Question 15 • AL-English Language Arts 12 Critical Standards
Read the excerpt from The Time Traveler’s Guide to Elizabethan England.If you are hungry, you might feel inclined to turn to poaching. But be careful: this is risky. Taking livestock is theft, and theft is a felony which carries the death sentence. Killing wild animals that live on another man’s land is also against the law; even taking a single fish from a river can result in a fine of a shilling or more. It is unlikely that you will be hanged for taking a wild animal such as a rabbit; but, even so, you will get a fine amounting to three times the value of the animal as well as three months in prison, and you will have to enter into a bond to guarantee your good behavior in the future; a second offense will be treated more harshly. If a gamekeeper attacks you and you defend yourself, you can be charged with assault. You may find yourself on the gallows if you injure him.
Answer
A
to explain why many Elizabethans tried poaching
B
to explain why poaching was dangerous
C
to explain why landowners punished poachers
D
to explain why poaching often was forgiven
Explanation
The excerpt lists the legal dangers of poaching: theft could lead to execution, taking wild game could bring a fine and three months in prison, and injuring a gamekeeper could result in hanging. These consequences show why poaching was dangerous, so the answer is “to explain why poaching was dangerous.”
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