Question

read the excerpt from the republic by plato. and there is another class of servants, who are intellectually hardly on the level of companionship; still they have plenty of bodily strength for labour, which accordingly they sell, and are called, if i do not mistake, hirelings, hire being the name which is given to the price of their labour. true... let us then consider, first of all, what will be their way of life, now that we have thus established them. will they not produce corn, and wine, and clothes, and shoes, and build houses for themselves? and when they are housed, they will work, in summer, commonly, stripped and barefoot, but in winter substantially clothed and shod. they will feed on barley - meal and flour of wheat, baking and kneading them, making noble cakes and loaves; these they will serve up on a how does the rhetorical question further the speaker’s argument? it questions the survival abilities of common people. it shows how people can take care of themselves. it provides important tenets of a thriving civilization. it hints that governments should help their citizens.

Explanation:

1. Analyze Option 1: The rhetorical question is about what people produce and their way of life, not about survival abilities of common people. Eliminate this.
2. Analyze Option 2: The rhetorical question "Will they not produce corn, and wine, and clothes, and shoes, and build houses for themselves?" implies that people can take care of their basic needs (produce goods, build houses) by themselves. This matches the context.
3. Analyze Option 3: The question is about individual production, not tenets of a thriving civilization. Eliminate this.
4. Analyze Option 4: The question focuses on people's self - sufficiency, not government help. Eliminate this.

Answer:

B. It shows how people can take care of themselves.