Question

Which statement best explains how the evidence from this excerpt leads to the inference that the message Zimmermann sent was important?
Because Arthur Zimmermann rarely sent telegrams to von Bernstorff, the contents of the message had to be very important.
Because the message was so important and needed to reach von Bernstorff, Zimmermann wanted the message to be carried across the ocean in a U-boat.
The telegram’s destination, Washington, D.C., suggests that the contents of the telegram were important to the Germans and the British.
The route the telegram was to take, first to Sweden and then to Washington, D.C., supports the idea that the contents of the message were important.

Answer 1

Answer:

b

Explanation:

Answer 2

Answer:

Because the message was so important and needed to reach von Bernstorff, Zimmermann wanted the message to be carried across the ocean in a U-boat.

Explanation:

The given question refers to the book The Dark Game: True Spy Stories from Invisible Ink to CIA Moles written by Paul Janeczko.

The excerpt you were given is the following:

On January 16, 1917, in a clear attempt to convince the Mexican government to help Germany in the war, Arthur Zimmermann, the German foreign secretary, sent a telegram to Count von Bernstorff, the German ambassador in Washington. The foreign secretary wanted to be certain that this message reached von Bernstorff, so he made arrangements for it to be carried aboard a U-boat to Sweden and from there to Washington through diplomatic channels.

The statement that shows us that the message Zimmermann sent was important is: Because the message was so important and needed to reach von Bernstorff, Zimmermann wanted the message to be carried across the ocean in a U-boat.

Zimmermann wanted to make sure that the message didn't get lost, which is why he sent it to von Bernstorff by a U-boat - a submarine.

The rest of the statements don't prove that the content of the message was important - we can't conclude anything from the fact it needed to reach Sweden, and then Washington. Besides that, we are nowhere told that Zimmermann rarely sent telegrams to von Bernstorff. This is why the second statement is the correct one.