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U.S. and World Literature Passage Videos


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SAT Reading: Citing Evidence to Identify a Theme in Walden
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Contemplating one's life is key to fulfilled happiness. Thoreau's theme revolves around the simple life well lived. He clearly never tried virtual...

SAT Reading: Why Does Thoreau Use the Phrase "Mechanical Aids" in this Passage?
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Thoreau was all about simplicity; anything that took away from his vision was the enemy. Mechanical aids were one of them. Guess he had to train a...

What Does the Author Mean by "Front" in this Context?
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Thoreau uses "front" to mean "face". He wants to face The Facts of Life without shying away from our natural tendencies, roots, and the simply way...

SAT Reading: Using Context to Define a Word
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What does "frittered away" mean in this context? Wasted. Wasted by the way. Thoreau claims we fritter away our lives praying to modern complex dist...

SAT Reading: Inferring Information from a Passage
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Thoreau moved to Walden - now what? He... ate only a few, simple meals. No 3 meals a day schedule for him. He wanted to diet complexity and calorie...

SAT Reading: Supporting an Inference from Walden with Evidence
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The "strongest answer" is a common question in readings like those on the SAT - the strongest is usually that which maps most directly to the theme...

SAT Reading: Suggesting a Reason for Thoreau's Word Choice
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Thoreau wants our lives to be simplified. He claims that we gain less from life when we over-complicate things.

How Does Thoreau Feel about Commerce?
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How does Thoreau feel about commerce? He writes, "We don't ride upon the railroad; it rides upon us." He wants and end to the war fighting for the...

SAT Reading: Assessing the Reasoning Behind Thoreau's Argument
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Railroad ranchor. Modern life damages human life. Metaphorically. We all sacrifice our lives to be part of The System which doesn't really mirror n...

SAT Reading: Drawing Conclusions from the Tone of Twain's Essay
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Mark Twain doesn't like an apprentice. Find out why when you watch this SAT Reading video.

SAT Reading: Inferring Why Twain Was Drawn to the Idea of Being a Steamboatman
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Why was Mark Twain drawn to the idea of a "steamboatman"? What this SAT Reading video to find out!

SAT Reading: Recognizing the Impact of One Paragraph on Twain's Entire Essay
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According to Mark Twain, working on a steam boat was the gig or all gigs and this SAT Reading video will tell you why.

SAT Reading: Using Implicit Information to Determine Why Twain Can't Get His Dream Job
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And we continue in this SAT Reading video to indulge Mark Twain's fetish for the Mississippi River.

Citing Textual Evidence to Support an Inference
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Want to hunt for evidence? Solve this SAT Reading mystery to get the answer!

What Does "Shock the bottom out of" Mean?
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What does "Shock the bottom out of" mean? Mark Twain uses it in the SAT Reading passage.

SAT Reading: Understanding Why Twain Uses Certain Words to Describe a Character
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What's not to like about greased up, oily hair? Mark Twain goes over it in his memoires in this SAT Reading video.

SAT Reading: Defining "Swell" in the Context of Twain's Essay
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Swell - a term last found in 40s yearbooks when you didn't know what else to say...or was it? Find out in this SAT Reading video.

SAT Reading: Inferring Twain's Purpose in Using Dialect
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Did Mark Twain create the Fonzie before Happy Day? Watch this SAT Reading video to get the scoop!

SAT Reading: Which Choice Provides Evidence to Support That Inference?
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This SAT Reading video goes over another aspect of why St. Looy was an intolerable apprentice in Mark Twain's memoires.

SAT Reading: Analyzing the Point of View of Characters in Twain's Essay
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In this SAT Reading video some boys are pretty happy about a steamer explosion. Sound intriguing? Watch the video to find out more.

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