Question

cave
by gretchen legler
one sunday, i went to visit the ice caves. the caves are
part of the erebus glacier tongue, a long spit of ancient
ice, named after mt. erebus, an active volcano in
antarctica that hovers over ross island and mcmurdo
station. the caves are about an hour drive from
mcmurdo by tracked vehicle. we went to two caves. one
of them was very easy to get into. you climbed a hill of
snow, wiggled through a rather large opening, and slid
down a little slope into a large cavern—a cavern about
as big as the average living room...
it was in the first cave that i had my moment. i had been
lying on my back, taking notes, looking up into the
crystals, and into that blue that still amazes me—blue so
blue it is as if your eyes have broken and don’t work...
the first time i’d been in the cave the person who took
me there said that often people who go down into
crevasses are so overcome by the blue that it makes
them cry. i remembered that as i lay there on my back,
taking notes, trying to draw the crystals that hung like
blooms of flowers above me, trying to figure out where
the blue began and where it ended.
i cupped my hands around my eyes, so that all i saw
was the blue, and as i stared, my heart began to beat
faster and my breath started to come faster and tears
started to come to my eyes.
5
select the correct answer.
why does the author say she \loses her balance\ in the blue crystals?
a. she falls over and lies on her back in the cave.

b. she feels overwhelmed by the intense blue.

c. she is tired from her long drive to the ice caves.

d. she trips because she is focused on her notes.

reset next

Explanation:

The text states people in the cave are overcome by the intense blue, and the author reacts emotionally to it—her "losing balance" refers to being overwhelmed by the vivid blue, not a physical fall, tiredness, or tripping over notes.

Answer:

B. She feels overwhelmed by the intense blue.