I would say definitely use your time wisely. Make sure you are fully focused too. Though it may be difficult to focus, (I understand) try and find some outside resources that can help you bring interest into what you're learning in any subject.
The subject would be her “lucky pencil”, but since it’s simple- it would just be her pencil.
D) because the settlers wanted the Chinese to help with the of the Gold Rush
You would use a Dictionary.
Dictionaries show denotative meanings while thesauruses show synonyms. Atlases show positioning of something somewhere (such as the geographical or the anatomical atlas) and an encyclopaedia shows a detailed description of a certain part of reality or fiction.