Read the following excerpt from mark twain's life on the mississippi: once a day a cheap, gaudy packet arrived upward from st. louis, and another downward from keokuk. before these events, the day was glorious with expectancy; after them, the day was a dead and empty thing. which comedic technique does this excerpt best illustrate? a. sarcasm b. hyperbole c. understatement d. irony

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?