Question

Read the passage and answer the question.

[1]Nothing that comes from the desert expresses its extremes better than the unhappy growth of the
tree yuccas.Tormented, thin forests of it stalk drearily in the high mesas, particularly in that
triangular slip that fans out eastward from the meeting of the Sierras and coastwise hills. The
yucca bristles with bayonet-pointed leaves, dull green, growing shaggy with age like an old
[5] man's tangled gray beard, tipped with panicles of foul, greenish blooms. After its death, which is
slow, the ghostly hollow network of its woody skeleton, with hardly power to rot, makes even
the moonlight fearful. But it isn't always this way. Before the yucca has come to flower, while
yet its bloom is a luxurious, creamy, cone-shaped bud of the size of a small cabbage, full of
sugary sap, the Indians twist it deftly out of its fence of daggers and roast the prize for their
[10] own delectation.

In the last sentence of the passage, the author uses the word "flower" to describe a stage in the yucca tree's growth. Which word has a similar denotation to "flower" but would create a more awe-filled tone?

a) develop
b) flourish
c) mature
d) unfold

Answer 1

The answer is b) flourish

Answer 2

First, we need to understand the word being used in the sentence.

Before the yucca has come to (flower), while yet its bloom is a luxurious, creamy, cone-shaped bud of the size of a small cabbage.

From what we can tell by the use of flower in this sentence, we can tell that the yucca is blooming. Another word for blooming or flower is flourish, which means to grow. This word creates a more awe-filled tone.

Answer is B) Flourish.