16Hit1600
Craft and StructureHardFunction of a detail in a literary passage

Craft and Structure practice question

The following text is from a novel. Every letter Kasia wrote home began with the weather, a full paragraph of it, before anything else. Her mother understood: the weather was the only thing about her new life that could be described without alarming anyone.

Which choice best describes the function of the detail about the weather?

  1. A. It shows that Kasia uses a safe subject to avoid telling her family about difficulties in her new life.Correct
  2. B. It shows that Kasia is interested in meteorology.
  3. C. It indicates that the weather in her new city is unusual.
  4. D. It suggests that Kasia writes home rarely.

Answer: A. It shows that Kasia uses a safe subject to avoid telling her family about difficulties in her new life.

'The only thing … that could be described without alarming anyone': the weather as a shield.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. It shows that Kasia is interested in meteorology.
The interest is in avoidance, not meteorology.
C. It indicates that the weather in her new city is unusual.
Nothing says the weather is unusual.
D. It suggests that Kasia writes home rarely.
'Every letter' suggests she writes often.

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