Which statement best analyzes how the author develops the central idea across the two passages? Alvarez describes how the SIM's threats and activities followed her family even in the United States. Alvarez shows how her parents' fears about the dictatorship turned out to be false as the situation in the Dominican Republic improved. Alvarez shows how her parents' fears about the dictatorship affected their thoughts and actions even when they lived in the United States. Alvarez describes how her parents feared the values of free speech and freedom of association.

Answer: C. Alvarez shows how her parents' fears about the dictatorship affected their thoughts and actions even when they lived in the United States.

The main idea in both paragraphs is the fact that the author's parents were afraid of the consequences of political activity even as they were living in the United States, under democratic values.

In the first passage, she exemplifies this by talking about their silence surrounding anything "political" and their fear of disobeying authority. In the second paragraph, she discussed how her parents were afraid of the consequences of attending political meetings. In this way, the author links the two paragraphs and develops the central idea across the texts.

Alvarez shows how her parents' fears about the dictatorship affected their thoughts and actions even when they lived in the United States.