When I was down beside the sea

A wooden spade they gave to me

To dig the sandy shore.

My holes were empty like a cup.

In every hole the sea came up

Till it could come no more.

—“At the Sea-Side,”
Robert Louis Stevenson

What is the central idea of the poem? Choose the best answer.

A. The beach is a dangerous place.
B. Our work will all be washed away, but it is not a sad thing.
C. The ocean is a mean and uncaring part of nature.
D. It is sad to think that every person’s work will eventually be washed away.

Read this excerpt from holes. he had no sailing experience, but the ship’s captain signed him aboard. the captain could see that elya was a man of great strength. not everybody could carry a full-grown pig up the side of a mountain. it wasn’t until the ship had cleared the harbor and was heading out across the atlantic that he suddenly remembered his promise to carry madame zeroni up the mountain. he felt terrible. what information does this flashback provide about elya? elya did not intend to break his promise to madame zeroni. madame zeroni is very angry and disappointed in elya. elya is terribly afraid of madame zeroni’s curse. elya does not care what happened to madame zeroni.