Read these lines: "At the first step upon the cold surface, Buck's feet sank into a white mushy something very like mud. More of this white stuff was falling through the air. He sniffed it curiously, then licked some up on his tongue. It bit like fire, and the next instant was gone." The words "bit like fire" tell the reader that the snow

1. 1. A bite that feels like fire is a sudden sharp sting, not a smell or a taste. 2. 2. The quoted lines add that the next instant it was gone, so the sting did not last. 3. 3. Sharp and brief together match the first option. 4. 4. No yelp or lasting injury is described, so an option about real burning goes further than the lines allow. _Source: The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903)_