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Read these lines: "They told us we could not make White River, and here we are," Hal said with a sneering ring of triumph. "And they told you true," John Thornton answered. "The bottom is likely to drop out at any moment. Only fools, with the blind luck of fools, could have made it." How is Thornton's reply best described?
ACheerful, praising them for a bold crossing
BPuzzled, asking how they crossed the river
CBlunt, treating their success as pure luck
DFearful, begging them to take him along
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: C. Blunt, treating their success as pure luck
1. 1. Hal offers the crossing as proof that the warnings were wrong.
2. 2. Thornton answers that the warnings were true, so he does not accept the proof.
3. 3. He then explains the crossing as the blind luck of fools, which credits chance rather than skill.
4. 4. Calling them fools to their faces is blunt, not cheerful, so option A fails.
5. 5. He states a judgement and asks nothing, so option C fails.
6. 6. He warns them rather than pleading with them, so option D fails.
_Source: The Call of the Wild by Jack London (1903)_
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