Read the passage from “The Little Regiment,” then answer the question. “When were borne past them some wounded men with gray and blood-smeared faces, and eyes that rolled in that helpless beseeching for assistance from the sky which comes with supreme pain, the soldiers in the mud watched intently, and from time to time asked of the bearers an account of the affair.” Stephen Crane, "The Little Regiment," 1897. What is the best paraphrase of this passage? A) The soldiers who are waiting to fight see the wounded and hope too for their chance to be heroic in battle. B) The soldiers are more affected by the miserable weather than by any threat from the enemy. C) As the wounded are carried from the front, the soldiers stop joking and try to find out what is happening in the battle. D) When they see the wounded, the soldiers begin to joke and jostle as a way to break the tension.

Read the excerpt from the common sense of bicycling: bicycling for ladies. the bicycle is capable of such high speed that there is a strong temptation to ride so fast as to cause over exertion or excessive perspiration. on the other hand some people ride too slow, causing a zigzag and uncertain movement. while exercising reasonable caution, be a fearless rider. when you come to a steep hill, if the road is clear, let it go as fast as it will. if you rid yourself of that ghost of fear, coasting is one of the greatest delights of cycling. which is the best paraphrase of the text?

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."

Westridge, ohio — more than 600 transportation employees went on strike at midnight last night after the westridge city council rejected their demand for a 10% pay increase. the strike affects all bus and rail services throughout westridge and the neighboring communities of turlock, smithfield, and lowell grove. "we hoped we would not be forced to strike, but until our demands are met, we really have no choice," said wanda thompson, a representative of the transportation employees union. "we simply don't get paid what we deserve." members of the westridge city council see the situation differently. "our employees already earn 6% more than the state average for similar transportation jobs," said raoul cobian, president of the westridge city council. hopefully the two groups can come to an agreement soon and bring this unnecessary strike to an end. what is the common name for the underlined information in the article?