Survival stories keep the reader coming back for more by t. herlinger there is nothing like a good survival tale, especially one where the hero or heroine has to use cleverness and intelligence to make it through. my favorites as i was growing up were stories like my side of the mountain, by jean craighead george, about a boy who gets lost in the catskill mountains and has to live off the land. when the weeks go by and he hasn't been rescued, the boy even carves out an old tree trunk to use as shelter. i was enthralled by how he learns to use the natural world around him to survive. the long winter, by laura ingalls wilder, is another gripping story of survival. no one who's read the book could possibly forget the part where there's a blizzard and they have to brave sub-zero temperatures and blinding snow in order to feed their animals. before the storm, the father had strung a rope from the house to the barn, and that's what they use to reach the animals when they can't see a thing in the snow. i was amazed at the characters' ability to make the best with what they had, and to come up with clever solutions to impossible situations like the blizzard. what is it about these stories that made me read them over and over? i've never been to the dakotas, where the wilder book is set, and i've only driven through the catskills. yet something about these stories is universal. they are about survival, which everyone can relate to on some level. they are also about ordinary people who find themselves in difficult circumstances. we can all relate to that, too. but what keeps me and countless others coming back to the books is that incredible feeling of joy when the character triumphs over nature and survives in spite of the odds. it always makes me want to stand up and cheer. i find these books to be sources of comfort, as well. they tell me that if i were ever to get into such life-and-death circumstances, i could depend on my own wits and intelligence to get me through. 6 how does the author share his or her opinion in this selection? a. by providing the facts of what happens in two survival stories b. by telling why he or she enjoyed two particular survival stories c. by giving general information about what takes place in survival stories d. by stating that most people generally love a good survival story

Select the correct text in the passage

Which detail should most likely be cited in a historical criticism of a literary work ? the author's use of dialogue in the literary work the impact the literary work has on modern audiences the popular cultural trends of the time when the work was written the audience that the literary work is likely to reach in the future

2. read the excerpt from martin luther king, jr.'s nobel peace prize acceptance speech: i accept this award today with an abiding faith in america and an audacious faith in the future of mankind. i refuse to accept despair as the final response to the ambiguities of history. i refuse to accept the idea that the "isness" of man's present nature makes him morally incapable of reaching up for the eternal "oughtness" that forever confronts him. i refuse to accept the idea that man is mere flotsam and jetsam in the river of life, unable to influence the unfolding events which surround him. i refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality. i refuse to accept the cynical notion that nation after nation must spiral down a militaristic stairway into the hell of thermonuclear destruction. i believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. this is why right temporarily defeated is stronger than evil triumphant. i believe that even amid today's mortar bursts and whining bullets, there is still hope for a brighter tomorrow. i believe that wounded justice, lying prostrate on the blood-flowing streets of our nations, can be lifted from this dust of shame to reign supreme among the children of men. i have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits. i believe that what self-centered men have torn down other-centered men can build up. i still believe that one day mankind will bow before the altars of god and be crowned triumphant over war and bloodshed, and nonviolent redemptive good will proclaim the rule of the land. "and the lion and the lamb shall lie down together and every man shall sit under his own vine and fig tree and none shall be afraid." i still believe that we shall overcome! instructions: create an outline for a speech that connects a theme from this excerpt to your own life. in the first part of the outline, organize an explanation of what king's theme means. in the second part of the outline, organize your explanation of how this theme connects to at least one event from your life. the first and second parts of your outline do not need to be of equal length. throughout the outline, be sure to cite or describe specific evidence from the text or from your personal experiences. also, organize ideas appropriately, develop your argument with relevant information, and provide a concluding section. (15 points)