he was wet and muddy and hungry and cold
and he was fifty thousand light-years from home. a strange blue sun gave light, and gravity,
twice what he was used to, made every
movement difficult.
but in tens of thousands of years this part of war hadn't changed. the flyboys were fine with their sleek spaceships and their fancy weapons.
when the chips are down, though, it was still
the foot soldier, the infantry, that had to take the ground and hold it, foot by bloody foot. like this cursed planet of a star he'd never heard of until they'd landed him there. and now it was sacred ground because the aliens
were there too. the aliens, the only other
intelligent race in the galaxy-cruel, hideous,
and repulsive monsters. contact had been made with them near the centre of the galaxy, after the slow.
difficult colonization of a dozen thousand
planets; and it had been war at sight; they'd shot without even trying to negotiate, or to
make peace. now, planet by bitter planet, it was beingfought out. he was wet and muddy and hungry and cold, and the day was raw with a high wind that hurt his eyes. but the aliens were trying to infiltrate and every sentry post was vital. he stayed alert, gun ready. fifty thousand light-years from home, fighting on a strange world, and wondering if he'd ever live to see home again. and then he saw one of them crawling toward him. he drew a bead and fired. the alien made that strange horrible sound they all make.
then lay still he shuddered at the sound and sight of the
alien lying there. one ought to be able to get used to them after a while, but he'd never been able to. such repulsive creatures they were, with
only two arms and two legs, ghastly white
skins, and no scales.

(how far away from home is main character in this story)

(according to this story describe what
you think the main character looks like)

2 questions to me guys

Plz asap read this sentence from paragraph 3 of the article. the boys and girls are merely asked to obtain the signatures of ten friends or relatives. how does the word "merely" affect the meaning of the sentence? a- it suggests that asking people to subscribe to the washington times is something negative. b- it implies that obtaining ten signatures is not a requirement for receiving a prize. c- it downplays the fact that to win the prize, children must ask people to subscribe to the washington times. d- it emphasizes that children receive the prize only if they obtain ten signatures.

How does the author use the character of the nurse to develop the social issue of gender inequality? the nurse’s willingness to take care of nora when nora was little demonstrates a woman’s ability to do difficult work. the nurse’s need to give up a child in order to have a job demonstrates a woman’s inability to support herself. the fact that the nurse’s child wrote to her as a young girl and as an adult demonstrates a woman’s ability to keep friends forever. the nurse’s assurance to nora that her children ask for her often demonstrates women’s role in health care.

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.