The very first sentence of the passage reveals that one of the central ideas of the passage is going to be about Douglass and how he learnt to read and write- "His mistresshad been severelyreprimanded byher husbandfor helping Frederick Douglass learn to read." The following extract from the passage further relates to us that now that Douglas knew the English alphabet, he was not going to stop reading -"The first step had been taken. Mistress, in teaching me the alphabet, had given me the inch, and no precaution could
prevent me from taking the ell." The passage goes on to describe the risks that Douglas was willing to take to read. D best befits the context. A, B, C are incorrect as they make statements that are not central to the passage.