which are two valid TCP connection states (pick 2) is the gist of the question.

A.
SYN-RCVD

B.
Closed

C.
SYN-WAIT

D.
RCVD

E.
SENT

Explanation:
BD
TCP Finite State Machine (FSM) States, Events and Transitions
+ CLOSED: This is the default state that each connection starts in before the process of establishing it begins.
The state is called “fictional” in the standard.
+ LISTEN
+ SYN-SENT
+ SYN-RECEIVED: The device has both received a SYN (connection request) from its partner and sent its own
SYN. It is now waiting for an ACK to its SYN to finish connection setup.
+ ESTABLISHED
+ CLOSE-WAIT
+ LAST-ACK
+ FIN-WAIT-1
+ FIN-WAIT-2
+ CLOSING
+ TIME-WAIT
Source: http://tcpipguide.com/free/t_TCPOperationalOverviewandtheTCPFiniteStateMachineF-2.htm