Question 8 • CMS 2026-2027 English II CREDIT RECOVERY
Read the passage from Sugar Changed the World. As a weeder, your job was to carefully pick away the undergrowth that could choke the cane stalks and stop them from growing tall enough, or that might attract vermin. Cleaning and weeding was done as many as three times while the cane grew, and it was some of the worst labor. A weeder spent ten to fourteen hours a day bent over with a hoe, digging out the unwanted growths at the base of the knobby cane stalks, ignoring the rats that might scuttle over his or her feet or the bladelike leaves that slashed at the worker's wrists and arms. Rats were everywhere—the records from one plantation in Jamaica report three thousand of them captured in just six months. Which excerpt from the passage best states the authors’ claim?
Answer
A
"Cleaning and weeding was done as many as three times."
B
"It was some of the worst labor."
C
"A weeder spent ten to fourteen hours a day bent over with a hoe."
D
"Rats were everywhere."
Explanation
The authors’ claim is that cleaning and weeding was extremely difficult work. The sentence “It was some of the worst labor” states that central idea directly. The other excerpts give supporting details, such as how often the work was done, how long weeders worked, and the rats they encountered.
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