Question

which figure of speech is used in this text? ... the report of my death was an exaggeration. —mark twain, in a notice that appeared in the new york journal chiasmus anaphora understatement

Explanation:

Chiasmus is a figure - of - speech with a reversal of grammatical structures in successive phrases or clauses. Anaphora is the repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses. Understatement is a figure of speech in which statements are expressed with less force than what would be expected. Here, "the report of my death was an exaggeration" is an understatement as it downplays the situation in a humorous way.

Answer:

C. understatement