Sugar Changed the World - Section 5

Using context clues determine the meaning of the bolded word:

The lithe boy was perfect for the basketball team because he was strong yet quick on the court. 

• bulky

• tiny

• agile

• obese

Using context clues determine the meaning of the bolded word:

It was difficult to listen to Tommy speak because his shrill voice sounded like nails on a chalkboard.

• loud

• pleasant

• deep

• sharp

Think about the texts “How Sugar Changed the World” and Sugar Changed the World, then answer the question. 

Which statement describes a purpose for writing that Whipps, Aronson, and Budhos share?

• To persuade the reader that their theories about global trade were more correct than other popular theories.

• To explain the profound impact of the production and trade of sugar on global economies, governments, and societies.

• To illuminate the fact that Britain’s desire to keep the sugar islands was a contributing factor in their loss of the American colonies.

• To trace the expansion of the sugar trade around the world, including the shifting regions of production over time.

What is the central idea of “How Sugar Changed the World”? (by Heather Whipps)

• Despite the hardships they faced, people who were enslaved played a key role in ushering in the Age of Freedom. 

• Sugar had a profound impact on shaping trade, politics, and borders from the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries

• For some sugar farmers, sugar farming represents the fulfillment of a dream and was a source of pride.

• There were and continue to be many hidden costs in the production of sugar.

Excerpt

The Trade Triangle

The first slave ships arrived in 1505 and continued unabated for more than 300 years. Most came from western Africa, where Portuguese colonies had already established trading outposts for ivory, pepper, and other goods. To most of the European merchants, the people they put on cargo ships across the Atlantic - a horrendous voyage known as a Middle Passage - were merely an extension of the trading system already in place.

What does the word unabated mean as it is used in the sentence?

• without being disturbed

• without losing intensity

• without being captured

• without being damaged.

Think about the texts Sugar Changed the World and “Louisiana Sugarcane Farmer,” then answer the question.

How do the interpretations of sugarcane farmers differ between the two authors?

• In “Louisiana Sugarcane Farmer” sugarcane farming is presented as a difficult profession filled with manual labor and uncertainty; whereas, in Sugar Changed the World sugarcane farming is presented as physically easy and stable work.

• In “Louisiana Sugarcane Farmer” sugarcane farming is presented as the fulfillment of a family dream and an important source of income; whereas, in Sugar Changed the World, the authors show how the owners of sugar plantations, motivated by profit, used violence to enslave Africans and make them carry out the work of producing sugar.

• In “Louisiana Sugarcane Farmer” sugarcane farming is presented as a profession with good and bad years for farmers; whereas, in Sugar Changed the World sugar is presented as a crop that was consistently profitable for plantation owners.

•  In “Louisiana Sugarcane Farmer” sugarcane farmers must work to conserve their soil for future generations through soil conservation programs; whereas, in Sugar Changed the World sugarcane farmers used crop rotation to preserve the soil.

What was the author's purpose in Sugar Changed the World?

• To convey the central idea, that sugar has had a positive and negative impact on the world, in a humorous way.

• To convey the central idea, that there are hidden costs in the impact of sugar around the world.

• To convey the central idea - that sugar has had a positive and negative impact all over the world - in an engaging and accessible way to the reader.

• To convey a personal account of what it is like to be a sugar farmer in modern times.

What was the author's purpose in "How Sugar Changed the World" by Heather Whipps?

• To convey the central idea - that sugar has had a positive and negative impact all over the world - in an engaging and accessible way to the reader.

• To convey the central idea, that sugar has had a positive and negative impact on the world, in a humorous way.

• To convey the central idea, that there are hidden costs in the impact of sugar around the world.

• To convey a personal account of what it is like to be a sugar farmer in modern times.

What was the author's purpose in "Sugar" by Anup Shah?

• To convey a personal account of what it is like to be a sugar farmer in modern times.

• To convey the central idea, that sugar has had a positive and negative impact on the world, in a humorous way.

• To convey the central idea - that sugar has had a positive and negative impact all over the world - in an engaging and accessible way to the reader.

• To convey the central idea, that there are hidden costs in the impact of sugar around the world.

What is the author's purpose in the video, "Louisiana Sugarcane Farmer"?

• To convey a personal account of what it is like to be a sugar farmer in modern times.

• To convey the central idea - that sugar has had a positive and negative impact all over the world - in an engaging and accessible way to the reader.

• To convey the central idea, that sugar has had a positive and negative impact on the world, in a humorous way.

• To convey the central idea, that there are hidden costs in the impact of sugar around the world.