Read the passage from Sugar Changed the World. My great-grandparents had come from India to Guyana—then British Guiana—in the late nineteenth century to work on the sugar plantations. Sugar was the backbone of the British Empire at that time. The demand was huge, for sugar had gone from being a luxury that only kings could afford to a necessity. Even the poorest of London shopgirls took sugar in their tea.

Slavery was abolished in the British Empire in 1833, thirty years before the Emancipation Proclamation in the United States. But even after they freed their slaves, the sugar plantation owners were desperate to find cheap labor to cut cane and process sugar. So the British owners looked to another part of the empire—India—and recruited thousands of men and women, who were given five-year contracts and a passage back.

What kind of inference can the reader make about the importance of sugar in the late nineteenth century?

Sugar was central to people’s daily lives, work, and economy.
Sugar cane plantation owners needed cheap labor after the enslaved were freed.
Sugar cane is a labor intensive crop to grow and harvest.
Sugar was a necessity enjoyed by the poorest shopgirls to the richest kings.

What is the theme of the poem, my tongue is divided into two by quique aviles? my tongue is divided into twoby virtue, coincidence or heavenwords jumping out of my mouthstepping on each otherenjoying being a voice for the messageexpecting conclusionsmy tongue is divided into twointo heavy accent bits of confusioninto miracles and accidentssaying things that hurt the heartdrowning in a language that lives, jumps, translatesmy tongue is divided by natureby our crazy desire to triumph and conquerthis tongue is cut up into equal piecesone wants to curse and sing out loudthe other one simply wants to ask for watermy tongue is divided into twoone side likes to partythe other one takes refuge in prayingtongueenglish of the funny soundstonguefunny sounds in englishtonguesounds funny in englishtonguein funny english soundsmy tongue sometimes acts like twoand it goes crazynot knowing which side should be speakingwhich side translatingmy tongue is divided into twoa border patrol runs through the middlefrisking wordsasking for proper identificationchecking for pronunciationmy tongue is divided into twomy tongue is divided into twoi like my tongueit says what feels righti like my tongueit says what feels rightby quique aviles