1. PART A: What does the phrase "to give wide berth to" most closely mean as it is used in paragraph 4?
Sometimes people with Treacher Collins syndrome face other consequences of their condition-
social
ones. Amie, a physician who has Treacher Collins, writes on treachercollins. org, "Treacher Collins
syndrome is a lot more than a pile of statistics and facts. It is about the person below the surface.
People tend to give wide berth to the things and people that they perceive as a threat to them -
those
people who are 'different' or who they don't understand. In some situations, this defense
mechanism
can be good. In excess, however, it breeds ignorance12 and heartache and leads society to
shun13
those that aren't 'normal.' Thus, society does not take the time to see what lies beneath the outer
shell
of a person and never sees that below the surface these 'different people are just as 'normal' as
anyone else."