Read the following excerpt from “The Gift of the Magi” and answer the question.For there lay The Combs--the set of combs, side and back, that Della had worshipped long in a Broadway window. Beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jewelled rims--just the shade to wear in the beautiful vanished hair. They were expensive combs, she knew, and her heart had simply craved and yearned over them without the least hope of possession. And now, they were hers, but the tresses that should have adorned the coveted adornments were gone.

But she hugged them to her bosom, and at length she was able to look up with dim eyes and a smile and say: "My hair grows so fast, Jim! And them Della leaped up like a little singed cat and cried, "Oh, oh!" Jim had not yet seen his beautiful present. She held it out to him eagerly upon her open palm. The dull precious metal seemed to flash with a reflection of her bright and ardent spirit."Isn't it a dandy, Jim? I hunted all over town to find it. You'll have to look at the time a hundred times a day now. Give me your watch. I want to see how it looks on it."

Instead of obeying, Jim tumbled down on the couch and put his hands under the back of his head and smiled."Della," said he, "let's put our Christmas presents away and keep 'em a while. They're too nice to use just at present. I sold the watch to get the money to buy your combs. And now suppose you put the chops on."

The magi, as you know, were wise men--wonderfully wise men--who brought gifts to the Babe in the manger. They invented the art of giving Christmas presents. Being wise, their gifts were no doubt wise ones, possibly bearing the privilege of exchange in case of duplication. 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. But in a last word to the wise of these days let it be said that of all who give gifts these two were the wisest. O all who give and receive gifts, such as they are wisest. Everywhere they are wisest. They are the magi.

Based on the context clues, the underlined word, ardent, most likely means?

-calm
-innocent
-gloomy
-passionate

A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous, not knowing he would be woken in a few hours' time by Mrs. Dursley's scream as she opened the front door to put out the milk bottles, nor that he would spend the next few weeks being prodded and pinched by his cousin Dudley. . . . He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: "To Harry Potter—the boy who lived!"Source: Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. New York: Scholastic Inc., 1997. 21. Print.



The excerpt above is from page 21 of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling. Which passage represents a correctly integrated quotation from the excerpt above?

A.
A wind sweeps gently over the trimmed hedges of Privet Drive, which liess quiet and neat under the dark sky, not a place where one would expect anything out of the ordinary to occur (Rowling 21).
B.
The Harry Potter books are so entertaining because they paint a picture of a world in which we all want to live. We all long to find that extraordinary secret that will reveal our own special quality. Like little infant Potter waiting outside his aunt and uncle's house (Rowling 21), it's just a matter of time until we find that we are, after all, special.
C.
Harry Potter lies outside his aunt and uncle's house, unaware that his life has changed forever (Rowling 21). He lies "not knowing he [is] special, not knowing he [is] famous . . ." (Rowling 21).
D.
Rowling builds a sympathetic protagonist with Harry Potter from the beginning of the series. In one of his first scenes in the first book, the infant Potter lies on a doorstep "not knowing he [is] special, not knowing he [is] famous . . ." (Rowling 21). We are told that not only is this boy surely unique and worthy, but that he would have a truly ordinary childhood—just like the rest of us.

What is diction? A The word choices an author makes

B The theme choices an author makes

C The plot choices an author makes

D The character choices an author makes

11. What is a group of words that begins with a preposition and ends with an object? A. Adverbial phrase B. Prepositional phrase C. Dependent clause D. Prepositional relationship

Identify the type of error in the sentence.Sliding down the hill, my arm was broken.
definition structure
explanation structure
parallel structure
dangling construction

Choose the sentence that is punctuated correctly. (Points : 3) The works of Picasso, see reproductions on pages 122–128, marked a turning point in painting. The works of Picasso (See reproductions on pages 122–128.) marked a turning point in painting. The works of Picasso—see reproductions on pages 122–128—marked a turning point in painting. The works of Picasso (see reproductions on pages 122–128) marked a turning point in painting.

Time changes everything. plot or theme