Ding-dong. Alma raced to the door, thinking it was her friend Jessie. To her surprise, it was Grandma Joan, a small suitcase on the ground next to her."Grandma!" Alma said, beaming. "What are you doing here?""Visiting for the weekend," Grandma Joan said. "Your mom and dad kept it a secret to surprise you."Alma hugged her grandma and told her she was happy to see her. As they were talking, the doorbell rang a second time. This time it was Jessie. "Jessie's picking me up for a sleepover tonight," Alma told Grandma Joan. "I'll see you soon!"After a lazy Saturday of sleeping in and watching movies, Alma came home that evening. The family decided to head out for ice cream, but Alma's favorite TV show, Face the Music, was about to come on."Alma, aren't you coming?" asked her mom."I have to watch this," Alma said. "It's the final round, and I'll find out the winner tonight!""But you haven't spent any time with Grandma," her mom said quietly."We'll hang out tomorrow," Alma replied.The next day, Alma had a swim meet in the morning. When two teammates invited her to lunch afterward, Alma said yes. Then her friend Zhu texted her asking for her opinion on a new pair of sandals, so Alma walked to Zhu's house to see the shoes.When she finally got home in the late afternoon, Grandma Joan's suitcase was next to the front door, and Grandma Joan was putting on her coat."Grandma!" Alma exclaimed. "You're not leaving already, are you? I barely got to see you.""My plane leaves at five, sweetie," her grandma replied as a taxi pulled up. "I wish I'd seen more of you, but you were so busy all weekend."Alma felt terrible. As she watched the taxi pull away, she wished she could jump back in time.Which of the following best describes the main theme or lesson of the story?Appreciate loved ones while you can because they won't always be there.Young people can have just as many responsibilities as older adults.Don't expect people to drop everything if you surprise them with a visit.Submit

Bee Choo stared at her mother from the rear-view mirror, wondering what she was thinking. Her mother's wrinkled countenance always carried the same cryptic look. The phone began to ring again, an artificially cheerful digital tune, which broke the awkward silence. 'Hello Beatrice! Yes, this is Elaine.' Elaine. The old woman cringed. I didn't name her Elaine. She remembered her daughter telling her how an English name was very important for 'networking'. Chinese ones being easily forgotten. 'Oh no, I can't see you for lunch today. I have to take the Ancient Relic to the temple for her weird daily prayer ritual.'The old woman pursed her lips tightly, her hands gripping her plastic bag in defence. The car curved smoothly into the temple courtyard. It looked almost garish next to the dull sheen of the ageing temple's roof. The old woman got out of the back seat and made her unhurried way to the main hall. Her daughter stepped out of the car in her business suit and stilettos and reapplied her lipstick as she made her brisk way to her mother's side. 'Ma, I'll wait outside. I have an important phone call to make," she said, not bothering to hide her disgust at the pungent fumes of incense.The old lady hobbled into the temple hall and lit a joss stick. She knelt down solemnly and whispered her now-familiar daily prayer to the gods. 'Thank you, God of the Sky, you have given my daughter luck all these years. Everything I prayed for, you have given her. She has everything a young woman in this world could possibly want. She has a big house with a swimming pool, a maid to help her, as she is too clumsy to sew or cook. Her love life has been blessed; she is engaged to a rich and handsome angmoh (dialect for Caucasian man). Her company is now the top financial firm and even men listen to what she says. She lives the perfect life. You have given her everything except happiness. I ask that the gods be merciful to her even if she has lost her roots while reaping the harvest of success. What you see is not true, she is a filial daughter to me. She gives me a room in her big house and provides well for me. She is rude to me only because I affect her happiness. A young woman does not want to be hindered by her old mother. It is my fault.' The old lady prayed so hard that tears welled up in her eyes. Finally, with her head bowed in reverence, she planted the half-burnt joss stick into an urn of smouldering ashes. She bowed once more. The old woman had been praying for her daughter for 32 years.The gods had been faithful to her persistent prayer, but the wealth and success that poured forth so richly had buried the girl's roots and now she stood, faceless, with no identity, bound to the soil of her ancestors by only a string of origami banknotes. Her daughter had forgotten her mother's values. Her wants were so ephemeral; that of a modern woman. Power, wealth, access to the best fashion boutiques, and yet her daughter had not found true happiness.Her daughter often mocked her for worshipping porcelain gods. How could she pray to them so faithfully and expect pieces of ceramic to fly to her aid? But her daughter had her own gods too - idols of wealth, success and power that she was enslaved to and worshipped every day of her life. Every day was a quest for the idols, and the idols she worshipped counted for nothing in eternity. All the wants her daughter had would slowly suck the life out of her, and leave her an empty soulless shell.She met her daughter outside the temple, the same look of worry and frustration etched on her daughter's face. They climbed into the convertible in silence and her daughter drove along the highway, this time not as fast as she had done before. 'Ma,' Bee Choo finally said. 'I don't know how to put this. Mark and I have been talking about it and we plan to move out of the big house. The property market is good now, and we managed to find a buyer willing to pay seven million for it. We decided we'd prefer a cosier penthouse apartment instead. We found a perfect one in Orchard Road. Once we move into our apartment, we plan to get rid of the maid, so we can have more space to ourselves...' The old woman nodded knowingly. Bee Choo swallowed hard. 'We'd get someone to come in to do the housework and we can eat out - but once the maid is gone, there won't be anyone to look after you. You will be awfully lonely at home and besides that, the apartment is rather small. There won't be space. We thought about it for a long time, and we decided the best thing for you is if you moved to a home. There's one near Hougang, it's a Christian home, a very nice one.' The old woman did not raise an eyebrow. 'I've been there, the matron is willing to take you in. It's beautiful with gardens and lots of old people to keep you company! I hardly have time for you, you'd be happier there. You'd be happier there, really.' Her daughter repeated as if to affirm herself.This time, the old woman had no plastic bag of food offerings to cling tightly to; she bit her lip and fastened her seat belt, as if it would protect her from a daughter who did not want her anymore. She sunk deep into the leather seat, letting her shoulders sag, and her fingers traced the white seat.

Jenny and her family were on their way to an amusement park. She was in a great mood because she no longer felt like a prisoner in her house. She was two months into her summer vacation, and this was her family’s first trip to go on this year. She looked out the window hoping to catch a glimpse of the giant roller coaster. Loud honking coming from the other cars interrupted the quiet ride. She didn’t understand why everyone was honking at them. She looked at her dad, who was driving with a goofy grin on his face, and noticed he was just as excited as she was, maybe even more. He was driving wildly and was being a hog on the road. She did not know which lane he was supposed to be in. Jenny sank into her chair because she felt embarrassed by her dad’s excitement.2Read the following sentence from the passage."She was in a great mood because she no longer felt like a prisoner in her house."What does this sentence above mean? A. The family's car has bars on the windows making it hard to see out. B. Jenny wants to get out of the car and away from the honking cars. C. Jenny feels free because she is no longer at home. D. This is Jenny's first time being outside during the summer.

Read the passage.Celeste watched as Li packed her suitcase, placing sweaters on top of pants, gently wrapping shoes in plastic bags so they wouldn't dirty the clothes. As Li placed the last item inside, her gaze rose to her sister and she smiled, yet the smile did not reach her eyes. "You know I'll be back in December, Celeste. It's not that long." She reached out to flip Celeste's long, blond braid behind her shoulder, a gesture she had repeated countless times over the years. Celeste sighed and blinked away tears, grabbing her sister's hand and pressing it against her cheek.Which statement best describes how the pacing of the passage affects the tone?A.The quick pace helps give the passage an excited tone.B.The slow pace helps give the passage a sentimental tone.C.The quick pace helps give the passage a nostalgic tone.D.The slow pace helps give the passage a nervous tone.

She heard the phone ___ and went to the first floor to answer it.a) rangb) to ringc) is ringingd) ringing

According to Jordan, what event in Daisy’s history nearly interrupted her plans for marrying Tom? (1 point)Group of answer choicesDaisy receives a letter from someone, gets drunk, and attempts to call off the wedding.Daisy has a little girl and attempts to run off to France without Tom.Tom is a taxidermist and Daisy is uncomfortable with this.Daisy plans to go meet a soldier in New York and marry him.