Question

Read the passage from Sugar Changed the World.

Sugar is different from honey. It offers a stronger sweet flavor, and like steel or plastic, it had to be invented. In the Age of Sugar, Europeans bought a product made thousands of miles away that was less expensive than the honey from down the road. That was possible only because sugar set people in motion all across the world—millions of them as slaves, in chains; a few in search of their fortunes. A perfect taste made possible by the most brutal labor: That is the dark story of sugar.

How does the comparison of sugar to honey reveal the authors’ purpose?

It persuades readers that sugar tastes better than honey.
It informs readers that there is a connection between slavery and sugar.
It informs readers that honey had a major impact on society.
It persuades readers that sugar is as important an invention as steel.

Answer 1

The comparison of sugar to honey reveals the authors’ purpose mainly by highlighting that sugar is not just a natural sweetener but a product of a complex, and often brutal, economic system. The correct answer from the options provided is:

**It informs readers that there is a connection between slavery and sugar.**

The passage emphasizes that the production of sugar involved the exploitation of millions of enslaved people, framing its consumption as tied to the darker aspects of its history.