Question 4: It's, "We have gone through all of these steps in Birmingham." When
someone says "literally", it means that the words he is going to say,
are actually meant to be taken that way. He is speaking in a straight
way or clearly, not in a roundabout way.
Question 5: It's like a paraphrase. The church is still the church in d), but the
part about "did not just reflect" matches up to "was not merely a
thermometer". The part about reflecting what was happening in society
matches up to the part about soaking in popular ideas and opinions. It's
quite clear if you look closely.
