Question

hallidays comments grew daily more and more sparkingly disagreeable and disparaging. he went diligently about, laughing at the town, individually and in mass. but his laugh was the only one left in the village: it fell upon a hollow and mournful vacancy and emptiness. not even a smile was findable anywhere. halliday carried a cigar - box around on a tripod, playing that it was a camera, and halted all passers and aimed the thing and said, ready! now look pleasant, please, but not even this capital joke could surprise the dreary faces into any softening. the villagers were ______.

• pretending
• tormented
• excited
• melancholy

Explanation:

The text describes the village as having a "hollow and mournful vacancy and emptiness," with no smiles to be found, and even a joke failing to soften the villagers' dreary faces. These details point to a deep sadness and low spirits.

• "pretending" is unsupported, as there's no indication of faking.
• "tormented" implies active suffering, which isn't described here.
• "excited" directly contradicts the somber tone of the passage.
• "melancholy" means a persistent feeling of sadness, which matches the villagers' dreary, unresponsive state.

Answer:

melancholy