Read the passage from Ivanhoe.About the hour of ten o’clock, the whole plain was crowded with horsemen, horsewomen, and foot-passengers, hastening to the tournament; and shortly after, a grand flourish of trumpets announced Prince John and his retinue, attended by many of those knights who meant to take share in the game, as well as others who had no such intention.About the same time arrived Cedric the Saxon, with the Lady Rowena, unattended, however, by Athelstane. This Saxon lord had arrayed his tall and strong person in armour, in order to take his place among the combatants; and, considerably to the surprise of Cedric, had chosen to enlist himself on the part of the Knight Templar.
Read the excerpt from "Keynote Address.” As an American whose ancestors came from Japan, I have become accustomed to a question most recently asked by a very prominent businessman who was concerned about the threat of riots and the resultant loss in life and property.
Read the excerpt from Pericles’s funeral oration by Thucydides.When our work is over, we are in a position to enjoy all kinds of recreation for our spirits. There are various kinds of contests and sacrifices regularly throughout the year; in our own homes we find a beauty and a good taste which delight us every day and which drive away our cares. Then the greatness of our city [Athens] brings it about that all the good things from all over the world flow in to us, so that to us it seems just as natural to enjoy foreign goods as our own local products.
In general, what conveys meaning in a poem?
Read the excerpt from a letter Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote while imprisoned in Birmingham Jail in 1963. One who breaks an unjust law must do so openly, lovingly, and with a willingness to accept the penalty.Based on his behavior in "Civil Disobedience," how would Thoreau most likely feel about King’s statement?
Read the excerpt from "Pilgrimage.”At the museum, we marvel at their clothes— preserved under glass—so much smallerthan our own, as if those who wore them were only children. We sleep in their beds,the old mansions hunkered on the bluffs, draped in flowers—funereal—a blurof petals against the river’s gray. The brochure in my room calls thisliving history. The brass plate on the door reads Prissy’s Room. A window framesThe river’s crawl toward the Gulf. In my dream, The ghost of history lies down beside me,rolls over, pins me beneath a heavy arm.Pilgrimage, "Elegy for the Native Guards", "South" from Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey. Copyright (c) 2006 by Natasha Trethewey. Used by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.
What is the purpose of the first paragraph of this section of the Iroquois Constitution?
Read the excerpt from Poe’s "The Masque of the Red Death."But in the western or black chamber the effect of the fire-light that streamed upon the dark hangings through the blood-tinted panes, was ghastly in the extreme, and produced so wild a look upon the countenances of those who entered, that there were few of the company bold enough to set foot within its precincts at all.What technique does Poe use to build suspense in the excerpt?
Read the excerpt from "The Masque of the Red Death."It was then, however, that the Prince Prospero, maddening with rage and the shame of his own momentary cowardice, rushed hurriedly through the six chambers, while none followed him on account of a deadly terror that had seized upon all. He bore aloft a drawn dagger, and had approached, in rapid impetuosity, to within three or four feet of the retreating figure, when the latter, having attained the extremity of the velvet apartment, turned suddenly and confronted his pursuer.What effect does the tone of the excerpt have on the reader?
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