What connotation does the word clean have in this passage? It has a mostly positive connotation.

It has a mostly negative connotation.

It has a mostly neutral connotation.

It has only a denotation, no connotation.

Part B

Which words or phrases from the context best support your answer to Part A?

“You are your own person,” “break”

“educable child,” “welcome you”

“studies,” “educational reform”

“brief,” “frozen smile"

Read this section from Red Scarf Girl to analyze the use of connotations and answer the follow-up questions.

“As I told you before, you are your own person. If you want to make a clean break with your black family, then you can be an educable child and we will welcome you to our revolutionary ranks. He gave Chairman Jin a look, and Chairman Jin chimed in, “That’s right, we welcome you.”

“Jiang Ji-li has always done well at school. In addition to doing very well in her studies, she participates in educational reform,” Teacher Zhang added.

“That’s very good. We knew that you had more sense than to follow your father,” Thin-Face said with a brief, frozen smile.