Read this excerpt from "The All-American Slurp."
Mrs. Gleason bent down and whispered to us, “This is a buffet dinner. You help yourselves to some food and eat it in the living room.”
Our family beat a retreat back to the sofa as if chased by enemy soldiers. For the rest of the evening, too mortified to go back to the dining table, I nursed a bit of potato salad on my plate.

What part of the plot is revealed in this excerpt?
a) an introduction of new characters
b) a conflict between the Lins and the unfamiliar culture
c) a conflict between the narrator and her family
d) a resolution in which the narrator becomes more comfortable

Read the excerpt below from "letter from birmingham jail" and then answer the question below: "my citing the creation of tension as part of the work of the nonviolent resister may sound rather shocking. but i must confess that i am not afraid of the word "tension." i have earnestly opposed violent tension, but there is a type of constructive, nonviolent tension which is necessary for growth. just as socrates felt that it was necessary to create a tension in the mind so that individuals could rise from the bondage of myths and half truths to the unfettered realm of creative analysis and objective appraisal, so must we see the need for nonviolent gadflies to create the kind of tension in society that will men rise from the dark depths of prejudice and racism to the majestic heights of understanding and brotherhood." how does king's repetition of the term "tension" impact the meaning of the text? dr. king says that he is afraid of the word tension and he doesn't think it is necessary. dr. king repeats the word tension to explain how he sees the word as a negative force that discourages change. dr. king repeats the word tension unintentionally, and it doesn't impact the meaning of the text. dr. king repeats the word tension to support how he views the word tension as positive and growth-producing.

Write a two-paragraph objective summary of ted chiang's "exhalation." your summary should identify two themes of the story and explore how they interact. use figurative language such as an analogy to the reader understand the themes.

Read the following excerpt from "dark tower" by claude mckay before you choose your answer. "we shall not always plant while others reap the golden increment of bursting fruit, nor always countenance, abject and mute, that lesser men should hold their brothers cheap; not everlastingly while others sleep shall we beguile their limbs with mellow flute, not always bend to some more subtle brute. we were not made eternally to weep. the night, whose sable breast relieves the stark, white stars, is no less lovely being dark; and there are buds that cannot bloom at all in light, but crumple, piteous, and fall. so in the dark we hid the heart that bleeds, and wait, and tend our agonizing needs." in context, the expression "the night, whose sable breast relieves the stark,/ white stars, is no less lovely being dark; " is best interpreted as a. the light of the stars overpowers the black of night b. the black of night overpowers the light of the stars c. black and white contribute equally to the beauty of the night sky d. black and white continuously compete for prominence in the night sky