Quickly read to find the main idea of each paragraph, and then circle the letter of the best answer.
The Birdman of Alcatraz
-1- The story of Robert Stroud has been written many different ways. Some say he was a troubled boy from a broken home who accidentally killed someone. Others say he was a cold, vicious man, and a murderer who should have been executed. Others fall somewhere in the middle. All of them agree on one thing, though. Robert Stroud is one of the most famous American criminals of all time.
-2- Robert Stroud was nineteen when he killed a man in an argument over a dance-hall girl in Juneau, Alaska. He was sentenced to twelve years at McNeil Island Prison in Washington State. Prison life was hard. After two years there, Stroud stabbed a fellow prisoner who had told the authorities Stroud was stealing food from the kitchen. Six months were added to his sentence. In 1912, he was transferred to Leavenworth Prison in Kansas.
-3- Stroud had only a third-grade education. Some people thought he was stupid, including his cellmate who was taking some correspondence courses.* Stroud decided he would like to do the same. For three years, he studied engineering, music, mathematics, and theology in courses from Kansas State University. He received high marks in all his studies. Stroud was now prepared for his release in the near future.
-4- In March 1916, shortly before he was to be freed, Stroud killed one of the guards. He had been very angry over not being able to see his brother, who had come all the way from Alaska to visit him. He was tried, found guilty, and sentenced to hang. Stroud's mother would not accept this. She petitioned President Woodrow Wilson and his wife. She impressed them with descriptions of her son's studies, and just eight days before he was to hang, Stroud's sentence was changed to life in solitary confinement.
-5- One day Stroud found two baby birds in the exercise yard at Leavenworth. He raised them with the help of bird books. From that point on, his interest in ornithology became a passion. He bought some canaries, did experiments in canary diseases, and studied and wrote about his findings. After a while, prison officials tore down the wall between Stroud's cell and another empty cell to make more room for Stroud's canaries. He obtained laboratory equipment and studied chemistry, veterinary medicine, and bacteriology.
-6- By 1931, Stroud was an expert on the care and raising of canaries. He corresponded with other bird lovers all over the world. He wrote some articles that were smuggled out of prison and published. In 1942, he published a book called Stroud's Digest of the Diseases of Birds. It was considered the best work in the field. Meanwhile, Stroud's work was making him very well known—too well known. People began to ask for Stroud's release, and this angered some prison officials.
-7- In 1942, Stroud was transferred to Alcatraz. He was ordered to leave all his birds, his books, and other personal property behind. That personal property had amounted to quite a lot. It weighed 1,144 pounds and filled five containers. It included, among other things, 30 empty birdcages, 158 bottles, cans, boxes, and glass containers of chemicals, and other laboratory equipment. There were about 250 bird magazines, over 20 books on chemistry and microscopes, and many other catalogs and medical books. There were 85 pounds of various seeds, 118 feeding dishes, and 22 birds. In prison on a rocky island in San Francisco Bay, Stroud was deprived of all of this.
-8- He then turned to the study of law and wrote an unpublished book on federal prison reform. He became known as the "Birdman of Alcatraz." He was the subject of newspaper and magazine articles, a book, and a movie.
-9- The "Birdman" was kept in isolation for forty-two years, longer than any federal prisoner in history. In 1959, in poor health but still seeking parole, he was transferred to the Federal Medical Center in Springfield, Missouri, where he died four years later. He had spent fifty-six years in prison.
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1 / 4
1. The main topic of paragraph 4 is that
a. Stroud killed a prison guard and almost died for it.
b. Stroud had a very bad temper.
c. Stroud's mother came to the aid of her son by petitioning the president.
2 / 4
2. Paragraph 5 is mainly about
a. how Stroud found two baby birds.
b. the beginning of Stroud's interest in birds.
c. Stroud's kindness to animals.
3 / 4
3. The main topic of paragraph 6 is that
a. Stroud became an expert on bird diseases.
b. Stroud became known for his canaries.
c. Stroud wanted to be released.
4 / 4
4. Paragraph 7 is mainly about the fact that
a. Stroud had to leave his birds behind.
b. Stroud was sent to Alcatraz unfairly.
c. Stroud was transferred to Alcatraz without his belongings.
