ILL GIVE 30 POINTS The Meet
By Madelyn Srin "Why, why?" Ariel wailed into her locker at the pool. "I thought she was not going to make it down for this meet!" Her fiercest competitor was going to swim Saturday, after all. Ariel looked around to make sure no one had heard her then tore off her required swim cap, grabbed her towel, and ran outside to her father’s waiting van. "It’s my last chance to actually make Olympics finals, Dad. And Maria is going to be there. Maria and her stupid pink swim cap. High-fiving her dad for good luck before every single race. Ugh." "Remember what I’ve told you, Ari," her dad started. "The only thing that matters is what you do, not what you win." She put up her hand to block the glare of the sun just peeking up over the horizon. Every morning she was at that pool, doing laps and practicing her strokes. Ariel pictured herself so many times holding that trophy and smiling triumphantly as she advanced to the Olympic finals. No matter what her dad said, she wanted to win. Saturday morning, Ariel stood by the pool—waiting for Maria to come out—hoping that she wouldn’t. She did—crying. Ariel could barely hear what Maria was saying to the coach over the noise in the pool area. "…lucky swim cap. gone … without it." The coach was trying to convince Maria to just wear another one when Ariel saw a pink blob, peeking out from under the bleachers. For an instant, she saw herself again, making it to the finals, and living her dream. This time, however, her vision was different. She held the trophy, but her smile was nowhere to be seen. The world came into focus again, and Ariel knew what she had to do. Moments later, she approached Maria and looked her rival in the eye. "Here," she said, handing her the pink cap. "It was under the bleachers." "Oh, Ariel. Thankyouthankyouthankyou," Maria said through her sobs. "If I could not compete today, I don’t know what I would do." Ariel watched Maria greet her father and receive her customary high-five. As Ariel turned away, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Maria’s father stood smiling, his flat hand raised and ready. “One for you, too!” Ariel high fived the man and saw a flash of embarrassment flush across Maria’s face. Ariel turned to her own dad, who was sitting in his usual place in the bleachers. He gave her a thumbs–up as she walked to the platform and took her place next to Maria. Maria tightened her pink cap and gave Ariel a smile. “Thanks again. And good luck.” “You’re welcome. And good luck, too.” Ariel replied. She smiled back, triumphantly. Under the graphic organizer, type a description of each literary element from the story “The Meet.”
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Industrialization in europe changed the way people lived. the urban working class came into being, and with it came the drudgery of work. which two parts of this excerpt from franz kafka's the metamorphosis most closely reflect this impact of industrialization on people's lives? "what's happened to me? " he thought. it wasn't a dream. his room, a proper human room although a little too small, lay peacefully between its four familiar walls. a collection of textile samples lay spread out on the table—samsa was a travelling salesman—and above it there hung a picture that he had recently cut out of an illustrated magazine and housed in a nice, gilded frame. it showed a lady fitted out with a fur hat and fur boa who sat upright, raising a heavy fur muff that covered the whole of her lower arm towards the viewer. gregor then turned to look out the window at the dull weather. drops of rain could be heard hitting the pane, which made him feel quite sad. "how about if i sleep a little bit longer and forget all this nonsense," he thought, but that was something he was unable to do because he was used to sleeping on his right, and in his present state couldn't get into that position. however hard he threw himself onto his right, he always rolled back to where he was. he must have tried it a hundred times, shut his eyes so that he wouldn't have to look at the floundering legs, and only stopped when he began to feel a mild, dull pain there that he had never felt before. "oh, no", he thought, "what a strenuous career it is that i've chosen! travelling day in and day out. doing business like this takes much more effort than doing your own business at home, and on top of that there's the curse of travelling, worries about making train connections, bad and irregular food, contact with different people all the time so that you can never get to know anyone or become friendly with them. they can all go away! " he felt a slight itch up on his belly; pushed himself slowly up on his back towards the headboard so that he could lift his head better; found where the itch was, and saw that it was covered with lots of little white spots which he didn't know what to make of; and when he tried to feel the place with one of his legs he drew it quickly back because as soon as he touched it he was overcome by a cold shudder. he slid back into his former position. "getting up early all the time", he thought, "it makes you stupid. you've got to get enough sleep. other travelling salesmen live a life of luxury. for instance, whenever i go back to the guest house during the morning to copy out the contract, these gentlemen are always still sitting there eating their breakfasts. i ought to just try that with my boss; i'd get kicked out on the spot. but who knows, maybe that would be the best thing for me. if i didn't have my parents to think about i'd have given in my notice a long time ago, i'd have gone up to the boss and told him just what i think, tell him everything i would, let him know just what i feel."