The moment I had been looking for finally came after dinner. Dad went into the living room to finish his latest jigsaw puzzle, and I couldn’t ask for a better place to present my proposal. I plopped down beside him and picked up a puzzle piece. After fitting a couple of pieces into the puzzle, I finally gathered the courage to begin. “Hey, Dad?” I began.
“Hmmm?”
“I’ve been a good son, right? I mean, I make good grades, stay out of trouble, help out around the house. . . .”
Now he knew something was up. He put down his puzzle piece and peered at me from behind his glasses. “I guess so. . . .”
“Well, you see, I was wondering if you could maybe double my allowance?” I asked meekly. Upon seeing his frown, I rushed on. “You see, I really want to get an iPod, and I’m having a really hard time saving up for one with what you give me now.”
Dad sighed. Taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes, he said, “Son, you just got an MP3 player for your birthday. Why in the world do you need an iPod?”
“The MP3 player you got me isn’t as cool as the iPod, Dad. I know you just got it for me, but that’s why I want to save up for the iPod myself. I just need a little help from you.”
“Sorry, Mitch, I can’t. Money’s really tight for us right now.”
“But, Dad! It’s not fair. Ryan and Kyle get to have an iPod.”
“There are more important things in life than an iPod, Mitch. You’re lucky you have a roof over your head and food to fill your belly. You’re even luckier to have a family that loves you. That’s a lot more than I had growing up.”
Immediately, I felt ashamed. Dad doesn’t like to talk about his past, but he had told me about it once. Orphaned at age 6, he had moved from one foster home to another until, tired of it all, he had run away at age 16. Living on the streets was even worse, but he was too proud to go crawling back to foster care. It wasn’t until he met Mom that his life turned around.
1
Which of these sentences from the story most directly states one of its themes?
A.
"I plopped down beside him and picked up a puzzle piece."
B.
" 'There are more important things in life than an iPod, Mitch.' "
C.
" 'The MP3 player you got me isn't as cool as the iPod, Dad.' "

Excerpt from 100% - the story of a patriot upton sinclair 10 so peter walked along, with his belt drawn tight, and his restless blue eyes wandering here and there, looking for a place to get a meal. there were jobs to be had, but they were hard jobs, and peter wanted an easy one. there are people in this world who live by their muscles, and others who live by their wits; peter belonged to the latter class; and had missed many a meal rather than descend in the social scale. 11 peter looked into the faces of everyone he passed, searching for a possible opening. some returned his glance, but never for more than a second, for they saw an insignificant looking man, undersized, undernourished, and with one shoulder higher than the other, a weak chin and mouth, crooked teeth, and a brown moustache too feeble to hold itself up at the corners. peters' straw hat had many straws missing, his second-hand brown suit was become third-hand, and his shoes were turning over at the sides. in a city where everybody was "hustling," everybody, as they phrased it, "on the make," why should anyone take a second glance at peter gudge? why should anyone care about the restless soul hidden inside him, or dream that peter was, in his own obscure way, a sort of genius? no one did care; no one did dream. 12 it was about two o'clock of an afternoon in july, and the sun beat down upon the streets of american city. there were crowds upon the streets, and peter noticed that everywhere were flags and bunting. once or twice he heard the strains of distant music, and wondered what was "up." peter had not been reading the newspapers; all his attention bad been taken up by the quarrels of the smithers faction and the lunk faction in the first apostolic church, otherwise known as the holy rollers, and great events that had been happening in the world outside were of no concern to him. peter knew vaguely that on the other side of the world half a dozen mighty nations were locked together in a grip of death; the whole earth was shaken with their struggles, and peter had felt a bit of the trembling now and then. but peter did not know that his own country had anything to do with this european quarrel, and did not know that certain great interests throughout the country had set themselves to rouse the public to action. based on the author's characterization of peter in paragraphs 10, 11, and 12, which word best describes him? a) industrious b) loyal c) patriotic d) poor

Why was jefferson chosen as the primary writer of the declaration of independence?

Which sentence uses the word they’re correctly? a. how do they know that it’s they’re package? b. they’re going to the beach next weekend. c. which is they’re house? d. have you been they’re before? hurryyy