Question

Read the sentences from the "Ellis Island Oral History Project" excerpt. Steerage was one huge place. It was the lowest deck. The stench, it was the summer, in August, the humidity, the heat, having no air conditioning, having cooling facilities, it was very hot, compounded by the fact that there must have been anywhere from two to three hundred people in that huge cavernous area. The body smells, the body odors, the lack of sanitation, the lack of any kind of facilities, washing, there was no such thing as washing or bathing.

Answer 1

the answer is conditions on the ship were unbearable

I took it on edge

Answer 2

The question is:

Which set of details would best help a reader determine the central idea of the sentences?

a.“the lowest deck,” “huge cavernous area,” “washing or bathing”

b.“it was the summer,” “in August,” “the humidity”

c.“one huge place,” “having cooling facilities,” “huge cavernous area”

d.“stench,” “body smells,” “no such thing as washing”

The answer is option d

Step-by-step explanation:

The central idea of the excerpt is the place, with its high temperatures, was not nice. What made the place unpleasant was the number of people in one place, the conditions, and the lack of facilities that make the people and place smell.

The details that help us determine the central idea are:

• "stench": the word signals that the place smells due to the hot temperatures

• "body smells": also owing to the heat and the place's conditions described in the previous sentence, "the heat, having no air conditioning, having cooling facilities, it was very hot, compounded by the fact that there must have been anywhere from two to three hundred people in that huge cavernous area" and the following phrase that reinforces the idea "the body odors."

• "no such thing as washing": it gives the idea that the smell is because there are no facilities for the people to clean themselves or anything dirty.