Use the dictionary entry for contentious to answer the questions below.

Excerpt from the ultimate fighting championship mary o'dell 1 american interest in mixed martial arts is growing. both male and female athletes are invited to compete, although this sport is not recommended for the prima donna. this full contact fighting combines various martial arts techniques so fighters with different styles can compete against each other. this intriguing sport has convinced more than one athlete that he is not, in fact, the alpha and the omega! many people think that all combative sports should be strictly monitored and regulated by state commissions. it is obvious that the ultimate fighting championship (ufc) is an organization that promotes combative athletic events. state athletic commissions should strictly monitor and regulate the ufc. select the rebuttal statement that best refutes the viewpoint in section one. a) it is necessary to oversee the athletes involved in mixed martial arts. b) it is unnecessary to oversee the athletes involved in mixed martial arts. c) it is necessary for athletes involved in mixed martial arts to self-regulate. d) one distinctive feature of mixed martial arts is the combination of various techniques.

Read the excerpt below from the poem "exile" by julia alvarez and answer the question that follows. i let myself lie back in deep waters, my arms out like jesus' on his cross, and instead of sinking down like i'd always done, magically, that night, i could stay up, floating out past the driveway, past the gates, in the black ford, papi grim at the wheel, winding through the back roads, stroke by difficult stroke, out on the highway, heading toward the coast. which literary device is used in the comparison between the speaker's experience of fleeing the country and floating in the ocean? i let myself lie back in deep waters, my arms out like jesus' on his cross, and instead of sinking down like i'd always done, magically, that night, i could stay up, extended metaphor symbolism simile theme

What does the birdcage symbolize in trifles ?