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 pictures 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.
question 3.
question 4.
how does the setting influence the development of marlenes character and the progression of the plot in “the dog days of summer”?
a. the small - town texas setting causes marlene to become more withdrawn and isolated.
b. the summer setting in jennifers hometown provides a relaxed environment that allows marlene to gradually open up to jennifer.
c. the urban setting of san diego creates conflict between the girls different lifestyles.
d. the setting has little impact on the characters.
question 5.
which of the following statements accurately describe how character development, setting and plot interact in “the dog days of summer”? select two.
a. the summer setting provides the time and space for jennifer and marlene to bond, which drives marlenes emotional growth.

Explanation:

In the story, Marlene is initially withdrawn in Jennifer's small - town Texas home. As the summer progresses in this relaxed environment, Marlene gradually opens up to Jennifer. The setting provides the time and space for their bond to form and for Marlene's emotional growth.

Answer:

Question 4: B. The summer setting in Jennifer's hometown provides a relaxed environment that allows Marlene to gradually open up to Jennifer
Question 5: A. The summer setting provides the time and space for Jennifer and Marlene to bond, which drives Marlene's emotional growth.