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Read these lines: "Well, I never! There is no getting round it, you can work when you are a mind to, Tom. And then she diluted the compliment by adding, But it is powerful seldom you are a mind to, I am bound to say." What does the second remark show about the speaker?
AShe had not really looked at the finished fence
BShe will not let praise stand on its own for long
CShe believes the work was done by someone else
DShe has decided to give the boy a lighter task
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. She will not let praise stand on its own for long
1. Her first remark is real praise, and it is given without any hedging.
2. The narration then names what she does next, that she diluted the compliment.
3. The addition takes back most of what the praise gave by calling such effort powerful seldom.
4. Praise that cannot be left alone is option B.
5. Option A is ruled out because she has just been outside and seen the finished work herself.
_Source: Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (1876), public domain_
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