Think about any idioms you might use, where if you really analyzed the actual words, they wouldn’t make much sense, but the big picture means something different. Write anything down that you can think of, and a brief explanation of what it means. The goal is to have you think a bit more critically about phrases that we tend to take for granted. Then, over the next three days, pay attention to any idioms you hear. If you hear anything that you’ve already written down, put a check mark next to it. If you hear anything new, add it to your list. At the end of those three days, use those idioms to create a short story to put into your journal. Your goal will be to get as many idioms as possible into the story as you possibly can, and still have it make some sort of sense. The story itself should not be longer than 2 pages.

The story behind the story is a a human interest article b concerned with the feelings of people involved in a headline event ca kind of special feature d all of these e none of these

Which line in this excerpt from the great gatsby by f. scott fitzgerald contains a simile? about half way between west egg and new york the motor-road hastily joins the railroad and runs beside it for a quarter of a mile, so as to shrink away from a certain desolate area of land. this is a valley of ashes—a fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges and hills and grotesque gardens where ashes take the forms of houses and chimneys and rising smoke and finally, with a transcendent effort, of men who move dimly and already crumbling through the powdery air. occasionally a line of grey cars crawls along an invisible track, gives out a ghastly creak and comes to rest, and immediately the ash-grey men swarm up with leaden spades and stir up an impenetrable cloud which screens their obscure operations from your sight.

Lots of elementary school kids play sports after school. they play soccer, tennis, football, baseball, and even lacrosse. but i think that another great way to spend the afternoon is by playing a non-physical activity: chess. at our school we have a chess club that meets every week to play games and to learn about chess-related issues. chess is a wonderful game for many reasons. chess teaches students to be patient and not rush decisions. chess also teaches students how to strategize their future plans. and finally, chess teaches students the importance and necessity of sacrifice. chess can teach students just as much as any other sport. which sentence could best be added to this paragraph as a supporting detail? a) chess is not as fun as playing a sport outdoors might be. b) my father is very good at chess and plays a game with me every night. c) chess teaches students to think ahead about the consequences of their actions. d) other activities that are as fun as chess are painting, drawing, dancing, and acting.