Question 10 • CMS 2026-2027 English II CREDIT RECOVERY
Read the passage from Sugar Changed the World. Cutting cane was hard work, but it was nothing like what came next: Piles of freshly cut cane had to be fed into the ever-turning mill wheels, until they were completely crushed. The owners insisted that during the work hours the grinding never stop, no matter what. The mills were most often tended by women who were doing dangerous work while getting almost no rest. That was a very bad combination. An ax was often propped up near the rollers so if a slave closed her eyes for a second while pushing the cane, her arm could be hacked off before she was pulled through the merciless grinders. Guests at sugar plantations often remarked on how many one-armed people they saw. How do the authors support their claim and purpose with their choice of words?
Answer
A
by describing the mills with positive words, such as the word freshly
B
by using words with negative connotations, such as hacked and merciless
C
by repeating the word work to emphasize and praise the mills’ productivity
D
by using words with neutral connotations, such as completely and remarked
Explanation
The authors use words such as “hacked” and “merciless” to create a disturbing, negative impression of the mills and the dangerous labor forced on enslaved workers. These emotionally charged words support the passage’s purpose of showing how brutal and unsafe the work was. “Freshly” does not describe the mills positively, and the word “work” is not repeated to praise productivity.
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