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HomeCAASPP ELAEnglishReading Comprehension: Short Fiction › Read these lines: "The Law of the Jungle, which …

Read these lines: "The Law of the Jungle, which never orders anything without a reason, forbids every beast to eat Man except when he is killing to show his children how to kill. The reason the beasts give among themselves is that Man is the weakest and most defenseless of all living things, and it is unsportsmanlike to touch him." What reason do the beasts give one another?

AThat Man alone can command the fire
BThat Man is protected by the wolf pack
CThat Man is too swift to be caught
DThat Man is too weak to be fair game
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. That Man is too weak to be fair game
1. 1. The quoted lines separate the rule from the reason the beasts give for it. 2. 2. That reason is stated plainly: Man is the weakest and most defenseless of all living things. 3. 3. The word unsportsmanlike adds that hunting so weak a creature is unfair rather than dangerous. 4. 4. Fire, the wolf pack and speed are all absent from the reason given here. _Source: The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling (1894)_
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