DAY OF FREEDOM

For more than three hundred years, Spain

ruled our land. The Spanish flag flew in our
and to show that the Philippines was Spain’s
territory. Then, the Americans came. They
freed us from Spanish rule. For fifty years we
were governed by the Americans. Our flag
was allowed to fly side by side with the
American flag. We were permitted to
establish our own government but under the
control and supervision of the Americans.
In 1941, the Japanese invaded the
Philippines. Under the Japanese, we
suffered three years of hunger, fear and
misery. With the help of the Americans, our
country was freed from the Japanese
invaders.
Once more, peace came to our country.
The fourth of July, now known as the Fil-
American Friendship Day, marked the
completion of Philippine Independence
from foreign rule. It was on the fourth of July
that we were granted total freedom.
 Choose the letter of the correct answer.

1. For three hundred years, the Philippines was under ____. A

a. Spain b. Japan c. United States
2. The Spanish flag flew over ___________. C
a. Spain b. our land c. United States
3. Our land was freed from the Spaniards by the _________.c
a. Spaniards b. Japanese c. Americans
4. The United States ruled our land for ______________.a
a. fifty years b.. two hundred years c. one hundred years
5. They allowed our flag to fly ___________________. C
a. alone b. below theirs c. side by side with theirs

THE LEGEND OF LAKE BUHI

Grandmother was relating the story of Lake
Buhi to her grandchildren. According to her,
Buhi was a town at bottom of the lake.
Once upon a time the people of this
enchanted town lived in abundance. But as
the people became wealthy they forgot all
about God and so God punished them. Their
town sank beneath the earth overnight and in
its place there rose a beautiful lake.
When the weather was warm and clear as a
mirror, it is said that one can look down into
the bottom of the lake. The people can be
seen doing their everyday tasks. Some are
cultivating their lands, others are building
houses and smoke can be seen coming from
the kitchen as woman cook the family meals.
It is also said that the tiniest fish in the
world, found in Lake Buhi, are trimmings of
abaca fiber as the people in the Lake
continue to make hats out of abaca for which
the town was once famous.

Choose the letter of the correct answer.

1. What is the selection about? A

a. a sea b. a lake c. a stream
2. What type of literature is the selection? B
a. fable b. legend c. fairy tale
3. What was Buhi before? B
a. lake b. town c. people
4. How does the surface of the lake when the weather is calm and clear? C
a. muddy b. gloomy c. clear as a mirror
5. Why did God punish the people? B
a. They were lazy. b. They forgot God. c. They were selfish
 FOOD AND DRINKS OF THE
ANCIENT FILIPINOS
Rice was the staple food of the ancient
Filipinos. They cooked it in pots and in bamboos.
Our forefathers’ diet included also various
species of fish caught in rivers and lakes; meat
from carabaos, deer, hogs, chickens and edible
birds; vegetables, tubers like sweet potato,
spices like pepper and garlic; and fruits like
bananas, oranges, guavas and mangoes.
There were also many kinds of wine and
drinks on the islands. The tuba which was taken
from the coconut palms was the champagne of
the early Filipinos. Among the popular wines
were the Visayan pangasi, fermented from rice;
the Visayan gauilang distilled from sugar cane
and the Igorot tapuy, taken from rice.
Although the early Filipinos were heavy
drinkers, they seldom lost their senses when
drunk. They only became lively, talkative and
witty when intoxicated. Even after a heavy drink,
their hands never trembled and they could
manage to weigh their gold correct!
Choose the letter of the correct answer.
1. The story tells about food and drinks of ______________. A
a. the ancient Filipinos b. the modern Filipinos
c. the mountain people
2. Where did they cook rice? C
a. in jars and pots b. in kettles and pots
c. in pots and bamboos
3. Which was considered the champagne of the ancient Filipinos? B
a. rice b. tuba c. coconut juice
4. Although the Filipinos were heavy drinkers what did they seldom lose? B
a. their drinks b. their senses c. their clothes
5. What was the staple food of the ancient Filipinos?
a. rice b. wine c. roots

TWO PAINTERS
When Jose Rizal and Juan Luna studying
in Madrid, they live together in boarding
house. They used to play jokes on one
another.
Juan Luna woke up early one morning
and saw Rizal was still asleep. He hid one
of Rizal’s slippers and drew exactly one
like it on a card, board. When Jose woke
up, he tried to put on his slippers but he
found out that one was made out of
cardboard. “I know who painted this. It is
nicely done,” he said.
One day, Juan Luna went out with his
friends. Jose decided to draw the
contents of Juan’s room on the closed
door with the permission of their
landlady. When Luna arrived, he went
directly to his room. He bumped his head
on the closed door. “You are a good
painter,” Juan Luna told Rizal.

Choose the letter of the correct answer. Getting details

1. Who studied in Madrid? C
a. Andres Bonifacio b. Apolinario Mabini
c. Juan Luna and Jose Rizal
2. Where did they live in Madrid? C
a. in a hotel b. in a Filipino home c. in a boarding house
3. What did they usually do when they entertain themselves? B
a. play sipa b. play jokes c. play chess
4. What did Luna hide? C
a. one of Jose’s pets b. one of the Jose’s books
c. one of Jose’s slippers
5. Why did Jose think it was his real slipper? C
a. It was large. b. It was just right for him.
c. It was realistically painted.