On Tuesday, Shonda hustled into the newsroom just in time to hear her new boss, the managing editor of the Billford Citizen, call her name. 2 “Shonda, great—welcome aboard! Now, there’s a graffiti artist in town who’s been hired to paint a mural on the exterior of the post office building, and I want you to go find out who it is, get everything you can about them and the mural, and give me a pitch for the story by noon tomorrow, okay? And on Friday night, sit in on the town meeting at 7:30. They’re voting on whether to repurpose the old rail depot into a performing arts center, and we think there’s going to be a massive turnout. Get the numbers—you know: who attended, what the final vote is, whether anyone threw a tantrum because of the final decision—and build a balanced article, Shonda, without opinion or taking sides.” Shonda frenetically jotted notes into her phone as she wondered whether her mom would let her borrow the car on Friday. 3 “Sure. Okay, Mr. Meredith.” 4 Every day at the Billford Citizen began in the same way: Shonda would arrive after school, and Mr. Meredith would pile up assignments that were due by impossible deadlines. Within a week, he’d also given Shonda a set of newsroom keys so she could come in early on days her column was due. Then he asked her to copyedit the entire calendar section and to update the print resources room. Nothing was too much for Shonda, who performed each task to perfection and hit every deadline. After all, a part-time job with the local newspaper was a fantastic résumé piece that demonstrated to colleges just how dedicated she was to a career in journalism. She was sure she’d be named her class valedictorian, too, and the free school lunch program had exceeded its own expectations due to her tireless leadership. 5 One morning, about three weeks after Shonda started working at the Citizen, her brother Tyler lounged at the kitchen table as Shonda trundled in for breakfast wearing mismatched pajamas and shuffled over to the coffee pot, her braids shrouding puffy eyes that made her look far from the tireless leader everyone thought she was. She caught him staring at her in disbelief, brows raised, coffee cup halfway to his mouth. “Tell me again,” he said, “how much you need this job, because local art is a thrill-a-minute—I mean, you’re reporting on whether an artist used Titian Red or just plain-old red, or whether they dished out the money for real sable brushes or bought synthetic, right? Surely there’s a Pulitzer in there somewhere. Honestly, Shonda, if you want to be an investigative reporter, why are you breaking yourself over small-town stuff?” 6 “Small-town stuff is important, Tyler, because it’s the world we interact with every day, and because what happens here affects what happens in the rest of the world. The Citizen is a great local paper, and Mr. Meredith only wants the best for it.” But Shonda had started to wonder whether she was the best person for the Citizen. 7 A week later, Tyler drove Shonda to the newsroom, the silence hanging heavily in the car. She knew she had to talk to Mr. Meredith about how she was letting him down, about how she wasn’t the dependable staff member he thought she was, so she trudged reluctantly toward the door to his office with every confidence that she was about to be fired from her first real job. 8 “Mr. Meredith, I have tomorrow’s deadline . . . my article is due. I have the fundraising gala to plan, and then there’s photo archives to digitize and organize. I almost forgot about an interview I scheduled with a pottery club, and I submitted an article to the copyeditor without even proofreading it first—I misspelled orange, Mr. Meredith! Orange! I don’t think I’m the right person for this job.” 9 “Shonda, listen, I’ve been thinking about your contributions here at the Billford Citizen, and they’re spectacular, really spectacular. My problem is that I want the Citizen to be the best local paper it can be, but it can’t be great if I ask too much of my staff. I don’t see how anyone could be responsible for the kind of stellar work you do here and keep up with school at the same time if I place unreasonable expectations on them. You’re the best person for the job that you signed up for—a part-time job, two days each week—so let’s help you be the best reporter you can be for this paper that we love. Let’s look at the work you have in front of you and reduce it to a manageable list that you can complete in those two days. You can’t be any good for this paper, Shonda, or for anyone if you’re overwhelmed with responsibilities. Of course,” he said with a wink, “it means I’ll have to take you off the Arts desk, which I’m sure you’ll find disappointing.” 10 He opened a desk drawer with a clatter and handed Shonda a Billford Citizen identification tag on a long, blue lanyard. Beneath her name were the words “Investigative Reporter, City Desk.” Read Less ▲ Multiple Choice Question In paragraph 4, what impact does the phrase “pile up” have on its connotative meaning and on the tone of the paragraph? A. The negative connotation suggests that Meredith is an abusive employer, which conveys an antagonistic or caustic tone. B. The negative connotation implies that Shonda is drowning under paperwork, which conveys a bitter or demoralizing tone. C. The positive connotation suggests a life of purpose, which conveys a passionate or optimistic tone. D. The positive connotation implies that Shonda seeks out an abundance of work, which conveys a supportive or enthusiastic tone.

Answer 1

The correct answer is B. The negative connotation implies that Shonda is drowning under paperwork, which conveys a bitter or demoralizing tone.

The phrase "pile up" suggests an overwhelming amount of work being assigned to Shonda, which contributes to a tone that reflects her feelings of being burdened and stressed rather than positive or supportive. This indicates a sense of struggle rather than enthusiasm or purpose.