Read the excerpt from “The Railroad Earth.”I have to stick my railroad watch in my jean watchpocket and cut out allowing myself exactly 8 minutes to the station and the 7:15 train No. 112 I have to catch for the ride five miles to Bayshore through four tunnels, emerging from the sad Rath scene of Frisco gloom gleak in the rainymouth fogmourning to a sudden valley with grim hills rising to the sea, bay on the left, the fog rolling in.Which phrase from the excerpt supports the idea that the rhythm of jazz music played an important role in Kerouac’s writing style?
Read the sentence.The president of the company was attending the mandatory sales meeting.Which type of phrase or clause is underlined in the sentence?
Read the excerpt from Elie Wiesel’s All Rivers Run to the Sea.Why were those trains allowed to roll unhindered into Poland? Why were the tracks leading to Birkenau never bombed? I have put these questions to American presidents and generals and to high-ranking Soviet officers. Since Moscow and Washington knew what the killers were doing in the death camps, why was nothing done at least to slow down their “production”? That not a single Allied military aircraft ever tried to destroy the rail lines converging on Auschwitz remains an outrageous enigma to me.How does Wiesel’s choice of genre prove beneficial in the excerpt?
Read the sentence from an argumentative essay about wearing helmets while riding a bike.Always wear a helmet when riding a bike because riding without one is stupid.Which revision exhibits the best word choice for the underlined portion of the sentence?
Which statement best describes why an author might choose to write a memoir over other nonfiction formats?
Read this excerpt from the text "Not a Dove, But No Longer a Hawk."There were many disappointments those first two years, but when I left Vietnam in 1964, I was still, to use the current parlance, a hawk. I returned to Saigon in 1965 for another year. Now I have left again, and much has changed. There were 17,000 American servicemen in Vietnam at the time of my first departure and there are now 317,000 and I, while not a dove, am no longer a hawk. . . . Based on this excerpt, Neil Sheehan would most likely agree that
Read the sentence.It was difficult to extinguish because the fire was too hot.What is the best way to revise this sentence?
Read this excerpt from "Not a Dove, But No Longer a Hawk." I wonder, when I look at the bombed out peasant hamlets, the orphans begging and stealing on the streets of Saigon and the women and children with napalm burns lying on the hospital cots, whether the United States or any nation has the right to inflict this suffering and degradation on another people for its own ends.How do the allusions in this excerpt reinforce the meaning of the passage?
Read the paragraph from a student’s critical analysis essay.In the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson talks about independence through his use of big words and fancy argument skills. First, Jefferson states his thesis, which makes it seem important that the colonists get independence. Next, Jefferson gives evidence against the king of England and how he mistreats the American colonies. Finally, Jefferson suggests that colonists should stop paying taxes and fight, which is the obvious answer to the colonists’ problems.What is the best way for the student to revise the essay?
Read the excerpt from Neil deGrasse Tyson’s “Death by Black Hole.”But there is more bad news.All parts of your body are moving toward the same spot—the black hole’s center. So while you’re getting ripped apart head to toe, you will also extrude through the fabric of space and time, like toothpaste squeezed through a tube.To all the words in the English language that describe ways to die (e.g., homicide, suicide, electrocution, suffocation, starvation) we add the term “spaghettification.”In this excerpt, Tyson conveys his complex ideas by
Read the title and subtitle from "Majority of Americans Believe It Is Essential That the U.S. Remain a Global Leader in Space.”Majority of Americans Believe It Is Essential That the U.S. Remain a Global Leader in Space: Despite the Increasing Role of Private Companies in Space Exploration, Most Believe NASA’s Role Is Still Vital for Future
Read the excerpt from Elie Wiesel’s All Rivers Run to the Sea.Why were those trains allowed to roll unhindered into Poland? Why were the tracks leading to Birkenau never bombed? I have put these questions to American presidents and generals and to high-ranking Soviet officers. Since Moscow and Washington knew what the killers were doing in the death camps, why was nothing done at least to slow down their “production”? That not a single Allied military aircraft ever tried to destroy the rail lines converging on Auschwitz remains an outrageous enigma to me.How does Wiesel’s choice of genre prove beneficial in the excerpt?
Read the excerpt from Brown v. Board of Education.Reargument was largely devoted to the circumstances surrounding the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868.The Supreme Court studies the Fourteenth Amendment to determine
Read the sentence.She met her friends in the lobby, the bottom floor, of the hotel so that they could head over to the refreshing pool for a cool, brisk swim.Which is the best revision of this sentence?
Read the excerpt from the song, “Brother, Can You Spare a Dime?”They used to tell me I was building a dream, And so I followed the mob—When there was earth to plow, or guns to bear I was always there—right on the job. They used to tell me I was building a dream With peace and glory ahead— Based on this excerpt and your knowledge of American history, why did the stock market crash make Americans lose confidence in business?
Read the excerpt from “First Generation” of Dreaming in Cuban.He stops at the ocean’s edge, smiles almost shyly, as if he fears disturbing her, and stretches out a colossal hand. His blue eyes are like lasers in the night. The beams bounce off his fingernails, five hard blue shields. They scan the beach, illuminating shells and sleeping gulls, then focus on her. The porch turns blue, ultraviolet. Her hands, too, are blue. Celia squints through the light, which dulls her eyesight and blurs the palms on the shore.Which is an example of a hyperbole?
Read the excerpt from Fast Food Nation. The restaurant opens for business at seven o’clock, and for the next hour or so, Elisa and the manager hold down the fort, handling all the orders. As the place starts to get busy, other employees arrive. Elisa works behind the counter. She takes orders and hands food to customers from breakfast through lunch. When she finally walks home, after seven hours of standing at a cash register, her feet hurt. She’s wiped out. She comes through the front door, flops onto the living room couch, and turns on the TV. And the next morning she gets up at 5:15 again and starts the same routine.How does the description of Elisa’s daily routine support the author’s claim that the fast food industry seeks out teenage employees?
Read the excerpt from “First Generation” of Dreaming in Cuban, by Cristina Garcia.She considers the vagaries of sports, the happenstance of El Líder, a star pitcher in his youth, narrowly missing a baseball career in America. His wicked curveball attracted the major league scouts, and the Washington Senators were interested in signing him but changed their minds. Frustrated, El Líder went home, rested his pitching arm, and started a revolution in the mountains.Which best explains how Garcia’s word choice helps establish her voice in the excerpt?
Read the excerpt from “In Response to Executive Order 9066.”I am a fourteen-year-old girl with bad spellingand a messy room. If it helps any, I will tell youI have always felt funny using chopsticksand my favorite food is hot dogs.Read the excerpt from “Mericans.” Micaela, you may wait outside with Alfredito and Enrique. The awful grandmother says it all in Spanish, which I understand when I’m paying attention. “What?” I say, though it’s neither proper not polite.Which idea is true of the speakers in both excerpts?
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