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HomeCAASPP ELAEnglishReading Comprehension: Novel › Read these lines: "Before I come on board your v…

Read these lines: "Before I come on board your vessel," said he, "will you have the kindness to inform me whither you are bound?" You may conceive my astonishment on hearing such a question addressed to me from a man on the brink of destruction, and to whom I should have supposed that my vessel would have been a resource which he would not have exchanged for the most precious wealth the earth can afford." Why is the captain astonished?

AA dying man refuses all food and water
BA dying man asks where the ship is going first
CA stranger boards without asking at all
DA stranger offers to pay for his rescue
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: B. A dying man asks where the ship is going first
1. 1. The stranger sets a condition before boarding: he wants to know the ship's destination. 2. 2. The captain calls him a man on the brink of destruction, so refusing rescue should be unthinkable. 3. 3. The captain expected the ship to be worth more to him than the most precious wealth on earth. 4. 4. Asking a question first, when any answer should be welcome, is what surprises him, so option A is right. _Source: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818)_
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