When i was 25 i got testicular cancer and nearly died. i was given less than a 40 percent chance of surviving, and frankly, some of my doctors were just being kind when they gave me those odds. death is not exactly cocktail-party conversation, i know, and neither is cancer, or brain surgery, or matters below the waist. but i’m not here to make polite conversation. i want to tell the truth. i’m sure you’d like to hear about how lance armstrong became a great american and an inspiration to us all, how he won the tour de france, the 2,290-mile road race that’s considered the single most grueling sporting event on the face of the earth. you want to hear about faith and mystery, and my miraculous comeback, and how i joined towering figures like greg lemond and miguel indurain in the record book. you want to hear about my lyrical climb through the alps and my heroic conquering of the pyrenees, and how it felt. but the tour was the least of the story.

source: armstrong, lance and sally jenkins. it’s not about the bike: my journey back to life. new york: putnam, 2000. 2-3. print.

which statement describes the author’s perspective and purpose in this excerpt?

the perspective is personal and serious-minded; the purpose is to inform.
the perspective is distant and matter-of-fact; the purpose is to entertain.
the perspective is irreverent; the purpose is to entertain and persuade.
the perspective is sarcastic and humorous; the purpose is to self-reflect.

What poetic devices does shakespeare use in these lines? select all that apply. they are prose. they are blank verse. they are rhyming couplets they are in iambic pentameter.

Analyze the central conflict and its in a story to discover the theme. resolution protagonist antagonist character

Read the passage from animal farm. as clover looked down the hillside her eyes filled with tears. if she could have spoken her thoughts, it would have been to say that this was not what they had aimed at when they had set themselves years ago to work for the overthrow of the human race. these scenes of terror and slaughter were not what they had looked forward to on that night when old major first stirred them to rebellion. if she herself had had any picture of the future, it had been of a society of animals set free from hunger and the whip, all equal, each working according to his capacity, the strong protecting the weak, as she had protected the lost brood of ducklings with her foreleg on the night of major's speech. instead—she did not know why—they had come to a time when no one dared speak his mind, when fierce, growling dogs roamed everywhere, and when you had to watch your comrades torn to pieces after confessing to shocking crimes. there was no thought of rebellion or disobedience in her mind. she knew that, even as things were, they were far better off than they had been in the days of jones, and that before all else it was needful to prevent the return of the human beings. whatever happened she would remain faithful, work hard, carry out the orders that were given to her, and accept the leadership of napoleon. but still, it was not for this that she and all the other animals had hoped and toiled. it was not for this that they had built the windmill and faced the bullets of jones's gun. such were her thoughts, though she lacked the words to express them. what was most likely orwell’s purpose for writing this passage? to show that clover is more sensitive to violence than the others to remind readers of major's speech and the original rebellion to present napoleon as a cruel leader unworthy of the animals’ support to represent misled followers and their dashed hopes for better lives