According to Edward Hirsch, which of the following words best describes the house by the railroad?
a. Old
b. Ashamed
c. Giant
d. Grand

b. Ashamed

Explanation:

Inspired by Edward Hopper's painting, "the House by the Railroad" (1925), Edward Hirsch wrote a poem "Edward Hopper and the House by the Railroad."

In his poem, Hirsch describes the house as having the expression of a person experiencing discomfort while being stared at. He characterizes the house as ashamed:

"This house is ashamed of itself, ashamed

Of its fantastic mansard rooftop

And its pseudo-Gothic porch, ashamed

of its shoulders and large, awkward hands."

The house is all empty, there are no trees around it, no trains pass by it, and the author assumes that the house probably did something bad to its  residents to deserve such treatment.

the sentence does not violate the phrase structure second rule (introduced by noam chomsky) because noun phrases consist of a determiner such as a, the or every, and a noun. in the sentence, the noun phrase the cake includes a determiner (the) and a noun (cake).

on the other hand, the first rule indicates that a sentence encloses a noun phrase, followed by a verb phrase. the example sentence can be analysed as follows:

john (n) + ate (v) + the (det) + cake (n).