Read the excerpt from act 1, scene 1, of the tragedy of julius caesar and the background information on the allusion it contains. excerpt: [flavius.] see whether their basest mettle be not moved. they vanish tongue-tied in their guiltiness. go you down that way towards the capitol; this way will i. disrobe the images if you do find them decked with ceremonies. marullus. may we do so? you know it is the feast of lupercal. flavius. it is no matter; let no images be hung with caesar’s trophies. i’ll about, and drive away the vulgar from the streets: so do you too, where you perceive them thick. these growing feathers plucked from caesar’s wing will make him fly an ordinary pitch, who else would soar above the view of men, and keep us all in servile fearfulness. background information: in rome, february 15 was lupercalia, an annual festival celebrating the myth of the she-wolf that saved the lives of the infant twins romulus and remus. according to legend, the two boys became the founders of rome. the festival is also said to have celebrated the god who protected flocks from hungry wolves. this excerpt revolves around a cultural allusion. historical allusion. literary allusion. religious allusion.

The “big dig” the “big dig” (the central artery/tunnel project) has been complex and challenging. located in boston, massachusetts, this tunnel is eight lanes wide and three-and-a-half miles long. what is most amazing about this tunnel is that it is constructed under a major highway and skyscrapers located in boston’s financial district. construction crews used “clamshell excavators” during this dig. these machines carved narrow trenches, and then a special substance was pumped into the trench to keep the dirt from caving in. finally, steel beams were lowered into the trench and concrete was pumped in. one problem that engineers faced while constructing the tunnel is the fact that the soil beneath boston is extremely loose and soggy. engineers solved this dilemma by freezing the soil and pumping very cold water into pipes beneath the city. to strengthen the soil even further, a special type of glue was injected into the ground to with the consolidation of the soil. 23 which phrase best defines the word excavator as used in the passage? a. a device used to measure underground temperatures b. a device used to level uneven surfaces c. a device used to move heavy objects d. a device used to dig holes