MEeeLITERARY TEXT
from Oliver Twist, Charles Dickens
Read the excerpt from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. Then, answer the following question(s).
[B]eing born in a workhouse… was the best thing for Oliver Twist that could by possibility have occurred. The fact is, that there was considerable difficulty in inducing Oliver to take upon himself the office of respiration,—a troublesome practice, but one which custom has rendered necessary to our easy existence; and for some time he lay gasping on a little flock mattress, rather unequally poised between this world and the next: the balance being decidedly in favor of the latter. Now, if, during this brief period, Oliver had been surrounded by careful grandmothers, anxious aunts, experienced nurses, and doctors of profound wisdom, he would most inevitably and indubitably have been killed in no time. There being nobody by, however, but a pauper old woman… and a parish surgeon, who did such matters by contract; Oliver and Nature fought out the point between them. The result was, that, after a few struggles, Oliver breathed, sneezed, and proceeded to advertise to the inmates of the workhouse the fact of a new burden having been imposed upon the parish, by setting up as loud a cry as could reasonably have been expected from a male infant who had not been possessed of that very useful appendage, a voice, for a much longer space of time than three minutes and a quarter.
1)
Based on the context of the passage, what is the meaning of the underlined phrase “poised between this world and the next”?
A) between living and dying
B) between despair and hope
C) between sleeping and waking
D)between abandonment and love

Which phrase from the passage provides the best context clue for the meaning of the phrase, "poised between this world and the next?"
A) [B]eing born in a workhouse… was the best thing for Oliver Twist that could by possibility have occurred.
B) [I]f, during this brief period, Oliver had been surrounded by careful grandmothers, anxious aunts, experienced nurses, and doctors of profound wisdom, he would most inevitably and indubitably have been killed in no time.
C) Oliver and Nature fought out the point between them.
D) [Oliver] proceeded to advertise to the inmates of the workhouse the fact of a new burden having been imposed upon the parish…

What does the narrator mean in saying, “there was considerable difficulty in inducing Oliver to take upon himself the office of respiration”?
A)Oliver was crying loudly.
B)Oliver was missing his grandmother and his aunts.
C)Oliver was not breathing at first.
D) Oliver did not want to be in a workhouse.

the answer is culture

a compare and contrast essay is a piece of formal writing in which the author focus on the similarities between two ideas, objects, places, etc., and the differences between them. there are some aspects that the author should take into account when he/she is crafting the essay. first, the author has a clear idea of the effect that he/she wants to produce on the audience (a purpose). his/her main idea should be presented in the thesis statement in a simple but effective way which gives the audience a clear idea of the content and the direction of the essay. in addition, it is also important to focus to the similarities and differences that not only are interesting and relevant to the reader but also provide a new, impressive point of view or deeper understanding of a topic.

the answer is fantasy

"character is what you are in the dark." dwight lyman moody, in this very witty quotation of his, states we act and think differently when we are "in the dark", that is, when the spotlight is not on us and everyone can see us and consequently judge us. when reading, we tend to be sympathetic to some characters and their dilemmas. by being so, we are saying to ourselves that we agree with those characters' acts and choices, even if they are morally questionable if we have common sense in mind. dwight lyman moody's quotation applies very well to "crime and punishment", by   19th century russian writer fiodor dostoyevsky. raskolnikov, the main character, a former law student who spends his days reflecting upon life and its misery, draws a fatal conclusion: mankind is divided in two main categories: ordinary and extraordinary people. the first are the ones who lead a run-of-the-mill existence and are full of imperfections; the latter are the ones who are spiritually superior, the ones who always know better, and have the right to judge the ordinary ones, as well as eliminate them if for common good. raskolnikov considers himself as belonging to the extraordinary category and decides to kill an old lady who is a money lender and in whose house he rents a small room. raskolnikov compares himself to napoleon, who had the undeniable right to execute tons of people during the war in order to save his nation. of course what the main character decides to do is a horrendous crime, but as readers we feel it is the right thing for him to do, since the victim is a mean old woman who only thinks about money and keeps humiliating her younger sister. what one experiences is a mixture of sympathy and empathy for the character, even though he decides to commit homicide, which is not at all accepted or tolerated by civilized citizens. however, since readers are "in the dark", they allow themselves to feel in ways they would probably never dare to confess to anyone, no matter how nasty or vicious a character can be. after all, they are just reading and doing no harm. in other words, readers are in the dark and can be who they are without being judged.