Assuming the options are crowded out, rich flora, plunge pool, or flowing stream, the answer would be <u>crowded out</u>. This implies that there isn't enough room for something, a negative idea, whereas the others describe nature.
Yes, because a simile uses 'like' or 'as' and as of course the sentence contains "as".
Where are the statements, can you upload a picture of the statement so that I can answer your question
