Read the excerpt from "a quilt of a country." america is an improbable idea. a mongrel nation built of ever-changing disparate parts, it is held together by a notion, the notion that all men are created equal, though everyone knows that most men consider themselves better than someone. "of all the nations in the world, the united states was built in nobody's image," the historian daniel boorstin wrote. that's because it was built of bits and pieces that seem discordant, like the crazy quilts that have been one of its great folk-art forms, velvet and calico and checks and brocades. out of many, one. that is the ideal. which word from the excerpt carries a positive connotation? improbable nobody crazy ideal

ideal

Explanation:

adjective

1.

satisfying one's conception of what is perfect; most suitable.

"the swimming pool is ideal for a quick dip"

synonyms:perfect, best possible, consummate, supreme, absolute, complete, copybook, flawless, faultless, without fault, exemplary, classic, archetypal, model, ultimate, quintessential

"it was ideal flying weather"

2.

existing only in the imagination; desirable or perfect but not likely to become a reality.

"in an ideal world, we might have made a different decision"

synonyms:unattainable, unachievable, impracticable, unworkable, unfeasible; More

noun

1.

a person or thing regarded as perfect.

"you're my ideal of how a man should be"

synonyms:perfection, paragon, epitome, ne plus ultra, beau idéal, nonpareil, crème de la crème, the last word, the ultimate, a dream; More

ideal

Explanation:

faulty parallelism is a construction in which two or more parts of a sentence are equivalent in meaning but not grammatically similar in form.

the correct version of this faulty parallelism in the sentence is:

the hikers knew that the hike was six miles, that it usually required the entire day, and it would not be wise to start after 10: 00 a.m.

the problem is the last sentence, the first two have a basic subject+verb+object structure.

so, to give a proper balance to the structure, or better said, to give a parallel structure, we must write a basic s+v+o structure in all three sentences:

the hikers knew that the hike was six miles, that it usually required the entire day, and it would not be wise to start after 10: 00 a.m.