Passage Champion of the Channel
Champion of the Channel
In 1926 an editor at the London Daily News predicted that Gertrude Ederle, an American swimmer with eighteen world records and three Olympic medals, would fail in her attempt to swim across the English Channel. He claimed that “even the most uncompromising champion of the rights and capacities of women must admit that in contests of physical skill, speed and endurance they must remain forever the weaker sex.” Yet, at only nineteen years old, Ederle not only became the first woman to accomplish this feat, she also broke the men’s record by two hours. Gertrude Ederle’s triumphant swim across the English Channel was a testimony to her determination, innovative spirit, and passion for swimming.
Crossing the English Channel is a daunting task for any swimmer. At its narrowest point, the channel measures twenty-one miles across. Its icy waters hover around sixty degrees Fahrenheit, and its unruly tides and currents toss swimmers about like bobbing corks. Stinging jellyfish, seaweed, and floating debris from shipwrecks and lost cargoes present added hazards.
For decades the channel’s perils have defeated countless swimmers. Ederle, too, failed in her first attempt to cross the channel in 1925. Just six miles short of finishing, she became ill, and her coach had to haul her out of the water. Undeterred, Ederle decided to try again. Ederle knew that if she did not complete the challenge this time, she might never get the opportunity to set this record, because a rival female swimmer was preparing to make her second attempt at the crossing as well.
To prepare for the marathon swim, Ederle found ways to improve her equipment. She and her sister Meg discovered that melted candle wax perfectly sealed goggle edges, effectively waterproofing Ederle’s goggles against hammering waves. The sisters also designed a two-piece silk swimsuit for Ederle. During her first channel-crossing attempt she had worn a standard one-piece swimsuit that, after the lengthy hours of swimming across the channel, had stretched out, filling with water and creating drag, making an already challenging task almost insurmountable. Unlike the cumbersome typical bathing suit, this silk invention weighed little and allowed for easy movement.
On August 6, 1926, Ederle waded into the channel near Cape Gris-Nez, France. At first she shivered in the bone-chilling water even though she had covered her body in eight layers of grease for insulation. Her limbs felt stiff. Her strokes were irregular. Driving forward, she fought to clear her mind and find what she called her “sphere,” a place where the sea became her only companion and the shrieks of gulls and the humming of boat engines faded away. Using a new overhand stroke called the American crawl, Ederle eventually settled into a steady pace, briskly breaking through waves.
Throughout Ederle’s swim, two tugboats accompanied her. One carried newspaper reporters who wired dispatches of her progress to shore. The other, displaying a sign that read “This way, ole kid!” with an arrow pointing forward, transported her coach, family, and friends. Her coach played songs, such as “Yes, We Have No Bananas,” on a phonograph so that Ederle could time her strokes to the rhythm. Using a net, her coach also passed her baby bottles of broth for nourishment.
For hours Ederle swam, dodging debris with an amused smile. However, as she neared the English shore, a sudden fierce storm erupted. The tides and waves forced Ederle backward, and she fought the stubborn swells for several hours. The salty water caused her tongue to swell and inflamed her ears. Yet Ederle felt indescribably happy as she churned through the sea. Finally, as she neared the English shore, the storm abated, and the tide turned. No longer fighting against her, the sea pushed her toward the shore and victory.
After fourteen hours and thirty-one minutes, Ederle, on wobbly legs, stepped onto the English shore. The waiting crowd roared, honked their automobile horns, blasted their tugboat whistles, and set off flares that flashed in the sky. Ederle had swum into history.
When Ederle returned to New York, she received a parade, where thousands of people shouted “Trudy!” Not only were everyday American citizens proud of Ederle, but she also inspired them to be more active. Over the next few years, more than 60,000 people credited her with motivating them to earn their American Red Cross swimming certificates. Gertrude Ederle’s accomplishment proved to the world that with determination and passion, it was possible for a person to achieve his or her goals.
SOLO SWIMS ACROSS THE ENGLISH CHANNEL
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Earliest Speed Records |
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| Year | Swimmer | Time |
| 1875 | Matthew Webb (M) | 21 hours, 45 minutes |
| 1923 | Enrico Tiraboschi (M) | 16 hours, 33 minutes |
| 1926 | Gertrude Ederle (F) | 14 hours, 31 minutes |
| 1926 | Arnst Vierkotter (M) | 12 hours, 38 minutes |
| Current Speed Records | ||
| Year | Swimmer | Time |
| 2012 | Trent Grimsey (M) | 6 hours, 55 minutes |
| 2006 | Yvetta Hlavacova (F) | 7 hours, 25 minutes |
Question
The table contributes to the development of the topic of the passage mainly by
- Aemphasizing that people have continued to swim across the channel and have significantly reduced the speed record.
- Bsuggesting that Ederle inspired women to swim across the channel in an attempt to break the current speed record.
- Crevealing that Ederle is not the only woman who has set a record time for swimming across the English Channel.
- Dproviding a comparison between channel-swimming records of the early twentieth century and current records.
Show the answer
Correct answer: A
The answer is (A)
The question asks for an explanation of how the table at the end of the passage contributes to the development of the topic of the passage. The table provides information about the earliest speed records set for crossing the channel, including Ederle’s, and information about present-day records, which are much faster.
Option A is correct because the information in the table develops the topic of Ederle’s historic swim across the channel by indicating that people have continued to swim the channel and have found new ways to set speed records over time.
Option B is incorrect because, even though the table presents the time for the current female record holder, there is no indication in the passage or in the table that the record holder was inspired by Ederle.
Option C is incorrect because, although the table shows that another woman, Yvetta Hlavacova, set a record time, the passage itself does not discuss other female swimmers’ successful swims across the channel, so this detail is not the main way the table develops the topic.
Option D is incorrect because, although the table allows for the comparison of times, the topic of the passage is related to Ederle’s record in comparison with other swimmers of her time, not present-day swimmers.
Question analysis
This reading question asks how the table of English Channel swim records at the end of the Gertrude Ederle passage contributes to the topic. Students must read times from two eras, compare them, and decide what the table mainly adds, which is harder than it looks because several choices say something true about the table.
- Grade level
- Grade 8 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- Above grade 7 Explaining how a table adds to a passage goes beyond typical grade 7 reading questions: the student must compare times across eras, notice who set them, and choose among statements several of which are partly true of the table.
- Estimated difficulty
- Hard: combines ideas, needs a plan, and has more than one tempting wrong answer.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 3, strategic thinking · mainly analyze
- What makes it hard
- A very close wrong answer major
- Reading a figure, table or graph moderate
- How, not what moderate
- Evidence
- Answered from the whole text
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 9, 790 words; question and choices: about grade 11, 84 words.
- Corrected from the DOE handbook
- An inaccurate statement in the explanation was corrected.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
Every choice says something about the table, and two are literally true of it, so the question hinges on the word “mainly”. Students lose the point by describing what the table holds, a comparison or a second woman, instead of what the comparison shows: the record has kept falling since Ederle's day. Reading the times, not just the headings, makes that drop visible.
A very close wrong answer major Choosing the answer
The right choice and the comparison one cover the same contrast between old and current records; the right one states its result, a much faster record, while the other only names the comparison and its “early twentieth century” leaves out 1875. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987; Gorin & Embretson, 2006; Ascalon et al., 2007)
Reading a figure, table or graph moderate Understanding the question
The table splits records into earliest and current sets, and the student must compare times across them, from 21 hours 45 minutes in 1875 down to 6 hours 55 minutes in 2012. (Lesh, Post & Behr, 1987; Kirsch & Mosenthal, 1990)
How, not what moderate Working it out
The question asks how the table develops the passage's topic, so the student must say what it adds beyond the text, not just what it lists. (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Strategy: Read the table's headings and compare the times, then ask what a reader learns from it that the passage alone does not say, and pick the choice that names that.
Traps
- Wrong purpose or structure: Names a purpose, structure or effect that the part does not serve, or describes what a part says when the question asks what it does.
- Too narrow: A single detail offered as the central idea or a summary, or a summary that keeps minor details and leaves out an essential part.
- Reads too much in: A reasonable-sounding conclusion that goes further than the text allows.
The wrong answers, classified
B Reads too much in (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994)
Assumes Ederle inspired later women to chase the record, but neither the table nor the passage connects Yvetta Hlavacova or any other swimmer to her.
C Too narrow (King et al., 2004)
Notices Yvetta Hlavacova, a second woman among the record holders, which is true of the table but is one entry, not its main contribution.
D Wrong purpose or structure (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001)
Describes what the table contains, early and current records side by side, rather than what that comparison adds, and its “early twentieth century” leaves out Webb's 1875 swim.
What was corrected from the DOE handbook, and why
- Explanation: The handbook rejects choice C because “the passage does not provide information about other female swimmers’ successful swims across the channel.” But the table lists a second woman, Yvetta Hlavacova (2006, 7 hours, 25 minutes), so C is true of the table. The explanation now says C is wrong because that one detail is not the table’s main contribution: the passage does not discuss other female swimmers, and the table mainly shows how far the record has fallen since Ederle’s time.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks what the table adds to the passage. Don’t just say what is in the table. Say what you learn from it that the passage itself does not tell you.
Read the key rows of the table
The table has two parts, “Earliest Speed Records” and “Current Speed Records.” Here are three of its rows:
Year Swimmer Time 1875 Matthew Webb 21 hours, 45 minutes 1926 Gertrude Ederle 14 hours, 31 minutes 2012 Trent Grimsey 6 hours, 55 minutes Compare the times
Ederle took about 14 and a half hours. Half of that is about 7 and a quarter hours. The 2012 record is under 7 hours. So today’s record is less than half of Ederle’s time. This shows two things. People kept swimming the channel long after Ederle. And they got much faster.
See what the passage leaves out
The passage ends with Ederle’s parade and the people she inspired. It never says what happened to the record later. The table adds that part of the story: the record kept falling, by a lot.
Check each choice
- A: people kept swimming the channel and “significantly reduced the speed record.” Significantly means by a lot. The table shows this.
- B: nothing says later women were inspired by Ederle.
- C: the table does show another woman, Yvetta Hlavacova, with a record. But that is one row, not the table’s main point.
- D only names what is in the table, not what it shows. Also, the first record is from 1875, not the twentieth century.
Watch out: D describes the table’s contents. The question asks what the table contributes, or adds.
Pick the answer
The table shows that the record has fallen a long way since Ederle’s time. So the answer is A.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
D is the closest wrong answer, because the table does set old and new records side by side. But D stops at naming the comparison. A says what the comparison shows. The record dropped from over 21 hours to under 7 hours. That is what the table adds to the passage.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Champion of the Channel” as printed (pages 56–57)
