Sasha stood in the middle of the desert with blood-stained hands. The sand stretched for miles like the ocean, and only the soft howl of wind could be heard. He wondered if the desert heard his shrieks and
wounded outcries. The remnants of the helicopter were nowhere to be seen. Sasha wondered how he could
have been flung so far away from the machine that had carried him earlier. For Sasha, the sky was just a
view, and the earth was just a runway—until now. The desert was real. It had crater-like holes and waves.
There was not a single hint of green as far as bare human eyes could see.
The sun was piercing right through Sasha's bruises and cuts. Grains of sand were competing to stick to
his naked wounds. Waves of sand rearranged themselves. Finally, Sasha saw a big black metallic rod near
the horizon. He knew which direction he was supposed to walk, but he did not know if he would make it
that far.
7. How does the setting affect the theme of the passage?
A. Being separated from the helicopter causes Sasha to invent his escape.
B. Being stranded in the desert causes Sasha to struggle with nature.
C. Sasha's journey is more difficult because it takes place at sunrise.
D. The absence of other human beings makes Sasha think about life.

Preparing for a group discussion the first step in participating in a group discussion is to understand the purpose and process of a group discussion. your approach to a group discussion will differ from other assignments, such as writing a research paper. read through the discussion guidelines to understand how you should prepare for a group discussion assignment. your discussion process for this task, you’ll need to work as part of a group of three or four students who can meet together for a face-to-face or virtual discussion. your teacher will identify a process for this task that fits your learning situation. for instance, if you’re working primarily on your own in this course with no on-site classmates (self-paced course), the process will be a little different than if you are learning with at least two other students in the same building and on the same schedule (group-paced course). discussions in those two cases are outlined below. group-paced course the teacher organizes groups or enables students to self-organize. in the discussion session, students take turns presenting their thesis and then discussing each thesis with the group. one student (not the presenter) acts as a discussion facilitator. the discussion will be a round-robin, rotating the presenter and facilitator roles for each thesis. plan to spend at least 15 minutes to present and discuss each thesis. refer to the discussion summary below. you will want to take brief notes during the discussion so that you can easily complete the discussion summary afterwards. self-paced course you will find at least two people to participate in this discussion with you. they could be classmates from other courses, friends, or siblings. they should be roughly your age, if possible, so you can have a thoughtful discussion with peers. you will set a time and place for the discussion and share the discussion guidelines for them to read prior to the discussion. you will be the only presenter for this discussion. you will also play the role of facilitator. you will present your thesis and then discuss it with your group. your invited group members are only required to be active, thinking participants. except for reading through the discussion guidelines ahead of time, they do not have to prepare for the discussion beforehand or do any follow-up afterwards. since you will be presenting and facilitating during the discussion, you may want to ask one of the participants to take brief notes for you on key points that come up during the discussion. these notes will you compose your discussion summary below. since there is only one thesis to discuss, plan to spend at least 30 minutes presenting and discussing your thesis. here is an outline of the whole process for this task: 1. you will formulate a thesis and outline a set of points that support your thesis. this may include some initial research. 2. depending upon your learning situation, you may need to organize the discussion group, place, and time. 3. read the discussion guidelines for how to conduct, facilitate, or participate constructively in a discussion with your peers. 4. the group meets to discuss the theses for your learning situation: the discussions should be fair, democratic, and orderly. each member of the group should have an opportunity to express their views; all members should actively contribute to the discussion. group members should show respect for others' views and make their points politely. the goal of the discussion is to gather opposing viewpoints and additional perspectives that would support or oppose your thesis. each participant should come to the discussion prepared to the presenter deepen the understanding of the topic. 5. after you've discussed your thesis, you will complete the discussion summary section below and submit it to your teacher. leading a discussion be sure that all the participants have read the discussion guidelines before beginning your discussion. with three or four peers, start the discussion by presenting your thoughts and findings from your research. present a question to the group to begin the discussion. allow your group to ask you follow-up questions. using an audio recording tool, record the questions your team asks as well as your response to these questions. finally, consider how the discussion changed or influenced your initial research and thoughts about the discussion questions. you will submit your responses to the questions asked in the discussion summary. use your notes from your research and your discussion to you complete the summary. discussion summary part a using an audio recording tool, record the names of the discussion participants below. if you organized the discussion, using an audio recording tool, record how you know each person and summarize how you chose and invited the participants and how you organized the time and place for the discussion.

Which character in this excerpt is in conflict with society, and why? joe summers is in conflict with society because he is joking with the villagers. old man warner is in conflict with society because he believes that young folks have crazy ideas. mrs. adams is in conflict with society because she says some villages have stopped holding lotteries. mr. adams is in conflict with society because he is standing with the villager who represents society's old ways.

Geoffrey is writing a paper investigating friendly-fire incidents in recent us military actions. which paragraph topic would be relevant to his paper and would therefore merit inclusion in his final draft? a) a paragraph criticizing us military actions in the viet nam war b) a paragraph discussing how friendly-fire incidents are investigated c) a paragraph describing what basic boot camp is like for a new army enlistee eliminate d) a paragraph discussing how hard an extended military service can be on a family