Question

reading quiz
question 3
multiple choice
instructions
read the question carefully and select the best answer.
which of these inferences is best supported by the following passage (paragraph 26)?
\did you understand a single word?\ the manager asked the parents. \is he playing the fool with us?\ for god’s sake, cried the mother already in tears, \perhaps he’s very ill and we’re upsetting him. grete! grete!\ she yelled at that point. \mother!\ called the sister from the other side. they were making themselves understood through gregor’s room. \you must go to the doctor right away, gregor is sick. hurry to the doctor. have you heard gregor speak yet?\ that was an animal’s voice,\ said the manager, remarkably quietly in comparison to the mother’s cries.
a the manager is hard of hearing and cannot understand what gregor is saying.
b gregor no longer understands his native language.
c option c text is partially obscured, likely related to the passage context

Explanation:

To determine the best inference, we analyze each option:

• Option A: The passage says "That was an animal’s voice," implying the manager could not understand Gregor's speech (since it sounded animal - like), so this is supported.
• Option B: The passage doesn't indicate the manager is hard of hearing; it's about the nature of Gregor's voice, not the manager's hearing ability.
• Option C: The passage is about the manager not understanding Gregor's voice, not about Gregor's native language.

Answer:

A. The manager is hard of hearing and cannot understand what Gregor is saying. (Note: Correction - Actually, the correct reasoning is that the manager hears an animal - like voice, so he can't understand Gregor's speech. So the answer is A as it's the only one supported by the passage's description of Gregor's voice being like an animal's, leading the manager to not understand.)