Read this excerpt from The People Could Fly.

But for now, he [Jim] was a slave. Not far from the big house of the slaveowner was a pond. Jim liked to sit beside it and think. Someone had told him that animals used to talk. And Jim dreamed that someday some animal would talk to him and tell him how to get his freedom. . . .

. . . And he thought one day that if he let his owner meet the cooter, he might get his freedom that way. After all, a talkin cooter was a wonderful thing to hear.

Which statement best describes Jim’s viewpoint in the story?

a. He is doubtful that he will ever live as a free man.
b. He believes that his owner is a fair and honest person.
c. He thinks that the cooter is trying to deceive him.
d. He is hopeful that he will eventually escape slavery.

Read the passage from sugar changed the world. but it is in india, where it was used as an offering in religious and magical ceremonies, that we have the first written record of sugar. long before the first pyramids were built in egypt, the ancient sumerians traded with the people of harappa and mohenjo daro, who lived along the indus river. unfortunately, we are still not able to read the writings left behind from those ancient cities. so the first documents telling us about life in that region come from a much later period. these hindu sacred teachings were probably first gathered together sometime between 1500 and 900 b.c., and were carefully memorized. only hundreds of years later were they finally written down. the hindu writings tell us of a religion in which fire was extremely important. people believed that the gods gave fire to human beings. yet fire was also a way for humans to reach the gods. by placing offerings in a special fire, a priest could turn them into smoke and send them on to the gods. five ingredients were selected for this special burning: milk, cheese, butter, honey, and sugar cane. which details would best fit in a summary of this passage? select two options. "in india . . it was used as an offering in religious and magical ceremonies" "the first written record of sugar" "long before the first pyramids were built in egypt" "gods gave fire to human beings" "a priest could turn them into smoke and send them on to the gods"