Question

read the poem. then, review the bolded text in the second stanza.

two sisters

the chlorine smell, an echoed splash—
another friday at the pool.
my older sister is about to smash
another diving record for her school.

i smile but hold back my sighs
as i cheer for her from the stand.
i see myself through her eyes:
the little sister, meek and bland.

but i’m wrong, though, because one day
like a comet shooting through the night,
my sister stops me just to say,
“it amazes me how well you write.”

my sister is the star, and yet
she envies something about me.
i now look twice at those i’ve met.
some talents are harder to see.

the bolded text requires an inference, or a guess, about missing details. based on the text,
which sentence is most likely to be true?

the speaker doesnt think that her sister is going to break the record.

the speaker feels like shes not as good as her sister.

the speaker wants to learn how to dive as well as her sister.

Explanation:

1. Analyze the first option: The first stanza says the sister is "about to smash another diving record", and the speaker is cheering, so there's no indication the speaker doubts the sister will break the record. Eliminate this.
2. Analyze the second option: The bolded text shows the speaker sees herself as "meek and bland" through her sister's eyes, and later the sister is the "star" while the speaker has a different talent (writing) that's less obvious. This implies the speaker feels less capable than her sister.
3. Analyze the third option: The poem focuses on the speaker's self - perception and the sister's envy of the speaker's writing, not the speaker wanting to learn to dive. Eliminate this.

Answer:

The speaker feels like she's not as good as her sister.