Question

read the excerpt from chapter 8 of the travels of marco polo. hormuz is a great and splendid city on the sea, governed by a malik and with several cities and towns in subjection to it. the people are saracens who worship mahomet. the climate is excessively hot—so hot that the houses are fitted with ventilators to catch the wind. the ventilators are set to face the quarter from which the wind blows and let it blow into the house. this they do because they cannot endure the over - powering heat. which statement best explains the authors perspective about living in hormuz? the author is impressed by the hot climate and the peoples response to it. the author is surprised by the religious practice of the people of hormuz.

Explanation:

To determine the author's perspective, we analyze the excerpt and options:

• Option 1: The excerpt doesn't show the author being confused; it describes the climate and people's response matter - of - factly, so this is incorrect.
• Option 2: The author describes the hot climate ("excessively hot") and how people deal with it (ventilators to catch wind). The tone suggests admiration or interest in how they handle the heat, so this fits.
• Option 3: The excerpt only states the people worship Mahomet, with no indication the author wants to learn more about it, so this is incorrect.
• Option 4: The excerpt presents the religious practice (worship Mahomet) as a fact, with no sign of surprise from the author, so this is incorrect.

Answer:

B. The author is impressed by the hot climate and the people’s response to it.