Question

friends on and off the field. mark and i are always together. we have a good, stable friendship. we never fail to be there for each other. the first time mark visited my house, he was surprised. \luca! are these all your baseball trophies?\ he asked. \yes, i played in venezuela,\ i answered. \baseball is great there, just like here.\ what does \stable\ mean in this passage? options: full of surprising things; from a different country; strong and not likely to change; calm and in control of feelings.

Explanation:

To determine the meaning of "stable" in the passage, we analyze the context. The passage says Mark and the narrator are always together and never fail to be there for each other. This implies their friendship is strong and consistent (not likely to change). Let's evaluate the options:

• "full of surprising things" doesn't match the context of a consistent friendship.
• "from a different country" is irrelevant to the meaning of "stable" in this context.
• "strong and not likely to change" fits the description of their enduring friendship.
• "calm and in control of feelings" refers to emotional state, not a friendship's nature.

Answer:

C. strong and not likely to change (assuming the third option is labeled C; if the original options had different labels, adjust accordingly, but based on the content, the correct option is the one with "strong and not likely to change")