Question

Read the excerpt from chapter 8 of The Travels of Marco Polo.

Dhofar is a fine city of great size and splendour lying about 500 miles north-west of Shihir. Here again the people are Saracens and worship Mahomet, and are subject to a count who is likewise subject to the sultan of Aden. You must understand that this city is still within the province of Aden. The city stands on the sea and has a very good port, frequented by many merchant ships that import and export great quantities of merchandise. Many good Arab steeds, and horses from other lands as well, are brought here, and the merchants make a handsome profit on them. The city has many other cities and towns under its sway. Here again good incense grows in profusion—I will tell you how. It is produced by trees of no great size, like little fir trees. They are gashed with knives in various places, and out of these gashes oozes the incense. Some of it even oozes from the tree itself without any gashing, in consequence of the great heat that prevails. As for the Arab steeds that are brought here, the merchants afterwards export them to India, making a good profit on the deal.

How does the author's language in this passage reveal his opinion of Dhofar? Select two options.

The author uses the phrase “stands on the sea” to describe Dhofar.
The author says that incense in Dhofar is produced by trees “of no great size.”
The author describes Dhofar's busy port as “very good.”
The author uses the words “fine” and “splendour" to describe Dhofar.
The author uses the phrase "subject to a count" to describe the people of Dhof

Answer 1

The author describes Dhofar's busy port as “very good.”

The author uses the words “fine” and “splendour" to describe Dhofar.

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

The author describes Dhofar's busy port as “very good.”

The author uses the words “fine” and “splendour" to describe Dhofar.

Step-by-step explanation:

What we're looking for here are actually subjective statements. Subjective statements are statements that reveal a person's opinion, feelings, beliefs, and assumptions. Unlike them, objective statements are based solely on facts.

Options that contain subjective language are the third and fourth options. The narrator describes Dhofar's port as very good and uses words fine and splendour to describe Dhofar itself. This is how he feels about these places, what he thinks about them. Someone else may disagree and express that they don't like Dhofar or its port. Since opinions aren't objective, they can vary a lot.

The rest of the options contain objective statements, i.e. facts.