Read the following passage written by a teen hero: I want to be a vocal advocate for nature.
I reject the idea that I am too young to make a difference.
I recently helped a group with a river cleanup.
I was mortified to see the destruction of animals and plants.
When I got home, I composed a letter to my state politicians and asked them to allocate more money to the local river cleanup effort.
I believe my vocation is to help citizens see that we are at a junction.
We can decide to subject nature to abuse, or we can decide to be a benefactor to nature.
I won't let obstacles detract from my mission.

What is the meaning of the word "detract" as it is used in sentence 8?
To join together
To pull in the opposite direction

Read the excerpt from dominique’s personal narrative. tired of waiting for the bus, which was late for the fifth day in a row, i sat leafing through an old magazine i had stuffed in my purse the previous night. it was terribly warm for a september afternoon, and the sun cast fleeting shadows on the bus stop sign with each car that passed. i wondered when the weather would get cooler and when the new bus driver would start arriving on time. it was about then that i first noticed the apparent agitation of the man sitting next to me. finally, the bus arrived and ambled to a gradual stop directly in front of the restless man. the doors widened, and the bus driver greeted the man with his usual banter in his usual monotone. "good afternoon. how are you today? ” when writing the next few lines of dialogue, dominique should be certain that the lines provide clues about what will happen later on in the narrative. contain made-up details that make the story more exciting. include everyday language that seems real and natural. use precise words that make both men sound educated.

Read the following excerpt from "dark tower" by claude mckay before you choose your answer. "we shall not always plant while others reap the golden increment of bursting fruit, nor always countenance, abject and mute, that lesser men should hold their brothers cheap; not everlastingly while others sleep shall we beguile their limbs with mellow flute, not always bend to some more subtle brute. we were not made eternally to weep. the night, whose sable breast relieves the stark, white stars, is no less lovely being dark; and there are buds that cannot bloom at all in light, but crumple, piteous, and fall. so in the dark we hid the heart that bleeds, and wait, and tend our agonizing needs." in context, the expression "the night, whose sable breast relieves the stark,/ white stars, is no less lovely being dark; " is best interpreted as a. the light of the stars overpowers the black of night b. the black of night overpowers the light of the stars c. black and white contribute equally to the beauty of the night sky d. black and white continuously compete for prominence in the night sky

This is a dominant and controlling argument