Ever since Sam had moved to the mountains, he had an interest in exploring caves. He had always been adventurous. Sam was small, but strong and stubborn. Sam and his friend always went exploring caves together. They knew it was safer to explore with a friend than to go alone. Besides it was more fun. They had recently discovered a new cave opening, and plans were made to spend the next day exploring it. When Sam arrived to pick up Harry, he found Harry sick with mumps. Harry would be at least two weeks getting well. Sam knew the winter snow would begin to fall soon and close the opening of the cave. Should he risk his safety and explore the cave? He couldn't stand the thought of waiting until spring to see the cave, so off he went. Once inside, Sam found the cave to be all he had hoped for. The cave was large enough inside for him to stand and seemed to go back a long way. As he began making his way further in, Sam suddenly slipped and found himself on his back, drenched in an ice-cold pool of water. As he moved to get on his feet, a searing pain ran up his leg. Sam had sprained his ankle, and he could not climb out of the pool. "Why did I come alone?" he groaned. Not long after, he heard a familiar voice calling from the cave entrance. "Sam! Are you in there?" "Yeah," Sam yelled back, "Ritchie! Is that you?" "Yeah," shouted Ritchie, "Are you all right?" Ritchie made his way inside the cave towards Sam's voice. In the dim light, he could see Sam sitting in the pool. "What are you doing in that pool. It's cold in here." Sam felt strong arms help him to his feet. "I fell in and sprained my ankle. How did you know I was here?" "Harry knew you would try it alone", explained Ritchie, "so he gave me directions to the cave to make sure you were all right. It looks like it's a good thing I came when I did!" Wrapped in a blanket and safe outside, Sam was sure he would never go exploring alone again. What is the setting of this story?

The gift of the magi analyze the various characters in the story. list which character types—dynamic, round, static, and flat—you observed in the story. cite evidence to support your response.

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."

Doug plans to end his adventure story by introducing a new character during the climax. the new character happens to be an experienced guide who will lead the protagonist down a treacherous mountain and into safety. explain the problem with his plan.