1Every four years, millions of people head to the polls on Election Day to vote for a new president. It is their right and duty as U. S. citizens to do so. In the months before the election, they watch the candidates argue about important issues. They read articles about the candidates' promises. They see ads that draw attention to the candidates' strengths and weaknesses. Armed with this knowledge and their own beliefs, citizens choose the candidate whom they believe will lead our country in the right direction. Or do they?

2In the United States, the people do not directly pick the president. Rather, our country gives this important power to the Electoral College. The Electoral College is a body of electors selected by the people in each state to officially choose the next president. How does the Electoral College work? On Election Day, voters take part in the popular vote. They press a button or pull a lever to vote for a presidential candidate. What they actually do, however, is pick the electors who will become members of the Electoral College. These electors pledge to vote for the chosen candidate in another election held in mid-December.

3The number of members each state has in the Electoral College depends on its population. A state with a large population has more votes than a state with a small population. For example, California has 55 votes while Alaska has 3. In most states, the candidate who wins the popular vote wins all of that state’s electoral votes. A candidate must receive a majority of the electoral votes to become the next president. How many electoral votes is enough to win? In recent elections, candidates have had to earn at least 270 of the 538 electoral votes to win.

4In theory, this system should work, and it has worked—most of the time. A few times, however, the system has failed. In these cases, the candidate with fewer popular votes gained enough electoral votes to win the election. This occurred during the 2000 presidential election when more people voted for Al Gore, but George W. Bush earned more electoral votes and became the president. What causes such a breakdown in the system to happen? Let's return to the example of California and Alaska. A single vote in California has the power to override thousands of votes in other states. Imagine that only one person in California casts a vote for Candidate A. That candidate wins the popular vote in California 1–0. He or she gets all of California's 55 electoral votes. Across the country, thousands of voters in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New Jersey, and Delaware cast their votes for Candidate B. Not one voter casts a vote for Candidate A. These states have a combined 52 electoral votes, which is not enough to beat California's 55. How can the leaders of our country believe that this system is fair?

5A long time ago, Americans were scattered far and wide about the country. It made sense to have representatives who voted for them. In this day and age, however, polling places are practically in the next room for most people. With the use of computers, it is possible to tally votes quickly and accurately. The need for the "middle man" is gone. U. S. citizens are perfectly capable of choosing the person they want for president without interference. It is time to graduate from the Electoral College and let the people decide. You want your vote to matter, don't you?
Which statement most clearly conveys the author's position on the Electoral College?

A) Fairness demands a restructuring of the Electoral College.
B) In theory, this system should work, and it has worked—most of the time.
C) It is time to graduate from the Electoral College and let the people decide.
D) The number of members each state has in the Electoral College depends on its population.

Acommunity park it was friday, and as she walked home from school, samara thought about what she would do that weekend. everyone would be at the fund-raiser for new sports equipment at the high school on saturday. as she was trying to remember if any good movies were coming out this weekend, she noticed a group of kids playing tag. samara thought they looked comical running around in circles on a small plot of land between two houses. “well, they certainly seem happy,” thought samara as the light turned and she crossed the street. on the opposite side of cherry street, samara saw mr. peters sitting on a bench. he was reading his newspaper as the heavy traffic of the town’s main thoroughfare whizzed by him. she wondered how he could concentrate. later, as she took the last turn onto her street, samara saw her neighbor planting her annual vegetable garden. every year, mrs. yang grew eggplant, cucumbers, and bok choy, because that’s all she had room for. “the garden looks good so far, mrs. yang,” samara called. “ you, dear,” mrs. yang said. “you know, if i had room, i would plant enough vegetables to feed the entire neighborhood! my mother had a garden that was one square acre when i was a little girl in korea.” as samara nodded and waved goodbye, she started thinking about what she had seen on her walk home that day. she realized that pine grove did not have any open public spaces where everyone could go to relax and enjoy nature. the only unused space was a vacated plot on cedar avenue that was completely overgrown. suddenly, samara had a great idea. she decided to spend her summer campaigning for a new community park. the only problem was that she had no idea where to start. that evening, she went to the library and learned about what she would need to do in order to get the idea in front of the town zoning board. it was all a little intimidating, but wanda, the reference librarian, samara break it down into manageable steps. when samara mentioned the cedar avenue plot, wanda’s eyes lit up. “that is a perfect spot,” wanda said. “it’s right in the middle of town, and better yet, the town owns it.” samara spent many afternoons over the next few weeks at the library with wanda and a few other librarians drawing up a detailed plan to present to town officials. samara and the librarians even planned and priced out irrigation necessary for the area that was designated as a garden. when the day of the zoning board meeting arrived, samara felt nervous, but wanda and the other librarians were there for moral support. samara thought she at least sounded confident as she presented her idea to the board. when she finished her presentation, she was ready to wait patiently for an answer; wanda told her that this kind of decision might take weeks, so samara was surprised when the board members asked her to stay while they deliberated. the president of the board explained that samara’s presentation had been the last order of business for the day, and he wanted his board to be able to agree on one thing before they left. after about 15 minutes, samara was informed that the community park had been approved. samara had been telling her neighbors and friends about the park from the moment she thought of it, and it seemed as though everyone wanted to be a part of making her vision a reality. as soon as her idea was approved, samara called a meeting for anyone interested in collaborating. at the meeting, residents voted on what would be included on the land: a playset for young children and one for older children, a swing set, several park benches, and a dog run. it was also decided that there would be a cooperative organic vegetable garden and an herb garden at the north end of the park. residents agreed that mrs. yang would manage the gardens. at wanda’s suggestion, samara asked a representative from a nearby horticultural society to come and advise the group on the design of the park, the best native shrubs to plant, and where to put them. samara also asked local businesses to sponsor the park by the square foot so that the community would be able to afford equipment and plants. surprised by the response, samara went to the bank to open an account where the surplus would be saved for next spring. in a few weeks’ time, the space had been cleared and residents were beginning to roll out sod and plant small vegetable plants and summer flowers. by midsummer, the community was able to enjoy the new, peaceful space. samara was happy to have been part of creating not only a beautiful space, but a common area where residents could come together. which conclusions can be drawn from the last paragraph of this story? select each correct answer. a.wanda is eager to begin gardening with samara and mrs.yang. b.samara's family proudly joins the park staff. c.samara feels a sense of accomplishment. d.samara will run a workshop for less-experienced gardeners. e.business owners in pine grove support its beautification.