Question

Read the excerpt from "A Quilt of a Country."

Once these disparate parts were held together by a common enemy, by the fault lines of world wars and the electrified fence of communism. With the end of the cold war there was the creeping concern that without a focus for hatred and distrust, a sense of national identity would evaporate, that the left side of the hyphen—African-American, Mexican-American, Irish-American—would overwhelm the right. And slow-growing domestic traumas like economic unrest and increasing crime seemed more likely to emphasize division than community. Today the citizens of the United States have come together once more because of armed conflict and enemy attack.

Which sentence from the excerpt best reveals the context of the excerpt?

Once these disparate parts were held together by a common enemy, by the fault lines of world wars and the electrified fence of communism.
With the end of the cold war there was the creeping concern that without a focus for hatred and distrust, a sense of national identity would evaporate, that the left side of the hyphen—African-American, Mexican-American, Irish-American—would overwhelm the right.
And slow-growing domestic traumas like economic unrest and increasing crime seemed more likely to emphasize division than community.
Today the citizens of the United States have come together once more because of armed conflict and enemy attack.

Answer 1

A)The first paragraph discusses what unifies Americans; the second describes America’s uniqueness among nations.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

Today the citizens of the United States have come together once more because of armed conflict and enemy attack.

Step-by-step explanation:

The context of any essay or passage or excerpt is the circumstance that forms the events or text. This context is the main idea of what the passage is talking about.

In her essay "A Quilt of A Country", Anna Quindlen wrote how America is rich in its cultural diversity. Though these differences may at times lead to many animosities and even hatred or a wider gap between the people. But in the face of a common threat, they put aside these differences and unitedly fight against that common enemy. And through this spirit, the citizens of the United States have 'once again' come together to oppose the armed conflict and enemy attack. This factor seems to be the context of the given excerpt.