The earliest known villages in ancient egypt date back over 5,000 years. these villages became part of two kingdoms. one of these kingdoms controlled the villages on the nile delta. the other controlled the villages south of the delta. the delta area was known as lower egypt. the southern region was known as upper egypt.
egyptian civilization began about 3100 b. c. king menes, a king from upper egypt, conquered lower egypt. he then united the country and formed the world's first national government. king menes founded memphis as the capital. (this is near present-day cairo).
king menes also created the first egyptian dynasty. a dynasty is a series of rulers in the same family. over 30 dynasties ruled ancient egypt. the first two dynasties ruled for about 400 years. during this period the egyptians developed irrigation systems, plows, and a system of writing. the years of the third and fourth dynasties were known as the old kingdom, or the pyramid age. as the name suggests, this period was best known for the building of the great pyramids. by the time of the fifth dynasty, the king's power began to weaken. high priests and government officials fought for power. most of the next five dynasties had weak rulers.

which of the following lines best summarizes this passage?

a the 5,000 year history of ancient egypt can be traced from early villages to kingdoms to dynasties.

b the crowning achievement of ancient egypt was the great pyramids, which were built during the pyramid age.

c king menes, the first king of egypt, created the system of dynasties that lasted for many years.

d ancient egypt began 5,000 years ago, when early villages became kingdoms.

Read the excerpt from act 1 of a doll's house. helmer: nora! [goes up to her and takes her playfully by the ear.] the same little featherhead! suppose, now, that i borrowed fifty pounds today, and you spent it all in the christmas week, and then on new year's eve a slate fell on my head and killed me, and— nora: [putting her hands over his mouth]. oh! don't say such horrid things. helmer: still, suppose that happened, —what then? nora: if that were to happen, i don't suppose i should care whether i owed money or not. helmer: yes, but what about the people who had lent it? nora: they? who would bother about them? i should not know who they were. helmer: that is like a woman! but seriously, nora, you know what i think about that. no debt, no borrowing. there can be no freedom or beauty about a home life that depends on borrowing and debt. we two have kept bravely on the straight road so far, and we will go on the same way for the short time longer that there need be any struggle. nora: [moving towards the stove]. as you , torvald. how does the interaction between helmer and nora advance the plot? nora realizes that helmer will completely disapprove of her having borrowed money, so she has to continue to keep it a secret from him. nora realizes that she and helmer have the same ideas about financial issues, and the conversation brings them closer together later in the play. helmer realizes that nora is more responsible with money than he originally thought, and he trusts her more with finances later in the play. nora realizes that helmer knows a lot more about borrowing and lending, and she will seek his input later when she needs it.