Read the passage from Sugar Changed the World.

Question

The year is 326 B.C. Alexander the Great stands at the Indus River in what is now Pakistan. For a decade he and his Greek soldiers have been battling their way across the known world, defeating even the mighty Persians, rulers of Asia. Alexander’s string of victories only feeds his hunger to conquer all, to know all. But his men balk. Tired of fighting, homesick, they refuse to go on. Alexander realizes he cannot continue to conquer Asia, but he is too curious to stop exploring. He has already built a fleet of eight hundred ships, appointed his close friend Nearchus captain, and sent them to investigate the coast of lndia by sea.

And it is Nearchus who stumbles upon the "sweet reed.”

The Greeks knew something of India (actually the Indian subcontinent, the area that today includes the nations of India and Pakistan) from the books of Herodotus, a writer who lived about a century earlier. He reported that when the Persian emperor Darius I invaded India around 510 B.C., his men found a sweet reed that produced honey.

Which text features would be most helpful to support the central idea of the passage? Select two options.

a timeline showing how people have used sugar in the past and up until the present
a diagram of one of the eight hundred ships that Alexander the Great had built
a map of Alexander the Great's route and the site of the sugar cane discovery
a diagram of sugar cane, showing details of its outside and inside
a timeline showing when Darius I and Alexander the Great learned of sugar cane

Answer 1

To support the central idea of the passage, the following two text features would be most helpful:

1. A map of Alexander the Great's route and the site of the sugar cane discovery - This would provide geographical context to the narrative and illustrate the significance of the exploration and discovery of the "sweet reed."

2. A timeline showing when Darius I and Alexander the Great learned of sugar cane - This could help situate the historical events in relation to each other and illustrate how knowledge of sugar cane spread over time.

These features would enhance the reader's understanding of the historical context and the exploration efforts described in the passage.