"By the Waters of Babylon," Part 2: Analyzing Theme
Question 15 • CA-Common Core English Language Arts 10
Read the passage from "By the Waters of Babylon.”Then I saw their fate come upon them and that was terrible past speech. It came upon them as they walked the streets of their city. I have been in the fights with the Forest People—I have seen men die. But this was not like that. When gods war with gods, they use weapons we do not know. It was fire falling out of the sky and a mist that poisoned. It was the time of the Great Burning and the Destruction. They ran about like ants in the streets of their city—poor gods, poor gods! Then the towers began to fall. A few escaped—yes, a few. The legends tell it. But, even after the city had become a Dead Place, for many years the poison was still in the ground. I saw it happen, I saw the last of them die. It was darkness over the broken city and I wept.
Answer
A
Advances in technology can lead to devastation.
B
War is an unfortunate but necessary path to growth.
C
Those who come before us determine the future.
D
Coming of age requires risk-taking and bravery.
Explanation
The passage describes the city’s destruction by weapons the narrator does not know: fire from the sky and poisonous mist. These technologies bring widespread death and leave the ground poisoned for years, showing how technological advances can devastate people and places. The best choice is “Advances in technology can lead to devastation.”
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