a hero? Why or why not?
ANSWERS:
ReplyDeleteQuestions to Answer: 1. B; 2. A; 3. A; 4. B; 5. A
Questions to Think About do not have any single correct answer. However, any answers you give should be supported by what you read or by things you know ("I think... because...").