Question 42
EasyOriginal question“Oh, how hot I am!” she said; “and I thought it was going to be cold; I wish we hadn't put on our—” she stopped short, and then ended in quite a different tone—“our .”
Bobbie turned at the bottom of the stairs.
“Oh, yes,” she cried; “THEY'RE red! Let's take them off.”
They did, and with the petticoats rolled up under their arms, ran along the railway, the newly fallen of stones and rock and earth, and bent, crushed, twisted trees. They ran at their best pace. Peter led, but the girls were not far behind. They reached the corner that hid the mound from the straight line of railway that ran half a mile without curve or corner.
“Now,” said Peter, taking hold of the largest flannel petticoat.
“You're not”—Phyllis —“you're not going to TEAR them?”
“Shut up,” said Peter, with brief .
“Oh, yes,” said Bobbie, “tear them into little bits if you like. Don't you see, Phil, if we can't stop the train, there'll be a real live accident, with people KILLED. Oh, horrible! Here, Peter, you'll never tear it through the band!”
She took the red flannel petticoat from him and tore it off an inch from the band. Then she tore the other in the same way.
“There!” said Peter, tearing in his turn. He divided each petticoat into three pieces. “Now, we've got six flags.” He looked at the watch again. “And we've got seven minutes. We must have flagstaffs.”
Why are the petticoats useful?
Show the answer and explanation
Correct answer: D
Explanation
As soon as the petticoats are mentioned, Bobbie cries "THEY'RE red! Let's take them off."
Red flags are a danger signal on a railway, so the cloth can stop the train.
Worth noting
The heat is what reminds them of the petticoats; their colour is what makes them useful.
- Concept
- Inferring the reason for a choice
- Typical timeTypical
- 35 s
- Your timeYours
- —
Ten questions from Literary passages, at your own pace.