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Values and Manners

Future Goals

Future Goals
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   2.75

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    joker, positively, backup, college, lecture, guys, hire, subject, goal, high, become, case, life, test, value, study
     content words:    Harlem Globe Trotters

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Future Goals
By Mary Lynn Bushong 		  
1     Marcus watched enviously as his friend Jamal leapt high in the air and released the ball. It sailed up in an arching flight and then dropped effortlessly through the net.
 
2     "Nothin' but net!" shouted Jamal gleefully as he ran to get the ball. "I can hardly wait to get to high school. It won't take the college scouts long to hear about me! They'll be positively drooling to get my signature on the dotted line."
 
3     "Don't break your arm, Jamal," said Marcus. He admired his friend, but his ego had been growing by leaps and bounds, showing no signs of stopping.
 
4     "Huh? My arm? Oh, you mean patting myself on the back? You're a real joker, Marcus," his friend replied. "You just wish you could be a real superstar like me."
 
5     "You been studying for that big English test tomorrow?" asked Marcus, changing the subject.
 
6     "Naw," said Jamal. "I have better things to do. I have to practice my ball game all the time if I want to be a pro some day. You know what they say about practice making you perfect."
 
7     "What happens if you get injured and can't play?" asked Marcus. "A lot of guys with talent never make it. Shouldn't you be prepared just in case? You know, have a backup plan?"
 
8     "You worry too much, Marcus," said Jamal. "Having a backup plan is just planning to be a loser. I have my whole life ahead of me. Going to school is just a way of wasting my time until I'm old enough to go pro."

Paragraphs 9 to 18:
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