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Craft and StructureHardFunction of a detail in a literary passage

Craft and Structure practice question

The following text is from a novel. Every letter from her son was dated, signed, and folded in three, and every one began 'Dear Mother' and ended 'Your loving son', and in between there was nothing at all that she could not have read aloud to a stranger.

Which choice best describes the function of the final clause, 'nothing at all that she could not have read aloud to a stranger'?

  1. A. It conveys that the letters, for all their correctness, withhold anything personal.Correct
  2. B. It indicates that the son writes to strangers.
  3. C. It suggests that the mother reads the letters aloud.
  4. D. It implies that the letters are long.

Answer: A. It conveys that the letters, for all their correctness, withhold anything personal.

Perfectly proper, and empty of intimacy.

Why the other answers are wrong

B. It indicates that the son writes to strangers.
He writes to his mother.
C. It suggests that the mother reads the letters aloud.
'Could have', not does.
D. It implies that the letters are long.
Length is not the point.

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