Question

Read the excerpt from The Dark Game. As Montgomery and de Grey slowly made their way through the message, they noticed more and more oddities. For example, 97556 appeared near the end of the message; the 90000 family indicated important names that were not used very often in messages. We can imagine their shock when they realized that 97556 stood for Zimmermann. That single name fired the men with excitement as they began working on the message from the beginning. Which statement best explains how the evidence of this excerpt leads to the inference that the men had intercepted a very important message? The inference is supported by the fact that the men had to work very slowly to decipher the complicated message. The inference is supported by the complicated codes that were used by the Germans to convey their messages across the Atlantic during the war. The inference is supported by the fact that two men were involved in the deciphering of the message. The inference is supported by the excitement the men feel when they discover that the message was sent by Zimmermann, the German foreign secretary.

Answer 1

D. The inference is supported by the excitement the men feel when they discover that the message was sent by Zimmermann, the German foreign secretary.

Answer 2

Answer: The inference is supported by the excitement the men feel when they discover that the message was sent by Zimmermann, the German foreign secretary.

This excerpt indicates to us that the men were trying to decipher a very important message. We know this for several reasons. We are told that the 90000 family indicates important names that are not used often, and this code was used in the message. We also know that the men were "shocked" when they linked the code to Zimmerman, and excitement grew as they worked on it. All of this shows the importance of this message.