Which first step should readers take when they encounter an unfamiliar word?

Study the map below. based on the information shown on this map, which ofthe following locations served as an eastern border for the mongol empire?

Read the excerpt and answer the question. the boards themselves seemed to remain upright not from being nailed together but rather from leaning together, like a house that a child might have constructed from cards. what best describes the figurative language in the sentence above? idiom simile onomatopoeia personification

This thinning would materially change the sound of the drum, evidence that although it might continue to be used for its original purpose of music-making or calling people to arms, it would now do so with a different voice. a musical instrument had become a trophy, and the new carvings were in fact branding, a statement of the north’s political dominance over central africa and of allegiance to islam.the drum had come to khartoum at a critical moment in sudanese history. in an audio version, stressing the word "branding" would do what for the listener? emphasize the word's importance and the idea that followsadd emphasis to the following sentencesignal that something important has just been repeatedadd emphasis to the preceding sentence