PSAT Reading Question 439: Answer and Explanation

Question: 439

Jefferson uses lines 15–16 ("The former . . . people") to imply most directly that

• A. Americans would prefer to continue to be able to purchase manufactured goods from abroad.
• B. Americans are eager to achieve economic independence by creating domestic factories.
• C. Americans are unwilling to engage in an entangling alliance with another country that would require the United States to enter foreign conflicts.
• D. Americans are weary of the revolutionary conflict and would like to see its swift end.

Correct Answer: A

Explanation:

(A) Check the sentence before this one. Jefferson says free trade with an alliance is preferable because it aligns with the American people's "habits and wishes." Here, he implies that Americans would like to have access to imports from abroad rather than making everything themselves. This coincides with choice (A) but contradicts choices (B) and (C). Choice (D) brings up the American Revolution. Although it seems plausible that Americans do not desire further conflict, that is not the subject of these lines.