Every year at my husband's family reunion, his uncle (1) or charms
everyone into playing a (2) and aggressive game of "Egg Toss." I
always (3) loudly that I do not want to play, mostly because I hate the
thought of having (4) and unkempt hair after a raw egg has made
that (5) cracking sound and broken all over me. Nevertheless, certain
family members, who act as (6) s and advocate participation by
everyone, do a nice job of acting (7)_ _and disappointed when people
refuse to play, so I often (8)_ and join the game. The game always begins
in a carefree and (9) __manner, but when there are only a few players
left, they resemble (10) _s in the army. They begin to think they are
(11)_ like no one can beat them. Everyone who is watching becomes
less and less (12) because they don't want to miss the game. All of the
remaining players (13) and hunger for the same thing...the Egg Toss
trophy. I want to tell them that they may regret the (14) feelings of
desire for this trophy. Have your thoughts gone (15) and awry? Last
year's runners-up usually want (16) and an opportunity to win back
their prize after the (17) between this year's reunion and the time
they lost a year ago. However, only a (18) who has no job would have
the time to practice the legendary Egg Toss game. When it comes down to it,
the game is about luck and the ability to be (19) and flexible when
your partner throws a bad toss. Although, I really think the word "champion"
is a (20) in this game; how could you call anyone who is dripping with
egg and forced to take home a hideous trophy, a champion?

tree and the cat in the tree

in the short story the slip-over sweater by jesse stuart, the main character and narrator shan is friends with grace, an intelligent girl he has known since childhood and with whom he used to be in love.

at the beginning of the story, shan believes he’s no longer in love with grace, but loves jo-anne instead. in order to buy a slip-over sweater and have jo-anne wear it so that the other students would know she loved him too, shan takes a loan at the bank.

while jo-anne is wearing shan’s sweater, his friend grace starts to wear another popular boy’s one, roy’s sweater. because of that, the other students begin to pay attention to grace and compliment her perseverance and effort. they admire her for walking 5 miles to school every day, despite the weather, and still getting the best grades. shan, who knows all of that for a fact, says, as the narrator, ‘and i knew she had the durability and the toughness of a storm-battered mountain oak.’ he compares his friend’s strength – not only physical, but also of character – to an oak tree, whose wood is known for being sturdy.

as the story goes on, shan changes his behavior out of concern for the debt he has to pay at the bank. his new girlfriend jo-anne never asks him what is wrong nor offers any sort of . instead, she breaks up with shan for not being as fun as she thought he was supposed to be. grace, however, not only asks about shan’s problem, but him make the money he needs. shan can’t but notice how different the girls are and what a wonderful person grace is.   even though he used to find jo-anne prettier at the beginning of the story, he now says, ‘grace was as beautiful as our mountain was in april, prettier than a blossom of wild phlox or a mountain daisy.’ his comparing grace to a mountain or something that exists on a mountain (such as a mountain oak or daisy) certainly has important meaning since shan loves the mountain and everything about it and he knows the mountain thoroughly. shan also loves and knows grace as completely as he does the mountain.

1 - a

2 - a

3 - c

4 - b

5 - d