"the price for an item is too high" - not a noun phrase. Actually, this is a clause, as it has a predicate of its own.
"a bottle of water while strolling" - not a noun phrase. "A bottle of water" would be a noun phrase (a phrase that has a noun as a headword), but "while strolling" is an adverbial phrase that describes the verb "buy".
"The same brand of bottled water" - noun phrase. The headword is "brand", and all the other words cling to it and provide additional explanation.
"a pair of athletic shoes" - noun phrase. The headword is "pair".
It is pathos because on top , it is saying “ save paper- save the planet “, which could indicate that if we do not save paper, we could eventually damage the planet even more.
Answer: A (overwhelmed)
Explanation: The last sentence says, “This fact was somehow mixed and confused with his opinion of his own situation that it seemed almost a proper reason for tears.” This shows that the guy was so sad because his situation was making him overwhelmed and want to cry.