Starting in the fifteenth century, leaders in China and Japan decided to cut off contact with other countries. Which was not a reason for doing this? They feared European nations might someday threaten their rule. They feared European nations would see how poor and underdeveloped the Chinese and Japanese civilizations were. They feared their people would no longer be self-sufficient and would rely on trade with foreigners. They feared outsiders wanted to change their traditional practices and beliefs. PLZ HELP ME NOW

What word best describes the tone of this excerpt from "the fall of the house of usher" by edgar allan poe? i looked upon the scene before me—upon the mere house, and the simple landscape features of the domain—upon the bleak walls—upon the vacant eye-like windows—upon a few rank sedges—and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees—with an utter depression of soul which i can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the after-dream of the reveller upon opium—the bitter lapse into everyday life—the hideous dropping off of the veil. there was an iciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart—an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. what was it—i paused to think—what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the house of usher? it was a mystery all insoluble; nor could i grapple with the shadowy fancies that crowded upon me as i pondered. i was forced to fall back upon the unsatisfactory conclusion, that while, beyond doubt, there are combinations of very simple natural objects which have the power of thus affecting us, still the analysis of this power lies among considerations beyond our depth. it was possible, i reflected, that a mere different arrangement of the particulars of the scene, of the details of the picture, would be sufficient to modify, or perhaps to annihilate its capacity for sorrowful impression; and, acting upon this idea, i reined my horse to the precipitous brink of a black and lurid tarn that lay in unruffled lustre by the dwelling, and gazed down—but with a shudder even more thrilling than before—upon the remodelled and inverted images of the gray sedge, and the ghastly tree-stems, and the vacant and eye-like windows. admiration terror hope discovery loss

Why did the crew of the zong ship throw some captive africans overboard? a. there was not enough space in the ship. b. the captives’ deaths were covered by insurance. c. the ship did not have adequate food. d. the ship did not have sufficient crew to care for the sick captives. e. the african captives rebelled against the crew.

What does the term “escalation” refer to?