Read the excerpt from "The Legacy of Billy Mason." "I told you I should have stayed home!" Billy protested plaintively. "I'm missing the first game of the playoffs, and my team really needs me!"

"I understand—" began his father.

"No, you don't understand," said Billy, "because you never cared about anything like I care about baseball, not in your whole life."

In the context of the story, the excerpt is ironic because Billy's father

is actually a very good baseball player.
named his son after a baseball player.
stayed away from the playoffs.
is more concerned about the family's vacation.

Which is the best topic sentence for this letter? a) amelia grady likes the middle school fundraiser. b) the basketball team at kennedy middle school enjoys its community. c) kennedy middle school wants to get the community involved in its activities. d) kennedy middle school has organized an event in which you may be interested.

Read the following passage "you're not here to read books, you're here to learn! " the childwrangler's voice screeched as we kept our picks moving rhythmically against the school walls. we had all heard about a time, back in the dark ages, when children read books at school. they say school was even a building above ground. but that was obviously dangerous. how could society thrive if all the children sat around reading all day? when would they have time to learn about veins of coal, processing fuel, and all that stuff? school was important.what two central ideas in this story are most closely related? a. the importance of literature and the dangers of miningb. humankind's basic survival needs and independence c. the nature of learning and societal dysfunctiond. the powers of rumors and abuse of authority

What’s the importance of gaining a general understanding of and interpretation of the work of literature.