How would you take care of a generic plant?

It depends on the plant, how I have to start, and the conditions around the plant.

Starting a seed is usually the same for all plants. Place the seed in soil about 1 inch down, and keep the soil damp and in sunlight until the seed sprouts. This can take anywhere from a day with commercial grass seeds to weeks with wild seeds. Some exotic seeds need to be exposed to heat or high humidity to grow. Others can only be started by planting sections of the plant itself, like violets or potatoes. Some plants are unable to reproduce, like seedless fruits, so they must be grafted onto a living plant instead.

Next, when the plan has grown a bit, I transplant the seedling into an environment more suitable for it's species. For example, in Texas I can leave my pet cactus outside unless it rains, but when I raise seeds gathered in Colorado, I have to keep them inside with a grow light so they stay cool and dry. Some plants need large containers, such as bushes and trees. Others are good with tiny pots or little planters. Some, like beans and peas, need trellises to climb.

As the plant grows further, you may need to keep growth in check. It is normal to prune rosebushes, or cut off sections that may be draining energy from the plant. Drooping branches over power lines should be cut. 

Eventually, you may want to replicate your plant. When this day comes, you can read about how to harvest the seeds, as it can be a lengthy process for some plants, or attempt a cutting from the plant. This can be achieved with root hormone and a sharp blade.

What prior knowledge do readers have when they begin Anne Frank's diary?

Many readers have heard of Anne Frank.  In many ways, she is a human symbol of the Holocaust.  She is considered one of the most famous Holocaust victims.  The basic information of her story is known throughout the world, even by those who have not read her diary.

In addition to information about Anne Frank herself, most readers will also have prior knowledge about Nazism and the Holocaust.  In the study of world history, World War II, Nazism, and the Holocaust are important topics.  People who have not read Anne Frank's diary will most likely know about Hitler's rise to power and Nazi Germany.  They will know that the Nazis had a platform of antisemitism, and this led to them restricting the lives of German Jews.  Jews were banned from schools and public places, and they were eventually removed from their homes and sent to concentration camps.  World War II began, and the Nazis started invading other countries.  The Nazis invaded Holland, where Anne and the Frank family lived.  They placed restrictions on Jews in Holland, and eventually they sent many of them to work camps.  Anne and her family went into hiding to escape being sent away by the Nazis.

"Popova's and Smirnov's attitudes towards each other change rapidly." Discuss this statement with examples from The Bear.

In The Bear, Popova's and Smirnov's attitudes towards one another change over the course of the drama.

Both characters are distant when they first meet.  Popova is in mourning. She has remained so for some time, refusing to even go outside in deference to her husband's memory.  When Smirnov enters, Chekhov writes that he "speaks with respect" to her.  He approaches Popova with courtesy when he says that he is "compelled" to call upon her because of a "very pressing affair."  Their attitudes are distant because of their different priorities.  He is concerned with collecting his money and she is focused on her mourning.  

As they settle into familiarity, their attitudes change.  Smirnov is convinced that his judgments of Popova are accurate.  He questions the validity of her mourning because of her gender and believes that he has figured her out when no one else could.  For her part, Popova cannot fathom that someone would disturb the intensity of her mourning with such rudeness.  It is for this reason that she calls him a "boor," a coarse bear," and a "monster."

Their mutual acceptance of a duel confirms the intensity of their dislike.  He believes that to "fight it out" with her is the only way to prove himself right and shed her label as a "poetic creature."  Similarly, Popova feels intense joy at being able to "put a bullet" into Smirnov's "thick head."  When Popova retrieves her dead husband's pistols, it is clear that the distant attitudes they once held towards one another have been replaced by shared disdain.

Their attitudes go through one more change in the drama's conclusion.   Smirnov has become smitten with Popova:  "I absolutely like her! Absolutely! Even though her cheeks are dimpled, I like her! I'm almost ready to let the debt go... and I'm not angry any longer.... Wonderful woman!"  The intensity of their interactions has caused him to change his view: "God, what a woman! I've never in my life seen one like her! I'm lost! Done for! Fallen into a mousetrap, like a mouse!"  His infatuation catches Popova by surprise.  She is unable to quickly process the feelings he has for her, what she might hold towards him, and the mourning of her husband. However, it is clear that her feelings have changed when she shares in his kiss.  Given the drama's one act, Popova's and Smirnov's attitudes have rapidly changed.  From distant to antipathy to infatuation, Popova's and Smirnov's attitudes towards one another highlight the drama's comedic nature.

What are the characteristics of Shakespearean sonnets?

The Shakespearean or English sonnet is a form that includes a fixed meter and a typical structure. 

The Shakespearean sonnet consists of fourteen lines. It is divided into three open quatrains followed by a couplet. The quatrains are rhymed ABAB CDCD EFEF. The following couple is rhymed GG. Although most English sonnets are written in iambic pentameter, Shakespeare's Sonnet 145 is written in iambic tetrameter, and it is also possible to use alexandrines (iambic hexameter lines) for the couplet. 

Typically, each quatrain has an individual theme or focus and the couplet expresses an unusual, unexpected, or paradoxical twist, although sometimes an English sonnet can have a Petrarchan turn after the first two quatrains and a second turn or counterturn before the couplet. 

In terms of subject matter, Shakespeare's sonnets are typical of the genre of the whole in his period in focusing mainly on love or close friendship. Later poets expanded the variety of themes addressed in sonnet form.

How much mortgage interest can be claimed on taxes in the following scenario:Donald and Daisy owned their house in Disrepair (that they lived in...

Tax deductions vary by jurisdiction, but I'm assuming you mean the IRS federal income tax deduction for mortgage interest. The IRS has detailed guidelines on how to handle various living situations, but they can be quite complex and often confusing.

The key here is that to be deductible, the interest must be paid on a loan collateralized by a qualified home; generally, this means one primary home and possibly one secondary home. Only homes you actually live in can be used as qualified homes, so the pond for Donald's mother wouldn't qualify.

Donald and Daisy didn't mortgage the pond, though; they took out a home equity loan on their own residence, which is a qualified home. Therefore, the loan is collateralized by a qualified home, and is therefore tax deductible.

There's another caveat, which is that home equity debt is only deductible up to $100,000 per household, so only the interest paid on $100,000 of that $140,000 is deductible. It's 5% interest, so that's $5,000 deductible and $2,000 not.

There is also a $1 million per household cap on acquisition mortgages, but they're well under that limit.

Thus, the deductible interest is $18,500 for the acquisition mortgage and $5,000 for the home equity mortgage, for a total of $23,500. The remaining $2,000 on the home equity mortgage is above the cap and therefore not deductible.

Who is Adri, Pearl, Peony, and Linh-jie?

In the novel, Adri is Linh Cinder's step-mother, while Pearl and Peony are Linh Cinder's step-sisters.

As for Linh-jie, this is a reference to Adri in the second chapter of the book. In this chapter, when Cinder returns to her apartment, she sees her step-sisters, Peony and Pearl, clothed in beautiful gowns. Meanwhile, a seamstress is fiddling with the neckline on Peony's gown. Linh Adri, Peony's mother, has just given the seamstress the order to lower Peony's neckline. Adri also orders the seamstress to take in Pearl's dress at the waist. When the seamstress objects, stating that the gown is already too tight and that it would be very difficult to dance in it, Adri ominously proclaims that the purpose of the dress is to find Pearl a husband.

In response, the seamstress mentions that, at seventeen, Pearl is too young to get married. However, Adri coldly answers that she expects results from the gown, meaning that she expects the dress to earn Pearl a husband. Obsequiously, the seamstress assures Linh-jie (Linh Adri) that Pearl will be as beautiful as the morning dew, when she's finished with her dress. So, Linh-jie is just a respectful way for the seamstress to address Linh Adri.

In Maya Angelou's "Still I Rise," what techniques are used to express inequality?

One technique that Angelou uses in "Still I Rise" is a tone that confronts inequality in a direct manner.

Upon reading "Still I Rise," it is clear that the poem's speaker does not accept inequality.  The speaker wants to bring attention to inequality, challenging it directly. The poem's first word is reflective of this confrontational tone.  The use of "You" makes it clear that the speaker is addressing an imbalance of power. Those who perpetuate this unfairness are called into question.  When the speaker says, "You may write me down in history / With your bitter, twisted lies," the only suitable path that the speaker sees towards inequality is to directly call it out.  The confrontation is heightened when the speaker asks if their "sassiness," "haughtiness," or "sexiness" causes discomfort.  Finally, challenging the forces of inequality with figurative language like "I walk like I’ve got oil wells / Pumping in my living room" or meeting power imbalances with "You may kill me with your hatefulness, / But still, like air, I’ll rise," Angelou suggests that when inequality persists, confronting it with immediacy is the only suitable response.  

The closing of the poem affirms that confronting inequality without hesitation is the only way to move past it.  In order to achieve a realm whereby "nights of terror" can be "left behind, " or the hope of seeing a clear "daybreak," and the joy in reveling in the ancestral "gifts," Angelou argues that one cannot run away from inequality.  It must be challenged in order to be defeated.  Only through its defeat can we hope to say, "Still I Rise."