I ain't no valedictorian. I'll give you that. But I'm certainly not the loser my step-father Johnnie likes to think I am, either. Mr
oh-so-famous local Johnnie Pipehead of "Johnnie on the Spot Plumbing." (Real clever name, huh?) Just because he only took the
requisite twelve years to make it through school and graduate from his alma mater, and I took slightly longer, that doesn't make
me a loser. So what if I took 'the road less traveled by' and added a one-year, scenic detour to my journey--thanks to Algebra,
Physical Science, and well Latin. Did I mention Chemistry? Let's just say I liked Latin but Latin didn't much care for me. Just
because I took thirteen years in all to get out of Melancholy High with a diploma doesn't make me some loser. Being nothing at
all, now THAT would make me a loser
2 I am something But what I am, and what I'll be, are two countries at war at present. Battles, I've had them. Many battles.
Literal ones..figurative ones too many, Figurative language. see there? At least I did learn a few somethings in Mr. J's English
class
3 I could've been the valedictorian. Of somewhere. Of some school that had a bunch of unmotivated kids like me. Then, maybe
would have gone to those Physical Science study halls. Maybe I would have actually done my homework in Mr. Pugnacious' class
Real name, Pugliese. Wrestling coach. Don't you just love that moniker? For a wrestling coach Pugnacious. Funny stuff, huh?
Made that up. It stuck. Guy's got a bulldog face but a little tail wagging personality. Had everything but the panting. And the
drool Too much caffeine I suppose. Too happy. Loved his math, that Pugnacious.
6 I was the valedictorian tonight. I do know what I'm going to be. I have graduated from Meloncamp High School about 115th
out of class of 126. Thing is, I've seen the fear in the eyes of four score and seven more of those classmates of mine that don't
have a rat's chance of knowing what they are going to be. I do. I'm going to be a writer. Mr. J taught me more than English. He
taught me what Pops taught me before his passing...love.
Based on the passage, what can you infer was the speaker's best subject in school?
A)Algebra
B)English
C)Chemistry
D)Physical Science

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."