Which sentence from the passage is the best example of a “red herring?” Select one: a. “However, it probably hasn't been that long since you sent or got a text, an e-mail, or a tweet.” b. “The volume of U. S. mail peaked in 2006 at 213 billion pieces, but in 2007 the numbers quickly began to drop.” c. “Interestingly, the volume of mail that is considered advertising has held steady.” d. “Should we even expect the USPS, a government agency regulated by Congress, to be efficient and profitable?”

The correct answer is: B

The volume of U.S. mail peaked in 2006 at 213 billion pieces, but in 2007 the numbers quickly began to drop

Explanation:

A red herring is something (often a statement or information) that is put out to divert attention from a very important discussion or question.

It is usually used intentionally in politics as a strategy. A red herring may be used intentionally, as in mystery fiction or as part of rhetorical  

In the attached document which contains the passage, the introductory part of the writ on page 4 started off by stating how it was that the overall demand for postal services had snowballed. Thereafter there is a quick mention of how well the business had done in the past.

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source text: from the sketch here given it will be seen, that our good grandmothers differed considerably in their ideas of a fine figure, from their scantily dressed descendants of the present day. a fine lady, in those times, waddled under more clothes even on a fair summer's day, than would have clad the whole bevy of a modern ball room. nor were they the less admired by the gentlemen in consequence thereof. on the contrary, the greatness of a lover's passion seemed to increase in proportion to the magnitude of its object—and a voluminous damsel, arrayed in a dozen of petticoats, was declared by a low-dutch sonnetteer of the province, to be radiant as a sunflower, and luxuriant as a full blown cabbage. certain it is, that in those days, the heart of a lover could not contain more than one lady at a time; whereas the heart of a modern gallant has often room enough to accommodate half a dozen - - the reason of which i conclude to be, either that the hearts of the gentlemen have grown larger, or the persons of the ladies smaller — this however is a question for physiologists to determine. add punctuation to the following excerpt. writing under the name of diedrich knickerbocker washington irving aimed his potent satire at as diverse topics as political rivals such as thomas jefferson to the very ideal of looking back on the past affectionately: a fine lady, in those times, waddled under more clothes even on a fair summer's day, than would have clad the whole bevy of a modern ball room. a voluminous damsel, arrayed in a dozen of petticoats, was declared by a low-dutch sonnetteer of the province, to be radiant as a sunflower, and luxuriant as a full blown cabbage. in those days, the heart of a lover could not contain more than one lady at a time; whereas the heart of a modern gallant has often room enough to accommodate half a dozen