Question

cave
by gretchen legler
one sunday, i went to visit the ice caves. the caves are part of the erebus glacier tongue, a long spit of ancient ice, named after mt. erebus, an active volcano in antarctica that hovers over ross island and mcmurdo station. the caves are about an hour drive from mcmurdo by tracked vehicle. we went to two caves. one of them was very easy to get into. you climbed a hill of snow, wiggled through a rather large opening, and slid down a little slope into a large cavern—a cavern about as big as the average living room...
it was in the first cave that i had my moment. i had been lying on my back, taking notes, looking up into the crystals and into that blue that still amazes me—blue so blue it is as if your eyes have broken and dont work... the first time id been in the cave the person who took me there said that often people who go down into crevasses are so overcome by the blue that it makes them cry. i remembered that as i lay there on my back, taking notes, trying to draw the crystals that hung like blooms of flowers above me, trying to figure out where the blue began and where it ended.
i cupped my hands around my eyes, so that all i saw was the blue, and as i stared, my heart began to beat faster and my breath started to come faster and tears started to come to my eyes.
it was that blue that made me cry. that blueviolet that seems as if it is sucking you in, that makes you feel as if you are falling into it, that compels you somehow to look into it, even though it blurs your vision and confuses you. it was that blue, so enigmatic, that for a moment you lose your balance in it. you dont quite know if you are in the sky, or under water, or if for an instant you might be in both places at once. the blue is like a frosty, vague, and endlessly deep note in your heart. it has no edges, just color and depth. it is a color that is like some kind of yearning, some unfulfilled desire, or some constant extreme joy. it just burns there, burns violet, burns blue.
adapted from gretchen’s antarctic adventure. november 24, 1997.
available: http://wwwf. alaska. edu/~afgfly/
select the correct answer.
why does the author say she \loses her balance\ in the blue crystals?
a. she trips because she is focused on her notes.
b. she feels overwhelmed by the intense blue.
c. she is tired from her long drive to the ice caves.
d. she falls over and lies on her back in the cave.
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Explanation:

The text states the blue/violet of the crystals is so enigmatic that it blurs vision and makes the author lose balance, as the intense blue overwhelms her. Other options are not supported: there's no mention of tripping over notes, tiredness from the drive, or falling over to lie down causing the balance loss.

Answer:

B. She feels overwhelmed by the intense blue.