Question

Which ideas from the excerpt would be most appropriate to include in a summary? Select three options. Popular novels from the past often ask provocative questions that are important to consider today. Many Americans have given up and say that the nation is no longer great or a land of dreams. John Wayne, nicknamed Duke, was an iconic Hollywood actor and filmmaker. President Reagan believed that John Wayne would argue that he was not the last American hero, because there are many more. Duke Wayne died as a symbol of the Hollywood dream industry.

Answer 1

This question is incomplete because the excerpt is missing; here is the excerpt:

Read the excerpt from President Ronald Reagan’s speech on the night before the 1980 presidential election.

A popular novel of the '60s ended prophetically with its description of a "kindly, pleasant, greening land about to learn whether history still has a place for a nation so strangely composed of great ideals and uneasy compromise as she.” That is really the question before us tonight: for the first time in our memory, many Americans are asking: does history still have a place for America, for her people, for her great ideals? There are some who answer "no”; that our energy is spent, our days of greatness at an end, that a great national malaise is upon us. They say we must cut our expectations, conserve and withdraw, that we must tell our children . . . not to dream as we once dreamed. Last year I lost a friend who was more than a symbol of the Hollywood dream industry; to millions, he was a symbol of our country itself. And when he died, the headlines seemed to convey all the doubt about America, all the nostalgia for a seemingly lost past. "The Last American Hero,” said one headline; "Mr. America dies,” said another. Well, I knew John Wayne well, and no one would have been angrier at being called the "last American hero.” Just before his death, he said in his own blunt way, "Just give the American people a good cause, and there’s nothing they can’t lick.” Duke Wayne did not believe that our country was ready for the dust bin of history, and if we’ll just think about it we too will know it isn’t.

The answers to this question are A. Popular novels from the past often ask provocative questions...; B. Many Americans have given up and say that the nation is no longer great...; and D. Wayne would argue that he was not the last American hero...

Explanation:

In a summary, the purpose is to include key details that help the reader understand the topic of a text. In the excerpt, President Reagan wonders if America is still a great nation or has still a place in history. First,  Reagan explains this idea emerged from a novel of the 60s, as he cites the novel "whether history still has a place for a nation so strangely composed of great ideals". According to this, one key detail or idea is that some novels have intriguing questions that might be considered today (Option A).

Also, Reagan provides two answers to the question. The first one is that many citizens believe the greatness of America has ended; this is expressed in "There are some who answer "no”; that our energy is spent, our days of greatness at an end" (Option B); the second one is that America is still full of greatness and heroes; this is explained by Reagan as he mentions Duke Wayne died, and the headline was "The Last American Hero"; but he considers Wayne would completely disagree with this as he had hope in America. Thus, the third detail is described by option (D).