Thoreau mostly uses imagery to illustrate time in the excerpt. The second sentence is saying that he is in the midst of time/living, and he can "detect how shallow it is," meaning that he is aware that life is short and that the end is inevitable. Thoreau also describes time as being fleeting, but ever-present.
I hope this helps!
1. The correct answer is A. Melissa said that she would never go on a cruise.
B is incorrect because the question mark has to be inside the quotation marks, not outside of it. C is incorrect because there has to be a comma after the word <em>replied, </em>and there is none. This leaves us with sentence A, which is the correct answer here - it is the correct reported speech.
2. The correct answer is B. Li promised to cut back but asked, “Can I have one soft drink at dinner?”
A is incorrect because you don't need quotation marks for this, or you would have to delete the word <em>to </em>and add a comma, leaving quotation marks in order for this sentence to be correct. C is incorrect because the word <em>sure </em>also has to be inside quotation marks. Therefore, the correct option is B.
Fun fact
An apple, potato, and onion all taste the same if you eat them with your nose plugged
