Question

assessment questions
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 ... 27
8 out of 27 answered
question 5
how does the description of the process that the clay endures in paragraphs 7 - 9 contribute to the story?
a. it reveals what the clay is going to become.
b. it suggests that the clay will not complete the process.
c. it emphasizes the difficulties that the clay experiences.
d. it suggests that a mistake was made during the process.
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but the hard journey was nothing compared with the tribulation and distress that came after it. the clay was put into a trough and mixed and beaten and stirred and trampled. it seemed almost unbearable. but there was consolation in the thought that something very fine and noble was certainly coming out of all this trouble. the clay felt sure that, if it could only wait long enough, a wonderful reward was in store for it.
then it was put upon a swiftly turning wheel, and whirled around until it seemed as if it must fly into a thousand pieces. a strange power pressed it and molded it as it revolved, and through all the dizziness and pain it felt that it was taking a new form.
then an unknown hand put it into an oven, and fires were kindled about it — fierce and penetrating — hotter than all the heats of summer that had ever brooded upon the bank of the river. but through it all, the clay held itself together and endured its trials in the confidence of a great future. “surely,” it thought, “i am intended for something very splendid, since such pains are taken with me. perhaps i am fashioned for the ornament of a temple, or a precious vase for the table of a king.”
10 at last, the clay was taken from the furnace and set down upon a board, in the cool air, under the blue sky. the tribulation had passed; the reward was at hand.
close beside the board, there was a pool of water, not very deep, nor very clear, but calm enough to reflect, with undeniable truth, every image that fell upon it. there, for the first time, as it was lifted from the board, the clay saw its new shape — the reward of all its patience and pain, the conclusion of its hopes — a common flower pot: straight and stiff, red and ugly.
the clay felt that it was not destined for a king’s house, nor for a palace of art, because it had been created without glory or beauty or honor; it murmured to its unknown...
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Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Option B: The clay does complete the process (ends up as a flower pot), so B is wrong.
• Option C: While the process has difficulties, the main contribution is showing what the clay becomes (the reward/result), not just emphasizing difficulties. So C is not the main point.
• Option D: There's no indication of a mistake in the process. The clay goes through the process to become a flower pot. So D is wrong.
• Option A: The clay endures the process (mixing, wheel, oven) with the belief something fine will come. Later, it becomes a flower pot (the result of the process). So the description of the process contributes by revealing what the clay is going to become (even though it's a common flower pot, the process leads to its new form).

Answer:

A. It reveals what the clay is going to become.