Question

the dog days of summer
read the passage and answer the following question(s).
the dog days of summer
school was almost out for the summer and jennifer was excited that her cousin marlene was coming to stay with her family for two months. summer was the one time of year she felt as though she had a sister. the girls were similar in that they were both thirteen years old and were the only girls in their families. jennifer lived in a small town outside of dallas, texas and marlene lived in san diego, california. whereas jennifer was outgoing, marlene was more on the quiet side.
for pretty much the whole first month of summer vacation last year, it seemed like their only topic of awkward conversation was about how their two home towns were different. by halfway through the summer, the girls discovered something they had in common that would bring them closer together and bring marlene out of her shell. thinking back on the memories of last summer, jennifer got excited thinking about the summer to come.
last summer was the first time marlene had come to stay with jennifers family—marlenes aunt, uncle, and cousins. at first, marlene pretty much kept to herself in the guest room. she was almost unapproachable. jennifer did not give up so easily. jennifer enjoyed interacting with people, so she knocked on marlenes door often and tried to spark conversation. that is when jennifer sensed sadness in marlenes voice. it was as if something were bothering her. jennifer wondered what had been going on at marlenes home and if maybe her parents were having troubles. whatever it was, marlene did not want to talk about it.
during marlenes visit last summer, jennifers parents agreed the family could get a dog (due mostly to jennifers begging). jennifer was quickly motivated to put all her research skills to use finding out which breeds of dog were hypoallergenic, the kind that do not cause allergies. whenever she would see a particularly adorable picture of a dog, she headed to marlenes room to show it to her. it confused jennifer how marlene turned away when she saw the picture and seemed uninterested in jennifers research. then, one day, marlene broke down in tears and told jennifer about how much she missed her dog that recently got lost and was never found. jennifer felt terrible and did not bother her with dog photos anymore. after a few days, marlene approached jennifer and told her she wanted to help her find a dog to adopt. “and ive adopted a new attitude,” said marlene.
from that day on, marlene joined jennifer in her internet searches to find a hypoallergenic dog in a
question 3.
how does the plot contribute to marlenes character development in the story?
a. marlene becomes more withdrawn as the plot progresses, showing how time away from home increases her discomfort.
b. marlenes involvement in adopting and caring for a dog helps her become more open and emotionally connected.
c. marlenes character remains mostly unchanged, showing that her environment has little effect on her personality.
d. marlene becomes more competitive with jennifer, which creates tension and drives the plot forward.
part b:
which detail from the passage best supports the answer to part a
a. “jennifer did not give up so easily. jennifer enjoyed interacting with people, so she knocked on marlenes door often...”
b. “then, one day, marlene broke down in tears and told jennifer about how much she missed her dog...”
c. “every evening, jennifer and marlene took pepper for a long walk.”
d. “jennifer was excited that her cousin marlene was coming to stay with her family for two months.”

Explanation:

For Part A, Marlene's involvement in adopting and caring for a dog helps her open - up and become more emotionally connected as shown in the story. For Part B, the detail about walking the dog together shows their shared activity which is related to the dog - adoption that led to Marlene's character development.

Answer:

Part A: B. Marlene's involvement in adopting and caring for a dog helps her become more open and emotionally connected
Part B: C. "Every evening, Jennifer and Marlene took Pepe for a long walk."