Bev is jealous because Millicent seemed to be interested with Herb Dalton. Smiling seemed to be an indication of her fascination as interpreted by Bev as action speaks louder than words.
Parallel structure is using the same pattern of words or using the same grammatical form. In this passage, "researching," "photographing," and "assembling" are all similar because of the -ing. So to make the phrase "to prepare the pieces" flow nicely, the best way to rewrite it is D, preparing the pieces. The -ing in "preparing" is similar to the pattern of the other words.
<span>William Faulkner's speech at the Nobel Banquet at the City Hall in Stockholm, December 10, 1950 * ... Because of this, the young man or woman writing today has forgotten the ... It is easy enough to saythat man is immortal simply because he will endure: that ... The poet's, the writer's, duty is to write about these things.</span><span>
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