Sugar was the connection, the tie, between slavery and freedom. in order to create sugar, europeans and colonists in the americas destroyed africans, turned them into objects. just at that very same moment, europeans—at home and across the atlantic—decided that they could no longer stand being objects themselves. they each needed to vote, to speak out, to challenge the rules of crowned kings and royal princes. how could that be? why did people keep speaking of equality while profiting from slaves? in fact, the global hunger for slave-grown sugar led directly to the end of slavery. following the strand of sugar and slavery leads directly into the tumult of the age of revolutions. for in north america, then england, france, haiti, and once again north america, the age of sugar brought about the great, final clash between freedom and slavery. based on this excerpt, the authors are most likely to attempt to answer which question? how did colonists challenge the rules of crowned kings? how did the age of sugar differ from the age of revolutions? when did europeans decide to speak about equality? why did some europeans decide they wanted to speak out about slavery?

Read this passage: many manufacturers prefer plastic as a material for containers because it can be molded into many shapes. but plastic is not very strong. it must be fused with glass or steel for strength. it is also not very durable. even the strongest plastic can break under enough pressure. the biggest disadvantage to using plastic is that it does not decompose. while plastic can be recycled, doing so is tedious and difficult. while it may be more expensive and difficult to work with, aluminum is a much stronger building material with far greater tensile strength. it conducts electricity because it is metal. best of all, aluminum is very easy to recycle. even if it is thrown away, it decomposes much more quickly than most manufacturing materials. how does the compare-and-contrast organizational pattern of the passage support the author's purpose? a. the passage gradually leads up to the point about decomposition to inform the reader about the importance of recycling plastics. b. the passage lists the advantages and disadvantages of each material to make a case for the use of plastic and not aluminum in containers. c. the passage begins with a description of plastic's problems in order to call attention to the good qualities of aluminum. d. the passage shows the superiority of aluminum in order to make a case for the production of stronger plastics.