Question

Read the passage, then answer the questions that follow.

The arkatis (recruiters) who were hired by shipping companies were Indians themselves; they knew villagers would not want to cross the water. But they also knew where there were hungry, desperate people. So they fanned out to the countryside and began to look for strong men. Bharath, who was about to leave for Trinidad, later explained how that happened. His version of English is hard to understand, but it is how the Indians began to speak on the islands. “E no tell e I go chinedad you know . . . e no tell e no come back, e no greet mumma fadder again.” (“He did not tell me I was going to Trinidad, you know. He didn't tell me I would never come back, or never see my mother and father again.”)

–Sugar Changed the World,
Marc Aronson and Marina Budhos

Which sentence best states the central idea of the passage?

Recruiters chose men who were weak.

What type of evidence does the passage provide to support the central idea?

Answer 1

No — that sentence is not the best statement of the central idea. The passage says the arkatis sought out strong, hungry, desperate villagers and sometimes deceived them about going abroad.

To support that idea the passage uses anecdotal/primary-source evidence: a short factual narration plus a first‑person quote from Bharath (an eyewitness/testimonial account).