Read the poem "City Trees" by Edna St. Vincent Millay.The trees along this city street,Save for the traffic and the trains,Would make a sound as thin and sweetAs trees in country lanes. And people standing in their shadeOut of a shower, undoubtedlyWould hear such music as is madeUpon a country tree. Oh, little leaves that are so dumbAgainst the shrieking city air,I watch you when the wind has come,—I know what sound is there.What is the central idea of this poem?
Read this writing prompt.Write an argumentative essay about whether it is better to tell the truth, even if it will hurt someone’s feelings, or to tell a lie to keep from hurting someone.Based on the prompt, which claim is the strongest?
Read this excerpt from a poem.The teacher called her nameThe sound was an alarmIt prickled every hairAnd jangled every nerve Which line contains a metaphor?
Which excerpt from We Beat the Street best supports the central idea that the boys share a supportive friendship?
Which excerpt from I Never Had It Made best shows that the reader is seeing the story from Jackie Robinson’s point of view?
Read this paragraph from I Never Had It Made.I wasn't just another athlete being hired by a ball club. We were playing for big stakes. This was the reason Branch Rickey's search had been so exhaustive. The search had spanned the globe and narrowed down to a few candidates, then finally to me. When it looked as though I might be the number-one choice, the investigation of my life, my habits, my reputation, and my character had become an intensified study.What is the author’s purpose for including this paragraph?
Which sentence uses the denotative meaning of the word bright?
Read this excerpt from an argumentative essay.One problem with allowing cell phones in the classroom is that they can be used for harmful purposes. Kids have learned how to bully each other through text messages and social media.Which answer choice provides the best evidence to support the ideas in the excerpt?
Read the excerpt from "Lessons of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr."The time is now for people, of all races and backgrounds, to sound the trumpets of change. As Dr. King proclaimed, "There comes a time when people get tired of being trampled over by the iron feet of oppression."The strong language in this passage shows that Chavez wants people to
Read the excerpt from "Lessons of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr."The crop which poses the greatest danger, and the focus of our struggle, is the table grape crop. These pesticides soak the fields, drift with the wind, pollute the water, and are eaten by unwitting consumers.The poisons are designed to kill, and pose a very real threat to consumers and farm workers alike.What is Chavez’s purpose in this passage?
Read the excerpt from "Lessons of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr."My friends, Dr. King realized that the only real wealth comes from helping others.I challenge each and every one of you to be a true disciple of Dr. King, to be truly wealthy.I challenge you to carry on his work by volunteering to work for a just cause you believe in.Which theme does Chavez communicate in this passage?
Read this excerpt from I Never Had It Made.He had never forgotten the agony of that black athlete. When he became a front-office executive in St. Louis, he had fought, behind the scenes, against the custom that consigned black spectators to the Jim Crow section of the Sportsman's Park, later to become Busch Memorial Stadium. His pleas to change the rules were in vain. Those in power argued that if blacks were allowed a free choice of seating, white business would suffer. Which statement best summarizes this excerpt?
Read this excerpt from We Beat the Street.George would not give up. "Hey, look. I really want to do this. I think we could ALL do this—the three of us—together!""Maybe," Rameck said slowly."It’s an awful long time," Sampson said with a sigh."Man, we can go to college for FREE!" George said, trying to convince them."Free is always good," Rameck said with a grin."What do we have to lose? Let’s just do the applications and see what happens," George suggested."Yeah, man—why not?" Sampson told the others. "Let’s go for it."What central idea in the story do the details in this excerpt support?
Writers who want to establish a clear point of view in their personal narratives should
Read this paragraph.Jodi, Jan, and Seth peered out the window. They could not believe that a line was forming! Their flier had advertised tryouts for a garage band guitarist, because Epic Noise had been one musician short since their friend Zach moved to Michigan. Now it looked as though their need would be met. Eleven or twelve kids their age lined the driveway, some propping up oversize cases, and others with guitars strapped on their backs. The three hosts of the audition believed that they would find what they were listening for among the assembled crowd.Which statement best summarizes this paragraph?
Read the excerpt from "Lessons of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr."The prestigious National Academy of Sciences recently concluded an exhaustive five-year study which determined that pesticides do not improve profits and do not produce more crops.Which persuasive element does Chavez use in this passage?
Read this excerpt from an argumentative essay.A celebrity’s image is not real. It is an illusion created by makeup, publicists, professional photographers, and the media.Which answer choice provides the best evidence to support the ideas in the excerpt?
What is the central idea of Langston Hughes’s poem "Mother to Son"?
What figurative language does the narrator use to describe her life in "Mother to Son"?
Which lines from "The Courage That My Mother Had" contain a simile?
Which excerpt from I Never Had It Made gives information that the reader knows only because the story is told from Robinson’s point of view?
Read these stanzas from the poem "Frederick Douglass" by Paul Laurence Dunbar.A hush is over all the teeming lists,And there is pause, a breath-space in the strife;A spirit brave has passed beyond the mistsAnd vapors that obscure the sun of life.And Ethiopia, with bosom torn,Laments the passing of her noblest born. And he was no soft-tongued apologist;He spoke straight-forward, fearlessly uncowed;The sunlight of his truth dispelled the mistAnd set in bold relief each dark-hued cloud;To sin and crime he gave their proper hue,And hurled at evil what was evil's due. Thro' good and ill report he cleaved his wayRight onward, with his face set toward the heights,Nor feared to face the foeman's dread array—The lash of scorn, the sting of petty spites.He dared the lightning in the lightning's track,And answered thunder with his thunder back.How is the message of this poem similar to the poet’s message in "The Courage That My Mother Had"?
Read the excerpt from "Lessons of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr."We have witnessed truckloads of grapes being dumped because no one would stop to buy them. As demand drops, so do prices and profits. The growers are under tremendous economic pressure.We are winning, but there is still much hard work ahead of us.The details in this passage best support the theme that
Read these stanzas from the poem "Ballad" by Paul Laurence Dunbar.I know my love is true,And oh the day is fair.The sky is dear and blue,The flowers are rich of hue,The air I breathe is rare,I have no grief or care;For my own love is true,And oh the day is fair. My love is false I find,And oh the day is dark.Blows sadly down the wind,While sorrow holds my mind;I do not hear the lark,For quenched is life's dear spark,—My love is false I find,And oh the day is dark!What is the central idea of this poem?
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Langston Hughes’s poem “Dreams” praises dreams, while “Dawn in New York” praises
What is the central idea of Langston Hughes’s poem “Dreams”?
Which lines from "Dawn in New York" suggest that the morning commute is beginning?
In Langston Hughes’s poem “Dreams,” a “broken-winged bird” is a metaphor for
Which statement best describes a cause-and-effect relationship in We Beat the Street?
Read the excerpt from Sampson’s speech in We Beat the Street.Classes lasted every day until five, and after dinner they went to required tutoring sessions, where each student got help in areas of need. Their test scores began to rise. In the evening the students were required to study. No television was allowed during study hours, and bedtime was mandatory at ten P.M., which none of them liked very much."This feels like boot camp,” Sampson whispered to Rameck one night after lights out."Yeah, but it feels good, man. It’s like doing push-ups with my brain!”
Read this excerpt from We Beat the Street.They were scheduled for precalculus, biology, chemistry, computer skills, English, and critical-thinking courses. The courses were intense and demanding, with no tolerance for the sloppy work and careless attitudes of high school.
Read this excerpt from We Beat the Street."You’re just plain lazy! You think this is hard? Wait until you’re pulling twenty-four-hour shifts as a resident in a hospital. Wait until you hold someone’s life in your hands and that person is depending on YOU to have the skill and knowledge to save his life.” She whipped back into her lecturing voice. "Strict personal discipline and adherence to rules are absolutely necessary for a doctor’s success!” She glared at him."I’m not lazy,” Rameck replied sullenly. "I’m just not used to all this discipline.”"Get used to it!” Carla snapped back at him. "You’re one of the brightest young men I’ve ever met! Discipline won’t kill you. Carelessness will.”
Read the excerpt from We Beat the Street."Our nation’s health-care system is still a dual system, you know,” Dr. Blackman continued. "African-Americans, other minorities, and all those classified as poor in this country still receive less than adequate treatment in facilities that are far outstripped by hospitals and clinics in wealthier neighborhoods.”
Read this excerpt from Steve Jobs’s commencement speech.But ten years later when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me, and we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography.If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on that calligraphy class and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do.
Read this excerpt from Ray Bradbury’s commencement speech.And then you gather around you the people who do believe in you—your parents and a few friends, if you're lucky. We don't have many friends in this world; but the few that do believe in you—and then you move on into the future. I try to do that.
What is the purpose of Steve Jobs’s commencement speech?
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