To the Pole On March 8, 1986, the Stoger Expedition got off. Ann Bancroft wos the only fomale member of the team. Bancroft, along with hor seven malo loam mortera set off from Canada's Northwest Territones. The goal was 1.om mlles ( 609 km) across the ice to the North Pole Unlike other oxpeditions, the one wouldn't depend on outode help, Airplanes wouldnt be dropping on lood along the way. Using dogs and sleds, the team would carry everything they needed. Thoy would have to ration their food and try to make it last the distance, Bancroft found the journey gruoling and exhausting. Once, the snow she was standing on gave wem plunging her into the rigid waters of the Arctic Ocean. With quick thinking, Bancroft extended her arms, anchorng them on moro solld Ice. Then, using pl of her strength, sho wilagled up over the odgo. Bancroft had avolded drowning, but now she was at risk of rearing to doah. As quickly as she could, she changed into dry clothes and tried to ralso her body tomperature by pushing the sledis forward. I look Bancroft two full days to fool warm agaln, but she didn't complain onco. When Bancroft was young, school was ospecially difficult for her. Dyslexic, she had trouble learning to rand and rotalning Informatlon. Instead of complaining whenever conditions wera especially gruoling. Bancroft would think, "School was harder." Bancroft arrived at the North Pole on May 1, 1986, with five other members of her team. Two members were alried out for medical reasons.) On that day, Bancroft became the first known woman in history to cross the ice to the North Pole.​

Passage: mrs. smith’s sixth-grade class filed onto the grassy field behind the middle school after lunch. as she exited the building, chelsea looked around for her closest friend, brittany. she spotted her by the swings, talking to their classmate brian. 2 “brian thinks he’s the fastest person in mrs. smith’s class,” brittany told her when she had joined them. it was obvious that brittany didn’t agree with brian. 3 “i guarantee i can beat anyone in this class to a race,” brian said, tugging on the scarlet baseball cap that he wore each and every day. “in fact, i bet i can run faster than the seventh, eighth, and even ninth graders, too! ” 4chelsea rolled her eyes, but wasn’t astonished by his declaration. brian was typically overconfident; he was always challenging other students and expecting to win. according to brian, he was so talented that he could hit more home runs than children on the baseball team and even could repeatedly make more baskets than the boys and girls on the basketball team. 5 “who dares to challenge me? ” brian shouted, directing his question to every student on the playground. the students looked around, but no one volunteered. 6 “i’ll race you,” chelsea said, breaking the awkward silence. she knew she wasn’t the fastest person on the playground, but if she possessed the determination necessary to win, perhaps she could complete the race first. 7 “first person around the field wins,” said brian, stretching his legs and jumping up and down to ready himself for the race. 8they approached the starting line, and brittany counted to three. 9 “see you at the finish line! ” brian exclaimed and left chelsea in the dust. 10brian soon disappeared around the first turn. chelsea took a deep breath and continued to run at a quick pace. the sun was warm and she soon grew tired, but she didn’t stop. ahead, brian approached the finish line and as he began to celebrate, she watched him trip over a small mound of dirt and fall to the ground. 11as chelsea reached the finish line, she noticed that brian was still seated on the ground, rubbing his injured knee. instead of running past him and winning the race, chelsea stooped down to him stand. he leaned on her shoulder, and they completed the race together. 12 “you could've won,” brian said as their friends came out to congratulate them. 13chelsea smiled. “friends are more important than winning,” she said. 14brian smiled at her. “my thoughts exactly,” he said question: which action in the story advance the plot the most? a) when chelsea accepts brian's challenge to race him b) when chelsea rolled her eyes at irritation at brian's pride c) when chelsea reached the finish line and brian finish the race d) when brittany told chelsea that brian thinks he's the fastest in the class