Read the excerpt from act 2 of A Doll's House . Nora: What are you going to do? Helmer: [looking among his papers] Settle it. [Enter MAID.] Look here; take this letter and go downstairs with it at once. Find a messenger and tell him to deliver it, and be quick. The address is on it, and here is the money. Maid: Very well, sir. [Exit with the letter.] Helmer: [putting his papers together] Now then, little Miss Obstinate. Nora: [breathlessly]. Torvald—what was that letter? Helmer: Krogstad's dismissal. Nora: Call her back, Torvald! There is still time. Oh Torvald, call her back! Do it for my sake—for your own sake—for the children's sake! Do you hear me, Torvald? Call her back! You don't know what that letter can bring upon us. Helmer: It's too late. Nora: Yes, it's too late. Helmer: My dear Nora, I can forgive the anxiety you are in, although really it is an insult to me. It is, indeed. Isn't it an insult to think that I should be afraid of a starving quill-driver's vengeance? But I forgive you nevertheless, because it is such eloquent witness to your great love for me. [Takes her in his arms.] And that is as it should be, my own darling Nora. Come what will, you may be sure I shall have both courage and strength if they be needed. You will see I am man enough to take everything upon myself. Nora: [in a horror-stricken voice]. What do you mean by that? Helmer: Everything, I say— Nora: [recovering herself] You will never have to do that. Helmer: That's right. Well, we will share it, Nora, as man and wife should. That is how it shall be. [Caressing her.] Are you content now? There! There! Not these frightened dove's eyes! The whole thing is only the wildest fancy! Now, you must go and play through the Tarantella and practise with your tambourine. I shall go into the inner office and shut the door, and I shall hear nothing; you can make as much noise as you please. [Turns back at the door.] And when Rank comes, tell him where he will find me. [Nods to her, takes his papers and goes into his room, and shuts the door after him.] How does the interaction between Helmer and Nora advance the plot?
Which homophones correctly complete the sentence? The students were __________ that an accomplished scientist always _____ over the results of an experiment.
Read the excerpt from "The Role of Social Media in the Arab Uprisings" by Heather Brown, Emily Guskin, and Amy Mitchell. Social media indeed played a part in the Arab uprisings. Networks formed online were crucial in organizing a core group of activists, specifically in Egypt. Civil society leaders in Arab countries emphasized the role of "the internet, mobile phones, and social media" in the protests. Additionally, digital media has been used by Arabs to exercise freedom of speech and as a space for civic engagement. Now, research is emerging that reexamines in a more detailed way the role that social media played in the Arab uprisings. In July 2012 a report was published by the United States Institute of Peace based on an extensive content analysis of bit.ly links from the uprisings in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Bahrain. Bit.ly links, or short URLs, are predominantly used in social media such as Twitter. The authors came to some conclusions that countered the initial assumption that social media was a causal mechanism in the uprisings. Instead, the study suggests that the importance of social media was in communicating to the rest of the world what was happening on the ground during the uprisings. "New [or social] media outlets that use bit.ly links are more likely to spread information outside of the region than inside it, acting like a megaphone more than a rallying cry." Which excerpt from the passage best supports the authors' claim?
Read the passage from "Two Kinds.” Every night after dinner, my mother and I would sit at the Formica kitchen table. She would present new tests, taking her examples from stories of amazing children she had read in Ripley's Believe It or Not , or Good Housekeeping, Reader's Digest , and a dozen other magazines she kept in a pile in our bathroom. My mother got these magazines from people whose houses she cleaned. And since she cleaned many houses each week, we had a great assortment. She would look through them all, searching for stories about remarkable children. The first night she brought out a story about a three-year-old boy who knew the capitals of all the states and even most of the European countries. A teacher was quoted as saying the little boy could also pronounce the names of the foreign cities correctly. "What's the capital of Finland?” my mother asked me, looking at the magazine story. What evidence supports the conclusion that the narrator’s mother reads about children who excel and tries to awaken similar talents in her daughter? Choose three correct answers.
Read the passage from "Two Kinds.” In fact, in the beginning, I was just as excited as my mother, maybe even more so. I pictured this prodigy part of me as many different images, trying each one on for size. I was a dainty ballerina girl standing by the curtains, waiting to hear the right music that would send me floating on my tiptoes. I was like the Christ child lifted out of the straw manger, crying with holy indignity. I was Cinderella stepping from her pumpkin carriage with sparkly cartoon music filling the air. In all of my imaginings, I was filled with a sense that I would soon become perfect . My mother and father would adore me. I would be beyond reproach. I would never feel the need to sulk for anything. But sometimes the prodigy in me became impatient. "If you don't hurry up and get me out of here, I'm disappearing for good," it warned. "And then you'll always be nothing." What conflict is indicated by the underlined sentences?
Why does Roosevelt use repetition in his request for a declaration of war?
Read the passage from the opinion of the court in Dred Scott v. Sandford, written by Justice Taney. The question before us is, whether the class of persons described in the plea in abatement compose a portion of this people, and are constituent members of this sovereignty? We think they are not, and that they are not included, and were not intended to be included, under the word "citizens" in the Constitution, and can therefore claim none of the rights and privileges which that instrument provides for and secures to citizens of the United States. On the contrary, they were at that time considered as a subordinate and inferior class of beings, who had been subjugated by the dominant race, and, whether emancipated or not, yet remained subject to their authority, and had no rights or privileges but such as those who held the power and the Government might choose to grant them. What is Taney’s claim in this passage?
Read the passage from the opinion of the court in Dred Scott v. Sandford, written by Justice Taney. The question then arises, whether the provisions of the Constitution, in relation to the personal rights and privileges to which the citizen of a State should be entitled, embraced the negro African race, at that time in this country, or who might afterwards be imported, who had then or should afterwards be made free in any State; and to put it in the power of a single State to make him a citizen of the United States, and endue him with the full rights of citizenship in every other State without their consent? Does the Constitution of the United States act upon him whenever he shall be made free under the laws of a State, and raised there to the rank of a citizen, and immediately clothe him with all the privileges of a citizen in every other State, and in its own courts? The court thinks the affirmative of these propositions cannot be maintained. And if it cannot, the plaintiff in error could not be a citizen of the State of Missouri, within the meaning of the Constitution of the United States, and, consequently, was not entitled to sue in its courts. Why is Justice Taney’s argument ineffective?
Read the excerpt from act 4, scene 1, of The Tragedy of Julius Caesar . [Exit LEPIDUS] ANTONY: This is a slight, unmeritable man, Meet to be sent on errands. Is it fit, The three-fold world divided, he should stand One of the three to share it? OCTAVIUS: So you thought him, And took his voice who should be pricked to die, In our black sentence and proscription. ANTONY: Octavius, I have seen more days than you: And though we lay these honors on this man. To ease ourselves of divers sland’rous loads, He shall but bear them as the ass bears gold, To groan and sweat under the business, Either led or driven as we point the way; And having brought our treasure where we will, Then take we down his load, and turn him off, Like to the empty ass, to shake his ears And graze in commons. What does this interaction reveal about Antony’s agenda?
Read the excerpt from The Red Badge of Courage. In this excerpt, Henry Fleming and his regiment have just lost a battle. Before the gray mists had been totally obliterated by the sun rays, the regiment was marching in a spread column that was retiring carefully through the woods. The disordered, hurrying lines of the enemy could sometimes be seen down through the groves and little fields. They were yelling, shrill and exultant. At this sight the youth forgot many personal matters and became greatly enraged. He exploded in loud sentences. "B’jiminey, we’re generaled by a lot ‘a lunkheads.” "More than one feller has said that t’-day,” observed a man. His friend, recently aroused, was still very drowsy. He looked behind him until his mind took in the meaning of the movement. Then he sighed. "Oh, well, I s’pose we got licked,” he remarked sadly. The youth had a thought that it would not be handsome for him to freely condemn other men. He made an attempt to restrain himself, but the words upon his tongue were too bitter. He presently began a long and intricate denunciation of the commander of the forces. "Mebbe, it wa’n’t all his fault--not all together. He did th’ best he knowed. It’s our luck t’ git licked often,” said his friend in a weary tone. He was trudging along with stooped shoulders and shifting eyes like a man who has been caned and kicked. Which detail from the excerpt best shows the conflicting perspectives between Henry and his friend?
Read the excerpts from The Red Badge of Courage. In the first excerpt, Henry Fleming is fighting in his first battle. In the second excerpt, Henry is deserting his regiment. Excerpt 1: Perspiration streamed down the youth’s face, which was soiled like that of a weeping urchin. He frequently, with a nervous movement, wiped his eyes with his coat sleeve. His mouth was still a little ways open. He got the one glance at the foe-swarming field in front of him, and instantly ceased to debate the question of his piece being loaded. Before he was ready to begin—before he had announced to himself that he was about to fight—he threw the obedient well-balanced rifle into position and fired a first wild shot. Directly he was working at his weapon like an automatic affair. Excerpt 2: To the youth it was an onslaught of redoubtable dragons. He became like the man who lost his legs at the approach of the red and green monster. He waited in a sort of a horrified, listening attitude. He seemed to shut his eyes and wait to be gobbled. A man near him who up to this time had been working feverishly at his rifle suddenly stopped and ran with howls. A lad whose face had borne an expression of exalted courage, the majesty of he who dares give his life, was, at an instant, smitten abject. He blanched like one who has come to the edge of a cliff at midnight and is suddenly made aware. There was a revelation. He, too, threw down his gun and fled. There was no shame in his face. He ran like a rabbit. Others began to scamper away through the smoke. The youth turned his head, shaken from his trance by this movement as if the regiment was leaving him behind. He saw the few fleeting forms. Which quotation shows the effect of Henry’s changed perspective?
Read the excerpt from act 3, scene 2, of Julius Caesar . [ANTONY.] But here’s a parchment with the seal of Caesar; I found it in his closet. 'Tis his will. Let but the commons hear this testament— Which, pardon me, I do not mean to read— And they would go and kiss dead Caesar’s wounds, And dip their napkins in his sacred blood, Yea, beg a hair of him for memory, And, dying, mention it within their wills, Bequeathing it as a rich legacy Unto their issue. What is the best summary of this monologue?
Read this paragraph from chapter 5 of The Prince . Whenever those states which have been acquired as stated have been accustomed to live under their own laws and in freedom, there are three courses for those who wish to hold them: the first is to ruin them, the next is to reside there in person, the third is to permit them to live under their own laws, drawing a tribute, and establishing within it an oligarchy which will keep it friendly to you. Because such a government, being created by the prince, knows that it cannot stand without his friendship and interest, and does its utmost to support him; and therefore he who would keep a city accustomed to freedom will hold it more easily by the means of its own citizens than in any other way. Which statement best summarizes the central idea of the paragraph?
Read the excerpt from act 2 of A Doll's House. Nora: That letter is from Krogstad. Mrs. Linde: Nora—it was Krogstad who lent you the money! Nora: Yes, and now Torvald will know all about it. Mrs. Linde: Believe me, Nora, that's the best thing for both of you. Nora: You don't know all. I forged a name. Mrs. Linde: Good heavens—! Nora: I only want to say this to you, Christine—you must be my witness. Mrs. Linde: Your witness? What do you mean? What am I to—? Nora: If I should go out of my mind—and it might easily happen— Mrs. Linde: Nora! Nora: Or if anything else should happen to me—anything, for instance, that might prevent my being here— Mrs. Linde: Nora! Nora! you are quite out of your mind. Nora: And if it should happen that there were some one who wanted to take all the responsibility, all the blame, you understand— Mrs. Linde: Yes, yes—but how can you suppose—? Nora: Then you must be my witness, that it is not true, Christine. I am not out of my mind at all; I am in my right senses now, and I tell you no one else has known anything about it; I, and I alone, did the whole thing. Remember that. Which statement best describes the conflict?
Read this passage from chapter 10 of The Prince . Therefore, a prince who has a strong city, and had not made himself odious, will not be attacked, or if anyone should attack he will only be driven off with disgrace; again, because that the affairs of this world are so changeable, it is almost impossible to keep an army a whole year in the field without being interfered with. And whoever should reply: If the people have property outside the city, and see it burnt, they will not remain patient, and the long siege and self-interest will make them forget their prince; to this I answer that a powerful and courageous prince will overcome all such difficulties by giving at one time hope to his subjects that the evil will not be for long, at another time fear of the cruelty of the enemy, then preserving himself adroitly from those subjects who seem to him to be too bold. Which statement best summarizes the central idea of the passage?
Hannah is writing an argument about free speech on the internet. Read her claim. Student Work The danger is that protection will turn into censorship, eroding our constitutional right to freedom of speech. What reasons can Hannah use to support her claim? Choose two correct answers.
Which conflict most affects the plot in acts 1 and 2 of Julius Caesar ?
Read the sentences. The Mississippi River flows from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. Its source is a peaceful lake in Minnesota. It flows south. It flows past 10 states. Its mouth is in Louisiana. Which sentence best combines these ideas into a compound-complex sentence?
What are the purposes of a public service campaign? Choose three correct answers.
Which image is the best choice for convincing an audience of kindergarten students to take action against bullying?
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