Question

(a pane of glass falls from the window and breaks on the sill.)
hatch: (speaking over his shoulder) hush! be careful, cant you?
harry: hush, you fool.
hatch: has he broken anything?
reddy: (on floor, rubbing his head) ive broke my head.
hatch: thats no loss. has he smashed that silver?
harry: (feeling in bag) it feels all right.
(the light from a candle is seen approaching the curtains.)
hatch: hush! look there!
alice: (whispering) hush! dont make a noise. dont make a noise,
please.
hatch: (in a threatening whisper) dont you make a noise.
alice: i dont mean to. my mother is asleep upstairs and she is very ill.
and i dont want to wake her—and i dont want you to wake her,
either.
reddy: well...we wont get well away until ive had something to eat.
alice: (to reddy.) youll find plates in the pantry, please.
reddy: oh, i dont use them things.
alice: youll use \them things\ when you eat with me. go, do as i tell
you, please.
(reddy exits.)
alice: do you know, ive always wanted to meet a burglar. but its so
difficult. they go out so seldom.
hatch: yes, and they arrive so late.
alice: (laughingly) now, thats much better. its so nice of you to have
a sense of humor...
(three locomotive whistles are heard from just outside the house.)
alice: ah! at last! theyve come. theyve come!
hatch: (fiercely) theyve come! what is it? what does that mean?
the personification in the line \civilization was racing toward you at seventy miles an hour\ represents...
○ the quick - thinking of the burglars that helped them to escape the police.
○ the imminent arrival of help and the triumph of order over chaos.
○ the incessant speed of modern - day life.
○ the progress of technology and its impact on society.

Explanation:

In the play excerpt, the locomotive whistles signal approaching help (police/authority) for the burglars' victims. The personification of "Civilization" racing toward the scene frames it as the arrival of ordered, lawful help that will overcome the chaotic, criminal situation the burglars created.

Answer:

B. the imminent arrival of help and the triumph of order over chaos.