Question

9. Read the paragraph and choose a sentence that describes it best. On the way across the Aegean Sea, Caesar was kidnapped by pirates and held prisoner. He maintained an attitude of superiority throughout his captivity. The pirates demanded a ransom of 20 talents of silver, but he insisted that they ask for 50. After the ransom was paid, Caesar raised a fleet, pursued and captured the pirates, before imprisoning them. He had them crucified on his own authority, as he had promised while in captivity—a promise that the pirates had taken as a joke.

a) Caesar was a vane man who thought 20 talents is too little of a ransom
b) Caesar was very brave and kept to his word to kill the pirates
c) Pirates didn’t believe Caesar will kill them because he was their prisoner
d) The pirates didn’t kill Caesar not only because he was promised to be paid for, but because he made them respect him

Answer 1

The best description of the paragraph is that the pirates did not believe Caesar would execute them, as they had underestimated his threats while he was their prisoner.

Therefore , option C is correct

Step-by-step explanation:

The best sentence that describes the provided paragraph is: C) Pirates didn’t believe Caesar would kill them because he was their prisoner. This statement summarizes how Julius Caesar, despite being held captive by pirates, maintained an attitude of superiority, even demanding a higher ransom for his release and making threats of revenge, which the pirates took lightly. Ultimately, after his release and subsequent capture of the pirates, he followed through on his promise and crucified them, which they had previously not taken seriously.