Question

reading passage \sickly,\ and frome had to admit that, 30 if she were as ailing as she believed, she needed the help of a stronger arm than the one which lay so lightly in his during the night - walks to the farm. mattie had no natural turn for house - keeping, and her 35 training had done nothing to remedy the defect. she was quick to learn, but forgetful and dreamy, and not disposed to take the matter seriously. ethan had an idea that if she were to marry a man she 40 was fond of the dormant instinct would wake, and her pies and biscuits become the pride of the county, but domesticity in the abstract did not interest her. at first 45 he was so awkward that he could not help laughing at her, but she laughed with him and that made them better friends. he did his best to supplement her unskilled efforts, getting up earlier than usual to light the kitchen fire, carrying in the wood overnight, and neglecting the mill for the farm that he might help her about the house during the day. he even crept down on saturday nights to scrub the kitchen floor after the woman had gone to bed. and zeena, one day, had question 8/11 as used in line 40, dormant most nearly means a inactive b silent c visible d asleep

Explanation:

In the context, "dormant" refers to an instinct that is not currently active or showing itself. "Inactive" is the closest - meaning word among the options. The other options like "silent", "visible", and "asleep" do not convey the sense of something being inactive or not in use as well as "inactive" does.

Answer:

A. inactive