What is the authors main purpose in the article?

Read the excerpt from a history of the world in 100 objects. power is usually not willingly given, but forcefully taken; and in both europe and america the nineteenth century was punctuated by political protest, with periodic revolutions on the continent, the civil war in america and, in britain, a steady struggle to widen the suffrage. what would be a benefit of reading this text rather than listening to an audio version of it? the reader could analyze the text features in the excerpt. the reader could visualize the description given. the reader could set his or her own pace and reread parts for clarity. the reader could hear the sounds of the political protest.

Read this passage: many manufacturers prefer plastic as a material for containers because it can be molded into many shapes. but plastic is not very strong. it must be fused with glass or steel for strength. it is also not very durable. even the strongest plastic can break under enough pressure. the biggest disadvantage to using plastic is that it does not decompose. while plastic can be recycled, doing so is tedious and difficult. while it may be more expensive and difficult to work with, aluminum is a much stronger building material with far greater tensile strength. it conducts electricity because it is metal. best of all, aluminum is very easy to recycle. even if it is thrown away, it decomposes much more quickly than most manufacturing materials. how does the compare-and-contrast organizational pattern of the passage support the author's purpose? a. the passage gradually leads up to the point about decomposition to inform the reader about the importance of recycling plastics. b. the passage lists the advantages and disadvantages of each material to make a case for the use of plastic and not aluminum in containers. c. the passage begins with a description of plastic's problems in order to call attention to the good qualities of aluminum. d. the passage shows the superiority of aluminum in order to make a case for the production of stronger plastics.

Which statement best describes the effect of the metaphor on the excerpt's meaning? o a. it compares the sloshing liquid to a river of water able to push apart the sidewalk o b. it makes the frozen crystals seem like friends to the city to contrast with what a deceitful foe they are. o c. it compares the frozen crystals to delicately lacy snowflakes having arn unexpected strength o d. it likens h20 molecules to hexagonal crystals, which are actually larger than people imagine.