I stood against the far wall of the shabby lobby avoiding eye contact with the doorman as my dad checked us in for the night. We’d hoped to make it as far as Scranton, but the weather had interfered, leaving us instead at an eyesore of a truck-stop motel. My ear buds were jammed in as far as comfort would allow in a vain attempt to block out the motel’s vibe. Still, I could not ignore the looming presence of the doorman. He stood in the dim portico, sweeping and re-sweeping a pile of lint on the floor, watching the parking lot with his watery eyes, and occasionally signaling to the whiskered clerk behind the desk. What technique does the author use to build suspense in the excerpt?

A. The pace of the story quickens.
B. The word choice darkens the tone.
C. Odd characters are introduced.
D. The setting details are intentionally omitted.

Read the excerpt from loom and spindle. but in a short time the prejudice against factory labor wore away, and the lowell mills became filled with blooming and energetic new england women. . they soon began to associate with those who formed the community in which they had come to live, and were invited to their houses. they went to the same church, and sometimes married into some of the best families. or if they returned to their secluded homes again, instead of being looked down upon as "factory girls" by the squire's or the lawyer's family, they were more often welcomed as coming from the metropolis, bringing new fashions, new books, and new ideas with them. what inference can be drawn about the time period of the excerpt? a. the changing workforce transformed society’s rules. b. factories improved local economies with new products. c. women with factory experience found other jobs easily. d. married women preferred factory work to homemaking.