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Read these lines about an assistant: "Never was such a fellow for photography. Snapping away with a camera when he ought to be improving his mind, and then diving down into the cellar like a rabbit into its hole to develop his pictures." What does the comparison to a rabbit suggest?
AThat he is frightened of his own employer
BThat he keeps small animals in the cellar
CThat he is far too young to be trusted alone
DThat he drops out of sight quickly and often
Answer & Solution
Correct answer: D. That he drops out of sight quickly and often
1. A rabbit going into its hole moves fast and is gone from view at once.
2. The verb diving carries the same speed, and the habit is described as a regular one.
3. So the comparison marks how quickly and how often he vanishes below stairs, option D.
4. Fear is not suggested anywhere, since the speaker treats the habit as a mild fault rather than a fright.
5. The mention of animals is a literal reading of a comparison that was never meant literally.
_Source: Arthur Conan Doyle, The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892), The Red-Headed League_
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