What is mainly the effect of including the phrase “A Ballad of the Republic” in the title? a
It shows that the poem is a political poem.
b
It claims that the story of Casey well-known throughout the country before the poem was published.
c
It identifies Mudville was a famous site for a battle during the Civil War.
d
It suggests the stakes of this game feel as great as a war battle.

The major was a little man with upturned mustaches. he had been in the war in libya and wore two wound-stripes. he said that if the thing went well he would see that i was decorated. i said i hoped it would go well but that he was too kind. i asked him if there was a big dugout where the drivers could stay and he sent a soldier to show me. i went with him and found the dugout, which was very good. the drivers were with it and i left them there. what effect does hemingway’s limited use of adjectives have? it slows down the narration by interrupting the action. it makes the few descriptive words he does use more vivid and forceful. it makes the narrator seem powerless and insincere. it prevents the readers from filling in the details with their own experiences.

(20 points) passage: this year will be a record-breaking year for storms 1it looks like 2012 will be a year for the record books. thunderstorms, hurricanes, and tornadoes have increased across the country. the storms' high winds and heavy rains are making history. early tornado and hurricane seasons 2in march, not usually a busy month for tornadoes, the south and midwest had a large number of twisters. warm weather made conditions ripe for the creation of tornadoes. on some days, twisters dropped from the sky by the dozen. 3hurricane season also came early. two tropical storms hit the southeast in may. two more strong storms followed in june. severe thunderstorms 4many states that have escaped tornadoes and hurricanes have had severe thunderstorms. these giant storms dumped several inches of rain and caused flooding across the northeast and midwest. 5the end of hurricane season is months away, and this year's storm count and rainfall amounts could leave 2011 in the dust. forecasters say the wet, windy weather might stick around until fall. labor day parade rained out 6there is no joy in green town, where the annual labor day parade was called off because of heavy rain. the town's mayor says the parade hasn't been rained out in fifty years. 7a strong band of thunderstorms hit green town on sunday. more than two inches of rain fell each hour. by monday morning, main street looked more like a creek than a parade route. mayor nora bell said she had to call off the parade. "the heavy rains have created a serious safety issue in green town," she said. 8the loss of the labor day parade is green town's second disappointment this summer. in may, the memorial day parade was also called off because of rain. "this must be one of the wettest summers in history," mayor bell said. 9according to the national weather service, mayor bell is right. this summer will break rainfall records in green town and across the country. question: who would obtain the most useful information from the passage? a) someone planning a holiday picnic. b) someone interested in documenting annual meteorological patterns. c) an advocate for the green town labor day parade. d) someone who wishes to do research on the alleged truth of the "global warming" phenomenon.

Read the excerpt from the odyssey. then, his chores being all dispatched, he caught another brace of men to make his breakfast, and whisked away his great door slab to let his sheep go through—but he, behind, reset the stone as one would cap a quiver. the use of the epic simile in this excerpt readers understand that— they cyclops has eaten another bunch of odysseus men. odysseus and his men are still trapped inside the cave. the enormous stone is easily and routinely moved my the giant cyclops the cyclops takes his sheep out to pasture with him in the mornings