Read this excerpt from chapter 1 of the scarlet letter. finding it so directly on the threshold of our narrative, which is now about to issue from that inauspicious portal, we could hardly do otherwise than pluck one of its flowers and present it to the reader. what is the meaning of the word “inauspicious”? a.) unremarkable, forgettable b.) unintelligent, not educated c.) unimpressive, poorly built d.) unfavorable, boding

The answer is D:

Inauspicious means something that does not have a high chance of success, or is unfavorable.

D) unfavorable, boding

Explanation: the denotation of a word is its literal meaning, the definition that we can find in a dictionary, a word can have several denotations (or definitions). In the given excerpt from chapter 1 of "The Scarlet Letter" we can see the use of the word "inauspicious" which denotation is "not conducive to successs; unpromising or unfavorable" so the correct answer is option D: D.) unfavorable, boding.

active voice: my father cut the tree.

passive voice: the tree was cut by my father.

active voice: people buy newspapers every day.

passive voice: newspapers are bought (by people) every day.

active voice: people have been using movies as political propaganda since world war ii.

passive voice: movies have been used as political propaganda since world war ii.

active voice: donna gave me my birthday present.

passive voice: i was given my birthday present (by donna). / my birthday present was given to me (by donna).

active voice: mom will leave the keys on the counter.

passive voice: the keys will be left (by mom) on the counter.

the words in parentheses are the agent of the passive voice and can be omitted when obvious, generic, or simply unnecessary.

the anecdote makes readers feel sorry for the man’s lack of heritage, then reminds readers that the man has an equally valuable heritage.