After the egyptians crushed cut cane and captured the juice, they boiled and strained the liquid, let it settle, then strained it again. the cane juice was now poured into molds with holes in the bottom, so that all the liquid could drain out, leaving only a powder. that powder was then mixed with milk and boiled again. after one round of these steps, the process was repeated all over again. as a result of all this effort and care, egypt was known for the “whitest and purest” sugar.

–sugar changed the world,
marc aronson and marina budhos

what is the central idea of the passage?
egyptians boiled and strained liquid to form sugar.
egyptians had a special process for refining white sugar.
egyptians were hard workers who overcame many challenges.
egyptians crushed sugar cane and used the juice as a sweetener.

Read the excerpt from martin luther king jr.’s "i have a dream” speech. and so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of new hampshire. let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of new york. let freedom ring from the heightening alleghenies of pennsylvania. let freedom ring from the snow-capped rockies of colorado. let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of california. but not only that: let freedom ring from stone mountain of georgia. let freedom ring from lookout mountain of tennessee. let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of mississippi. from every mountainside, let freedom ring. the most likely reason king uses allusions in this part of his speech is to share his knowledge of american geography. compare northern and southern destinations. remind listeners about small-town accountability. encourage listeners to envision freedom everywhere.

Which is the best topic sentence for this letter? a) amelia grady likes the middle school fundraiser. b) the basketball team at kennedy middle school enjoys its community. c) kennedy middle school wants to get the community involved in its activities. d) kennedy middle school has organized an event in which you may be interested.

Which word or phrase would smooth the transition between sentence 1 and sentence 2? o "in conclusion" o "for example" o "therefore" o"because"