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09:Pretest
HS: English 3B [M] (Prescriptive) (GP) / 9:Contemporary Literature
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13.
Read the excerpt.

Finally, to those nations who would make themselves our adversary, we offer not a pledge but a request: that both sides begin anew the quest for peace, before the dark powers of destruction unleashed by science engulf all humanity in planned or accidental self-destruction.
We dare not tempt them with weakness. For only when our arms are sufficient beyond doubt can we be certain beyond doubt that they will never be employed.
But neither can two great and powerful groups of nations take comfort from our present course—both sides overburdened by the cost of modern weapons, both rightly alarmed by the steady spread of the deadly atom, yet both racing to alter that uncertain balance of terror that stays the hand of mankind’s final war.

What is the main idea of this passage from John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address?


The United States and the Soviet Union must work together to avoid nuclear war.


The world will not be a safe place until both sides have destroyed their nuclear arms.


The world should take sides in the nuclear arms race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union.


The United States will defeat the Soviet Union in the nuclear arms race.

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Answer 1

The main idea of the passage from John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural Address is:

**The United States and the Soviet Union must work together to avoid nuclear war.**

This conclusion reflects Kennedy's emphasis on the need for peace and cooperation between the two superpowers to prevent the catastrophic consequences of nuclear weapons.