Part A The word cracks has several possible meanings. Use context clues to determine the meaning of the underlined word cracks in the passage. Part B Which excerpt from paragraph 3 is the best clue to the answer for Part A?

Group of answer choices

breaks open

loses control

solves a mystery

sharp sounds

Enter a couple of curious keas.

they tear your tent to shreds

pick up stones to throw at the windows

chew apart the bungee cords

Read the following excerpt from "the city without us" by alan weisman: almost every other compound in nature contracts when frozen, but h20 (water) molecules do the opposite, organizing themselves into elegant hexagonal crystals that take up about 9 percent more space than they did when sloshing around in a liquid state. pretty six-sided crystals suggest snowflakes so gossamer it's hard to conceive of them pushing apart slabs of sidewalk. which statement best describes the effect of the metaphor on the excerpt's meaning? o a. it likens h2o molecules to hexagonal crystals, which are actually larger than people imagine. o b. it makes the frozen crystals seem like friends to the city to contrast with what a deceitful foe they are. o c. it compares the sloshing liquid to a river of water able to push apart the sidewalk o d. it compares the frozen crystals to delicately lacy snowflakes having an unexpected strength (apex)