Homework Making inferences 1

EXERCISES 1-4, Making Inferences from Conversations

EXERCISE 1
Have you ever overheard part of a conversation and tried to imagine what it was about? If so,
you were making inferences. Practice making inferences from the following dialog. Read the
conversation and infer the answers to the questions below.
B: No, this is Maple Avenue.
A: Maple Avenue? . . . Oh, dear. I really don’t understand this! I'm looking for Elm Street and l
thought this was it.
B: No, no. Elm Street isn’t anywhere near here.
A: But wasn’t that the high school back there?
B: No, that was the town hall.
A: Oh. Then I really am confused. Can you take a look here and show me where I am?
B: Sure. Let’s see . . . You're over here. See? This is Maple Avenue and here’s the high school.
Now, if you want to get to Elm Street, you’d better take the bus…

1. Who are these people? A visitor from out of town and someone who lives there.
2. What are they talking about? Where they are—the visitor is lost and wants know where she is
on the map.
3. Are they men or women? How can you tell? It is impossible to tell
EXERCISE 2
Read the conversation, and infer answers to the questions below.
A: Why is he taking so long?
B: He has to get changed, you know. He's got all that makeup to take off.
A: Well, we've been here forty minutes now. It's cold out here. Are you sure we’re at the right
door?
B: Yes. I'm sure. Come on. Let's not give up now. I’ve just got to see him close up.
A: They say he’s really quite ugly.
B: Oh, no, that's not true. I‘ve seen him on TV a couple of times. He’s got the cutest smile.
A: Well, I don't know. I‘m just about frozen. If he doesn’t come out in another two minutes, I'm
going home.
B: Oh, look! Here he comes. Quick, where’s your pen?!?
 Homework Making inferences 2

1. Where are these people?

2. What are they doing?
3. Who are they talking about?
4. Are they men or women? How can you tell?

EXERCISE 3
Read the conversation, and infer answers to the questions below.
A: Excuse me. Would you mind turning down the music, please?
B: What’s that?
A: I said, could you please turn the music down! My whole apartment is rattling!
B: Oh. Is that better?
A: A little better. It is after midnight.
B: Oh, come on, man. It’s still early. It’s my birthday, you know, so I asked a few friends over.
You want to come in?
A: No, no. I’m not the party type and I’ve got to get up early tomorrow.
B: But it's Sunday tomorrow. What do you have to get up for so early?
A: That's none of your business. The rules say no noise after 11:00 PM. So if you're going to
continue, I'll have to call the police.
B: Oh, all right. Don't get so uptight about it all.

1. Where are these people?

2. Who are they?
3. What is the problem?
4. Are they men or women? How can you tell?
 Homework Making inferences 3

EXERCISE 4
Read the conversation, and infer answers to the questions below.
A: Is this the kind of thing you're looking for?
B: It's hard to tell. You see, she’s got very definite ideas about what She likes.
A: How about a nice little item like this?
B: Hmmm. You'd think I'd know by now, but every year I have the same problem! Those do
look nice, but they're a bit too old-fashioned. She doesn't think of herself that way.
A: Then what about these. They're more classic.
B: No, no. She’s not the classic type. Something more modern . . . like those over there.
A: The ones with all the colors? We usually sell those to, well . . . to younger women.
B: She‘s fond of color. Always has been. Says I'm so dull in my business clothes…..
A: Shall I gift wrap them?
B: No, that‘s not necessary. I‘ll just put the box in my pocket.

1. Where are these people?

2. What are they talking about?
3. What did “B” put in his pocket?
4. How old is "B"?

EXERCISE 5
Read the conversation, and infer answers to the questions below.
A: Welcome back! How was it?
B: Terrible.
A: Really? You were so excited about going.
B: I know, but I sure am glad to be back.
A: What happened?
B: First of all, there was the weather. It rained every day. Not just a little, but all day! There we
were with these gorgeous beaches and no sun!
A: I guess you didn’t get much of a tan.
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B: Look at me! I’m as pale as I was before.

A: At least you must have gotten some rest.
B: Rest! The second day we were there, my husband got sick. He was sneezing and coughing for
three days and nights. Then I caught his cold. I felt awful until the day we left.
A: Well, how was the food?
B: That was the only nice thing about the whole week. Except that we were too sick to enjoy' it
half the time. Anything new here in the office?
A: Not much. It’s been a slow week.

1. Where are these people?

2. What is their relationship?
3. What are they talking about?
4. Are they men or women? How can you tell?

EXERCISES 6: Making Inferences from Descriptions

Directions: Read each passage and then respond to the questions. Each question will ask you to
make a logical inference based on textual details. Explain your answer by referencing the text.

Every day after work Paul took his muddy boots off on the steps of the front porch. Alice would
have a fit if the boots made it so far as the welcome mat. He then took off his dusty overalls and
threw them into a plastic garbage bag; Alice left a new garbage bag tied to the porch railing for
him every morning. On his way in the house, he dropped the garbage bag off at the washing
machine and went straight up the stairs to the shower as he was instructed. He would eat dinner
with her after he was “presentable,” as Alice had often said.

1. What type of job does Paul do?

____________________________________________________

2. Describe Alice:
___________________________________________________________________
 Homework Making inferences 5

3. What relationship do Paul and Alice have?

_____________________________________________

Crack! Thunder struck and rain poured. Max stared blankly out the window, trying to contain
his emotions that raged like the weather. He was beginning to lose it. Dropping the kite from
his hand, Max broke out into full sobs. His mother comforted him, “There, there, Max. We’ll
just find something else to do.” She began to unpack the picnic basket that was on the counter
and offered him a sandwich. Max snapped, “I don’t wanna sand-mich!” A flash from the sky lit
up the living room. Boom! Mom sighed.

4. Why is Max upset?

________________________________________________________________

5. What was Mom planning on doing today?

______________________________________________

“Tommy!” Mom called out as she walked in the front door. “Tommy,” she continued shouting,
“I sure could use some help with these groceries. There was still no reply. Mom walked into the
kitchen to put the grocery bags down on the counter when she noticed shattered glass from the
picture window all over the living room floor and a baseball not far from there. “I’m going to
kill you, Tommy!” Mom yelled to herself as she realized that Tommy’s shoes were gone.

6. What happened to the window?

______________________________________________________

7. Why did Tommy leave?

____________________________________________________________

Today was a special day in Ms. Smith’s class. Some of the children were walking around the
room, some of them were standing in small groups, and some of them were at their desks, putting
finishing touches on cardboard mailboxes. After coloring a cool flame on the side of his racecar
mailbox, Johnny hopped off his chair, strutted over to Veronica’s desk, and dropped a small
white envelope into her princess castle mailbox. Veronica blushed and played with her hair.
While this was happening, Bartleby was frantically trying to put a small white envelope into
everyone’s mailbox. After giving one to Ms. Smith, Bartleby pulled out a medium-sized red
envelope from his pocket. He blushed and tried to put it in Veronica’s mailbox, but it wouldn’t
quite fit. Bartleby struggled with it for a few seconds and then ran off with the envelope.
Veronica rolled her eyes and popped her gum.

8. Why is today a special day?

_________________________________________________________
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9. Which boy does Veronica like?

______________________________________________________

10. Why did Bartleby run?

____________________________________________________________

EXERCISES 7-9: Making Inferences from Stories and Plays

Read this scene from Red Carnations, a play by Glenn Hughes. Infer the answers to the
questions below. Underline the words or phrases that helped you.
Red Carnations
Boy: (crossing to bench) I think I will sit down, if you don't mind. It’s a devil of a bore standing
first on one foot and then on the other. (He sits down on the opposite end of bench.)
Man: Have a cigar?
Boy: No, thanks; I’ll just finish this cigarette. (He turns directly to the MAN, and as he does, his
eye lights on the carnation in the other’s lapel. He shows annoyance. He takes one from his own
lapel, hesitates a moment, then replaces it. The MAN, noticing the action smells his.)
Man: Pretty flowers, carnations, aren’t they? Wonderful fragrance they have, too. I am very fond
of them, and I see your taste runs in the same direction.
Boy: (disturbed) Yes, indeed. Very fine flower. But I—well, I hope you won’t think me silly, but
as a matter of fact, if it doesn’t make any difference to you, Would you mind keeping your
carnation out of sight for a while, until—well, just to be a good sport, if you would hide it for a
few minutes, I'd be very grateful.
Man: (good-natured/y) Now, I’d like nothing better than to do you a favor, Mr.--- Mr.---
Boy: Smith.
Man: Thank you, Mr. Smith. That’s strange. Very strange.
Boy: What is strange? The name of Smith?
Man: Yes, strange that you should have it, when that is my name, too.
Boy: Oh, your name is Smith, too? Well, after all, there are lots of us in the world --- lots of us
Smiths, l mean—so there is no reason why such a coincidence.
Man: Of course not of course not—only, I was thinking about the red carnations.
Boy: Well. I don’t see—
Man: I may be mistaken, Of course. But two Smiths, meeting in the same spot at the same hour,
both wearing red carnations! You must confess it's a bit——
 Homework Making inferences 7

Boy: By Jove! So it is! (He looks intently, suspiciously, at the MAN.) I wish you could move to
another spot, or take that flower out of your lapel, or---it isn’t absolutely necessary for you to
wear it, is it?
Man: But it is! Absolutely! And you are going to cause me all sorts of trouble if you don’t move,
or change your name, or at least throw away your carnation.
Boy: I shall do nothing of the kind. I can’t! My Lord, man, she doesn't know me! That is, she
doesn't know what I look like. That is why she asked me to wear a red carnation.
Man: But that is exactly my predicament. The woman / am to meet does not know me by sight.
She asked me to wear a red carnation. So you see, I can’t help you out. After all, a man must
look to his own affairs first.
Boy: What a beastly coincidence! (brightening) Oh, well, it may not matter. One of them will
arrive before the other does. If you recognize her as your—ah—friend, you can speak up at once,
and get on out of the way. If mine should arrive first, I shall do the same.
1. What is the relationship between the two characters in this scene from the play?
2. Where are they?
3. What happened before this passage in the play?
5. What do you think will happen after this in the play?
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EXERCISE 8
Read this scene from The Cactus Flower, a play by Abe Burrows. Infer the answers to the
questions below. Underline the words or phrases that helped you.
The Cactus Flower
TONI: [From the ladder] May I help you, Madam?
STEPHANIE: [Every inch the upper middle class lady] I’m really not looking for anything in
particular. I just thought I'd browse a bit.
TONI: Fine. I'm here if you want me.
STEPHANIE: I've heard there‘s a marvelous recording of uh [Trying to think of something] of
Horowitz’s last concert. Do you have it?
TONI: Horowitz? We’re all out, but I can send it to you.
STEPHANIE: That will be fine. I believe my husband has a charge account here. Send the record
to . . . [Laying it on] Mrs. . . . Julian . . . Winston.
[TONI has been putting records away as she talks. Now when she hears JULIAN‘S name, she
misses the shelf with a record and it drops.]
TONI: [Coming down ladder and crossing to STEPHANIE] You?
STEPHANIE: [Nodding] Me.
TONI: You didn’t come on account of Horowitz?
STEPHANIE: No. You see, Miss Simmons—
TONI: Call me Toni.
STEPHANIE: [Graciously] Thank you. Toni . . . Dr. Winston, my husband, said that you were
most anxious to meet me. Well, here I am. [She sits and crosses her legs.]
TONI: [After a moment, a bit impatiently] Did he . . . did he tell you about his—our plans?
STEPHANIE: [Same gracious smile] The divorce? Naturally.
TONI: [After another pause] Well?
STEPHANIE: Well what?
TONI: You don’t mind?
STEPHANIE: My husband and I are in complete agreement about the divorce
TONI: [Letting out a sharp breath of relief] Whew! That makes me very happy!
STEPHANIE: [As sweetly as possible] I'm glad.
TONI: You see, Mrs. Winston—[Sudden thought] You know, I don’t know your first name.
 Homework Making inferences 9

STEPHANIE: [Thinks for a moment] Mrs. Winston will do very nicely. Of course, I won’t be
Mrs. Winston very much longer. [There is a slight touch of real and fake sadness in that last
phrase.]
TONI: [Suddenly] Then you do mind.
STEPHANIE: Of course I don't. Things between the doctor and me have become… impossible.
TONI: I can't tell you how good that makes me feel.
STEPHANIE: [Looking at her with a smile] I've really made your day.
TONI: It’s just that I didn’t want to be the cause of your divorce. I never pushed Julian into it. I
am no home wrecker.
STEPHANIE: I'll remember that. [Rises, speaks gravely] Now, Toni, may I ask you a question?
TONI: Anything.
STEPHANIE: Are you absolutely sure you love Julian?
TONI: You can’t ask that!
STEPHANIE: I just did. Do you love him?
TONI: Madly! Wildly! Desperately!
STEPHANIE: Just so long as you're fond of him. I don't want him to end up unhappy and bitter.
TONI: Oh, I understand, especially after he's just had such a terrible marriage.
STEPHANIE; [Stiffening] Not so terrible! Our marriage, after all, lasted Ten years and we still
have a very deep respect for each other.
TONI: Of course.
STEPHANIE: We always had to look after Dr. Winston, my husband. You know, aside from his
profession, at which he's a master, the doctor is a very vulnerable man. An idealist . . . a child . . .
a silly child . . . damned silly child.
TONI: Also an adorable child.
STEPHANIE: I guess you do love him. Well, now that you’ve heard what you wanted to hear, be
running along. [Holds out her hand to TONI. TONI takes it.] I do hope you have better luck with
Julian than I did.
TONI: Mrs. Winston. . . . What about you? What are you going to do?
STEPHANIE: Forget about me. I’ll ride off into the sunset . . . or something.
TONI: It’s just that . . . I want to be sure you’re all right.
STEPHANIE: I’ll write you every day. [She starts for street door.]
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TONI: [flurrying after her and stopping her] Mrs. Winston, who's going to tell the children?

1. What is the relationship between the two characters in this scene of the play?
2. Where are they?
3. What happened before this passage in the play?
4. What do you think will happen after this in the play?

EXERCISE 9
Read this passage from "Til Death Do Us Part" a story by Becky Hagenston- and infer the
answers to the questions that follow. Underline the words or phrases that helped you.
Til Death Do Us Part
Joyce watched Adam and his father playing horseshoes with Jerry and the Reverend, under the
gold-washed trees. Adam's parents had insisted on having the rehearsal dinner at their house, and
there were cubed cheeses, baby quiches, and shrimp cocktail laid out on picnic tables on their
wooden patio.
Adam hadn’t swept Joyce off her feet or made her forget herself. She would not describe
herself as “crazy, wacko in love." She loved him—not madly, not crazily, but saner and
contentedly. It didn't matter that certain young men made her feel woozy, like Cousin Charlie
had, or that she sometimes fell in love in elevators. That, she decided, was a sickness similar to
the flu. It passed soon enough, and then you recovered and went on with things. It was what got
people like Kathy and her mother into trouble.
Joyce's mother was pleased because Adam came from a “healthy family environment."
His parents had been married for thirty-four years, and he’d grown up in this farmhouse on a
country road that was still unpaved, five miles from Nathan Hale's house. Joyce couldn‘t
remember what Nathan Hale had done, but she liked that his house was still there, after so many
years. There was something reassuring and permanent about it.
Adam had grown up climbing these same trees, playing with the horseshoes that were
now thudding and clanging across the lawn. In this place, Joyce had the same feeling she
sometimes got when she went back to Ebenezer Church—that it could be ten years ago, or sixty,
or a hundred. That every moment was present and intact, swirling seamlessly into right now.
Sometimes it seemed to her that she had left pieces of her-self that had never belonged to her,
and in schoolyards with children who have never learned her name. made'17her"‘s‘ad",' as if
there were small ghosts that looked like her wandering lost in places they didn't recognize. She
had tried to explain this to Adam once, when he was showing her the remains of a rocket he and
his brothers had built in the barn when he was nine.
 Homework Making inferences 11

“I don’t have any relics of my childhood to show you," she’d said. “I couldn’t take you to
any tree houses or point out any tire swings I used to play on. It was like, with every new father,
everything just began again. My mother would give a lot of stuff away, so she wouldn't be
reminded of whoever it was she had just divorced. And she threw away a lot of photo albums, so
I’m not even sure what certain people looked like anymore."
“Well, you’ve turned out great," Adam had told her. “And maybe if your life hadn‘t that way,
you wouldn’t be the person you are now."
“Maybe,” said Joyce, doubtfully. “Besides, we've got about sixty years ahead of us to collect
relics." Joyce was always relieved when he said things like that, even if she herself was not
entirely convinced. Now, pulling a cube of cheddar cheese from its red-frilled
toothpick', she squinted toward the lawn and imagined her sons and daughters playing on this
same grass. It was much easier to picture these people who didn’t exist than to imagine the older
version of herself who would be right here, watching them.
1. What is the relationship between Joyce and Adam? Does the title of Y to infer this? Why?
2. Where are they?
3. What can you tell about Joyce's past?
4. Which character do you think expresses the way the author feels?
5. What do you think will happen after this in the story?

EXERCISE 10
Read the following passage from “A Domestic Dilemma" a story by Carson McCullers (A
dilemma is a problem with no easy solution.) and infer the answers to the questions that
follow. Then underline the words or phrases that helped you.
A Domestic Dilemma
The children were in the living room, so intent on play that the opening of the front door was at
first unnoticed. Martin stood looking at his safe, lovely children. They had opened the bottom
drawer of the secretary and taken out the Christmas decorations. Andy had managed to plug in
the Christmas tree lights and the green and red bulbs glowed with out-of-season festivity on the
rug of the living room. At the moment he was trying to trail the bright cord over Marianne’s
rocking horse. Marianne sat on the floor pulling off an angel’s wings. The children wailed a
startling welcome. Martin swung the fat little baby girl up to his shoulder and Andy threw
himself against his father’s legs.
“Daddy, Daddy, Daddy!”
Martin set down the little girl carefully and swung Andy a few times like a pendulum. Then he
picked up the Christmas tree cord.
 Homework Making inferences 12

“What’s all this stuff doing out? Help me put it back in the drawer. You’re not to fool with the
light socket. Remember I told you that before. I mean it, Andy.”
The six-year-old child nodded and shut the secretary drawer. Martin stroked his fair soft hair and
his hand lingered tenderly on the nape of the child’s frail neck.
“Had supper yet, Bumpkin?”
“It hurt. The toast was hot.”
The baby girl stumbled on the rug and, after the first surprise of the fall, began to cry; Martin
picked her up and carried her in his arms back to the kitchen.
“See, Daddy,” said Andy. “The toast –”
Emily had laid the children’s supper on the uncovered porcelain table. There were two plates
with the remains of cream-of-wheat and eggs and silver mugs that had held milk. There was also
a platter of cinnamon toast, untouched except for one tooth-marked bite. Martin sniffed the bitten
piece and nibbled gingerly. Then he put the toast into the garbage pail.
“Hoo — phui — What on earth!”
Emily had mistaken the tin of cayenne for the cinnamon.
“I like to have burnt up,” Andy said. “Drank water and ran outdoors and opened my mouth.
Marianne didn’t eat none.”
“Any,” corrected Martin. He stood helpless, looking around the walls of the kitchen. “Well,
that’s that, I guess,” he said finally. “Where is your mother now?”
“She’s up in you alls’ room.”
Martin left the children in the kitchen and went up to his wife. Outside the door he waited for a
moment to still his anger. He did not knock and once inside the room he closed the door behind
him.
Emily sat in the rocking chair by the window of the pleasant room. She had been drinking
something from a tumbler and as he entered she put the glass hurriedly on the floor behind the
chair. In her attitude there was confusion and guilt which she tried to hide by a show of spurious
vivacity.
“Oh, Marty! You home already? The time slipped up on me. I was just going down –”

1. What are the relationships among the four characters in the story?
2. Where are they?
3. What has happened just before this passage? Which character do you think expresses the way
the author feels? What do you think will happen after this in the story?
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EXERCISES 11, 12: Making inferences about Opinions

EXERCISE 11
Read the short book reviews below and infer the answers to the questions that follow.

Review 1
A TALE OF TEXAS
by Kurt Wheeler
This modern cowboy story is set in 1949. It follows three young men on a wild ride on horseback
out of Texas and into northern Mexico. Their adventure takes them out of twentieth-century
America and into a totally different world, where it is still possible to live with horses and nature.
There are the bad guys and good guys, as in the classic films, but the book is not just a rewrite of
a John Wayne movie. The characters are convincing and the descriptions of the natural world are
truly brilliant. The style is ambitious—we are reminded of Faulkner—and it could easily have
become terribly stylized. But this author has the skill to make it work. The masterful writing and
action-filled plot keep the reader's attention throughout. We hope the second volume that the
author promises will be as satisfying as this.
1. What is the reviewer’s opinion of this book?
2. How can you tell?
3. From what you have read in this review, do you think that you would like to read this book?
Discuss your opinion with another student. Do you agree?
Review 2
AFTER HOURS
by Samantha Trout
This novel, about three people who work for an Internet company in New York, offers a modern
twist on one of the oldest themes in literature: the love triangle. The setting is just what you
might expect at a "dotcom" company: a large, open office building, equipped with a gym.
Almost the whole novel takes place in this office building or at a nearby café. The characters
don't seem to have any other life beyond the office, where they talk y, endlessly about
themselves and their grand expectations for the company. In fact, the performance of the
company is an important element in the plot. Unfortunately, we can guess from the beginning
what the outcome is going to be: This will be another story of a "dot-com" failure as well as
romantic failure. Furthermore, the characters are quite predictable and not very likable. All in all,
 Homework Making inferences 14

the author never manages to get us interested or involved in their fate, so when the book comes
to a tragic ending, we really don't care.
1. What is the reviewer’s opinion of this book? How can you tell?
2. From what you have read in this review, do you think that you would like to read this book?
Discuss your opinion with another student. Do you agree?

EXERCISE 12
Read the two short news articles below and infer the answers to the questions that follow.
Discuss your inferences with another student.
Signs of the Times in Britain
Article 1
“What's your sign?" That question has been a popular conversation starter in England ever since
the 19605, when people began to rediscover the ancient art of reading the stars. For decades,
astrology has been gaining in popularity, with astrology columns in all the newspapers, piles of
books written on the subject, and a booming business of personal predicting.
One place where astrology has not been appreciated is the academic world. Astrology has not
been considered an acceptable subject of study at universities since the seventeenth century,
when scientists made a clear division between the study of astrology and the science of
astronomy.
Now, however, that might be changing researchers in some British universities are taking closer
look at the way human affairs may or may not be influenced by the stars and planets. At the
University of Southampton, astrology enthusiasts have set up the Research Group for the Critical
Study of Astrology. With funds from this Research Group, doctoral students are studying
possible connections between movements in the star charts and various aspects of human life,
including fertility and alcoholism.
Some academics, such as Professor George Haldane, at Durham University, wonder if any
connections ever will be found between our lives and the stars. But he believes that it could be
interesting to look at the way astrology has influenced people; since, over the centuries, people
have found meaning in astrology in the same way they have found meaning in poetry or music.

Article 2
 Homework Making inferences 15

Star Pupils in British Universities?

Astrology as the subject of a university course? Until recently, astrology was considered a part of
popular culture and no one in the academic world took it very seriously. But some researchers in
Britain are trying to change that attitude. With a $12,000 grant, Christopher Bagley, a social
psychologist at the University of Southampton, has started the Research Group for the Critical
Study of Astrology. He and others like him are pushing for the introduction of university-level
courses to study the role of astrology in science, history, and religion.
Most academics, however, and especially scientists, are critical of this trend. "Astrology is in the
same category as fairies," says David Minott, professor of science at Cambridge University. He
thinks that universities should spend their money, time, and effort on other, more important
matters.
After all, more than 400 years ago, scientists decided that astronomy was the only truly scientific
study of the stars and planets. Astrology was discredited as a "pseudoscience," whose theories
were based on tradition and mythology, and could not be tested or proved. From that time on, no
institution of higher learning in the western world recognized astrology, as an acceptable area of
study.
The fact that some British universities today may offer courses in astrology is, in the opinion of
some scientists, the sign of a dangerous lowering of scientific standards. In their view,
universities should not allow themselves to be influenced by the fashions of the moment, but
should maintain the clear division that scientists have accepted for centuries the "pseudoscience"
of astrology and the study at the universe according to scientific methods.

1. Are these writers in favor of or against the study of astrology in British universities?
2. How can you tell?
3. What is your point of view on the subject?