Read the excerpt from Julius Caesar in Act IV. Cassius: …I that denied thee gold will give my heart. Strike as thou didst at Caesar.

Brutus: (Suddenly melting, he says gently,) Sheathe your dagger. (He pushes the weapon back to Cassius.) Be angry when you will. Do what you will.

(He puts his hand to his head.) O Cassius, I am sick of many griefs. (He gives a great sigh.) Portia is dead.

Cassius: (Shocked) Portia? (With wonder) How escaped I killing when I crossed you so?

Brutus: (Bravely) Speak no more of her. (His servant Lucius brings in a tray with wine, two bowls, a book, and a lighted candle.) Give me a bowl of wine. (He and Cassius raise bowls and toast each other.) In this I bury all unkindness, Cassius.

Based on the excerpt, what effect does Portia's death have on Brutus?

A) Brutus loses his temper more easily with Cassius.

B) Brutus realizes that arguing with Cassius is unimportant.

C) Brutus is more concerned with with how Cassius treats him.

D) Brutus is no longer strong enough to stand up to Cassius.

a

explanation:

faith or loyalty when pledged in a solemn agreement or undertaking.

in the short story the slip-over sweater by jesse stuart, the main character and narrator shan is friends with grace, an intelligent girl he has known since childhood and with whom he used to be in love.

at the beginning of the story, shan believes he’s no longer in love with grace, but loves jo-anne instead. in order to buy a slip-over sweater and have jo-anne wear it so that the other students would know she loved him too, shan takes a loan at the bank.

while jo-anne is wearing shan’s sweater, his friend grace starts to wear another popular boy’s one, roy’s sweater. because of that, the other students begin to pay attention to grace and compliment her perseverance and effort. they admire her for walking 5 miles to school every day, despite the weather, and still getting the best grades. shan, who knows all of that for a fact, says, as the narrator, ‘and i knew she had the durability and the toughness of a storm-battered mountain oak.’ he compares his friend’s strength – not only physical, but also of character – to an oak tree, whose wood is known for being sturdy.

as the story goes on, shan changes his behavior out of concern for the debt he has to pay at the bank. his new girlfriend jo-anne never asks him what is wrong nor offers any sort of . instead, she breaks up with shan for not being as fun as she thought he was supposed to be. grace, however, not only asks about shan’s problem, but him make the money he needs. shan can’t but notice how different the girls are and what a wonderful person grace is.   even though he used to find jo-anne prettier at the beginning of the story, he now says, ‘grace was as beautiful as our mountain was in april, prettier than a blossom of wild phlox or a mountain daisy.’ his comparing grace to a mountain or something that exists on a mountain (such as a mountain oak or daisy) certainly has important meaning since shan loves the mountain and everything about it and he knows the mountain thoroughly. shan also loves and knows grace as completely as he does the mountain.