Ineed to write an essay about a custom or tradition, does christmas fall under one of those?

Which is the most effective paraphrase of the passage "six benches were left empty in every ship that evening when we pulled away from death. and this new grief we bore with us to sea: our precious lives we had, but not our friends" - the odyssey

The institute of international research is holding its annual convention. this year more than 500 scholars have been invited to hear research reports on many timely topics. approximately 250 big name scientists will be winging their way to washington, d.c. how can the underlined sentence be revised so that it fits the tone of the passage? a) approximately 250 people will be in washington, d.c. b) approximately 250 bigwigs will be flying to washington, d.c. c) approximately 250 science people will be going to washington, d.c. d) approximately 250 well-known scientists will be arriving in washington, d.c.

Good colleges that take low gpa and not so good grades where would i look at freshman applications?