1.
part a: which statement best identifies the central idea of the text?

a
the twentieth century witnessed numerous tragedies, outweighing the few instances of peace and eclipsing any hope for future change.
b
during world war ii, the u. s. was the driving force behind freeing victims of the holocaust and promoting peace.
c
the holocaust could have been prevented if the world had the means to identify the warning signs of ethnic cleansing.
d
the holocaust exemplifies the consequences of how apathy towards human suffering can cause tragedy.

The Holocaust exemplifies the consequences of how apathy towards human suffering can cause tragedy.

In his speech Wiesel speaks about how apathy towards human suffering can cause tragedy. He writes and speaks about the atrocities that he experienced and witnessed in hopes that they will never be repeated. He believes that through remembering, we will be able to prevent future genocides and horrors. His speech is titled "The Perils of Indifference." It immediately identifies the central idea as the problems that result in not caring, in not acting, and not helping those who cannot help themselves. In his speech he says, “During the darkest of times, inside the ghettos and death camps... we felt abandoned, forgotten,” (Paragraph 13). The apathy of everyone else allowed the tragedies to happen and to continue because it was as if those people in the ghettos and camps didn't exist at all.

the following key ideas correctly express the key sentence.

restate key idea: most people can learn to swim in ten short lessons.

restate key idea: the majority of water-accident victims require mouth-to-mouth breathing.

restate key idea: an empty, tightly closed gallon jug will support a tired swimmer.  

restate key idea: first aid is to prevent accidents as well as assist in rescue.

explanation: the key idea needs to have the same topic as the key sentence (drowning and safety).