PART A: What does the word “exploit” most closely mean as it is used in paragraph 4? A. to produce B. to abuse C. to benefit from D. to criticize or disagree with 4. PART B: Which phrase from paragraph 4 best supports the answer to Part A? A. “the disgusting news from Drake” B. “crowing about all the books we will sell because of the news” C. “to damage my reputation in the eyes of their children and then in the eyes of the world” D. “the courage and ordinary decency”

This question refers to a letter Kurt Vonnegut, the author of "Slaughterhouse-Five", wrote to Charles McCarthy, the head of the school board, after McCarthy decided to burn all the copies of his book from school library.

Besides explaining why such an action is wrong, and the potential consequences it might have on freedom of speech, Vonnegut states that he has done "absolutely nothing to exploit the disgusting news".

That means that he hasn't done any actions to make a profit from the publicity this news might have. He states that he hasn't informed any of the media.

Also he says that he and his publisher are not "clapping each other on the back, crowing about all the books we will sell because of the news".

All of that suggests that he is writing this letter out of concern for impact it might have on the American culture and freedom of speech, rather then using it as a chance to make a profit out of the situation.