Handsome Again?
WHEN Santino Deng was ten years old, men in his village pulled six of his teeth out – the six bottom front teeth. Why?
In Santino’s village in Sudan, in Africa, it is the custom. People there say, “Men with no front teeth look handsome. Women with no front teeth look beautiful.”
So, when the children in Santino’s village are ten years old, men pull their teeth out. The children do not cry. The boys want to look handsome. The girls want to look beautiful.
Now Santino has a problem. He is living in the United States. People in the United States think, “Men with no front teeth are not handsome. Women with no front teeth are not beautiful.”
There is another problem. In Santino’s village, all the food is soft. It is easy to eat with no front teeth. In the United States, not all the food is soft. It is not easy to eat apples and hamburgers with no front teeth.
A dentist is putting new teeth in Santino’s mouth. It is expensive, and it is painful. But Santino wants the new teeth. “In Sudan, I was handsome,” he says. “Here, I am not. I want to be handsome again.”
Adopted from All New Easy TRUE STORIES by Sandra Heyer
Reading Comprehension
1. What is the reading “Handsome Again” mainly about?
A. Santino wants to look handsome.
B. Don’t judge a person by how they look.
C. Different cultures have different ideas about beauty.
D. Being natural is beautiful.
2. Why did the men in Santino’s village pull their teeth out?
A. It is the custom in the village .
B. It is a way to bring them good luck.
C. Their teeth are terribly bad.
D. Their teeth are old and broken.
3. How do Americans think about people without teeth?
A. In Americans’ idea, people without teeth are handsome.
B. In Americans’ idea, people without teeth are beautiful.
C. In Americans’ idea, people without teeth are not handsome.
D. In Americans’ idea, people without teeth are not rich.
4. Why did Santino want new teeth?
A. He wants to eat delicious food in America.
B. He wants to look handsome again in America.
C. He cares nothing about his appearance in America.
D. He does not care about pain of pulling teeth out or putting them in.
5. Who helps Santino put new teeth in his mouth?
A. A new friend in America.
B. A dentist in America.
C. An old friend in his village in Sudan.
D. Men and women from his village in Sudan.
6. Check food for men without front teeth in Sudan’s village.
1. ____ tofu 2. ___ yogurt 3. ____ apple juice 4. ___ milk
5. ____ nuts 6. ___ apples 7. ____ hamburgers 8. ____ ice cream