Young Abraham Lincoln lives on a farm. He knows learning is important. He works hard to learn reading and math. He has to teach himself. It is difficult to get books and paper. He practices math problems on a board. He cleans the board with a knife. Then he uses it again. He practices reading with the Bible. He copies sentences from it. Sometimes he walks for many miles to borrow a book. What is the main idea of the story?

A.
People who live on farms don't go to school. Abraham Lincoln has to teach himself.
B.
Abraham Lincoln thinks learning is very important and works hard to teach himself.
C.
Abraham doesn't like to practice math problems on paper. He uses a board. He cleans the board with a knife.

Read the excerpt from the poem "growing up italian" by maria mazziotti gillan and answer the question that follows. when i was a little girl, i thought everyone was italian, and that was good. we visted our aunts and uncles, and they visted us. the italian language smooth and sweet in my mouth. in kindergarten, english words fell on me, thick and sharp as hail. i grew silent, the italian word balanced on the edge of my tongue and the english word, lost during the first moment of every question. source: gillan, maria mazziotti. "growing up italian." poetrymagazine.com. poetry magazine, n.d. web. 30 mar. 2011. what is the tone of this poem? what does the tone reveal about the speaker of the poem and the conflict she faces? based on this excerpt, what can you predict about the theme of the poem?