The second one is correct
Answer:
C. The theme is Paradise Lost, and the historical context is prior epic
poetry: The Iliad and Beowulf
Explanation:
Theme tells us what is the main preoccupation of the article, while the historical context is a period in history that serves us as a reference point for analysing the text.
Here, the critic deals with Milton's most famous work, an epic poem "Paradise Lost", explaining how it differs from epic poems written before it. From this, we can conclude that the theme of this article is "Paradise Lost".
Also, here, we are not directly given a specific year or an event that would suggest a historical period. But, the author compares Milton's poem to famous epic poems written previously. These poems represent an over a millennium long period of time, when all epic poems shared similar characteristics. Changing the focus of his poem, Milton broke from the epic tradition, whose representatives are The Iliad and Beowulf.
In this sense, we could say that the historical context here is prior epic poetry.
D. To highlight that a physical activity requires a body to use energy
The word expenditure in the excerpt is simply stating that the body uses energy during physical activity. It doesn't describe how much energy since that can be different depending on the level of physical activity. Because it doesn't include how much, options B and C are both wrong. Also, expenditure is not a type of activity, so this also eliminates A.
The Greek poets believed the earth to be flat and circular, their own country occupying the middle of it, the central point being either Mount Olympus, the abode of the gods, or Delphi, so famous for its oracle.
Based on this passage, a reader could infer that the ancient Greek poets: were conceited
