Information and IdeasHardInterpreting a ritual in a literary excerpt
Information and Ideas practice question
The following text is from a novel.
Each evening Oskar set two places at the table, and each evening he cleared one of them away, untouched, before he sat down to eat. His daughter had long since stopped asking about it. It was, she had decided, less a hope than a courtesy.
Based on the text, which statement best describes Oskar's habit?
- A. It is a ritual that his daughter has come to see as an act of respect rather than of expectation.Correct
- B. It shows that he expects a particular guest to arrive each evening.
- C. It irritates his daughter, who tells him so.
- D. It is something he began doing only recently.
Answer: A. It is a ritual that his daughter has come to see as an act of respect rather than of expectation.
'Less a hope than a courtesy' is the daughter's reading: not waiting for someone, but honouring them.
Why the other answers are wrong
- B. It shows that he expects a particular guest to arrive each evening.
- 'Less a hope' rules out expectation.
- C. It irritates his daughter, who tells him so.
- She 'had long since stopped asking'; no irritation is shown.
- D. It is something he began doing only recently.
- 'Each evening' and 'long since' suggest a long-standing habit.
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