Here is an excerpt1 from Letters from Rifka.
1. With a partner, fill in the missing words. The clue (or
clues) to the missing word can be found by following
the arrows.
2. When you have filled in the missing words, underline
or highlight the clue that is in the text. Some clues are
more difficult to find than others.
September 14, 1920 Antwerp, Belgium
The HIAS lady took me around to the steamship company as

soon as the doctor gave me permission to _____________.
She advised me to buy a ticket on a small ship leaving for
Antwerp tomorrow. I could wait for two more weeks and sail

on a big ______________, but I don’t want to wait. Besides,

if I ______________ on the big ship, I would have to sail to

America in ______________. Steerage is what they call it
when all the poor people crowd together down in the belly of

the ship. People in ______________ have no privacy, not an

inch of space to turn from their ______________ to their
right. That is how Mama and Papa went across the

______________, and from the way they described it in
their letter, I wouldn’t like it very much at all. The rich

1
‘an excerpt’ is a small piece of writing from a larger text.
Paul Dufficy: Rifka Read-around cloze March 2010
people on such boats travel in ______________ class or
second class, but the poor people travel in steerage.

So I bought my ______________ on a ship that has no
classes. All the people traveling to America on this


______________ are equal. It is very ______________.

“Democratic” is one of the ______________ the lady from
HIAS has taught me.
Paul Dufficy: Rifka Read-around cloze March 2010