C. It suggests that life comes from the earth, and America is its newest shining child.
D. to make a personal contact with the potential employer
Elizabeth is anything but bitter and sniveling. She is solicitous of her husband, John, as well as deeply caring and sensitive, if still hurting from what has happened to her
"Today nobody brought his or her instrument" is correct. It is common for people to use "their" in a sentence like this, but "his or her" is the more proper term.