Question

Read the third paragraph from Muir's essay "Calypso Borealis" and answer the question.

[3] But when the sun was getting low and everything seemed most bewildering and discouraging, I found beautiful Calypso on the mossy bank of a stream, growing not in the ground but on a bed of yellow mosses in which its small white bulb had found a soft nest and from which its one leaf and one flower sprung. The flower was white and made the impression of the utmost simple purity like a snowflower. No other bloom was near it, for the bog a short distance below the surface was still frozen, and the water was ice cold. It seemed the most spiritual of all the flower people I had ever met. I sat down beside it and fairly cried for joy.

Select two words or phrases from the text that demonstrate Muir's scientific approach to nature.

"most bewildering"
"bed of yellow mosses"
"small white bulb"
"utmost simple purity"
"cried for joy"

Answer 1

"bed of yellow mosses"

"small white bulb"

Answer 2

The right answer is: "bed of yellow mosses" and "small white bulb". The scientific description is used to give details about a concrete thing, in this case, describe the characteristics of a plant. It has a main feature that uses a formal, unambiguous and precise language, this is so because it must not give rise to misinterpretations.