Tag! You're Hit!

 
 

Paul and Jimmy were chatting during lunch period in the cafeteria one day about
their friend Taso’s upcoming birthday. Taso was going to turn 13 in two weeks.
Paul and Jimmy recognized that it was a significant age because the word
“teen” was mixed in there. To be a teenager was to be a little older, a bit more
mature. One could do things that young kids could not, and it somehow seemed
that a 12 year-old was a young kid when compared to a 13 year-old, even
though one could literally go from being 12 to 13 overnight. Teenagers have a bit
more freedom—if their parents give them some, that is. So turning 13 meant
there should not be just any old celebration for Taso. It had to be special. It had
to be an expression of the fact that Taso was not just a little kid anymore, like
Paul and Jimmy themselves, who had both turned 13 within the previous couple
of months. More important than anything else, though, the birthday party had to
be fun.

Paul and Jimmy thought long and hard about what kind of a party they should
organize in honor of Taso becoming a teenager. Over their lunch, they recalled
their own birthday parties.
Paul’s mother had invited all of his friends to their local ice cream parlor for his
13th birthday. Paul could not deny that they all had fun. His mother had arranged
with the owners of the parlor for the boys and girls to be allowed to make their
own customized ice cream sundaes.

“The ice cream was delicious,” Paul said to Jimmy. “But my mom gave me the
same kind of birthday when I was five years old!”

Jimmy laughed and said, “Yeah. My mom did something similar.”

Jimmy’s mother remembered that a local street fair would be held the same day
as his birthday. She then decided to contact all of his friends with the message
to meet Jimmy, along with his family, at the fair. There were some games where
prizes could be won, and cotton candy and corn dogs.

“My birthday was kind of fun,” Jimmy admitted, not wanting to sound as though
he were ungrateful for what his mother had done for him. “But my mom and dad
were there the whole time! If the fair was on any other day besides my birthday,
we could have done the same thing anyway.”

Paul agreed, adding, “Plus, there were so many grown-ups at the fair already.
We could have hung out on our own and have been safe; no doubt about it.”

“Right,” said Jimmy, reaching for his last fry.

So, for their long-time good friend Taso, a trip to the ice cream parlor, or a day at
a street fair with their parents, was out of the question.

Suddenly, just a moment before the lunch dismissal bell rang, Jimmy exclaimed,
“I’ve got it!”

“What?” asked Paul, excited to know.

“Let’s play Laser Tag!”

Paul had to give Jimmy credit for that idea. It was perfect.

***

Lasers are used for many things. DVD players, printers, and barcode scanners
are just a few items that use lasers. Lasers are used by construction workers to
cut their materials or to weld pieces of metal together. Lasers can be used to
measure lengths or to highlight something important a certain distance away.
Lasers have also become an ingredient in a popular form of entertainment with
the introduction of laser light shows at movie theaters and planetariums, not to
mention the fun game called Laser Tag.

Lasers are simply light sources that, unlike other kinds of light, are concentrated
together. In other words, they are rays of light that are controlled and focused
into a chosen area. Other light forms, like the sun’s rays, can spread out and
cover large surface areas, and are not manmade or unnaturally configured.

The word “laser” is actually an acronym, which means it is a word that contains
letters that stand for other words. Laser’s letters stand for “Light Amplification
by Stimulated Emission of Radiation.” What that means is that a laser
essentially is a collection of radiation that is harnessed and projected into a
desired location. A laser generator can create a laser out of atoms that are put
into a state of “excitement.” This is called “pumping,” and it creates photons or
forms of light-energy that the atoms rid themselves of upon becoming “relaxed.”
The photon light waves are then radiated. Mirrors reflect this light back and
forth, “amplifying” it, or making the light stronger, each time they reflect it. Laser
generators use this absorbed energy and can transform it to one beam that
shoots out in whichever direction it is pointed. The radiation sticks together by
way of an electromagnetic field, which is possible because all of these photons
are of the same exact wavelength.

Using these scientific foundations, toy companies began to manufacture fake

gun sets that shot out infrared lasers in the late 1970s, which became hugely
popular in the mid-80s with the promotion of the particular sets Photon and
Lazer Tag. The laser infrared beams used in those play-sets included coded
messages that indicated where each stream of light came from originally. When
the special laser came into contact with the other players’ guns or another
device that could receive the message, a “hit” would occur and a noise would
sound to make everyone know it.

By the late 1980s, Photon and Lazer Tag saw their popularity completely
dwindle. Recently, though, the game has seen a resurgence and regained a
high level of appreciation from people, as shown by the fact that there are some
organized, international Laser Tag competitions. Around the world, people have
gone to Laser Tag auditoriums and hangars to play in whatever clothing they
want, while simply renting the equipment for a certain desired amount of time.

***
Taso’s big day came. Paul and Jimmy were prepared. They had rounded up all
of Taso’s friends and called Taso out from his home. Taso did not know what
was in store for him, but when they arrived at their local Laser Tag arena, he was
incredibly excited. He was really happy, too, because he realized he had such
awesome friends who had thought a lot about how to give him a good time. Paul
and Jimmy had chosen a fun game that didn’t make them feel like little kids,
unlike some of the games that might be found at a local street fair. Plus, there
were no grownups around! The boys’ parents had all agreed they could go play
Laser Tag for Taso’s birthday, because there was no chance anyone would get
hurt by playing, or at least no greater chance than if they all played basketball in
the schoolyard.

Inside the arena, the boys strapped on the little contraption that sat on their
chests and would make a noise if it was hit by an opponent’s laser. They
grabbed their toy guns, too, and ran around the arena for three whole hours. To
make it a little more challenging to see the other guys playing, the arena was
filled with a little bit of light fog, which also helped reflect the laser lights, making
it easier to see the red streaks dart all over the place.

After they had played four or five games and worked up quite a sweat, they all
went to the ice cream parlor, that same one where they had gone for Paul’s
birthday, where they made their own custom sundaes. They couldn’t help but
want to feel like little kids again and eat some savory ice cream after all that
awesome Laser Tag.

1. How is Taso’s thirteenth birthday celebrated? 

A. by playing Laser Tag 

B. by going to a street fair 

C. by eating cotton candy 

D. by eating lunch at a restaurant 

2. Paul and Jimmy want to make Taso’s thirteenth birthday special. What

solution do they come up with? 

A. Their solution is asking Taso what he wants to do. 

B. Their solution is watching a DVD. 

C. Their solution is going to a movie theater. 

D. Their solution is playing Laser Tag. 

3. Read this sentence from the passage: “Lasers are used for many things.”

What evidence from the passage supports this statement? 

A. The word “laser” is an acronym that stands for Light Amplification by

Stimulated Emission of Radiation. 

B. In the late 1980s, the popularity of Photon and Lazer Tag decreased. 

C. Lasers are used for cutting construction materials, measuring,

entertainment, and printing. 

D. Lasers are rays of light that are controlled and focused into a chosen

area. 

4. Why do Paul, Jimmy, and Taso enjoy playing Laser Tag? 

 A. Playing Laser Tag makes them feel more relaxed than usua

B. l.Playing Laser Tag makes them feel like they are no longer little kids. 

C. Playing Laser Tag makes them feel like they are five-year-old children. 

D. Playing Laser Tag makes them feel smart. 

5. What is this passage mainly about? 

A. ice cream, cotton candy, and corn dogs 

B. lasers, Laser Tag, and turning thirteen 

C. activities for kids at street fairs 

D. why Photon and Lazer Tag become less popular in the late 1980s 

6. Read the following sentences: “Lasers are simply light sources that, unlike
other kinds of light, are concentrated together. In other words, they are rays of
light that are controlled and focused into a chosen area.”

Why does the author use the phrase in other words above? 

A. to describe how the characters in the story are feeling 

 B. to convince readers that they should look up the words “sources” and

“rays” 

C. to prove that most people do not understand how lasers work 

D. to show that the same idea is going to be explained in a new way 

7. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence below.

Paul and Jimmy think hard about what to do for Taso’s birthday; ______, they

decide on Laser Tag. 

A. finally 

B. like 

C. never 

D. on the other hand 

Answer

8. Describe how Laser Tag is played. 

you have to run aroung with a dvd like gun and tag people with it.

9. How does Taso feel about playing Laser Tag for his birthday? 

he feel better than usual and not young like he is five.

10. Explain whether or not Taso enjoys his birthday. Support your answer with

evidence from the passage. 

he enjoyed his birthday by playing lazore tag and he dont feel like he is five
years old and he actually feel like an teenager.