HELP! read this excerpt from the test before answering:

With renewed hope that there was some truth to the legends, I looked for new research. I found that some experts disagreed with popular arguments against dragons. They suggested that a dragon could have four stomachs like a cow. If it created stomach gases like birds, it might create enough to lift itself off the ground. This would give it the ability to fly. If it forced out air when diving toward the earth, it might release gases which could ignite into flame. When the animal died, the stomachs would release strong acids that would dissolve its dead body over time. Biologists backed up these ideas with sketches and models based on known animals. Not everyone agreed with these ideas, but many of the things we accept about dinosaurs and other extinct species started the same way.

Which sentence from paragraph 4 makes an explicit statement without offering any implicit suggestions?

With renewed hope that there was some truth to the legends, I looked for new research.
If it created stomach gases like birds, it might create enough to lift itself off the ground.
Biologists backed up these ideas with sketches and models based on known animals.
Not everyone agreed with these ideas, but many of the things we accept about dinosaurs and other extinct species started the same way.

21) this excerpt involves david, who travels with an inventor named perry. they test their experimental invention, a vehicle that burrows into the earth's crust. which statement best reflects the human experience that is represented in this excerpt? a) humans are not always reliable guides. b) humans desire wealth and a life of ease. c) humans are drawn to explore and experiment. d) humans attempt to conquer and control nature. 22) which statement best reflects the human experience that is represented in this excerpt? a) humans desire to control nature. b) humans are frightened by nature. c) humans are fascinated by nature. d) humans cannot understand nature. 23) 8 “what do you mean perry? ” i cried. “do you think that we are dead, and this is heaven? ” suppose the author changed section eight as listed below. 8 “perry, i have to object! ” i cried. “you don't think that we are dead, and this is heaven, do you? ” which correctly identifies the author's meaning for the word object? consider the effect of the stressed or unstressed syllable in the word object. a) you would stress the second syllable because the word is a noun and means a goal or purpose. b) you would stress the second syllable because the word is a verb and means to express or feel disapproval. c) you would stress the first and second syllable because the word is a verb and means to modify an adjective. d) you would stress the first syllable because the word is a noun and means a thing that has a finite, physical form. 24) 2 together we stepped out to stand in silent contemplation of a landscape at once weird and beautiful. before us a low and level shore stretched down to a silent sea. as far as the eye could reach the surface of the water was dotted with countless tiny isles—some of towering, barren, granitic rock—others resplendent in gorgeous trappings of tropical vegetation, myriad starred with the magnificent splendor of vivid blooms. 3 behind us rose a dark and forbidding wood of giant arborescent ferns intermingled with the commoner types of a primeval tropical forest. huge creepers depended in great loops from tree to tree, dense under-brush overgrew a tangled mass of fallen trunks and branches. upon the outer verge we could see the same splendid coloring of countless blossoms that glorified the islands, but within the dense shadows all seemed dark and gloomy as the grave. which most completely analyzes this excerpt for a comment about life? a) beauty is kind and inviting. b) nature is evil and forbidding. c) there is no risk in following beauty. d) what appears beautiful can also be deadly.