Question

which sentence best summarizes the passage for use in a brief sketch of Benjamin Franklin's intellectual life?

Answer 1

One might think that a brilliant man such as Benjamin Franklin attended many years of school. He didn't. Benjamin’s father, Josiah, wanted Benjamin to enter the clergy, but he could not afford to send him to school for the time required. Benjamin left school at the age of 10, and his father spent the next two years helping his son develop an interest in something other than the sea. Franklin would later comment that these years were important because he was exposed to many industries and ways of thinking. Finally, at age 12, Benjamin's older brother, James, took him on as an apprentice in his printing business. Franklin would remain under this apprenticeship for years.

During these years, Benjamin Franklin became an avid reader and writer. He would borrow books from others in the printing and publishing trades and read them in a single night. During Franklin's apprenticeship, his brother began a newspaper called the New England Courant, for which Franklin wrote anonymous letters without his brother’s knowledge.

Answer 2

Benjamin Franklin's father wanted him to become a clergyman, but instead, he went on to gain experience in many industries after he left school.

Though Benjamin Franklin's schooling was limited, he became an avid reader and writer during his apprenticeship in his brother's printing business.

During Benjamin Franklin's apprenticeship in his older brother's printing business, he wrote anonymous letters for his brother's newspaper, the New England Courant.

After Benjamin Franklin left school at the age of 10, his father, who wanted him to become a clergyman, tried to interest him in something not related to the sea.