Read the following excerpt from the article "vision, voice and the power of creation: an author speaks out," by t. a. barron and answer the question that follows: right now, i am spending a lot of time listening to the voice of a particularly compelling character: the young merlin. in the end, i finally heard the voice of merlin to a surprising source: the haunting, mysterious hooting of a great horned owl outside the window of my colorado home. as i listened to that owl's resonant [echoing] call in the pre-dawn hours one morning, something about it gave me a whole new cadence [rhythm], a whole new sound. and then, a whole new voice. in this paragraph, what is the author's explicit message about his inspiration for merlin's voice? he had difficulty finding merlin's voice. his inspiration was the owl outside his window. his old ideas were not working for merlin's voice. he spent a lot of time thinking about merlin's voice.

Which word best describes the author's tone in this excerpt from "that spot" by jack london? i don’t think much of stephen mackaye any more, though i used to swear by him. i know that in those days i loved him more than my own brother. if ever i meet stephen mackaye again, i shall not be responsible for my actions. it passes beyond me that a man with whom i shared food and blanket, and with whom i mushed over the chilcoot trail, should turn out the way he did. i always sized steve up as a square man, a kindly comrade, without an iota of anything vindictive or malicious in his nature. i shall never trust my judgment in men again. why, i nursed that man through typhoid fever; we starved together on the headwaters of the stewart; and he saved my life on the little salmon. and now, after the years we were together, all i can say of stephen mackaye is that he is the meanest man i ever knew. a. excited b. ironic c. indignant d. playful

Which image from those paintings does not demonstrate the “suffering” auden describes in his poem?

Read the excerpt from "the most dangerous game." again rainsford lifted the heavy knocker, and let it fall. the door opened then, opened as suddenly as if it were on a spring, and rainsford stood blinking in the river of glaring gold light that poured out. the first thing rainsford's eyes discerned was the largest man rainsford had ever seen—a gigantic creature, solidly made and black bearded to the waist. in his hand the man held a long-barreled revolver, and he was pointing it straight at rainsford's heart. the details of this excerpt show that rainsford sees ivan as a(n) individual.