from The Four Freedoms Speech Franklin D. Roosevelt FIRST READ: Comprehension 1. In the excerpt from the Four Freedoms speech, why does Roosevelt see the present threat to American security and safety as unprecedented? a. No nation has ever attacked or invaded the United States. b. No nation has ever attempted to destroy the world s democracies. c. No nation has ever succeeded in establishing a military dictatorship. d. No nation has ever requested military assistance from the United States. 2. According to the excerpt from the Four Freedoms speech, why is national unity critical for the present situation? a. National unity will allow the government to enforce special wartime laws. b. National unity will lead to economic equality across all social ranks. c. National unity is the strongest possible defense against an enemy. d. National unity will make full civil rights secure for all Americans. 3. In his Four Freedoms speech, Roosevelt hopes for certain changes in the nation s social and economic systems. Which sentence best describes the changes he feels are needed? a. He hopes to lift many more citizens above the poverty level. b. He hopes to raise money for the coming war by selling savings bonds. c. He hopes to enable a government takeover of many private industries. d. He hopes to order the creation of a national health-insurance program. 4. As expressed in the excerpt from the Four Freedoms speech, what immediate course should the United States pursue? a. negotiating with the dictators and aggressors b. building up its supply of military weapons c. sending troops overseas to join the fight d. holding emergency midterm elections Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 1
5. One of the four essential human freedoms that Roosevelt describes in his Four Freedoms speech is freedom from fear. What are the other three? Choose three options. a. freedom to travel without restrictions b. freedom of speech and expression c. freedom from taxation d. freedom from want e. freedom from debt f. freedom of religion g. freedom to vote FIRST READ: Concept Vocabulary 6. Which of the following best describes rulers who govern by tyranny? a. They guarantee legal equality for all. b. They encourage input from advisors. c. They exercise absolute, unchecked power. d. They make all decisions slowly and carefully. 7. Which of the following is the best example of an act of treachery in wartime? a. guarding enemy soldiers who have been taken prisoner b. giving the enemy important strategic information c. broadcasting false information to the enemy d. decoding messages written by the enemy 8. If two nations agree on a program of disarmament, which of the following must happen? Base your answer on the meaning of disarmament. a. The nations will cut back on their stock of weapons used for war. b. The nations will guarantee equal civil rights for all their citizens. c. The nations will establish embassies in one another s capital cities. d. The nations will eliminate taxes on the goods they trade with one another. Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 2
CLOSE READ: Analyze the Text 9. Read this sentence from the Four Freedoms speech. We must especially beware of that small group of selfish men who would clip the wings of the American eagle in order to feather their own nests. Which of the following best explains Roosevelt s meaning? a. He warns against those who urge America stay neutral so that they can make more money. b. He warns against the secret enemy agents within America who are already helping to prepare for an enemy invasion. c. He warns against those who oppose American involvement in the war because they feel that all warfare is morally wrong. d. He warns against those who argue against building up the American Air Force so that the money can go to the Army and Navy. 10. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B. Part A Which statement best describes Roosevelt s views on appeasement, as stated in the Four Freedoms speech? a. He clings to the hope that appeasement will resolve the conflict. b. He worries that appeasement may not please all sides in negotiation. c. He is confident that appeasement will eventually bring about a victory. d. He believes that appeasement amounts to the same thing as surrender. Part B Which of the following sentences from the speech best supports the answer to Part A? a. Such a peace would bring no security for us or for our neighbors. b. A free nation has the right to expect full cooperation from all groups. c. As men do not live by bread alone, they do not fight by armaments alone. d. The mighty action that we are calling for cannot be based on a disregard of all things worth fighting for. Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 3
11. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B. Part A In his Four Freedoms speech, Roosevelt makes this statement. I have called for personal sacrifice. I am assured of the willingness of almost all Americans to respond to that call. How does Roosevelt attempt to persuade his audience to accept the burden of sacrifice in the days ahead? a. by implying that the United States may be invaded at any moment b. by promising that burdens will be fairly distributed among everyone c. by donating his own salary to the war effort as an example to citizens d. by offering financial rewards to those willing to accept sacrifice voluntarily Part B Which of the following sentences from the speech best supports the answer to Part A? a. Today it is abundantly evident that American citizens everywhere are demanding and supporting speedy and complete action in recognition of obvious danger. b. Their only interest is in a new one-way international law, which lacks mutuality in its observance and, therefore, becomes an instrument of oppression. c. The best way of dealing with the few slackers or troublemakers in our midst is, first, to shame them by patriotic example, and, if that fails, to use the sovereignty of government to save government. d. No person should try, or be allowed, to get rich out of [the defense] program; and the principle of tax payments in accordance with ability to pay should be constantly before our eyes to guide our legislation. 12. In this excerpt from the Four Freedoms speech, Roosevelt describes the new national policy to which he has committed himself. In doing so, he invokes the phrase by an impressive expression of the public will and without regard to partisanship three times. Which of the following best describes the effect of his use of repetition? a. He implies that he will carry out his policy regardless of how the general public feels. b. He persuades Congress to convince citizens in both parties that his policy is sound. c. He explains that he will abolish the two-party system with full approval of citizens. d. He emphasizes that his policy already has the full support of citizens in both parties. Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 4
CLOSE READ: Analyze Craft and Structure 13. The following question has two parts. Answer Part A first, and then Part B. Part A In which of the following sentences from the Four Freedoms speech does Roosevelt appeal to logic? a. That determination of ours, extending over all these years, was proved, for example, during the quarter century of wars following the French Revolution. b. But, as time went on, the American people began to visualize what the downfall of democratic nations might mean to our own democracy. c. The American people have unalterably set their faces against that tyranny. d. As a nation, we may take pride in the fact that we are softhearted; but we cannot afford to be softheaded. Part B Which of the following best explains why the answer to Part A is an appeal to logic? a. because it provides factual evidence that supports the speaker s claim b. because it uses heightened language that makes people s hearts beat faster c. because it reminds people that the speaker is an elected leader in a position of power d. because it suggests that the speaker is personally affected by the topic of his speech Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 5
14. Which of the following excerpts from Roosevelt s Four Freedoms speech contains an appeal to authority? a. Every realist knows that the democratic way of life is at this moment being directly assailed in every part of the world assailed either by arms, or by secret spreading of poisonous propaganda by those who seek to destroy unity and promote discord in nations that are still at peace. b. Therefore, as your President, performing my constitutional duty to give to the Congress information of the state of the Union, I find it, unhappily, necessary to report that the future and the safety of our country and of our democracy are overwhelmingly involved in events far beyond our borders. c. Armed defense of democratic existence is now being gallantly waged in four continents. If that defense fails, all the population and all the resources of Europe and Asia and Africa and Australasia will be dominated by conquerors. d. There is much loose talk of our immunity from immediate and direct invasion from across the seas. Obviously, as long as the British Navy retains its power, no such danger exists. Even if there were no British Navy, it is not probable that any enemy would be stupid enough to attack us by landing troops in the United States from across thousands of miles of ocean, until it had acquired strategic bases from which to operate. 15. In which of the following sentences from the Four Freedoms speech does Roosevelt appeal to his audience s emotions? a. In the recent national election there was no substantial difference between the two great parties in respect to that national policy. b. Many subjects connected with our social economy call for immediate improvement. c. In my Budget Message I shall recommend that a greater portion of this great defense program be paid for from taxation than we are paying today. d. That kind of world is the very antithesis of the so-called new order of tyranny which the dictators seek to create with the crash of a bomb. Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 6
LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: Word Study 16. The Latin suffix -ify means to make. Use this information and your knowledge of the Latin root -pac- to choose the correct definition of pacify. a. to make someone peaceful b. to make someone cheerful c. to make someone afraid d. to make someone angry 17. The suffix -ist means one who believes in or one who supports. Given this information and your knowledge of the Latin root -pac-, which is the correct definition of the word pacifist? a. one who supports war b. one who supports peace c. one who supports liberty d. one who supports equality LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT: Conventions 18. Which of the following is a noun phrase? a. to teach students b. the rushing river c. said with emotion d. wisely and courageously 19. Read the following sentence. In his Four Freedoms, speech, Franklin D. Roosevelt said, A good society is able to face schemes of world domination and foreign revolutions alike without fear. Which of the following excerpts from the sentence is a noun phrase? a. Franklin D. Roosevelt said b. A good society c. to face d. is able to Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 7
20. Read this quotation from Franklin D. Roosevelt s Four Freedoms speech. The inner and abiding strength of our economic and political systems is dependent upon the degree to which they fulfill these expectations. Which of the following excerpts from the quotation is a noun phrase? a. the inner and abiding b. economic and political c. economic and political systems d. is dependent upon Pearson Education, Inc. or its affiliates. All rights reserved. 8