Question

on january 28, 1986, just 73 seconds after liftoff, the space shuttle challenger exploded in the sky. all seven astronauts on board the spacecraft were killed. that evening, president ronald reagan was scheduled to give his state of the union speech. but out of respect, reagan decided to postpone that speech and instead talk to the nation about the tragedy. (1) ladies and gentlemen, id planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. today is a day for mourning and remembering. (2) nancy and i are pained to the core by the tragedy of the shuttle challenger. we know we share this pain with all of the people of our country. this is truly a national loss. (3) nineteen years ago, almost to the day, we lost three astronauts in a terrible accident on the ground. but weve never lost an astronaut in flight; weve never had a tragedy like this. and perhaps weve forgotten the courage it took for the crew of the shuttle; but they, the challenger seven, were aware of the dangers, but overcame them and did their jobs brilliantly. we mourn seven heroes: michael smith, dick scobee, judith resnik, ronald mcnair, ellison onizuka, gregory jarvis. select the correct answer. read the opening statement from reagans speech. (1) ladies and gentlemen, id planned to speak to you tonight to report on the state of the union, but the events of earlier today have led me to change those plans. today is a day for mourning and remembering. what inference can be made from this statement? a. reagan believes that the challenger disaster is an urgent matter. b. reagan has just become aware of the events of the day. c. reagan believes that the state of the union speech is unimportant. d. reagan is emotionally overwhelmed by the challenger disaster.

Explanation:

The text shows that Reagan planned to speak about the State of the Union but changed his plans due to the Challenger disaster, indicating he saw the disaster as an urgent matter. He also mentions that today is for mourning and remembering, which shows the impact of the disaster on his schedule - making it a priority over the planned speech.

Answer:

A. Reagan believes that the Challenger disaster is an urgent matter.