Question

a woman discovers an old letter that tells a family secret. it turns out that the wealth the family has enjoyed for generations came from illegal activities. the woman agonizes over whether she should tell the rest of her family, who believe that their ancestors were honest shopkeepers. as she is mulling over this decision, a journalist contacts her. he is writing a newspaper article about the history of local businesses and wants to write about her ancestors. if the woman tells him the truth, it will embarrass her family. if she doesnt, she will be perpetuating a lie. finally, she decides not to speak to the journalist. instead, she writes and publishes an article that reveals the truth about her ancestors and details a plan to use some of the familys resources to help the community.
what is the central conflict of the story?
(1 point)
a woman writes an article that reveals the truth about her family.
a woman finds an old letter and reads it.
a woman must decide whether to tell the truth about the past.
a journalist contacts a woman about a story he is writing.

Explanation:

The story focuses on the woman's internal struggle. She knows the truth about her family's wealth (from illegal activities) but has to decide if she should tell others (family, journalist). This decision - making process is the core of the conflict. Options A, B, and D are just events in the story. Option A is her final action (not the conflict), Option B is the trigger (finding the letter), and Option D is an external event (journalist's contact). The central conflict is her moral and emotional dilemma of whether to reveal the truth.

Answer:

C. A woman must decide whether to tell the truth about the past.