PSAT Reading Question 418: Answer and Explanation

Question: 418

The tone of the first paragraph is one of

• A. destruction.
• B. sorrow.
• C. foreboding.
• D. mindfulness.

Correct Answer: C

Explanation:

(C) Words like "dull," "dark," "dreary," "gloom," and "desolate" provide evidence to support choice (C). Although the narrator is certainly aware, as in choice (D), of how the home is in a destructive state, as mentioned in choice (A), and that he feels both despair and melancholy, found in choice (B), none of these describes the tone, or the general attitude of the paragraph. Since "foreboding" means a feeling that something bad will happen, it is the correct answer.