Read the excerpt from "Object Lesson 1". Ellery hurried down West 92nd Street toward the main entrance of Henry Hudson High School stealing guilty glances at his watch. Miss Carpenter had been crisply specific about place, date, and time: her homeroom, 109; Friday morning, April 22nd; first period ("Bell at 8:40, Mr. Queen"). How does the author's word choice help express the tone of the excerpt? The negative connotations of the words "hurried," "guilty," and "crisply" give the excerpt a tone of freedom. The negative connotations of the words "hurried," "guilty," and "crisply" give the excerpt a tone of pressure. The positive connotations of the words "toward," "entrance," and "morning" give the excerpt a tone of freedom. The positive connotations of the words "toward," "entrance," and "morning" give the excerpt a tone of pressure.