Excerpt from The Secret Garden, Chapter 2 (excerpt)
Frances Hodgson Burnett

1 Mary had liked to look at her mother from a distance and she had thought her very pretty, but as she knew very little of her she could scarcely have been expected to love her or to miss her very much when she was gone. She did not miss her at all, in fact, and as she was a self-absorbed child she gave her entire thought to herself, as she had always done.

2 If she had been older she would no doubt have been very anxious at being left alone in the world, but she was very young, and as she had always been taken care of, she supposed she always would be. What she thought was that she would like to know if she was going to nice people, who would be polite to her and give her her own way as her Ayah and the other native servants had done.
Which words in paragraph 1 helped you determine the meaning of "self-absorbed"?

A) "she knew very little of her"
B) "she did not miss her at all, in fact"
C) "she gave her entire thought to herself"
D) "she could scarcely been expected to love her"

Read the following excerpts that illustrate darl's and cash's points of view from william faulkner's as i lay dying : from darl: read the following excerpts that illustrate darl's and cash's points of view from william faulkner's  as i lay dying: from darl: tull's wagon stands beside the spring, hitched to the rail, the reins wrapped about the seat stanchion. in the wagon bed are two chairs. jewel stops at the spring and takes the gourd from the willow branch and drinks. i pass him and mount the path, beginning to hear cash's saw.when i reach the top he has quit sawing. standing in a litter of chips, he is fitting two of the boards together. between the shadow spaces they are yellow as gold, like soft gold, bearing on their flanks in smooth undulations the marks of the adze blade: a good carpenter, cash is. he holds the two planks on the trestle, fitted along the edges in a quarter of the finished box. he kneels and squints along the edge of them, then he lowers them and takes up the adze. a good carpenter. addie bundren could not want a better one, better box to lie in. it will give her confidence and comfort. i go on to the house, followed by the          chuck.          chuck.          chuck.of the adze.from cash: i made it on the bevel.there is more surface for the nails to grip.there is twice the gripping-surface to each seam.the water will have to seep into it on a slant. water moves easiest up and down or straight across.in a house people are upright two thirds of the time. so the seams and joints are made up-and-down. because the stress is up-and-down.in a bed where people lie down all the time, the joints and seams are made sideways, because the stress is sideways.except.a body is not square like a crosstie.animal magnetism.the animal magnetism of a dead body makes the stress come slanting, so the seams and joints of a coffin are made on a bevel.compare how the two narrators tell the story of addie bundren's impending death. is either narrator reliable? explain what the reader learns about each narrator. be sure to use specific details from the text to support your answer.

Which passage from the story best shows the author's use of surprise to advance the story? a. 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 b. "oh, god", he thought, "what a strenuous career it is that i've chosen! travelling day in and day out." c. and he looked over at the alarm clock, ticking on the chest of drawers. "god in heaven! " he thought. it was half past six and the hands were quietly moving forwards, it was even later than half past, more like quarter to seven. d. one morning, when gregor samsa woke from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a horrible vermin. submit

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