Read these excerpts.Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address."It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us – that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion – that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain – that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom – and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from this earth.Whitman’s "O Captain! My Captain!".My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;The ship is anchor'd safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;From fearful trip, the victor ship, comes in with object won;Exult, O shores, and ring, O bells!But I, with mournful tread,Walk the deck my Captain lies,Fallen cold and dead.
Read the excerpt from "Keynote Address.”Under the health measures first proposed by the Presidency of our most beloved Harry S. Truman and passed during the remarkable administration of Lyndon B. Johnson, 20 million older Americans are now protected under Medicare. Our elder Americans can now live their autumn years in dignity and security. And infant mortality has declined to a new low. And federally funded community health centers are now serving nearly 50 million Americans. These too are vital foundations, and on them we must build fuller lives for our citizens.And since 1963, President Johnson has proposed and Congress had enacted more than 40 major new laws to foster education in our country. Since 1963, our Government has tripled its investment in education, and in the past four years alone, we have invested twice as much as was spent in the previous 100 years. These are the foundations from which towers of human achievement can soar.The last 11 years have seen the passage of the five civil rights laws passed during the entire history of the United States, and I might note in passing that Lyndon Baines Johnson is the author, chief architect, or primary sponsor of each of the civil right laws. When all summers are long and hot, it is well to remember that the 100 years of the Emancipation Proclamation is finally but slowly but becoming a reality. And the occupants of some of our highest offices are testimony that black talent is just as important as white talent.Working together, we have done much. We can, and we must do much, much more.
Read the poem “Serenade,” by Edgar Allan Poe.So sweet the hour, so calm the time,I feel it more than half a crime,When Nature sleeps and stars are mute,To mar the silence ev'n with lute.At rest on ocean's brilliant dyesAn image of Elysium lies:Seven Pleiades entranced in Heaven,Form in the deep another seven:Endymion nodding from aboveSees in the sea a second love.Within the valleys dim and brown,And on the spectral mountain's crown,The wearied light is dying down,And earth, and stars, and sea, and skyAre redolent of sleep, as IAm redolent of thee and thineEnthralling love, my Adeline.But list, O list,- so soft and lowThy lover's voice tonight shall flow,That, scarce awake, thy soul shall deemMy words the music of a dream.Thus, while no single sound too rudeUpon thy slumber shall intrude,Our thoughts, our souls- O God above!In every deed shall mingle, loveWhat is the theme of the poem?
Read the excerpt from “Conclusion” in Walden.The surface of the earth is soft and impressible by the feet of men; and so with the paths which the mind travels. How worn and dusty, then, must be the highways of the world, how deep the ruts of tradition and conformity! I did not wish to take a cabin passage, but rather to go before the mast and on the deck of the world, for there I could best see the moonlight amid the mountains. I do not wish to go below now.Which best describes the purpose of the imagery in the excerpt?
Read the excerpt from a short story.The apartment house had a communal attic rarely visited by its tenants. The labeled boxes and cast-off furniture offered little intrigue, so few explored its depths. Then one rainy afternoon, I ventured there seeking solitude. Roaming beyond the beams of the lone ceiling bulb, I spied only cobwebs until I rounded the corner of a hulking armoire. Beyond this antique was unrelenting shadow, but I willed myself to advance. Then a grim bellow of thunder resounded, sending me to the floor. Prostrate on the splintered beams, my hands felt a shaft of cold steel and I could but imagine the evil article I’d encountered.What technique does the author use to build suspense in the excerpt?
Read the excerpt from "We Wear the Mask” by Paul Laurence Dunbar.(1) Why should the world be over-wise, (2) In counting all our tears and sighs? (3) Nay, let them only see us, while(4) We wear the mask.
Read the excerpt from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.When Mrs. Fairfax had bidden me a kind good-night, and I had fastened my door, gazed leisurely round, and in some measure effaced the eerie impression made by that wide hall, that dark and spacious staircase, and that long, cold gallery, by the livelier aspect of my little room, I remembered that, after a day of bodily fatigue and mental anxiety, I was now at last in safe haven. . . . My couch had no thorns in it that night; my solitary room no fears. At once weary and content, I slept soon and soundly: when I awoke it was broad day.
Read the excerpt from Walden.Sympathy with the fluttering alder and poplar leaves almost takes away my breath; yet, like the lake, my serenity is rippled but not ruffled. These small waves raised by the evening wind are as remote from storm as the smooth reflecting surface.How does the excerpt support Thoreau’s view on solitude?
Read the excerpt from Pericles’s funeral oration by Thucydides.To me it seems that the consummation which has overtaken these men shows us the meaning of manliness in its first revelation and in its final proof. Some of them, no doubt, had their faults; but what we ought to remember first is their gallant conduct against the enemy in defence of their native land. They have blotted out evil with good, and done more service to the common-wealth than they ever did harm in their private lives.
Read the excerpt from Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë.A snug small room; a round table by a cheerful fire; an arm-chair high-backed and old-fashioned, wherein sat the neatest imaginable little elderly lady, in widow’s cap, black silk gown, and snowy muslin apron; exactly like what I had fancied Mrs. Fairfax, only less stately and milder looking. She was occupied in knitting; a large cat sat demurely at her feet; nothing in short was wanting to complete the beau-ideal of domestic comfort. A more reassuring introduction for a new governess could scarcely be conceived; there was no grandeur to overwhelm, no stateliness to embarrass; and then, as I entered, the old lady got up and promptly and kindly came forward to meet me.
Read the excerpt from "Gate A-4” by Naomi Shihab Nye.We called her son, I spoke with him in English. I told him I would stay with his mother till we got on the plane and ride next to her. She talked to him. Then we called her other sons just for the fun of it. Then we called my dad and he and she spoke for a while in Arabic and found out of course they had ten shared friends. Then I thought just for the heck of it why not call some Palestinian poets I know and let them chat with her? This all took up two hours.(Naomi Shihab Nye, "Gate A-4" from Honeybee. Copyright © 2008 by Naomi Shihab Nye. Reprinted with permission. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED)
Take a look at this Middle English word.feithWhat is the correct translation of the Middle English word feith into modern English?
Read the excerpt from Alexander the Great’s speech at Opis.And then tell them that, when his fleet had successfully completed its voyage along the whole coast from India to Persis and you were safe back in Susa, you deserted him and took yourselves off, leaving him to the mercy of the very barbarians he had defeated. A fine tale indeed, sure to raise you in men’s esteem and meet with the gods’ approval.
In "Civil Disobedience," what does Thoreau suggest the townspeople have to do before they can be as free as he is?
Read the sentence. The audience watching the play knew the criminal was hiding behind the sofa, but the characters were unaware of this fact. This sentence describes an example of
James Madison, author of “Federalist Number 37,” advocated for a strong central government because
Why did the Federalists support ratification of the Constitution?
Read “Once I Saw the Mountains Angry,” by Stephen Crane.Once I saw mountains angry,And ranged in battle-front.Against them stood a little man;Aye, he was no bigger than my finger.I laughed, and spoke to one near me,"Will he prevail?""Surely," replied this other;"His grandfathers beat them many times."Then did I see much virtue in grandfathers—At least, for the little manWho stood against the mountains.Which best describes the theme of this poem?
Read the sentence. Selena, Ben, and Raj all won leads in the musical, and they has practiced every afternoon during study hall for the past two weeks.Which is the best replacement for the underlined words?
Which images in the poem “We Wear the Mask” best portray an ironic contrast?
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