Excerpt from "Make Your Own Hats"

Hat-making is an art that requires patience and ability. To make a hat for the trade is not as difficult as to make one for an individual; neither is it so high a phase of art.

Many rules are given for height, brim, and color, as being suited to different types of faces. They are so often misleading that it seems best to consider only a few, since the success of a hat depends upon minor characteristics of the individual for which there are no rules.

A girl or woman with auburn hair may wear grays—gray-green, cream color, salmon pink, and so on.

The woman with dark hair, dark skin, and dark eyes may wear any color.

One having dark hair and eyes and pale skin may find that the best fit is a golden brown, a pale yellow, or cream color. A hat with slightly drooping brim and some shade of rose will add color to the cheeks. No reds should be worn unless the skin is clear. No shade of purple should be worn by any one having blue eyes—it seems to make the blue paler.

Any one having auburn hair, blue eyes, and a clear skin may wear browns, grays, greens, tan, blue, and black. Black is very becoming to blondes, and to women whose hair has become quite white.

A black hat is almost a necessity in every woman's wardrobe. Black and white is always a smart combination, but very difficult to handle.

Reading Comprehension Questions

1) What was the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

a. to sell hats to the reader

b. to explain the history of hats

c. to give information about hat fashion

d. to criticize those who wear hats

2) The above passage focuses on matching people with their best hat color. Near the end, the author notes that almost every woman should also own a hat of which color?

a. gray-green

b. red

c. pale yellow

d. black

3) In the opening paragraph of the above passage, the author expresses which opinion?

a. a hat made in a factory is higher quality than one that is handmade

b. a handmade hat is more artistic than one made in a factory

c. anyone can learn how to make a hat with little time and effort

d. it is becoming more common for people to make their own hats

4) The above passage would be most likely to appear as an article in a magazine with which of the following titles?

a. "Working in the Textile Industry"

b. "Saving Money in the Household"

c. "Keeping up with Modern Fashions"

d. "Clothing in other Countries"

5) The above passage was most likely written for which audience?

a. men

b. women

c. children

d. immigrants

Answer Key

1) What was the author’s purpose in writing the passage?

a. to sell hats to the reader

b. to explain the history of hats

c. to give information about hat fashion

d. to criticize those who wear hats

2) The above passage focuses on matching people with their best hat color. Near the end, the author notes that almost every woman should also own a hat of which color?

a. gray-green

b. red

c. pale yellow

d. black

3) In the opening paragraph of the above passage, the author expresses which opinion?

a. a hat made in a factory is higher quality than one that is handmade

b. a handmade hat is more artistic than one made in a factory

c. anyone can learn how to make a hat with little time and effort

d. it is becoming more common for people to make their own hats

4) The above passage would be most likely to appear as an article in a magazine with which of the following titles?

a. "Working in the Textile Industry"

b. "Saving Money in the Household"

c. "Keeping up with Modern Fashions"

d. "Clothing in other Countries"

5) The above passage was most likely written for which audience?

a. men

b. women

c. children

d. immigrants