Question

read the excerpt from a genetics of justice by julia alvarez.
by the time my mother married my father, however, she knew all about the true nature of the dictatorship. thousands had lost their lives in failed attempts to return the country to democracy. family friends, whom she had assumed had dropped away of their own accord, turned out to have been disappeared. my father had been lucky. as a young man, he had narrowly escaped to canada after the plot he had participated in as a student failed. this was to be the first of two escapes. that same year, 1937, el generalísimo ordered the overnight slaughter of some eighteen thousand haitians, who had come across the border to work on sugarcane plantations for slave wages.
what is the central idea of this excerpt?
○ the dictatorship resulted in many deaths.
○ it was possible for people to escape to canada.
○ many people fought for a democratic nation.
○ the author’s family was unusually lucky.

Explanation:

The excerpt mentions "Thousands had lost their lives in failed attempts to return the country to democracy" and "El Generalísimo ordered the overnight slaughter of some eighteen thousand Haitians". These details show the dictatorship led to many deaths. The other options: the father escaping to Canada is a detail, not central; the excerpt focuses on deaths from dictatorship, not just fighting for democracy; and the family's luck is a minor point. So the central idea is about the dictatorship's deadly consequences.

Answer:

The dictatorship resulted in many deaths.