Read the story.

The Speech

A hush fell over the crowd as Samir approached the stage; he took a deep breath and tried to still the tremble in his hands.

He had rehearsed the speech for days, practicing late into the night when the house was quiet. The night before, he had been putting the finishing touches on the speech when his mother snuck up the stairs and stopped by his bedroom door with a mug of tea.

“It looks like you will need this. How’s it coming?” She tucked the long end of her sari under her leg and sat on his bed.

The familiar smell that reminded him of trips to India tickled his nose as he took the warm mug from her; he pressed it to his lips and took a long sip. “I don’t think they’re going to understand it.”

“It’s okay if they don’t understand it in their brains; it’s more important that they feel it here.” She pressed her hand to his heart.

“My friends don’t know what you went through to get here, and I want to get it just right because I need them to like the story.”

“Your friends will like you no matter what. Practice it one more time, and then you need to get some sleep.”

He stared at the words that he had painstakingly crafted to tell the story of how his parents had immigrated to the United States from India. Even though he hadn’t been born at the time, he could feel the heat on their skin as they’d packed up their belongings in Mumbai and boarded the plane for their new lives. After a twenty20-hour flight, they landed in the chill of Chicago; they hadn’t brought enough heavy clothes with them and had to buy sweatshirts from the airport store before stepping out into snow for the first time. His mother had danced around in the swirling white like a fascinated child, tasting flakes on her tongue before the cab whisked them away to their new lives.

He didn’t know how his parents got by in those early days of loneliness and isolation, when they didn’t know their neighbors and couldn’t find their favorite spices or flavors in the local grocery store. He imagined his homesick mother making pungent curry in the tiny kitchen of the apartment that was their first home—curry that she didn’t share with anyone except her husband because he was the only person she knew.

Eventually they had made a life there, and one year after they’d brought Samir home as a newborn, his younger sister Aarti was born, and they became a family of four. Each year that his parents lived in Chicago, they spoke about Mumbai like it was more of a memory. Samir grew up hearing stories of Mumbai and taking summer trips where he heard his parents speak a language that was clumsy on his own English-speaking tongue. He couldn’t imagine leaving his life and moving herefar away, but he knew that his parents had done it for him and his sister. “It was the ultimate sacrifice,” his mother had said, “but it was worth it.”

When he had finished rehearsing his speech for his mother, she dabbed her face, and he knew she was crying. He didn’t need to ask how the speech was—her expression told him that it was perfect.

Samir’s thoughts came back to the present moment as he cleared his throat and stepped onto the stage in front of the entire middle school—his friends and teachers were all here. He had often felt different from his peers and wanted so much for them to understand his story. But looking out into the crowd at all the different faces he realized that his peers must have their own stories to tell as well. Perhaps they wanted to be understood, too. He realized the only way to be understood is to share those stories. Perhaps if he shared his own story, others would share theirs, too. Perhaps it would help them to understand one another. He found his mom’s eyes in the middle of the front row. When she nodded, he began.

“I’m going to tell the story of how my parents became American citizens.”
How does the theme that stories can help us understand one another develop in "The Speech"?

The theme develops through the author's depiction of how Samir changes from feeling different and separate from his peers to feeling not so different and comfortable with them after his mother tells him their family story.

The theme develops through the author's depiction of how Samir learns to appreciate his classmates' different stories by listening to what their families went through.

The theme develops through the author's depiction of how Samir feels more comfortable and confident delivering his speech after his mother offers him some tea and listens to what he has to say.

The theme develops through the author's depiction of how Samir feels different and misunderstood before giving his speech but feels more comfortable and accepted once he realizes that everyone has a story of their own.

Answer: The theme develops through the author's depiction of how Samir feels different and misunderstood before giving his speech but feels more comfortable and accepted once he realizes that everyone has a story of their own.

Explanation: This answer choice is accuartley closer to the events in the story where Samir feels misunderstood but realizes everyone has their own story and own cultural differences.

In political cartooning, which animal-concept pairing below is incorrect?

A, Bears and Republicans

B. Eagle and Freedom

C. Dove and Peace

D. Donkey and Democrats

What was the capital of the Sung dynasty?
-Malacca
-Guangzhou
-Kaifeng
-Mecca

HELP PLEASE

what happened in the battle of bunker hill?

What did the Second Continental Congress decide? (2 points) a George Washington would write a letter to King George III. b The American colonies needed their own army to protect themselves from the British Army. c The American colonies would try to work out a deal with the King and the British government. d Thomas Paine would write a song to unite the colonies.

HELP

What role do a nation’s resources play in the goods that the nation exports? Give an example.

What are the ranges of Michigan's temperatures in the year?

How has the United States helped struggling countries in Central Asia build democratic governments?

by overthrowing the Taliban in Kazakhstan
by sending military troops to invade the country of Uzbekistan
by provided training, equipment, and money to improve their economies
by encouraging the people there to adopt a religion other than Islam

can anyone answer this?

A walled city was also called this.

A) a city-state

B) a city-kingdom

C) a polis

D) an excavation

☀︎︎ Looking for a legitimate answer for a homework assignment as I was absent when it was taught!

Question: How did Sundiata, Mansa Musa, and Askia Muhammed compare as rulers?

The Tang oversaw a period of prosperity and expansion. The Sung lost territory, but arts, architecture, and other aspects of culture thrived.

Tang Dynasty
•Empress Wu
• Civil service
• Buddhism and ____



Sung Dynasty
• Improvements to ____ and infrastructure


Achievement
• Support from the emperor
• Appeal of the message of escape from _____

In which concept do the Chinese not believe the Japanese?
a. Mandate of heaven
b. Dynastic cycle
c. devajara
d. Divine origin

Select all the correct answers.
Which beliefs are important in Judaism?

A person should do good deeds, or mitzvahs.
A person should focus only on his or her relationship with God and not with other people.
There are other gods, but God is all-powerful.
A person should practice self-control when following the Jewish laws.
The messiah is a god who has already come.

Please answer this like rn Really need this !!
imagine you are a news reporter witnessing a sons of liberty meeting at the tondee's tavern what would you say?

what kind of people made up the group? are they farms or more of the upper class? how might the attendees be torn between being loyal subjects of the king yet, at the same time, beginning to feel separate from britain?

What was William Becknell’s occupation?

Analyze the purposes of map projections (political, physical, special purpose) and explain the applications of various types of maps.

Use the map below to answer the following question:
Aztec civilization is shaded in pink in mid Latin America, spanning from the east to west coasts, bordered by the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. The Maya civilization is shaded in purple, just south of the Aztec area, with coastline on the Pacific Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea. The Inca civilization is on the west coast of South America, spanning a large area along the coast of the Pacific Ocean.
© 2012 The Exploration Company

What category does this map fall into?

It is a political map because it shows which early American civilization was more important than the others.
It is a political map because it shows the location and capital cities of early American civilizations.
It is a physical map because it shows the continents and bodies of water of Central and South America.
It is a physical map because it shows why the early American civilizations were located where they were.

THIS IS AN EXAM. What did British soldiers do on the day of the Boston Massacre when they became angry because boys were throwing snowballs at them?

1] They shot and killed the boys.

2]They shot into the crowd of people.

3] They set fire to the building they were guarding.

4] They left their post.

How did the Ming view other countries?

-They considered all foreign peoples to be China’s equals.

-They believed China should pay tribute to its neighbors.

-They thought foreign rulers owed them loyalty and tribute.

-They sought to ally with India to stop European expansion
HELP PLEASE

what is the offcial language of north american countries

Part A
What is the main idea of the essay? Support your answer with evidence from the text.
Part B
Who is the audience for the article? Include details such as age and level of education. Support your answer with evidence from the text

Write a description of the Black Death that includes its symptoms and where outbreaks occurred in Europe and Asia.

Since achieving independence, several Central Asian countries have moved toward what type of government?

democracy
theocracy
dictatorship
communist

What impact did President George Washington have on setting precedents for the office of the President?

Compare the emergence of advanced civilizations in Meso and South America with the four early river valley civilizations.

Which of the following is an example of Native American culture but not the cultures of early river valley civilizations?

Craftsmanship
Agriculture
Polytheism
Tribal governments

analyze the graphs below and answer the question that follows.
Left, a bar graph titled Mexican Pesos per U S Dollar in 2008. The x-axis is labeled July, September, and November. The y-axis is labeled M X N 8 to M X N 14. July and September are over M X N 10. November is over M X N 12. Right, a bar graph titled British Pounds per U S Dollar in 2008. The x-axis is labeled July, September, and November. The y-axis is labeled 0.50 pounds to 0.70 pounds. July is near 0.50 pounds. September is 0.55 pounds. November is 0.65 pounds.
Data courtesy of RateX

The graphs above show the exchange rates between the US dollar and two other currencies in 2008. During the months shown, the number of Mexican pesos (MXN) in relation to one dollar rose from 10.2 to 13.1. The number of British pounds (£) in relation to one dollar also rose from .51 to .65.
Based on the graphs, did the value of the US dollar increase or decrease during these months?

If the Second Continental Congress desired peace with Great Britain, why was their first action to create the Continental Army? A.)They wanted to protect the nation if war broke out. B.)They wanted to create jobs for the men of the colonies. Parliament asked the colonists to create an army to help the British army. C.)They knew that the king would not read the Olive Branch Petition.

Buddhism spread to places such a Ceylon and Central Asia by _____.

merchants and Buddhist nuns and monks

its founder

Indians from lower classes

the Dalai Lama

Did all the members of the Second Continental Congress feel going to war with England was the only solution? Yes. They voted to go to war unanimously. No. They all wanted peace, but the Crown would not consider it. They were divided. Some wanted war, while others wanted peace. The Second Continental Congress did not discuss war.

How did geography affect people’s choices of where to settle in ancient Egypt and Kush? no links pls

What were Charles Dickens own personal failures?