Answer:
Old Man Warner, the oldest man in town, has participated in seventy-seven lotteries and is a staunch advocate for keeping things exactly the way they are. He dismisses the towns and young people who have stopped having lotteries as “crazy fools,” and he is threatened by the idea of change. He believes, illogically, that the people who want to stop holding lotteries will soon want to live in caves, as though only the lottery keeps society stable. He also holds fast to what seems to be an old wives’ tale—“Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon”—and fears that if the lottery stops, the villagers will be forced to eat “chickweed and acorns.” Again, this idea suggests that stopping the lottery will lead to a return to a much earlier era, when people hunted and gathered for their food. These illogical, irrational fears reveal that Old Man Warner harbors a strong belief in superstition. He easily accepts the way things are because this is how they’ve always been, and he believes any change to the status quo will lead to disaster. This way of thinking shows how dangerous it is to follow tradition blindly, never questioning beliefs that are passed down from one generation to the next.
Answer:
Death is one of the foremost themes in Dickinson’s poetry. No two poems have exactly the same understanding of death, however. Death is sometimes gentle, sometimes menacing, sometimes simply inevitable. In “I heard a Fly buzz – when I died –,” Dickinson investigates the physical process of dying. In “Because I could not stop for Death –,“ she personifies death, and presents the process of dying as simply the realization that there is eternal life.
In “Behind Me dips – Eternity,” death is the normal state, life is but an interruption. In “My life had stood – a Loaded Gun –,” the existence of death allows for the existence of life. In “Some – Work for Immortality –,” death is the moment where the speaker can cash their check of good behavior for their eternal rewards. All of these varied pictures of death, however, do not truly contradict each other. Death is the ultimate unknowable, and so Dickinson circles around it, painting portraits of each of its many facets, as a way to come as close to knowing it as she can.
Answer:
1: Topic of the discussion is Global Warming.
2: The audience of the discussion is Jorge's class fellows.
3: The Purpose of the discussion is improving student's presentation skills and knowledge about the topic.
4: Level of formality is semi-formal.
Explanation:
1:
The phrase "Jorge reviewed his notes about global warming before presenting to the class" tells us that the topic of Jorge’s presentation is "Global Warming” (a gradual increase in earth’s overall average temperature because of the increase in greenhouse effect). The students also had to discuss this topic and ask questions from Jorge after his short presentation.
2:
"share their findings with the class" shows that Jorge’s audience is his class. The primary audience and main focus of Jorge’s presentation is his class, however their teacher Mrs. Herbert would also be present as an observer and for final evaluation. So he has to prepare his presentation keeping both (students and teacher) in mind. He has to explain all the concepts and technical terms considering his class level.
3:
"after his short presentation, the class would ask questions and discuss" this phrase shows that the purpose of the discussion is to share the knowledge and improve students' presentation skills. First they have to do a proper research and include relevant, clear and correct content in right order. They will also get a chance to explain some difficult concepts and topics.
4: <u>Level of Formality
</u>
We choose highly formal style when talking to unknown audience or during job interviews, writing academic essays, presentations or letters to someone whom we don’t know personally.
We select semi-formal style when talking to well-known individuals, like our teachers and elders,
And we use informal style only with our very close friends with whom we usually spend a lot of time, like class mates, team mates etc.
What I'm about to tell you happened a long, long time ago, when I went to visit my Aunt Nina. She lived in an old house, with a great courtyard and many flowers. I loved going to stay with Nina because I could play in her garden in the mornings, help her cook, and above all... have breakfast in bed!
She always made my bed up on a sofa which stood against a wall in her bedroom. There I used to sleep every night, and as I was drifting off I liked to look at a big damp stain on the wall. I tried to make shapes out of that stain: faces, characters. One rainy night something very strange happened. Suddenly, I saw something extraordinary come out of that wall. It looked like a ghost made of cotton... except that it was dark, as dark as thunderclouds.
I felt the ghost touching my shoulder, and as it did so, it turned into a grey lady of incredible beauty. Then, in a deep, but sweet, kind voice she said:
-"Good evening! My name is Storm, and don't let my colour fool you, I'm really a very good fairy. Want to come with me?"
And she offered me her hand. It was a slim, transparent hand, and smelled of raindrops. I was so surprised that I could not answer. The next thing I knew, I had been carried by some invisible force, taken from the warmth of my bed, and transported through the bedroom wall, through the middle of that damp stain...
-"Come on, come along, you'll love where we're going,"
said the fairy, and with that we moved up, soaring, flying, faster and faster towards the heavens. We meandered through the air while behind us lightning struck and thunder roared, and through all of it I didn't feel the slightest fear.
Along I went in complete confidence, holding onto Storm's hand, and the rain fell incessantly beneath us. It seemed to come in waves, softly murmuring through the sky...
Storm smiled at me, and higher and higher we went. Then, just as smoothly as we had ascended, we began to float back down. We descended through a gradually clearing fog, and headed towards an area filled with light. In the blink of an eye we were bathed in sunlight, and around us were seven other figures. Seven more fairies, each just as beautiful and transparent as Storm, each as sweet and kind, and they smiled at me just like she had...!
Instead of magic wands they each had a slim golden paintbrush in one hand, and a painters´ palette in the other. Out from the fog which had surrounded us appeared flowers, plants, animals, all manner of things, but every one of them was completely colourless...
Each of the seven fairies took their leave of us and alighted upon a flower, a plant, an animal; any object of their choosing. Little by little, object by object, the fairies brought colour to the scene, until finally everything was just as we see it every day. My friend Storm painted some chimney smoke, a beautiful horse, several little birds, and a cat that was so plump and gleaming that it looked like a silk pompom...
Well, I was so shocked by all this that I couldn't say a word. But an even bigger surprise was in store. I turned to look back at the path we had taken to arrive there, and saw that it was nothing less than... a rainbow, complete with all its resplendent colours. Meanwhile, Storm and her friends took me by the hands and began to dance, singing a song:
-"How beautiful are the plants after the rain, the soaked flowers;
Everything gleaming, raindrops painting in their colours, a fresh coat!
We're on light patrol, and this is our song!"
And indeed I danced and sang with them, clapping in rhythm, and wanting to ask the fairies so many questions! When the song ended I would ask them. Of that I was sure.
I was just about to let my curiosity off the leash when, suddenly, I heard my Aunt Nina's voice saying:
-"So now you sing in your sleep, do you? I think you're in need of a good breakfast. Come on, I'll bring you some hot tea, and toast with peach jam, the kind I make especially for you!"
I thought that if I told her what I'd seen, she wouldn't believe me. Then she said this to me:
-"So you enjoyed your journey through the damp stain?"
As my breakfast was getting cold, and I was going to be late for school, I didn't have time to answer her. Anyhow, I still believe that whenever it rains Storm and her friends come to visit us, and they leave everything looking bright, fresh, and new... just as though it had just been painted by fairies.
