Read the article. Then answer the questions. Circle the correct answers.

The Real Story of Jimmy’s World

 “Jimmy’s World” was an article that appeared in the Washington Post in 1980.  It told the story of an eight-year-old drug addict named Jimmy (not his real name) who lived in Washington, D.C.  The article also described his family—his parents and grandparents who were drug addicts as well.  It told the story of a community that was consumed by an epidemic of drugs, guns, and violence.  It was a very emotional story filled with details about the people in the community and the negative effects that drugs were having on all of their lives.

 The story had considerable impact on the public.  Readers of the newspaper were shocked.  They didn’t understand how such a small boy could have become an addict.  Even the city’s mayor took note of the story.  Under pressure from the public, he asked the police to search for Jimmy.  He then said that Jimmy had been found and was being treated for his drug problems.  Later, the mayor announced that Jimmy had died. 

 Many people who read the story did not believe it.  They claimed that it couldn’t have happened.  They demanded that the journalist who wrote the story, Janet Cooke, reveal the identity of the boy in the story.  Cooke refused to reveal any real names.  A few months later, Cooke received a major journalism prize for her work on the story.  However, as time went on, it became clear that there were some problems with the article.  People suspected that some of the details might have been made up.  Eventually, other reporters found so many holes in her story that Cooke was forced to admit that she had invented all of it.  There was no Jimmy.  Cooke had to return the prize and she was fired from her job.

 Why did she do it?  It’s difficult to know.  She might have been so eager for attention that she forgot about the truth.  Or, she could have been more interested in revealing the very real problems of drugs and violence than in telling the truth about a specific story.  Her editor insisted that the story was a good one, even if it was all a lie.  Famous author Gabriel García Márquez said that perhaps she did not deserve the journalism prize, but she could have won a prize in literature instead.

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Why did some readers doubt the story of “Jimmy’s World”?