Read the excerpt from The Land. "Cassie, you know 'bout Mitchell?" I asked her. "Course I know about Mitchell," she answered. "Why're you letting him beat up on you?" "I'm not letting him!" I exclaimed in outrage. "You thinking I'm liking him beating up on me?" "Well, if you're not, you'd better make him stop." "Well, I'm trying." "Well, you'd better try harder." "I've tried fighting back, but he's too strong. Thing is, I don't know how to stop him." This excerpt demonstrates a character vs. self conflict because Paul describes his personal struggle with how to handle Mitchell. his struggle to get Cassie to help him with Mitchell. his conversation with Cassie about handling Mitchell. his interactions with both Cassie and Mitchell.

Read the following excerpt from "the city without us" by alan weisman: almost every other compound in nature contracts when frozen, but h20 (water) molecules do the opposite, organizing themselves into elegant hexagonal crystals that take up about 9 percent more space than they did when sloshing around in a liquid state. pretty six-sided crystals suggest snowflakes so gossamer it's hard to conceive of them pushing apart slabs of sidewalk. which statement best describes the effect of the metaphor on the excerpt's meaning? o a. it likens h2o molecules to hexagonal crystals, which are actually larger than people imagine. 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 sloshing liquid to a river of water able to push apart the sidewalk o d. it compares the frozen crystals to delicately lacy snowflakes having an unexpected strength (apex)