Question

In 1949, with the end of World War II, defeated Germany was divided up and parceled out. The western allies controlled three zones that were combined to form the German Federal Republic, commonly known as West Germany. The Soviets controlled an eastern zone that became the German Democratic Republic (GDR), commonly known as East Germany. The capital city of Berlin was also divided into East Berlin and West Berlin even though the city was located entirely in Soviet-controlled East Germany. Accordingly, the economic practices which governed the east and west parts of Germany and Berlin were the prevailing economic practices of its ruling governments. While the west enjoyed the benefits of capitalism, the east began suffering under a failed system of communism. East Germans lived with low wages, food shortages, and even poor housing. An estimated 25 percent of the industrial output of East Germany was going to benefit the Soviet Union. People began leaving East Germany.
East Germany fortified its border, but Berlin remained "an escape hatch" where East Germans could easily flee to the west. By 1961, so many people had left East Germany that its population was now reduced by one-sixth. Many of the emigrants were young, skilled workers who were needed back in the east. When a record number of East Germans entered West Berlin on August 12, 1961, the communist authorities took decisive and fast action. The next day they put up a barbed wire fence. The barbed wire obstacle meandered through the center of the city and eventually enclosed all of West Berlin. Citing espionage as its primary reason for the wall, East Germany fortified the wall against the spies with cement, armed guards, and even booby-traps. Known as the Berlin Wall, it divided families and neighbors for almost three decades. The wall also gave fuel to the Cold War that brewed between the United States and the Soviets. Then, on the night of November 9, 1989, after many changes in the GDR and Soviet leadership, German citizens began dismantling the wall, and by October 1990, Germany was finally reunified.

5
Read the sentence from the passage.

Citing espionage as its primary reason for the wall, East Germany fortified the wall against the spies with cement, armed guards, and even booby-traps.

Which word helps define the term espionage as it is used in the second paragraph of the passage?

A.
spies
B.
guards
C.
booby-traps
D.
fortified

Answer 1

A. spies

"Spies" directly clarifies "espionage" (the act of spying), so choice A is correct.