Karen democracy is the best form of government that has been created so far in human history. a system in which everyone over 18 is able to vote and therefore have a say in how the country is run is fairer than one where power is in the hands of a small group of people. living in a democracy means you have more control over your own life. it’s infuriating when people – often young people – say there’s no point in voting because it doesn’t change anything. that’s obviously not true. the local, state, and national governments we elect are always making proposals and passing laws that affect people’s lives, either for better or worse. we should take a look at the history books and remember that huge numbers of people around the world have fought and died for democracy. we should value our vote and think hard about how best to use it. there’s no excuse for apathy. andy what do we actually mean by “democracy”? going out and voting once every few years – is that it? in most so-called democracies, the important decisions are made by a small group of people at the top of the political party in power – we, the voters, don’t have any direct influence. also, you can’t say we live in a full democracy, when the information we receive at election time is so limited. for one thing, the party with the most money can usually get its message across more easily than its opponent. and then there’s the media, which has a lot of influence and is generally biased in favor of one party, making sure most voters don’t see the full picture. actually, though, i’m not sure how well democracy can address what is the probably going to be the biggest issue in future – the environment. if industrialized countries like ours don’t start slowing down their consumption of the world’s resources, we’re probably heading for catastrophe. would people vote to avoid that, or are most of us too selfish and too addicted to our current lifestyle? sometimes i think the only solution will be if we are forced to change, which suggests a more authoritarian form of government. it’s not in criticizing “so-called” democracies, what does andy say about decision-making? how does that compare with what karen says about other forms of government?

(20 points) passage: this year will be a record-breaking year for storms 1it looks like 2012 will be a year for the record books. thunderstorms, hurricanes, and tornadoes have increased across the country. the storms' high winds and heavy rains are making history. early tornado and hurricane seasons 2in march, not usually a busy month for tornadoes, the south and midwest had a large number of twisters. warm weather made conditions ripe for the creation of tornadoes. on some days, twisters dropped from the sky by the dozen. 3hurricane season also came early. two tropical storms hit the southeast in may. two more strong storms followed in june. severe thunderstorms 4many states that have escaped tornadoes and hurricanes have had severe thunderstorms. these giant storms dumped several inches of rain and caused flooding across the northeast and midwest. 5the end of hurricane season is months away, and this year's storm count and rainfall amounts could leave 2011 in the dust. forecasters say the wet, windy weather might stick around until fall. labor day parade rained out 6there is no joy in green town, where the annual labor day parade was called off because of heavy rain. the town's mayor says the parade hasn't been rained out in fifty years. 7a strong band of thunderstorms hit green town on sunday. more than two inches of rain fell each hour. by monday morning, main street looked more like a creek than a parade route. mayor nora bell said she had to call off the parade. "the heavy rains have created a serious safety issue in green town," she said. 8the loss of the labor day parade is green town's second disappointment this summer. in may, the memorial day parade was also called off because of rain. "this must be one of the wettest summers in history," mayor bell said. 9according to the national weather service, mayor bell is right. this summer will break rainfall records in green town and across the country. question: who would obtain the most useful information from the passage? a) someone planning a holiday picnic. b) someone interested in documenting annual meteorological patterns. c) an advocate for the green town labor day parade. d) someone who wishes to do research on the alleged truth of the "global warming" phenomenon.