Question

read the two texts.
text 1
many ancient cultures viewed solar and lunar eclipses as disturbing and dangerous events. beliefs varied among cultures, but a common theme was that something frightening was happening to the sun and moon during an eclipse. some cultures believed that the sun and moon were fighting, while others feared that the two celestial bodies were under attack by dragons or demons.
text 2
for thousands of years, observers have been fascinated and frightened by comets as they have streaked across the night sky. in the past, people in many cultures thought comets were omens of bad things to come. that was in part because comets seemed to be unpredictable in their motion, unlike the reliable rising and setting of the sun. historically, sightings of comets were incorrectly linked to tragedies such as plagues, earthquakes, illnesses, and wars.
which sentence best combines the main, or central, ideas of both texts?
ancient civilizations regarded some astronomical occurrences, such as eclipses and comets, as ominous and frightening events.
in ancient times, solar and lunar eclipses were mistakenly tied to tragic events such as plagues, earthquakes, illnesses, and wars.

Explanation:

Text 1 focuses on ancient cultures' views of eclipses as disturbing/dangerous. Text 2 covers how comets were seen as omens of bad events. The first option combines both by stating ancient civilizations viewed eclipses and comets (astronomical occurrences) as ominous/frightening. The second option only addresses eclipses and the wrong associations (from Text 2's comet - tragedy links), not combining both main ideas.

Answer:

Ancient civilizations regarded some astronomical occurrences, such as eclipses and comets, as ominous and frightening events.