Question

instructions
read the question carefully and select the best answer.
which meaning of the word resignation most closely matches its meaning in the following excerpt?
but the days passed, and expectation gave place to resignation—the hopeless resignation of the old, sometimes miscalled, apathy. sometimes they hardly exchanged a word, for now they had nothing to talk about, and their days were long to weariness.
a. noun | the act of retiring or giving up a position
b. noun | acceptance of something undesirable or inevitable
c. noun | a document stating someone’s intent of quitting or standing down
d. none of the above

Explanation:

To determine the meaning of "resignation" in the excerpt, we analyze the context: "expectation gave place to resignation—the hopeless resignation of the old... they had nothing to talk about, and their days were long to weariness".

• Option A: "the act of resigning or giving up a position" refers to a job - related resignation, which doesn't fit the context of a hopeless acceptance of a situation.
• Option B: "the acceptance of something undesirable or inevitable" matches the context. The old people have accepted a hopeless and wearisome situation (since they have nothing to talk about and their days are long with weariness), so this option is correct.
• Option C: "a document stating someone’s intent of quitting or standing down" is about a written resignation, not relevant to the context of an emotional/mental state of acceptance.
• Option D: "none of the above" is incorrect as Option B is a good match.

Answer:

B. the acceptance of something undesirable or inevitable