Question

read the excerpt from a short story.
the young docent welcomed the class to the museum, explaining that the east wing was under construction and hed be leading them to the first exhibit. his fingers leapt to his name tag as he nervously introduced himself as \liam, a student of the arts.\ then he bade the group follow him. they traversed a vaulted hall lined with hulking objects, each one obscured by a faded tarpaulin. some of the items stretched across the floor, others cast long shadows on the museum walls.
what technique does the author use to build suspense in the excerpt?
quickening the pace of the story
intentionally omitting setting details
making the outcome of events uncertain
darkening the word choice

Explanation:

To determine the suspense - building technique, we analyze each option:

1. "Quickening the pace of the story": The excerpt's narrative pace is not particularly quick; it describes actions and the setting in a relatively measured way. So this is not correct.
2. "Intentionally omitting setting details": The excerpt actually provides setting details like the museum, the east wing under construction, the vaulted hall, and the objects with tarpaulins. So this is incorrect.
3. "Making the outcome of events uncertain": There's no clear indication in the excerpt that the outcome of events is made uncertain. The actions are straightforward (docent leading a class). So this is not the case.
4. "Darkening the word choice": The author uses words like "hulking", "obscured", "faded", "long shadows" which create a dark, mysterious atmosphere. This helps to build suspense as it makes the setting seem eerie and unknown.

Answer:

darkening the word choice