Read this excerpt from little brother and answer the following questions in complete sentences using proper grammar and punctuation:

marcus manages to flag down a vehicle and they get more than they bargained for…

it was a military-looking jeep, like an armored hummer, only it didn't have any military insignia on it. the car skidded to a stop just in front of me, and i jumped back and lost my balance and ended up on the road. i felt the doors open near me, and then saw a confusion of booted feet moving close by. i looked up and saw a bunch of military-looking guys in coveralls, holding big, bulky rifles and wearing hooded gas masks with tinted face-plates.

i barely had time to register them before those rifles were pointed at me. i'd never looked down the barrel of a gun before, but everything you've heard about the experience is true. you freeze where you are, time stops, and your heart thunders in your ears. i opened my mouth, then shut it, then, very slowly, i held my hands up in front of me.

the faceless, eyeless armed man above me kept his gun very level. i didn't even breathe. van was screaming something and jolu was shouting and i looked at them for a second and that was when someone put a coarse sack over my head and cinched it tight around my windpipe, so quick and so fiercely i barely had time to gasp before it was locked on me. i was pushed roughly but dispassionately onto my stomach and something went twice around my wrists and then tightened up as well, feeling like baling wire and biting cruelly. i cried out and my own voice was muffled by the hood.

i was in total darkness now and i strained my ears to hear what was going on with my friends. i heard them shouting through the muffling canvas of the bag, and then i was being impersonally hauled to my feet by my wrists, my arms wrenched up behind my back, my shoulders screaming.

i stumbled some, then a hand pushed my head down and i was inside the hummer. more bodies were roughly shoved in beside me.

"guys? " i shouted, and earned a hard thump on my head for my trouble. i heard jolu respond, then felt the thump he was dealt, too. my head rang like a gong.

"hey," i said to the soldiers. "hey, listen! we're just high school students. i wanted to flag you down because my friend was bleeding. someone stabbed him." i had no idea how much of this was making it through the muffling bag. i kept talking. "listen—this is some kind of misunderstanding. we've got to get my friend to a hospital—"

someone went upside my head again. it felt like they used a baton or something—it was harder than anyone had ever hit me in the head before. my eyes swam and watered and i literally couldn't breathe through the pain. a moment later, i caught my breath, but i didn't say anything. i'd learned my lesson.

what conflict is marcus facing?

Which three excerpts would best be characterized as expository texts? excerpt 1 may 17, 1980, was a quiet day in silver lake, washington. if you had been there, you probably would have seen mount st. helens, one of the state’s famous mountains. the mountain looked like a cone capped with snow. it rose from a valley of deep green trees and bright blue lakes. mount st. helens is volcanic. scientists were watching the mountain carefully that spring. for two months, they recorded small earthquakes near the mountain. steam spewed from its top. and yet, from a distance, the mountain looked picture-perfect. a volcano can erupt when pressure underground builds and forces its way to the surface. volcanos can be active, dormant, or extinct. an active volcano has erupted in the last 10,000 years and is thought to erupt in the near future. a dormant volcano has not erupted in the past 10,000 years, but is thought to erupt again. an extinct volcano is one scientists do not expect to erupt again. for example, in 1980, mt. st. helens was an active volcano. excerpt 2 anxiety sometimes manifests as an apprehensive feeling or worry that you are unable to explain fully. stress is often a trigger. symptoms can include tense muscles, churning stomach, nausea, diarrhea, headache, backache, heart palpitations, sweating, flushing, and numbness or “pins and needles” in arms, hands, or legs. with all these symptoms, it is easy to mistake anxiety for a physical illness. everyone becomes anxious from time to time, but when anxiety interferes with life when there’s no real threat, or is present long after a real threat has passed, it is a problem. one of the best ways to deal with anxiety is to learn how to manage stress in your life. relaxation techniques are also good. meditation, breathing techniques, and yoga are all possible ways to ease anxiety. being healthy also . follow a regular sleep pattern, get plenty of exercise, and maintain a healthy diet. all of these practices will reduce anxiety and stress. excerpt 3 visiting a different country can be a great way to spend a vacation. as a tourist, you are there to see new sights and have new experiences. but living in a different country is not the same as visiting one. when you move to a new country, you move away from people you are close to and many things that you know. a new place may have different customs, different food and often, a different language. the climate and land may be very different. buying food and getting to work may be a major challenge. you will have times of feeling afraid, angry and homesick. these feelings are examples of culture shock. excerpt 4 there never was such a country for wandering liars; and they were of both sexes. hardly a month went by without one of these tramps arriving; and generally loaded with a tale about some princess or other wanting to get her out of some faraway castle where she was held in captivity by a lawless scoundrel, usually a giant. now you would think that the first thing the king would do after listening to such a novelette from an entire stranger, would be to ask for credentials—yes, and a pointer or two as to locality of castle, best route to it, and so on. but nobody ever thought of so simple and commonsense a thing as that. no, everybody swallowed these people’s lies whole, and never asked a question of any sort or about anything. (from a connecticut yankee in king arthur's court by mark twain) excerpt 5 she was dressed in rich materials—satins, and lace, and silks—all of white. her shoes were white. and she had a long white veil dependent from her hair, and she had bridal flowers in her hair, but her hair was white. some bright jewels sparkled on her neck and on her hands, and some other jewels lay sparkling on the table. dresses, less splendid than the dress she wore, and half-packed trunks, were scattered about. she had not quite finished dressing, for she had but one shoe on—the other was on the table near her hand—her veil was but half arranged, her watch and chain were not put on, and some lace for her bosom lay with those trinkets, and with her handkerchief, and gloves, and some flowers, and a prayer-book, all confusedly heaped about the looking glass. (from great expectations by charles dickens)

Hich excerpt from "the cask of amontillado" best infers what will be fortunato's downfall? the gait of my friend was unsteady, and the bells upon his cap jingled as he strode he had a weak point --this fortunato --although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared. he prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine. "nitre," i replied. "how long have you had that cough? " "my friend, no; i will not impose upon your good nature. i perceive you have an engagement. luchresi--"

Which resource might provide a student who is just starting a research project with a list of credible sources of information to consult? o a. a biography of an early computer scientist o b. an article on new developments in computing o c. a book about programming languages o d. an online encyclopedia article or wiki