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

Craft and Structure practice question

The following text is from a novel. When the letter came offering him the job abroad, Teo read it standing at the kitchen window, then folded it and put it in the drawer with the tea towels, where his mother would never look. He had not decided anything. He had only decided who would not be told yet.

Which choice best describes the function of the detail about the drawer with the tea towels?

  1. A. It shows Teo choosing to keep the news from his mother while he is still undecided.Correct
  2. B. It indicates that Teo is untidy.
  3. C. It suggests that Teo has rejected the job.
  4. D. It implies that Teo's mother reads his letters.

Answer: A. It shows Teo choosing to keep the news from his mother while he is still undecided.

Hidden 'where his mother would never look'; 'who would not be told yet'.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. It indicates that Teo is untidy.
The hiding is deliberate, not untidy.
C. It suggests that Teo has rejected the job.
'He had not decided anything.'
D. It implies that Teo's mother reads his letters.
The opposite: the drawer is where she never looks.

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