Which of the following best summarizes the main message of this ?

Question

And this great crisis was only the bursting into flame of many smaller fires that had long been smoldering. For generations the two sections had been drifting apart. Since the middle of the seventeenth century, Mason and Dixon's line had been a line of real division separating two inherently distinct portions of the country.

 

Which of the following best summarizes the main message of this text? 

 

  

A)The two sides of the country were irreconcilably different.

B)The two sides of the country should never have been together.

C)The great crisis was caused by Mason and Dixon's division.

D)The great crisis was the result of long-building tensions.

 

I think is D 

Answer 1

You are correct because:

1) the text never mentions "the country," but vaguely refers to "the two sections," which, in this context, merely implies "two sides of the country." However, a greater implication is that this is not the main idea, or it would have been stated more directly. This eliminates choices A & B.

2) this excerpt never discusses Mason & Dixon as historical persons, nor mentions any division between them. This eliminates choice C.

3) this selection, however, does discuss a "great crisis" that resulted from "fires that had long been smoldering," a metaphor implying that a collection of regional conflicts had built up over "generations" & finally broke out into a larger, hotter conflict. The author implies that the Mason-Dixon Line has more significance than as a mere survey boundary, but this is not enough to support "the two sides" or "Mason and Dixon's division" as the main idea. The "great crisis" remains the focus throughout, and everything supports "long-building tensions" as part of the main idea.