Avoid unnecessary in verb tense at either the sentence or paragraph level.

Read the excerpt from act 1, scene 3, of julius caesar. cassius. am i not stayed for? tell me. cinna. yes, you are. o cassius, if you could but win the noble brutus to our party— cassius. be you content. good cinna, take this paper and look you lay it in the praetor’s chair, where brutus may but find it. and throw this in at his window. set this up with wax upon old brutus’ statue. all this done, repair to pompey’s porch, where you shall find us. is decius brutus and trebonius there? cinna. all but metellus cimber, and he’s gone to seek you at your house. well, i will hie, and so bestow these papers as you bade me. cassius. that done, repair to pompey’s theatre. what is cassius’s motivation for sending brutus the letter? cassius wants to make sure that cinna is on his side. cassius wants to reassure cinna that brutus will follow them. cassius wants to sway brutus to kill caesar. cassius wants to alert brutus about the conspiracy against him.

Read this passage: many manufacturers prefer plastic as a material for containers because it can be molded into many shapes. but plastic is not very strong. it must be fused with glass or steel for strength. it is also not very durable. even the strongest plastic can break under enough pressure. the biggest disadvantage to using plastic is that it does not decompose. while plastic can be recycled, doing so is tedious and difficult. while it may be more expensive and difficult to work with, aluminum is a much stronger building material with far greater tensile strength. it conducts electricity because it is metal. best of all, aluminum is very easy to recycle. even if it is thrown away, it decomposes much more quickly than most manufacturing materials. how does the compare-and-contrast organizational pattern of the passage support the author's purpose? a. the passage gradually leads up to the point about decomposition to inform the reader about the importance of recycling plastics. b. the passage lists the advantages and disadvantages of each material to make a case for the use of plastic and not aluminum in containers. c. the passage begins with a description of plastic's problems in order to call attention to the good qualities of aluminum. d. the passage shows the superiority of aluminum in order to make a case for the production of stronger plastics.

"as joseph sat in history class, he was aware that the teacher was talking, but instead of paying attention, he doodled in his notebook." this is an example of a. listening b. hearing c. talking d. understanding