It was a Sunday afternoon, and Bryan was in his room, listening to music and lazily strumming his guitar. Just then, his parents knocked on his door and let themselves in. "Shouldn't you be studying for the Math test tomorrow, Bryan?" his father asked, with a stern look on his face.
"I was just taking a break, Dad!"
"It seems like that's all you've been doing these past few days because we haven't seen you study for more than 15 minutes without getting distracted," Bryan's mother said.
"I'm sure I know enough to ace the test, Mom," Bryan said, picking up his guitar again.
His parents walked out of his room, shaking their heads.
The next day, when Bryan was waiting for the test to start, he could hear his classmates discussing what they'd been studying and exchanging notes and tips. When Bryan realized that he couldn't understand most of what they were saying, panic set in, but it was too late to do anything then. When the test began, he realized how ill-prepared he was, and he was almost in tears by the end of it. As he walked back home, he was dreading telling his parents that he was certainly going to fail the test. He was sure they'd be angry because he had not worked hard before the test.
Bryan's parents were in the kitchen when he entered the house, and as soon as they saw his dejected face, they knew something was wrong.
"Mom, Dad, I'm going to fail the Math test. I'm so sorry! I know now that I should have listened to your advice and worked harder. I deserve to be grounded for this!"
To Bryan's surprise, his parents were smiling at him.
"Chin up, son!" his father said. "Making mistakes is fine as long as you learn a lesson from the mistakes you make, and it seems like you've already learned yours."
"Bryan, your father and I are here for anything you need. We can help you make a timetable to study and make sure that you stick to it."
Bryan smiled and gave his parents a hug. "You're still going to ground me, though, right?" he asked.
"Oh, absolutely!" his father replied with a twinkle in his eye.
1
What is the best way to describe the theme in this story?
A.
Nothing is as important as academic excellence.
B.
A positive attitude can help one overcome challenges.
C.
It is important to pursue a hobby along with studies.
D.
Only hard work and effort can bring success.

Excerpt from 100% - the story of a patriot upton sinclair 10 so peter walked along, with his belt drawn tight, and his restless blue eyes wandering here and there, looking for a place to get a meal. there were jobs to be had, but they were hard jobs, and peter wanted an easy one. there are people in this world who live by their muscles, and others who live by their wits; peter belonged to the latter class; and had missed many a meal rather than descend in the social scale. 11 peter looked into the faces of everyone he passed, searching for a possible opening. some returned his glance, but never for more than a second, for they saw an insignificant looking man, undersized, undernourished, and with one shoulder higher than the other, a weak chin and mouth, crooked teeth, and a brown moustache too feeble to hold itself up at the corners. peters' straw hat had many straws missing, his second-hand brown suit was become third-hand, and his shoes were turning over at the sides. in a city where everybody was "hustling," everybody, as they phrased it, "on the make," why should anyone take a second glance at peter gudge? why should anyone care about the restless soul hidden inside him, or dream that peter was, in his own obscure way, a sort of genius? no one did care; no one did dream. 12 it was about two o'clock of an afternoon in july, and the sun beat down upon the streets of american city. there were crowds upon the streets, and peter noticed that everywhere were flags and bunting. once or twice he heard the strains of distant music, and wondered what was "up." peter had not been reading the newspapers; all his attention bad been taken up by the quarrels of the smithers faction and the lunk faction in the first apostolic church, otherwise known as the holy rollers, and great events that had been happening in the world outside were of no concern to him. peter knew vaguely that on the other side of the world half a dozen mighty nations were locked together in a grip of death; the whole earth was shaken with their struggles, and peter had felt a bit of the trembling now and then. but peter did not know that his own country had anything to do with this european quarrel, and did not know that certain great interests throughout the country had set themselves to rouse the public to action. based on the author's characterization of peter in paragraphs 10, 11, and 12, which word best describes him? a) industrious b) loyal c) patriotic d) poor