Question

sodapop was crazy about that horse. he went down to see him every day. mickey mouse was a mean horse. he kicked other horses and was always getting into trouble. \ive got me a ornery pony,\ sodad tell him, rubbing his neck. \how come youre so mean, mickey mouse?\ mickey mouse would just chew on his sleeve and sometimes nip him. but not hard. he may have belonged to another guy, but he was sodas horse.
\does soda still have him?\ cherry asked.
\he got sold,\ i said. \they came and got him one day and took him off. he was a real valuable horse. pure quarter.\
she didnt say anything else and i was glad. i couldnt tell her that soda had bawled all night long after they came and got mickey mouse. i had cried, too, if you want to know the truth, because soda never really wanted anything except a horse, and hed lost his.
from s. e. hinton, the outsiders. copyright 1967 by s. e. hinton
what is the meaning of ornery as used in the passage?
peculiar valuable bad - tempered youthful

Explanation:

To determine the meaning of "ornery", we analyze the context. The passage says Mickey Mouse "was a mean horse. He kicked other horses and was always getting into trouble." The word "ornery" is used to describe the pony, so we match this behavior to the options. "Peculiar" means strange, "valuable" refers to worth, "youthful" is about age, but "bad - tempered" fits the mean and troublesome behavior of the horse.

Answer:

bad - tempered