Read the following paragraph from the section "What Is At Stake As Withdrawal Looms?" The United States has reduced the scale of its operations. An emboldened Taliban has taken control of major highways and attempted to cut off cities and towns. These surges are exhausting Afghanistan's elite forces. A broad consensus has emerged in the United States that the war has gone on too long and cost far too many lives. However, critics questioned whether withdrawal by the May 1 deadline was realistic, and if a rushed departure could do more harm than good.

Which idea is BEST supported by this paragraph?

A
U. S. troops need to leave Afghanistan by May 1.
B
The United States did not want to reduce troops in Afghanistan.
C
The United States had no choice but to reduce its troops in Afghanistan.
D
Americans disagree about whether U. S. troops should leave Afghanistan.

Identify the sentence in which the underlined word or words are punctuated incorrectly. a) pam was (well prepared) for the debate. b) she had (read three quarters) of the material more than once. c) she has always been (self assured). d) the winner needs a (two-thirds) majority of the votes.

Which of the following is most likely to influence the plot of a story

Which two lines in this excerpt from arthur conan doyle's "the contest" suggest that emperor nero was ruthless? each choice is in brackets. [an hour later the shepherd was well on his way to his mountain home, and about the same time the emperor, having received the chaplet of olympia for the incomparable excellence of his performance, was making inquiries with a frowning brow as to who the insolent person might be who had dared to utter such contemptuous criticisms.] [“bring him to me here this instant,” said he, “and let marcus with his knife and branding-iron be in attendance.”] [“rumours! ” cried the angry nero. “what do you mean, arsenius? i tell you that the fellow was an ignorant upstart, with the bearing of a boor and the voice of a peacock.] [i have half a mind to burn their town about their ears so that they may remember my visit.”] [“i conquered! you are mad, arsenius. what do you mean? ”] [it is whispered that for once the great god pan has condescended to measure himself against a mortal.”]