It was her sister josephine who told her, in broken sentences; veiled hints that revealed in half concealing. her husband's friend richards was there, too, near her. it was he who had been in the newspaper office when intelligence of the railroad disaster was received, with brently mallard's name leading the list of "killed." he had only taken the time to assure himself of its truth by a second telegram, and had hastened to forestall any less careful, less tender friend in bearing the sad message. she did not hear the story as many women have heard the same, with a paralyzed inability to accept its significance. which best describes the narrative voice?

Read this excerpt from "edward jenner and the history of smallpox and vaccination.” smallpox was introduced to europe sometime between the fifth and seventh centuries and was frequently epidemic during the middle ages. the disease greatly affected the development of western civilization. the first stages of the decline of the roman empire (ad 108) coincided with a large-scale epidemic: the plague of antonine, which accounted for the deaths of almost 7 million people. the arab expansion, the crusades, and the discovery of the west indies all contributed to the spread of the disease. unknown in the new world, smallpox was introduced by the spanish and portuguese conquistadors. the disease decimated the local population and was instrumental in the fall of the empires of the aztecs and the incas. similarly, on the eastern coast of north america, the disease was introduced by the early settlers and led to a decline in the native population. before it reached the new world, smallpox played a role in