Question

directions: for the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences.

1. part a: which of the following statements expresses a central idea of the text?

a. school boards should not have the power to ban books from classrooms.
b. it is immoral to claim that controversial books may poison students minds.
c. burning books goes against the freedoms that americans hold dear.
d. like all good citizens, kurt vonnegut has not lied or produced evil work.

1. part b: which of the following quotes best supports the answer to part a?

a. \i am a combat infantry veteran from world war ii, and hold a purple heart... i am so much trusted with young people and by young people that i have served on the faculties of the university of iowa, harvard, and the city college of new york.\ (paragraph 5)
b. \and we all know, too, that those words really dont damage children much. they didnt damage us when we were young. it was evil deeds and lying that hurt us.\ (paragraph 6)
c. \books are sacred to free men for very good reasons, and that wars have been fought against nations which hate books and burn them. if you are an american, you must allow all ideas to circulate freely\ (paragraph 8)
d. \if you and your board are now determined to show... maturity when you exercise your powers over the education of your young, then you should acknowledge that it was a rotten lesson you taught young people\ (paragraph 9)

1. part a: what does the word \exploit\ most closely mean as it is used in paragraph 4?

a. to produce
b. to abuse
c. to benefit from
d. to criticize or disagree with

1. part b: which phrase from paragraph 4 best supports the answer to part a?

a. \the disgusting news from drake\
b. \crowing about all the books we will sell because of the news\
c. \to damage my reputation in the eyes of their children and then in the eyes of the world\
d. \the courage and ordinary decency\

Explanation:

Question 1 (Part A)

To determine the central idea, analyze each option:

• Option A: Focuses on school boards banning books, but the text likely has a broader theme about book banning and freedom.
• Option B: Discusses immorality of claiming books poison minds, which is a sub - point, not central.
• Option C: Connects book burning (a form of censoring books) to American freedoms, which is a central theme about the importance of free circulation of ideas and opposing book censorship.
• Option D: Focuses on Kurt Vonnegut's character, which is not the central idea of the text.

We need a quote that supports the central idea from Part A (book burning is against American freedoms).

• Option A: Talks about the author's credentials, not related to book burning and freedom.
• Option B: Discusses the impact of words on children, not about book burning and freedom.
• Option C: States that books are sacred to free men, wars were fought against book - hating nations, and Americans must allow ideas to circulate freely. This directly supports the idea that burning books (censoring books) goes against American freedoms.
• Option D: Talks about the school board's actions and a "rotten lesson", not about book burning and freedom.

To find the meaning of "exploit" in paragraph 4, we analyze the context. The phrase "crowing about all the books we will sell because of the news" suggests that someone is benefiting from the news (the "disgusting news from Drake") to sell books. So "exploit" here means to benefit from.

• Option A: "to produce" does not fit the context of using the news to sell books.
• Option B: "to abuse" has a negative connotation, but the context is about benefiting from the news, not abusing it.
• Option C: "to benefit from" fits the context of using the news to sell more books.
• Option D: "to criticize or disagree with" is not related to the context of selling books.

Answer:

C. Burning books goes against the freedoms that Americans hold dear.

Question 2 (Part B)