BABY X Cloze Activity
Watch and listen to the video. Fill in the blanks as you listen.
Once upon a time, a baby named X was born. This baby was named X because no one could tell whether
it was a boy or girl. It's parents could tell of course, but they couldn't tell anyone else. It was all part of a
scientific Xperiement known _____0_____ as:
PROJECT BABY X
The smartest scientists set up the experiment at a cost of Xactly $______1______ and 72 cents.
This might seem like a lot for one baby, but when you remember the cost of: strained carrots, stuffed
bunnies, popcorn for the movies, booster shots for camp, let alone 28 _____2_____ quarters for the tooth
fairy… You begin to see how it all adds up for Baby X. Besides, the scientists had to be paid to write the
Official Instruction Manual in secret code for Baby X's parents, The Joneses.
On the day The Joneses brought "X" home… Lots of friends and relatives came over to see. None of them
knew about the experiment. So they asked what kind of baby "X" was.
When the Joneses ________3______ and said, "IT'S AN X." None of the relatives knew what to say. They
couldn't say, "Look at HER dimples." On the other hand, they couldn't say, "Look at HIS _____4_____
_____5______ biceps." The relatives all felt embarrassed about having an X in the family.
"People will think something's wrong with it,” some of them whispered.
"There is something wrong with it,” others whispered back.
The Official Instruction Manual had warned the parents this would happen so they didn't fret about it.
Besides, there were other ______6______ too… Toys, for instance, and clothes. On his first shopping trip,
Mr. Jones told the store clerk, "I need some clothes/toys for my new baby."
The clerk smiled and said, "Well now, is it a boy or a girl?"
"IT'S AN X," Mr Jones said, smiling back.
But the clerk got red in the face and said _____7_____, "Well, in that case, then I'm afraid I can't help you,
sir!"
That night he and Ms Jones consulted page 2326 of the Official Instruction Manual.
Baby X in School. It said ______8_____: BUY PLENTY OF EVERYTHING.
So they bought plenty of ____9____ blue pajamas in the boys department … and ____10____ flowered
underware in the girls department. And they bought all kinds of toys. The head scientists of Project Baby
X ____11____ The Joneses: to see page 4629 of the manual where it said: "Never make Baby X feel
embarrassed or ashamed about what it wants to play with" and "If X gets dirty climbing rocks, never say,
'Nice little X's don't get dirty climbing rocks.'" ______12____ it said, “'If X falls down and cries, never say,
‘Brave little X's don't cry.' Because of course nice little X's get dirty and brave little X's cry. No matter how
dirty X gets or how hard it cries, don't worry, it's all part of the Xperiment."
But then it was time for X to start school. The Joneses were worried about this because school was full
of rules for boys and rules for girls… and there were no rules for Xs. The Joneses spent weeks ____13____
their Manual. Until finally...X was ready!
The Joneses helped X button on a nice new pair of red and white checkered overalls. X brushed its teeth
and combed its hair… and remembered to put a napkin in its lunchbox.
The Joneses had asked X’s teacher if class could line up alphabetically instead of forming separate lines
for boys and girls. And they’d asked if X could use the Principal's bathroom because it wasn’t marked
anything ____14____ 'bathroom’.
X's teacher promised to take care of all those problems, but no one could help with the ____15____
problem of all… Other children.
You couldn't tell what X was by studying its clothes. You couldn't ____16____ whether X had a girl's short
haircut or boy's long haircut. And it was very hard to tell by the games X liked to play.
Some of the children tried to find out by asking ____17____ questions, like...
"Who's your favorite sports star?"
That was easy. X had two favorite sports stars. A girl jockey named Robyn Smith, and a boy archery
champion named _____18____ ____19____.
Then they asked, "what's your favorite TV program?"
And that was even easier. X's favorite TV show was Lassie which stars a girl dog played by a boy dog.
After school, X wanted to play with the other children. "How about shooting some baskets in the gym?" X
asked the girls.
But they made faces and giggled ___20___ X’s back.
"Boy is SHE weird" whispered Jim to Joe.
"How about weaving some baskets in the craft room?" X asked the boys.
But they all made faces and giggled ___21___ X’s back too.
"Boy is HE weird," whispered Susie to Peggy.
That night Ms and Mr Jones asked X how things had gone ___22___ school. X tried to smile, but there
were two big tears in its eyes.
Once more the Joneses reached for the Manual. Under "Other Children" they found: “What did you Xpect.
Other children have to ___23___ the silly boy/girl rules because their parents taught them to. Lucky X, you
don't have to ____24____ to the rules at all. All you have to do is be yourself.
P.S. We're not saying it will be easy.”
The next morning, little X went back to school with a brave smile and clean pair of ___25____ _____ ______
(three words)checkered overalls. There was a 7-letter word spelling bee in class that day. And a 7-lad
boys relay race in the gym. And a 7-layered cake baking contest in the girls kitchen corner. X won the
spelling bee! X also won the relay race!! And X...almost won the baking contest. Xcept it forgot to light the
oven, which only ___26___ that nobody's perfect.
One of the other children noticed something else too. He said, "X don't care about winnin’. And X don’t
care about losin’. X just thinks it's fun playing boys stuff and girls stuff."
"Come to think of it… Maybe X is having TWICE as much fun as we are."
From then on some really funny things began to happen. Susie, who sat next to X in class, suddenly
refused to wear pink dresses to school ___27___. She insisted on wearing red and white checkered
overalls. Just like X. Overalls, she told her parents, were better for climbing the monkey bars. Then Jim,
the class ___28___ nut, started wheeling his sister's doll carriage around the football field. He told his
family X did the same thing so it must be okay. But the ___29___ came when twins Joe and Peggy decided
to share everything! Their parents weren't one bit pleased with Peggy's wonderful biology experiments. Or
Joe's terrific needle point pillows. They didn't care. Peggy mowed the lawn ___30___. And Joe vacuumed
the carpet better. In fact, they were furious!
"It's all that little X's fault!"
"Just because X doesn't know what it is"
"Or what it's supposed to be"
"It wants to get everybody else mixed up too!"
Finally, Joe and Peggy’s parents decided to call an emergency meeting of the School Parents Association
to discuss "The X Problem."
The Parents Association said, “X must take an Xamination. An impartial team of experts must examine it
physically and mentally and issue a full report. If X's test showed it was a boy, it would have to start
obeying all the boy's rules. If X's test showed it was a girl, it would have to start obeying all the girl's rules.
And if X turned out to be a mixed up misfit, then X must be expelled from the school immediately!"
The school would have to decide what to do about X.
On the night before X was to be examined, the Joneses tried not to let X see how worried they were.
X just smiled at them both and hugged them hard and didn’t say much of anything.
At Xactly 9 o' clock the next day, X reported to the school health office. The Principal, along with the
committee from The Parents Association, X's teacher, X's classmates and Mr and Mrs Jones waited in
the hall outside.
Inside, the impartial team of Xperts had set up their famous testing machine: The
SuperPsychioMedioSocioCultural Meter.
It was quiet in the hall. Almost spooky. Once in a while they'd hear a ___31___ noise inside the room.
"Poor X," the Joneses thought.
"Serves X right," the parents committee thought.
"I wouldn't want to be in X's overalls right now," the children thought.
At last the door opened. Everyone crowded to hear the results. X was smiling, but the impartial team of
Xperts looked as if they were crying!
"What happened?" Everyone began shouting.
"Had X done something disgraceful?"
"I wouldn't be a bit surprised."
"Did X flunk the whole test?"
"Or just the important part?"
"Oh dear," sighed Ms Jones.
"Oh dear," sighed Mr Jones.
"Shhhh!" Shushed the Principal.
"The Xperts are trying to speak!"
Wiping his eyes and clearing his throat, the one Xpert began: "In our opinion, young X here..."
"Yes?" "YES???"
"Shhh!"
"Young Shhh here. I mean, young X here is just about…”
"Just about what? Let's have it!"
"...just about the LEAST mixed up child we've ever examined!"
"Yay for X," yelled one of the children. The others began yelling too, clapping and cheering and jumping up
and down.
The Parents Committee was ___32___ and bewildered...
"How could X have passed the whole Xamaination?"
"Didn't X have an identity problem?"
"Wasn't X mixed up at all???"
"Wasn't X any kind of a misfit???"
"And why was the impartial team of Xperts crying?"
"Don't you see?" he said. "We're crying because it's wonderful! X has ___33___ no identity problem! X isn't
one bit mixed up! As for being a misfit? Ridiculous. X knows perfectly well what it is. Don't you X?"
The Xperts winked. X winked back.
"But what is X? We still want to know!" Shrieked Peggy and Joe’s parents.
"Haha yes. Well don't worry. You'll all know one of these days and you won't need us to tell you."
"What do they mean?"
"They mean by the time it matters which sex X is… it won't be a secret anymore."
___34___ (three words) the Joneses were very happy. The Project Baby X scientists were rather pleased
too. So were Susie, Jim, Peggy Joe and all the other children.
The Parents Association wasn't but they had promised to accept the report and not make any more
trouble.
Later that day, all X's friends put on their red and white checkered overalls and went over to see X. They
found X playing with a tiny baby that none of them had ever seen before.
"How do you like our new baby?" X asked the other children ___35___.
"It's got cute dimples," said Jim.
"It's got husky biceps too," said Susie.
"What kind of baby is it?" asked Joe and Peggy.
X frowned at them, "Can't you tell?” Then X broke into a big, mischievous grin. "IT'S A Y!"