Read the excerpt from "A Quilt of a Country."
What is the point of this splintered whole? What is the point of a nation in which Arab cabbies chauffeur Jewish passengers through the streets of New York—and in which Jewish cabbies chauffeur Arab passengers, too, and yet speak in theory of hatred, one for the other? What is the point of a nation in which one part seems to be always on the verge of fisticuffs with another, blacks and whites, gays and straights, left and right, Pole and Chinese and Puerto Rican and Slovenian? Other countries with such divisions have in fact divided into new nations with new names, but not this one, impossibly interwoven even in its hostilities.
Which statement best summarizes the central idea of this paragraph?
America’s cultural differences have caused it to fracture.
America is a united country despite its cultural differences.
America’s cultural differences make it impossible to live peacefully.
America is always on the verge of civil unrest due to its multicultural citizens.
The first paragraph discusses the idea that Americans are united as one despite their differences. The second paragraph discusses the idea that acts of intolerance make it difficult to believe that Americans are united as one.
The first paragraph discusses possible benefits to living in a society like America. The second paragraph discusses the disadvantages of living in a society like America.
The first paragraph discusses the diversity of American society and its role in history. The second paragraph discusses the uniformity of American society and its role in history.
