The set committee had labored for weeks constructing a background to recreate a 1950s new york city neighborhood. the students in charge of costumes had scoured thrift shops for well-worn denim and leather. the cast had rehearsed lines and performed their songs until each member could recite their part forwards and backwards. but nobody wanted to perform for an empty house. the only remaining hurdle was the promotion of the play. as pine valley high’s first spring production, the student body would need to be convinced that west side story should not be missed.

what complication is introduced in the excerpt?

the cast members struggle to memorize lines.
the costumes do not reflect the play’s time period.
the set committee must repair the background.
the students must work to promote the play.

The students must work to promote the play.

The correct answer is option D. The passage states that the only problem left was that of promoting the play, in order to have an audience (as, clearly, nobody wanted to perform for an empty house). The costumes that the students found did resemble the time period. The background had already been finished after weeks of work, and the actors had memorized their lines. Therefore, none of the other options are possible answers.

1. read the following excerpt from franklin d. roosevelt's "fireside chat 19":

on the other side of the picture, we must learn also to know that guerilla warfare against the germans in, let us say serbia or norway, us; that a successful russian offensive against the germans us; and that british successes on land or sea in any part of the world strengthen our hands.

remember always that germany and italy, regardless of any formal declaration of war, consider themselves at war with the united states at this moment just as much as they consider themselves at war with britain or russia. and germany puts all the other republics of the americas into the same category of enemies. the people of our sister republics of this hemisphere can be honored by that fact.  

the true goal we seek is far above and beyond the ugly field of battle. when we resort to force, as now we must, we are determined that this force shall be directed toward ultimate good as well as against immediate evil. we americans are not destroyers — we are builders.

analyze the effectiveness of this excerpt. how does it function within the speech as a whole? how does the structure of the excerpt to convey the speech's purpose and key points? support your argument with evidence from the speech. (10 points)