Read the following excerpt from "the city without us" by alan weisman: as it happens, that will be the key to breaching manhattan's hard shell if nature sets about dismantling it. it would begin very quickly, with the first strike at the city's most vulnerable spot: its underbelly. which statement best describes the effect of the metaphor on the excerpt's meaning? a. it links two unlike objects together, the city and a machine, showing how they can both be dismantled. b. it likens a quick breach of the city to a first strikeout at manhattan's baseball stadium. c. it compares the city to an animal, which has a hard, protective shell, but a soft underbelly. d. it compares the key to the city to the hard shell of manhattan to illustrate its open door policy.

A. It compares the city to an animal, which has a hard, protective shell, but a soft underbelly.  -Apex

The answer is: It compares the city to an animal, which has a hard, protective shell, but a soft underbelly.

In this excerpt from "The City Without Us" Alan Weisman use the metaphor to compare the city of Manhattan to and animal, compares its weak points to an animal underbelly and the strengths as an animal’s hard shell that covers the surface to protect its vulnerable parties.

1, 4, and 5 are all conflicts

in the quotation from passage, connie willis states that literature is a way for authors from the past to communicate with readers of today. we can read their stories, books, and other texts to learn lessons about life. willis refers to these lessons as messages “from beyond the grave.” willis has a favorable viewpoint about the timelessness of literature.