Ahouse sat empty on a very quiet street in a very quiet town. finally, a sold sign was posted outside the house. a new family was moving in to the neighborhood. the neighbors were buzzing with excitement, especially the next door neighbors. mrs. kinfield lived to the right of the house. she was talking with mrs. underhill, who lived to the left of the house.
“i heard that the neighbors are a big family,” mrs. kinfield said. “i heard they have eight children.”
“i heard the father owns a computer company,” mrs. underhill said. “i think the mother is in politics.”
the next week, a moving truck parked in front of the house. mrs. kinfield and mrs. underhill peered out their windows. they both saw a van pull up behind the truck. the neighbors expected to see a crowd of children climb out of the van, but there were only two children—a boy and a girl.
“oh, well,” mrs. underhill said. “i thought they would have more kids.”
as the new family began unpacking, mrs. kinfield showed up with a pecan pie. she smiled as she greeted her neighbors with the welcome gift.
she turned to the father. “so how is the computer business? ” she asked.
he stared at her for a second. “what do you mean? ”
“everyone’s saying that you own a computer company, and your wife is in politics,” mrs. kinfield explained.
“i don’t know who would have said that,” the father replied. “i’m an accountant, and my wife is a dentist.” he quickly her for the pie and excused himself to go back to unpacking.
mrs. kinfield turned to leave but took one more glance behind her when she reached her yard. she saw the father whispering to his wife. the wife rolled her eyes and said one word. “nosy.” with that, the family quickly disappeared inside the house.
over the next weeks, the family did not talk much with the neighbors. they would say hello but never get involved in conversations. they mostly stayed inside their house, but they were very loud. mrs. kinfield and mrs. underhill talked about the family’s unpleasant habits.
"that new family must have a rock band. they play their music so loud that i cannot even hear my own family at the dinner table," mrs. kinfield said. mrs. underhill could not hear, but she nodded along to be polite.
what does the conversation between mrs. kinfield and mrs. underhill at the beginning of the story best suggest about them?
a.
they want to start a rock band.
b.
they make good pecan pies.
c.
they just bought a house.
d.
they like to spread gossip.

Which of these are central ideas of chapter 4 of wheels of change? check all that apply.

Read the passage. excerpt from "why equal pay is worth fighting for" by senator elizabeth warren, april 17, 2014 i honestly can't believe that we're still arguing over equal pay in 2014. when i started teaching elementary school after college, the public school district didn't hide the fact that it had two pay scales: one for men and one for women. women have made incredible strides since then. but 40 years later, we're still debating equal pay for equal work. women today still earn only 77 cents for every dollar a man earns, and they're taking a hit in nearly every occupation. bloomberg analyzed census data and found that median earnings for women were lower than those for men in 264 of 265 major occupation categories. in 99.6 percent of occupations, men get paid more than women. that's not an accident; that's discrimination. the effects of this discrimination are real, and they are long lasting. today, more young women go to college than men, but unequal pay makes it harder for them to pay back student loans. pay inequality also means a tougher retirement for women. . for middle-class families today, it usually takes two incomes to get by, and many families depend as much on mom's salary as they do on dad's, if not more. women are the main breadwinners, or joint breadwinners, in two-thirds of the families across the country, and pay discrimination makes it that much harder for these families to stay afloat. women are ready to fight back against pay discrimination, but it's not easy. today, a woman can get fired for asking the guy across the hall how much money he makes. here in the senate, sen. barbara mikulski (d-md.) introduced the paycheck fairness act to give women the tools to combat wage discrimination. it would ensure that salary differences have something to do with the actual job that they are doing, and not just because they are women. senator warren states that the effects of pay discrimination are long-lasting. is this a valid argument supported by accurate evidence? no; warren weakens her point by claiming that the paycheck fairness act would "give women the tools to combat wage discrimination." yes; warren supports her point by noting, "for middle-class families today, it usually takes two incomes to get by." yes; warren supports her point by noting, "pay inequality also means a tougher retirement for women." no; warren weakens her point by noting, "today, a woman can get fired for asking the guy across the hall how much money he makes."

Read the passage. when i consider how my light is spent ere half my days, in this dark world and wide, and that one talent which is death to hide, lodged with me useless, though my soul more bent to serve therewith my maker, and present my true account, lest he returning chide; “doth god exact day labor, light denied? ” in line 7 of sonnet xix by john milton, the speaker asks, “doth god exact day labor, light denied? ” what does his question mean? why must god make us suffer to work? what shall one charge god to work in the dark? how does god expect him to work when he is blind? is god trying me?