Excerpt from music to my ears
john devine

4my meanderings into the shaded grove of poetry seemed like the perfect escape from my father’s medical mumbo jumbo until i realized in college that my literature professors often sounded as poetic as a ten-car pileup. i recall in particular one professor who asked us to read a poem by alexander pope called the r-ape of the lock, a humorous poem about a young man who cuts off a wisp of a young woman’s hair. sounds pretty straightforward, right? well, before i knew what was what, my young professor demanded that i “deconstruct” the poem and analyze it for evidence of what she called “commodity fe-tishism.” “i want to read the thing,” i told her, “not pull it apart.” and when i asked her what commodity fet-ishism was, she looked at me as if i were some inferior life form. “look it up! ” said she, frowning. i had to pull an all-nighter to finish that assignment in time. it wasn't long before she had me writing a paper on the evils of eurocentric curricula. i finally put my foot down when she demanded that i attend her lecture on the perils of islamaphobia.

"well, before i knew what was what, my young professor demanded that i 'deconstruct' the poem and analyze it for evidence of what she called 'commodity fetishism.'"

what does the slang phrase what was what mean, as used in paragraph four of this selection?
a) it means "where i was going."
b) it is not slang but standard american english.
c) it means "what was happening" or "what was going on."
d) it is meant to be humorous but does not actually mean anything.

Read the excerpt from queen elizabeth's response to parliament's request that she marry. for i assure you (what credit my assurance may have with you, i cannot tell, but what credit it shall deserve to have, the sequel shall declare) i will never in that matter conclude any thing that shall be prejudicial to the realm. for the weal, good and safety whereof, i will never shun to spend my life; and whomsoever it shall be my chance to light upon, i trust he shall be such, as shall be as careful for the realm as you; i will not say as myself, because i cannot so certainly determine of any other, but by my desire he shall be such as shall be as careful for the preservation of the realm and you, as myself. in this excerpt, queen elizabeth says "for the weal, good and safety whereof, i will never shun to spend my life" in order to convince her audience that she is unbiased, intelligent, and rarely makes mistakes. inform her audience that she will work hard to win back the broken trust of her followers. persuade her audience that she will never make personal decisions that will harm england. remind her audience that she is the ruler and in charge of enacting laws that protect england.

While studying, lana reached her goal of reading half a chapter without interruptions. what should she do next?

(20 points) passage: this year will be a record-breaking year for storms 1it looks like 2012 will be a year for the record books. thunderstorms, hurricanes, and tornadoes have increased across the country. the storms' high winds and heavy rains are making history. early tornado and hurricane seasons 2in march, not usually a busy month for tornadoes, the south and midwest had a large number of twisters. warm weather made conditions ripe for the creation of tornadoes. on some days, twisters dropped from the sky by the dozen. 3hurricane season also came early. two tropical storms hit the southeast in may. two more strong storms followed in june. severe thunderstorms 4many states that have escaped tornadoes and hurricanes have had severe thunderstorms. these giant storms dumped several inches of rain and caused flooding across the northeast and midwest. 5the end of hurricane season is months away, and this year's storm count and rainfall amounts could leave 2011 in the dust. forecasters say the wet, windy weather might stick around until fall. labor day parade rained out 6there is no joy in green town, where the annual labor day parade was called off because of heavy rain. the town's mayor says the parade hasn't been rained out in fifty years. 7a strong band of thunderstorms hit green town on sunday. more than two inches of rain fell each hour. by monday morning, main street looked more like a creek than a parade route. mayor nora bell said she had to call off the parade. "the heavy rains have created a serious safety issue in green town," she said. 8the loss of the labor day parade is green town's second disappointment this summer. in may, the memorial day parade was also called off because of rain. "this must be one of the wettest summers in history," mayor bell said. 9according to the national weather service, mayor bell is right. this summer will break rainfall records in green town and across the country. question: who would obtain the most useful information from the passage? a) someone planning a holiday picnic. b) someone interested in documenting annual meteorological patterns. c) an advocate for the green town labor day parade. d) someone who wishes to do research on the alleged truth of the "global warming" phenomenon.