Question

text-dependent questions
directions: for the following questions, choose the best answer or respond in complete sentences.

1. part a: which statement best identifies the central idea of the text?

a. the government was cautious about communist spies and relied solely on senator joseph mccarthy to contain communism in america.
b. following world war ii, americans became increasingly frightened by the prospect of nuclear war and began invading other countries to contain communism.
c. joseph mccarthy used fear to manipulate americans and government officials into wrongfully accusing and convicting people of being secret communists.
d. mccarthyism created national panic in the 1950s by falsely reporting that communism was present in america, even though it had historically only been present overseas.

1. part b: which detail from the text best supports the answer to part a?

a. \mccarthy capitalized on national paranoia by proclaiming that communist spies were omnipresent and that he was americas only salvation.\ (paragraph 6)
b. \half of europe was under joseph stalins influence, and every time americans read their newspapers there seemed to be a new atomic threat.\ (paragraph 7)
c. \the public rewarded the witch - hunters by sending red - baiters (communist accusers) before the senate and the house in 1950.\ (paragraph 11)
d. \above all, several messages became crystal clear to the average american: dont criticize the united states. dont be different. just conform.\ (paragraph 26)

1. part a: what is the meaning of the word unscrupulous as used in paragraph 14?

a. impolite
b. corrupt
c. aggressive
d. shameless

Explanation:

1. Part A: McCarthyism was characterized by Joseph McCarthy using fear to wrongly accuse people of being communists. Option C accurately captures this central - idea. Option A is incorrect as the government did not rely solely on McCarthy. Option B is wrong because the US did not start invading other countries to contain communism due to fear of nuclear war in the context of this text. Option D is inaccurate as communism was present in some forms in America before McCarthyism and the focus is on the false accusations.
2. Part B: Option A best supports the answer in Part A as it shows how McCarthy capitalized on national paranoia, which is in line with him using fear to manipulate. Option B is about the external threat perception, not about McCarthy's actions. Option C is about the public's reaction to the accusers, not directly supporting how McCarthy manipulated. Option D is about the message to the average American, not directly related to McCarthy's manipulation.
3. Part A: "Unscrupulous" means having or showing no moral principles; not honest or fair. "Corrupt" (Option B) is the closest in meaning as it also implies immoral and unethical behavior. "Impolite" is about social manners, "aggressive" is about behavior in terms of being forceful, and "shameless" is more about lack of embarrassment.

Answer:

1. PART A: C. Joseph McCarthy used fear to manipulate Americans and government officials into wrongfully accusing and convicting people of being secret communists.
2. PART B: A. "McCarthy capitalized on national paranoia by proclaiming that Communist spies were omnipresent and that he was America's only salvation." (Paragraph 6)
3. PART A: B. corrupt