[robert] never assumed this series-comic tone when alone with mrs. pontellier. she never knew precisely what to make of it; at that moment it was impossible for her to guess how much of it was jest and what proportion was earnest. it was understood that he had often spoken words of love to madame ratignolle, without any thought of being take seriously. during his oblivious attention [robert] once quietly rested his head against mrs. pontellier’s arm. as gently she repulsed him. once again he repeated the offense. she could not but believe it to be thoughtlessness on his part; yet that was no reason she should submit to it. he offered no apology. which best explains why the author included both of these scenes in the story? to develop background information about the ways in which men and women were expected to interact during the time period to develop a contrast between the way in which mrs. pontellier interacts with madame ratignolle and the way she acts with robert to develop background information about the longstanding friendship between robert, mrs. ratignolle, and mrs. pontellier to develop a contrast between the way in which robert interacts with madame ratignolle and the way he interacts with mrs. pontellier

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."