The rate of incarceration in the U.S. is the world's highest, leading to what many lawmakers and policy analysts say is a nationwide imprisonment epidemic. But the beginning of the end of that epidemic started Tuesday, Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, a Democrat from New York, told VOA. A bipartisan prison reform bill that passed the U.S. House of Representatives by a 360-59 vote "strikes an opening blow against the overcriminalization of the nation," Jeffries, one of the bill's co-sponsors, said. U.S. President Donald Trump said "the strong bipartisan vote paces the way for action by the Senate." Last week, Trump endorsed the bill at a White House summit on prison reform, saying, "Our whole nation benefits if former inmates are able to reenter society as productive, law-abiding citizens." If the bill reaches the president's desk for a signature, it would provide $50 million in funding for five years to provide job training, education and substance abuse treatment for prisoners as well as a number of quality-of-life measures aimed at reducing chronically high rates of recidivism among former inmates. But the contentious issue of criminal justice reform has split Democrats and Republicans within their own parties, possibly jeopardizing the bill's chances of passage as it heads to the U.S. Senate. In a letter to colleagues last week, Democratic Senators Kamala Harris, Dick Durbin and Cory Booker joined two House Democratic colleagues, Representatives John Lewis and Sheila Jackson Lee, in saying the bill could not be implemented effectively and could possibly lead to prison privatization. Jeffries told VOA many of the arguments against the First Step Act "were anchored in falsehoods." He added the legislation passed today "is a first step towards eradicating the cancer of mass incarceration" a move also welcomed by many House Republicans. "Rather than allowing the cycle of crime to continue, this legislation takes a practical, intelligent approach to rehabilitation," House Judiciary Chairman Bob Goodlatte, a Republican... Why were some Democratic Senators opposed to passage of the First Step Act? Pick the correct answer from the following options: A. they did not think it could be successfully implemented and might lead to the prevalence of private prisons B. they opposed the bipartisan support that the bill received C. not enough information D. they disagreed that mass incarceration was an issue
A

So many kids, so many stories. Parents die, leaving kids devastated and unable to speak for days. Parents get deported, leaving kids despondent and hopeless. Children endure emotional, sexual, physical abuse. And more. The saddest story I ever heard was from the kid in my AP Lit class who had taken her senior year to accept invitations from education reform groups to speak around the country, which she did, without doing any of her homework. She waited until after grades were turned in at the end of the year to contest the "D" on her report card because it meant not going to UC Berkeley. She brought her mother with her, and her two sisters. After going around and around for a while with me and the principal, her mother said that her divorce had really affected this girl, and she had been fighting so hard all her life to get into Berkeley, and what did I have against her daughter? She deserved to go to Cal! They were all in tears. The principal found a way to change her 64% to a 70.01%, and off she went. This young woman full of potential and energy, learned from her mother and my boss, that excuses rule the day. She appears to think that "social justice" means fighting to get your way because the deck is stacked against you, instead of doing the right thing. This is sad. I know this isn't what you were after, and that this memory says more about me than it does about her. Many other kids I have counseled, who are getting through something life-changing, seem to understand that life is in session, there will always be challenges to rise above, and that focusing in the classroom is a great way to get one's mind off one's troubles, if the environment is supportive and the spirit is willing. What did the principal think after he changed the grade Pick the correct answer from the following options: A. He thought that he should do it for all of his students B. He thought that he should have changed it to a much higher grade C. He thought that he did the right thing for the girl D. not enough information
C

(Q).
I married young, at 19, bright-eyed and hopeful, and in a few months, we will celebrate our 29th anniversary. Like all marriages, we have had our share of happy and sad, growing together as the years passed us by. My husband is my best friend, a wonderful father, a hard worker, a great provider, treats me like a queen, and loves me unconditionally. He is my soul mate in many ways. My husband is also gay. I had no idea when I married him. I was a virgin on our wedding night and had never had any type of physical relationship prior to my husband. Having nothing to compare it to, I thought our sexual intimacy was normal. It was fun, sexy, enjoyable. My husband was a giving partner, and I almost always experienced orgasm. But as the years went by, the frequency of our sexual activity became less. It was not unusual to go months without sex not for lack of trying on my part. We rarely fought, but we would fight about the growing lack of intimacy. I often wondered what it was about me that made my husband not want to have sex with me. And then one day, shortly after our 25th anniversary, I found gay porn on his computer. At first he denied everything, but finally, through tears, he confessed that he'd had these same-sex attractions as long as he could remember. In his teens, a church counsellor had told him marriage would "cure" him. Feeling as though I had just been punched in the gut, I was heartbroken. I felt betrayed, confused, angry, sad, and yet, miraculously relieved. There was nothing wrong with me I was just not his type. The emotions flew through me leaving my head and heart confused. What now? I loved this man with every fibre of my being. We had a good life together, sex aside, and had built a family. We were happy. I did not want a divorce and neither did he. What grounds or holds will convince them to keep their marriage? Pick the correct answer from the following options: A. Their future generations B. Their possessions C. not enough information D. The mutual respect for each other excluding the passion
(A).
C