Question

read the passage from cruel tribute. years passed by. every spring when the roses began to bloom seven youths and seven maidens were put on board of a black - sailed ship and sent to crete to pay the tribute which king minos required. in every house in athens there was sorrow and dread, and the people lifted up their hands to athena on the hilltop and cried out, \how long, o queen of the air, how long shall this thing be?\ in the meanwhile the little child at troezen on the other side of the sea had grown to be a man. his name, theseus, was in everybodys mouth, for he had done great deeds of daring; and at last he had come to athens to find his father, king aegeus, who had never heard whether he was alive or dead; and when the youth had made himself known, the king had welcomed him to his home and all the people were glad because so noble a in this excerpt, the sequence of events creates suspense by starting the story in the middle of things. describing a setting that causes anticipation. slowing down the plot to focus on an important character. speeding up the plot to move the story forward and build tension.

Explanation:

The passage describes the annual sending - off of youths and maidens as tribute, creating a setting filled with sorrow and dread in Athens. This setting makes readers anticipate what will happen next. It doesn't start in the middle of things, doesn't slow down to focus on a character, and doesn't speed up the plot.

Answer:

describing a setting that causes anticipation.