Read the following passage from a story. "Ajit is so excited to see you," he heard his mother shout into the phone. She always spoke
louder on long-distance calls, as if raising her voice would help it travel across the Atlantic.
"Aren't you, Ajit?" she demanded. Ajit slumped in his chair, pushing wrinkled peas around
his plate. His suitcases stood at attention in the hallway, holding eight weeks worth of
shirts, pants and socks. Suddenly, a loud crash sounded. "Patches!" his mother shrieked. In
the hallway, Patches the cat stood next to an overturned suitcase and the remnants of a
shattered vase. As Ajit's mother rushed to assess the damage, Patches sidled up to Ajit,
rubbing his face against Ajit's leg. Ajit reached down to stroke him, and Patches looked up.
blinking his green eyes. He stared at Ajit with his knowing look-a look that seemed to offer
so much and ask for so little in return.
Which of the following is most likely a theme of the story?
You must confront your past.
The love of a pet is unlike any other.
Friendship is worth more than material goods.
Pets are more trouble than they're worth.

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."