Do You Like Ice Cream?

Do you like ice cream? If you do, it’s too bad you missed the party in St. Alban, Vermont, on April 15, 1983. The entire community joined in to create and consume the world’s largest ice cream sundae.

This mammoth sundae was built in a swimming pool. The sundae measured 16 feet across and 12 feet high, and it contained 12¹/₂ tons of ice cream as well as numerous other ingredients. Among the toppings were chocolate syrup, nuts, a truckload of peaches, and a planeload of pineapples.

Before the sundae was built, the swimming pool was lined with dry ice. The first layer of ice cream was started with 500 three-gallon containers. Then loose ice cream was piled on top. The sundae was so high that the top couldn’t be reached without the aid of a “cherry picker,” the basket-type device on a ladder used by fire fighters and people who work in trees.

Dozens of area schools closed for the day so that students could attend the party and get some of the giant sundae. According to one news report, 190 buses and thousands of children attended the event.

 

1. People who love ice cream

(a) are always very fat.
(b) would have liked this sundae.
(c) should eat in swimming pools.
(d) usually live in Vermont.

2. The sundae contained

(a) mostly strawberry ice cream.
(b) toppings and 12¹/₂ tons of ice cream.
(c) enough for one meal.
(d) excellent cake and pie.

3. Which happened first?

(a) People ate the sundae.
(b) Peaches and pineapples were used.
(c) The chocolate sauce went on.
(d) Dry ice went into the pool.

4. School children ate the sundae because

(a) it wasn’t a school day.
(b) they were very hungry.
(c) schools closed so they could.
(d) there was nothing else for them.

5. Something that’s mammoth is

(a) very good to eat.
(b) extremely large.
(c) found in swimming pools.
(d) not good for you.

6. A basket on a ladder was used

(a) to put out a fire.
(b) for placing the dry ice.
(c) to reach the sundae’s top.
(d) instead of a large dish.

7. To consume something means to

(a) build it all yourself.
(b) understand what it is.
(c) begin all over again.
(d) use or eat all of it.

8. This story is mainly about

(a) ice cream after dinner.
(b) how to fill a swimming pool.
(c) the world’s largest sundae.
(d) staying out of school.

Answer Key: 1. b; 2. b; 3. d; 4. c; 5. b; 6. c; 7. d; 8. c