The evidence-based reading section of the psat asks students to: a: answer questions about books they would have read in their english class b: write critiques of passages they read c: write grammatical sentences d: read and think about passages

When i was young enough to still spend a long time buttoning my shoes in the morning, i'd listen toward the hall: daddy upstairs was shaving, in the bathroom, and mother downstairs was frying the bacon. they would begin whispering back and forth to each other up and down the stairwell. my father would whistle his phrase, my mother would try to whistle, then hum hers backi drew my buttonhook in and out and listened to it -know it was "the merry widow." the difference was, their song almost floated with laughter. how different from the record, which growled from the beginning, as if the victrola were only slowly being wound up. they kept it running between them, up and down the stairs where i was now just about ready to run clattering down and show them my shoes. what is the effect of the parallelism used in the above excerpt? it establishes the rhythm of a duet to echo the song. it expresses the same ideas. it mirrors opposite ideas. it is a paradox.

What is the definition of scathing? a. to assail with abusive language c. to deter by advice or persuasion b. bitterly severe, as a remark d. the west wind; a mild wind

Based on the information in the passage, what conclusion can the reader make?