2. PART B: Which detail from the text best supports the answer to Part A? A. “The Fertile Crescent is the region in the Middle East that curves, in a quarter-moon shape, from the Persian Gulf through modern-day southern Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel and northern Egypt.” (Paragraph 1)

B. “The Fertile Crescent is traditionally associated (in Jewish, Christian, and Muslim faiths) with the earthly location of the Garden of Eden.” (Paragraph 1)

C. “From 1,900-1,400 B. C. trade with Europe, Egypt, Phoenicia , and the Indian subcontinent was flourishing” (Paragraph 3)

D. “The situation worsened so that, presently, the region which once was the lush paradise and cradle of civilization largely consists of dry, cracked plains of sunbaked clay.” (Paragraph 6)