Read the following passage and then answer the question.  "the next morning, as the sun's light painted itself on the cracked canvas of asphalt, it seemed the street might finally have reason to hope for a new beginning." the “cracked canvas of asphalt” is an example of a writer's use of   a. complex meter. b. elevated vocabulary. c. figurative language. d. stream of consciousness.

the present continuous is a verb tense which is mainly used to indicates that an action is in progress at the moment of speaking.  

it is formed using: person + verb to be (am/is/are) +verb + - ing form  

example: i am studying at this moment .

in addition, the present continuous is also used in order to express things that will or will not happen in the near future.

example: i am having dinner with some friends tonight.

the speaker sometimes   uses it   to express that an action is repeated and it causes irritation on the part of the speaker

example: my sister is constantly complaining about everything.

demonstrative would be the answer.