Answer:
Definitely formal English as formal English is used in formal settings. Both the examples you gave are formal settings.
Answer: B. Parents try to give children what they can to help them have a better life.
Explanation:
The option that identifies the theme of the text is that "Parents try to give children what they can to help them have a better life".
The detail from the text that supports the answer is when it was stated that there was nothing to give the child except the things regarding who he was and also where he came from. Since his pappy did something, he can do something as well.
Therefore, the correct option is B.
i GUESS it is a signal phrase if you have any reason to doubt it just tell me and i will research it
I believe you have a typo when it comes to the first option - it should be athletics, not athletic. The word athletic is an adjective, and the word athletics is a noun.
That being said, the correct answer is A. athletics. Even though this noun ends in -s, it is still singular. The rest of the options are all plural nouns.