Question

i scooted past him on stairs dark as night
and reached for the string that turned on the light.
he asked, “what’s that noise that sounds kind of mean?”
i laughed. “it’s only the washing machine!”
he went down three steps...i knew it would work!
still manuel worried about what might lurk.
he pulled on his hair when he heard a loud banging.
“relax!” i told him. “it’s just hot pipes clanging.”
two steps more, then a shadow made him stop.
so i said, “look, that shadow’s just cast by a mop.”
next he was eyeing a box opened wide.
i showed him that there was nothing inside.

which line could replace the
underlined text in the fifth stanza?
be sure the new line makes sense
and has the same rhythm and
rhyme.

i showed him it held some old dishes
and cups.
i tilted it so that he could see it was
empty.
he laughed and he jumped on a big
plastic slide.
i said, “that’s no place for a monster to
hide.”

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the rhythm and sense of the original line "I showed him that there was nothing inside" and the options:

1. Analyze the original line's structure (number of syllables, stress pattern) and meaning (showing the box is empty).
2. Check each option:

• Option 1: "I showed him it held some old dishes and cups" – Changes meaning (says there are dishes/cups, opposite of "nothing inside"). Eliminate.
• Option 2: "I tilted it so that he could see it was empty" – Matches the original meaning (box has nothing) and likely has a similar rhythm (syllable count, stress pattern) to "I showed him that there was nothing inside".
• Option 3: "He laughed and he jumped on a big plastic slide" – Irrelevant meaning (no connection to the box/monster). Eliminate.
• Option 4: "I said, 'That’s no place for a monster to hide'" – Focuses on hiding, not the box being empty. Eliminate.

Answer:

I tilted it so that he could see it was empty.