Read the excerpt from Chapter 5 of Who Is Sonia Sotomayor?


Her first real case in court involved a young college student who had been in a street fight. Sonia described this case when she wrote about it in her book. She said when she stood in front of the judge that day, she stammered. She didn’t feel ready. The judge was using words she didn’t even understand!


Sonia lost her first case. But she didn’t let that stop her. She knew what to do—ask for help and learn more. She won her second case. In fact, she did so well that her bosses considered her a star. Usually, the new DAs handled small crimes for a long time before they were given more important cases. But Sonia moved up very fast.


Question 1

Part A


Based on the information in the excerpt, what inference can be made about Sonia’s job performance?



Instead of giving up, Sonia uses her mistakes in court to figure out how to improve what she does.


Although she does well in law school, Sonia is not prepared to try cases when she starts in the DA's office.


Sonia must work minor cases for some time before her bosses feel she is ready for more difficult work.


The fact that English is not Sonia’s native language makes her job as a lawyer more challenging.

Question 2

Part B


Highlight the sentence that best supports the answer to Part A.
Her first real case in court involved a young college student who had been in a street fight. Sonia described this case when she wrote about it in her book. She said when she stood in front of the judge that day, she stammered. She didn’t feel ready. The judge was using words she didn’t even understand!

Sonia lost her first case. But she didn’t let that stop her. She knew what to do—ask for help and learn more. She won her second case. In fact, she did so well that her bosses considered her a star. Usually, the new DAs handled small crimes for a long time before they were given more important cases. But Sonia moved up very fast.