Read this excerpt from a blog. I was alarmed to discover that local farmers are increasing their use of pesticides on wheat fields. While these chemicals help to get rid of the insects that damage the crops, they also cause great harm to butterfly and honey bee populations. These insects are a necessary part of our ecosystem because they spread pollen that allows our plants, flowers, and crops to grow.

Which sentence would help the author develop the claim that pesticides harm butterfly and honeybee populations?

Scientists believe that there are more than fifteen kinds of honeybees and twenty thousand species of butterflies in the world today.
A recent study found that butterfly and honeybee populations decreased by sixty percent in areas that used pesticides.
The chemicals found in pesticides can become absorbed into the soil and affect humans’ food and water supplies.
Farmers argue that today’s pesticides target only the insects that destroy wheat and corn crops.

That time of year thou mayst in me behold when yellow leaves, or none, or few do hang upon those boughs which shake against the cold, bare ruined choirs, where late the sweet birds sang in me thou sees the twilight of such day as after sunset fadeth in the west; which by and by black night doth take away, death's second self that seals up all in rest. in me thou seest the glowing of such fire that on the ashes of his youth doth lie, as the deathbed whereon it must expire, consumed with that which it was nourished by. this thou perceiv'st, which makes thy love more strong, to love that well, which thou must leave ere long. the first stanza compares the leafless limbs of a tree to a.yellow leaves b.sweet birds c.bare choirs d.summer

To become the mesmerizer’s subject, twain must displace hicks. twain presents himself as very different from hicks. based on this contrast, what does twain seem to value and admire in a person ?

Read this passage: many manufacturers prefer plastic as a material for containers because it can be molded into many shapes. but plastic is not very strong. it must be fused with glass or steel for strength. it is also not very durable. even the strongest plastic can break under enough pressure. the biggest disadvantage to using plastic is that it does not decompose. while plastic can be recycled, doing so is tedious and difficult. while it may be more expensive and difficult to work with, aluminum is a much stronger building material with far greater tensile strength. it conducts electricity because it is metal. best of all, aluminum is very easy to recycle. even if it is thrown away, it decomposes much more quickly than most manufacturing materials. how does the compare-and-contrast organizational pattern of the passage support the author's purpose? a. the passage gradually leads up to the point about decomposition to inform the reader about the importance of recycling plastics. b. the passage lists the advantages and disadvantages of each material to make a case for the use of plastic and not aluminum in containers. c. the passage begins with a description of plastic's problems in order to call attention to the good qualities of aluminum. d. the passage shows the superiority of aluminum in order to make a case for the production of stronger plastics.