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?
Answer
A
Once these disparate parts were held together by a common enemy, by the fault lines of world wars and the electrified fence of communism.
B
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.
C
And slow-growing domestic traumas like economic unrest and increasing crime seemed more likely to emphasize division than community.
D
Today the citizens of the United States have come together once more because of armed conflict and enemy attack.
Explanation
The excerpt contrasts earlier sources of national unity with a new moment when Americans have come together after an attack. The sentence beginning “Today” directly identifies that present situation: citizens are united because of armed conflict and an enemy attack. The other sentences describe past events or concerns about division rather than the immediate context of the excerpt.
AI-written and checked against the verified answer.