Question

Read the excerpt from "A Quilt of a Country." Tolerance is the word used most often when this kind of coexistence succeeds, but tolerance is a vanilla-pudding word, standing for little more than the allowance of letting others live unremarked and . Pride seems excessive, given the American willingness to endlessly complain about them, them being whoever is new, different, unknown or currently under suspicion. But patriotism is partly taking pride in this unlikely ability to throw all of us together in a country that across its length and breadth is as different as a dozen countries, and still be able to call it by one name. When photographs of the faces of all those who died in the World Trade Center destruction are assembled in one place, it will be possible to trace in the skin color, the shape of the eyes and the noses, the texture of the hair, a map of the world. These are the representatives of a mongrel nation that somehow, at times like this, has one spirit. Like many improbable ideas, when it actually works, it's a wonder. Which sentence best explains how the context of this excerpt supports Quindlen’s idea that all Americans unite during times of difficulty? Quindlen uses the context of the World Trade Center attacks to explain that tolerance rises among Americans during times of despair. Quindlen uses the context of the World Trade Center attacks to reveal that American pride increases during difficult times. Quindlen uses the context of the World Trade Center attacks to say that patriotism unites all Americans. Quindlen uses the context of the World Trade Center attacks to describe the unity among Americans of all different nationalities.

Answer 1

Answer:

• The sentence that best explains how the context of the excerpt supports the author's idea is:  "When photographs of the faces of all those who died in the World Trade Center destruction are assembled in one place, it will be possible to trace in the skin color, the shape of the eyes and the noses, the texture of the hair, a map of the world."
• Quindlen uses the context of the World Trade Center attacks to describe the unity among Americans of all different nationalities.

Explanation:

We can see that Quindlen's idea that all Americans unite during times of difficulty is present when she talks about the Tade Center destruction and how people from different ethnicities and nationalities died. The loss of all of them was equally felt by Americans because, even if all the victims were different, it is the loss of the people that makes our nation.

The attack on the World Trade Center is a clear example of how Americans, even with their different nationalities, come together during hard times thank patriotism, which makes all the citizens leave their differences behind for the country.