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Literary passages · Question 177 of 305

In "When I go into a bank I get rattled", the word "rattled" means

Question 177

HardOriginal question

When I go into a bank I get . The clerks rattle me; the wickets rattle me; the sight of the money rattles me; everything rattles me.

The moment I cross the of a bank and attempt to business there, I become an irresponsible idiot.

I knew this beforehand, but my salary had been raised to fifty dollars a month and I felt that the bank was the only place for it.

So I in and looked round at the clerks. I had an idea that a person about to open an account must needs consult the manager.

I went up to a wicket marked "Accountant." The accountant was a tall, cool devil. The very sight of him rattled me. My voice was .

"Can I see the manager?" I said, and added , "alone." I don't know why I said "alone."

The manager was a grave, calm man. I held my fifty-six dollars clutched in a crumpled ball in my pocket.

"Are you the manager?" I said. God knows I didn't doubt it.

"Yes," he said.

"Can I see you," I asked, "alone?" I didn't want to say "alone" again, but without it the thing seemed .

The manager looked at me in some alarm. He felt that I had an awful secret to reveal.

"Come in here," he said, and led the way to a private room. He turned the key in the lock.

"We are safe from interruption here," he said; "sit down."

We both sat down and looked at each other. I found no voice to speak.

"You are one of Pinkerton's men, I ," he said.

He had gathered from my mysterious manner that I was a detective. I knew what he was thinking, and it made me worse.

In "When I go into a bank I get rattled", the word "rattled" means

Options for question 177

Show the answer and explanation
CorrectNot quiteAnswer B

Correct answer: B

Explanation

  1. The narrator goes on to say that in a bank he becomes "an irresponsible idiot" and cannot find his voice.

  2. So "rattled" here means nervous and confused.

Worth noting

The everyday meaning, to shake noisily, is the trap. The narrator is not being shaken; he is flustered.

Concept
Choosing the meaning a word has in its context
Typical time
45 s
Your time
—
The rule this testsA word as the passage uses it
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Ten questions from Literary passages, at your own pace.

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Ten questions from Literary passages, at your own pace.