Question

read the excerpt from a genetics of justice by julia alvarez: images of the dictator hung in every house next to the crucifix and la virgen de la altagracia with the declaration beneath: in this house trujillo is chief. the pale face of a young military man wearing a plumed bicorne hat and a gold - braided uniform looked down beneficently at my mother as she read her romantic novels and dreamed of meeting the great love of her life. sometimes in her daydreams, her great love wore the handsome young dictator’s face. never having seen him, my mother could not know the portrait was heavily retouched. which quotation provides the best evidence for the central idea of this excerpt? options: \in this house trujillo is chief.\ \the pale face of a young military man wearing a plumed bicorne hat and a goldbraided uniform looked down beneficently at my mother.\ \sometimes in her daydreams, her great love wore the handsome young dictator’s face.\
ever having seen him, my mother could not know the portrait was heavily retouched.\

Explanation:

To find the best evidence for the central idea, we analyze each option:

• Option A: "In this house Trujillo is Chief." mainly emphasizes Trujillo's authority in the house, not the central idea about the mother's perception.
• Option B: Describes the appearance of Trujillo's portrait, not the mother's view or the central idea.
• Option C: Shows the mother's daydreams where her great love has Trujillo's face, but it's about her romanticizing, not the key point of her not knowing the portrait was retouched.
• Option D: "Never having seen him, my mother could not know the portrait was heavily retouched." This directly relates to the central idea of the excerpt, which involves the mother's lack of knowledge about the retouched portrait of Trujillo as she hadn't seen him in person.

Answer:

D. "Never having seen him, my mother could not know the portrait was heavily retouched."