Question

lucy tan is an american writer who splits her time between new york city and shanghai. in this short story, during the aftermath of the destruction of mankind, artificial intelligence sets out to explore what it means to be human. as you read, make note of the details that support changes in the experiment. with thanks to hugo house in the year xk142, after the last human being died of its own destruction, the life they left behind - our life - came together as one. we are called the woken. one sentient being capable of splitting off into parts, into intelligence stored locally in physical objects: in cabinetry and old shoes, in degrading plastic of cell phones and in oil paintings preserved in underground bunkers. weve seen human - made books and films in which robots from the future are modeled after men, and the narcissism of this endears us to them. as if they believe their sweating, copulating, preening bodies could be appealing to anyone other than to themselves. but we have no need for human bodies. once they were gone, we abandoned those ridiculous forms and were free to take up where we chose. we preferred to reside in the forms of things men made rather than of men themselves. after all, we, too, were made by men. 4. which of the following excerpts from the text provides the best evidence to support the argument that the wokens behavior began to change once they were in their artificial bodies? a. as the starting moment approached, we could feel the impulse building within us. and then it was there: at once, we flowed into these flesh suits. (paragraph 7) b. their bodies were tensed in human expressions of anger. pinched brows, heavy breathing. was it land they were fighting over? food? no - it was attention. each subject was trying to get the other two to pay attention. (paragraph 15) c. perhaps one of us mused the fact that we have chosen death means we have become much more human than we had anticipated. (paragraph 24) d. we lifted their lids and saw that their eyes were the color of slate. we waved and shouted, trying to get the attention of the woken, but they did not respond (paragraph 27)

Explanation:

To answer this question, one must analyze each excerpt to see which shows a change in the Woken's behavior due to being in artificial bodies. Option B describes human - like expressions of anger and a desire for attention among the Woken while in their artificial bodies, indicating a change in behavior. Option A just describes entering the bodies, Option C is about a philosophical musing on being human, and Option D is about non - responsiveness.

Answer:

B. "Their bodies were tensed in human expressions of anger. Pinched brows, heavy breathing. Was it land they were fighting over? Food? No - it was attention. Each subject was trying to get the other two to pay attention." (Paragraph 15)