How do the purposes of the passages differ?
Beginning at 5:00 this morning, construction
on Interstate 304 extended travel times for
commuters during the morning and evening
rush hours. City officials suggested using
alternate routes or allowing more time for
travel.
DONE
This morning, I began my daily commute to
work only to discover that construction on
Interstate 304 had brought traffic to an
agonizing standstill. By the time I made it
through the detour, the construction had
doubled my commute time and I was an hour
late to work

It is the first one, the first passage informs, and the second narrates, then the following question is "A" as well!!

Explanation:

21 balloons is the story of professor william sherman's travels.

in 1883, he set off from san francisco for a balloon ride over the pacific and was found a month later floating with 21 balloons in the atlantic ocean. this seemed an astounding feat and everyone wanted to know what had happened.    

professor sherman was loyal, however, and said he would tell his tale first to the western american explorers club in san francisco, of which he was a member. this built up suspense for several chapters before he began to tell of the wonders of his adventures and the amazing island of krakatoa, an island which had just been blown up by a volcano.  

the residents of krakatoa are all millionaires who live under a "gourmet government" of their own devising. we get to see all the incredible adventures that creative people with unlimited resources would create according to the author.