Questions become connections
Read for meaning first. Select a highlighted word if you want a closer look.
The following week, Mira found the atmosphere more congenial because people greeted one another and made room for questions. Her inquisitive tablemate wanted to understand why the instructor used one folding sequence rather than another. Mira listened, examined both examples, and tried to assimilate the explanation into what she already knew. She then tested the sequence on scrap paper instead of assuming that hearing an explanation was the same as understanding it.
A congenial class could include disagreement, provided people remained interested in one another's reasoning. When the inquisitive tablemate proposed a different sequence, the instructor asked everyone to compare the resulting folds before choosing a method. Mira needed another attempt to assimilate the distinction between the two approaches. She left with notes in her own words and a sample that reminded her where the methods produced different results.
Before you move on
Look away from the passage. Can you explain each focus word in your own words?
Original fictional passages for vocabulary practice.