Question

grade 8 unit 1 in the dark. read the passage and answer the questions. in the dark. barlo—not mr. barlo, just barlo—owned a house down the street from ours, and the whispers about him in town hissed that no one was meaner, that he complained about everyone in the neighborhood for no apparent reason. my friends and i typically steered clear of the place, assuming that barlo would chase us off his lawn if we ventured near. he remained shrouded in mystery, probably because he rarely left his house. his curtains slapped shut when we dared to walk past the house, barlos elusive figure disappearing in the shadows. one november morning, mom glanced out of the window over the kitchen sink and noticed the shed door swinging wide open in the breeze. we didnt think much of it, accusing dad of having left the door improperly latched. he grumbled something about old doorknobs as he shuffled outside, but when he came back in, he wore a puzzled expression. which two sentences from the passage demonstrate how the narrators past events influence his present thinking? barlo—not mr. barlo, just barlo—owned a house down the street from ours and the whispers about him in town hissed that no one was meaner (paragraph 1). nothing missing inside, as far as i can see, but its weird—looks like someone tracked a lot of dirt in there. (paragraph 4). barlo had been dragging a shovel toward his garage, and both the shovel and his old boots were caked with mud (paragraph). the next morning, there it was—one of moms potted planters, smashed at the bottom of the stone steps, the floral arrangement missing. (paragraph 6). fall progressed quietly, and moms remaining flowers browned in the cold, only the evergreens in the back kept their color. (paragraph 9)

Explanation:

To answer the question about which sentences demonstrate how the narrator's past events influence present thinking, we need to look for sentences that show a connection between past - related knowledge or experiences of Barlo and the narrator's current perception. The first sentence "Barlo—not 'Mr. Barlo,' just 'Barlo'—owned a house down the street from ours, and the whispers about him in town hissed that no one was meaner" sets the initial perception based on past - spread rumors. The second sentence "The next morning, there was one of Mom's potted planters, smashed at the bottom of the stone steps, the floral arrangement missing" shows an event that could be related to the negative perception of Barlo formed from past whispers, influencing the narrator's present view of him as a suspect.

Answer:

"Barlo—not 'Mr. Barlo,' just 'Barlo'—owned a house down the street from ours, and the whispers about him in town hissed that no one was meaner"
"The next morning, there was one of Mom's potted planters, smashed at the bottom of the stone steps, the floral arrangement missing"