Question

Read the passage from Sugar Changed the World.

As sugar planters fled from the revolution in Haiti, some moved to Cuba's Oriente Province, others to North America—to Louisiana. By the time the Haitian plantation owners and overseers reached New Orleans, abolitionists were pressing to end the African slave trade. The tragedy is that this movement to end slavery did nothing to improve conditions in Louisiana. In fact, the state that slaves called Lousy Anna was the very worst place for an African in America; it was the Caribbean all over again—a death sentence.

In every single American slave state, the population of enslaved people kept rising even after the slave trade was abolished. That was because enough enslaved children were born, lived, and grew to become adults. There was just one exception to this rule: Louisiana, where the native-born enslaved population kept dropping. Sugar was a killer.

Which words from the passage best support the authors' purpose?

revolution, improve, and rising
tragedy, death, and killer
moved, reached, and conditions
single, population, and children

Answer 1

The correct answer is Tragedy, death, and killer.

Indeed, the adjective tragedy already makes explicit the fact that something awfully bad has happened with regards to the “conditions of slaves in Louisiana”. The paragraph makes a parallel between the conditions of the slave plantations in the Caribbean and Louisiana and concludes by stating that they are equally “a death sentence”.

Finally, as if such preliminaries were not enough, the excerpt concludes with the words “sugar is a killer”; leaving no doubt that sugar slave plantations in Louisiana were basically death camps.

Answer 2

The correct answer is B) tragedy, death, and killer.

The words on the passage that best supports the author’s purpose on “Sugar Changed the World” are tragedy, death, and killer.

When the author uses the word “tragedy” he is referring to the idea that the end of slavery movement did nothing to improve the conditions in the state of Louisiana. When “death” is used is when the author is referring that Louisiana was the worst place for an African in America. The author specifically refers to a “death sentence” for a slave to be there. And finally, when the author uses the word “killer” he refers to the native-born enslaved population kept dropping because of Sugar. All those dreadful words on the passage support the author’s purpose.

“Sugar Changed the World: a Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science” was written by Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos.