For the past six months, thomas had seen no sunrise, only ice.  the horizon diminished between the gray sky and the packed floes.  the cold and accompanying numbness made thomas forget what it was like to have fingers and toes.  how does one live a half a year without feeling one’s fingertips?   he asked himself one morning.  his mates were all skin and bones, pitiful scarecrows and starving wretches.  they trudged through their work in a mindless haze.  exhaustion set in their bones like steel rebar in concrete.
          “no rest for the wicked,” one would say.  “i’ll sleep when i’m dead,” the others responded.  shackleton would not let them rest.  he drove them onward, giving them daily chores, tasks.  they worked. they worked through meals, which was fine because there was almost nothing to eat.  where they came up with the energy to make it through day after day no one knew.  the weakest of them had succumbed to frostbite and illness. 
          above everything was the howling wind, mocking them.  nevertheless, thomas kept to his tasks:   walking dogs through blizzards, hunting walrus or seal, digging shelters out of thin ice.  the chores seemed to melt together into one long tirade of effort.  there was nothing else to do.  the alternative was unthinkable.
          his determination clung to the darkness like a broken tree to the face of a cliff, teetering on the barest of footholds.  but, it was there, and every day brought thomas closer to rescue. every burning muscle, every missed meal, was a moment in the past, and a moment towards the future, and the sunrise, like the warmth of a kitchen fire.
4
which of the statements below  best  describes the overall theme of the passage?
  a. 
cold weather can make life difficult for starving people.
  b. 
a person's determination can go beyond all measure.
  c. 
friendship between members of a group is important.

Malcolm x's attitude towards the dictionary could best be described as a) apathetic b) dumbfounded c) awestruck d) disinterested

An expository essay instructs, provides information, or explains. in this essay, you are presenting information and explaining why you think the ideas and work of the individual you chose had an effect on european thought. but before you begin writing the essay, you need to organize the information you’ve gathered by creating an outline. directions: your taking notes sheet should have you identify and organize the information you found while doing your research. now it is time to create an outline to organize the information in the way you will present it in your essay. you may decide not to use all the information you gathered, but be sure you do not leave out anything that you believe is important to support your thesis. your essay should include an introductory paragraph, supporting paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph. each paragraph should cover one main topic and should correspond to a roman numeral (i., ii., iii.) on the outline. the main topics should cover: the person’s accomplishment and contributions, and the effect of his or her accomplishments or contributions on european thought. write a topic sentence for each paragraph of your essay. be sure it tells the reader what the section will be about and how the information relates to your thesis statement. your topic sentence for the introductory paragraph might say something like “johannes gutenberg’s invention changed the way people communicated.” a topic sentence for the second paragraph—the first main topic—might be something like "gutenberg’s printing press changed the way books were produced and the way knowledge was communicated.” decide which pieces of information you will use to support your topic sentences. (these ideas or groups of facts are called subtopics.) subtopics follow capital letters and periods (a., b., and c.) on your outline. add this information beneath your topic sentence. you can further divide subtopics into specific facts. in an outline, specific facts follow arabic numerals and periods (1. 2. 3. 4.) end your outline and essay with a concluding paragraph. write a concluding paragraph that summarizes the main ideas of your essay and restates your thesis statement in some way. write no more than four or five sentences. worth 241 points

According to the author, where can we find the answer to our nation’s “most pressing problem”? does that seem logical?