PSAT Reading Question 116: Answer and Explanation

Question: 116

As used in lines 21–22, "interrelatedness of all communities and states" most nearly means that

• A. King has personal connections to people in the town.
• B. the Southern Christian Leadership Conference needs national support.
• C. events in one part of the country affect everyone in the nation.
• D. local civil rights groups operate independently of one another.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

C

Difficulty: Easy

Category: Vocab-in-Context

Getting to the Answer: Read the complete sentence and the surrounding paragraph to best understand the meaning of the phrase within its greater context. In the paragraph, King goes on to explain that events in Birmingham must necessarily concern him. He states that an injustice in one place threatens justice everywhere and even writes, "Whatever affects one directly affects all indirectly" (lines 27–28). This suggests that events in Birmingham affect people throughout the nation. Choice (C) is correct as it explains that the "interrelatedness of all communities and states" refers to the idea that events in one part of the country affect the entire nation.