From Robert Louis Stevenson's essay *El Dorado* (1881). Select the word that fits the blank. "Life is only a very dull and ill-directed theatre unless we have some ______ in the piece; and to those who have neither art nor science, the world is a mere arrangement of colours, or a rough footway where they may very well break their shins."
Aroles
Binterests
Cenemies
Dtickets
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. interests
Stevenson's metaphor extends life as a *theatre piece*. To not be bored, one must have *some ______ in the piece*. The blank means *stake* or *engagement* — what makes the audience care. "Interests" (in the sense of *concerns*, *involvements*) fits.
- "Roles" would make us actors, not audience — and Stevenson's contrast is *art nor science* (intellectual engagement), aligning with *interests*.
- "Enemies" and "tickets" miss the figure.
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