Question

read the excerpt from \children of the drug wars.\ by sending these children away, \you are handing them a death sentence,\ says josé arnulfo ochoa ochoa, an expert in honduras with world vision international, a christian humanitarian aid group. this abrogates international conventions we have signed and undermines our credibility as a humane country. it would be a disgrace if this wealthy nation turned its back on the 52,000 children who have arrived since october, many of them legitimate refugees. the underlined words and phrases have strong negative connotations. how do they support the author’s purpose? ○ they draw attention to the opinion that the united states is not doing enough to help these children. ○ they show that there is a desperate need for all countries to be willing to help refugees. ○ they show that the united states has participated in international conventions on how to handle the refugee crisis. ○ they make it clear that the united states will lose the respect of other nations if it does not help these children.

Explanation:

The underlined words/phrases (like "death sentence", "undermine", "disgrace", "turned its back") have negative connotations. The first option says they draw attention to the opinion that the US isn't doing enough. Let's analyze: "death sentence" implies harm, "undermine credibility" and "disgrace" and "turned its back" on children show the US's inadequate response. The other options: Option 2 says there's a desperate need for all countries (but text focuses on US), Option 3 says US participated in conventions (text says it abrogates, so no), Option 4 says US will lose respect (text's focus is on US's action being inadequate, not just respect loss). So Option 1 fits as these words highlight the US's insufficient help.

Answer:

A. They draw attention to the opinion that the United States is not doing enough to help these children.