Question

what is the meaning of the word discern as used in the passage? as the sun began to set, the island castaway was barely able to discern a ship on the horizon. did that mean that someone onboard the ship might be able to notice him, too? he jumped to his feet and frantically waved his arms, yelling, \over here! over here!\ to reach to search for to detect

Explanation:

In the context, the cast - away could just barely make out or detect a ship on the horizon. "To reach" means to get to a place, and "to search for" implies actively looking for something. "To detect" means to notice or discover something, which fits the context as the cast - away was able to notice the ship on the horizon.

Answer:

C. to detect