Question

instructions: read the question carefully and select the best answer. which passage from the story most strongly supports the answer to question 5? a. “the people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions; most of them were quiet, wetting their lips, not looking around.” b. “listening to the young folks, nothing’s good enough for them. next thing you know, they’ll be wanting to go back to living in caves, nobody work any more, live that way for a while.” c. “well, now, mr. summers said soberly, guess we better get started, get this over with, so’s we can go back to work. anybody ain’t here?” d. “after that, there was a long pause, a breathless pause, until mr. summers, holding his slip of paper in the air, said, ‘all right, fellows.’”

Explanation:

To answer this question, one must analyze which passage shows people's lack - of full attention. Option A indicates that people had done something so many times they only half - listened, showing a lack of full engagement.

Answer:

A. "The people had done it so many times that they only half listened to the directions; most of them were quiet, wetting their lips, not looking around."