Which excerpt best represents the central conflict of “The Gift of the Magi”? “Jim looked about the room curiously. "You say your hair is gone?" he said, with an air almost of idiocy.”

“Tomorrow would be Christmas Day, and she had only $1.87 with which to buy Jim a present.”

“And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house.”

“Poor fellow, he was only twenty-two--and to be burdened with a family! He needed a new overcoat and he was without gloves.”

The best answer would be:

“And here I have lamely related to you the uneventful chronicle of two foolish children in a flat who most unwisely sacrificed for each other the greatest treasures of their house.”

ankara s dndkslqnebd

21 balloons is the story of professor william sherman's travels.

in 1883, he set off from san francisco for a balloon ride over the pacific and was found a month later floating with 21 balloons in the atlantic ocean. this seemed an astounding feat and everyone wanted to know what had happened.    

professor sherman was loyal, however, and said he would tell his tale first to the western american explorers club in san francisco, of which he was a member. this built up suspense for several chapters before he began to tell of the wonders of his adventures and the amazing island of krakatoa, an island which had just been blown up by a volcano.  

the residents of krakatoa are all millionaires who live under a "gourmet government" of their own devising. we get to see all the incredible adventures that creative people with unlimited resources would create according to the author.