Question

In the 13th century, the Venetian merchant Marco Polo traveled to China, where he remained for almost 20 years. Before his return to Italy, he had become quite wealthy as a trader for Kublai Kahn. Read the following fictionalized portrayal of Polo’s return voyage.

Polo stood on the ship’s bow, overlooking the short expanse of sea between him and his home soil. Behind him were chests of sparking gold coins, vibrant rubies, spectacular emeralds, and silks of sheer perfection. They were strategically arranged to glint in the sun upon his arrival.

How would you summarize the fiction author’s strategy for making the factual account more exciting?

A. The author alters the fact that Polo had grown very wealthy.

B. The author embellishes the scene with detailed descriptions of Polo’s wealth.

C. The author quotes from historical documents to create a realistic homecoming scene.

D. The author omits details about Polo’s return because readers already know the historical facts.

Answer 1

b

Step-by-step explanation:

Answer 2

I believe the best answer to be letter B) The author embellishes the scene with detailed descriptions of Polo’s wealth.

Step-by-step explanation:

We can eliminate letter A since it claims that the author alters the fact that Polo had grown very wealthy. In the fictionalized portrayal, Marco is a very rich man when he's going back home. That fact wasn't altered.

Letter C says the author quotes from historical documents. In this excerpt of the fictionalized portrayal, he does not. His purpose is to make the story more interesting and exciting, so a realistic homecoming scene is not what he aims for.

Letter D claims the author omits details about the return because readers already know the facts. In fact, what the author does is add details to the return scene. Again, he wants to make it more interesting, so he provides readers with even more information than would be found in historical documents.

Therefore, the best option is letter B. The author adds a lot of detail concerning Polo's riches in order to make the story more exciting. Readers can now visualize all of his wealth, what it is comprised of, how it glints in the sun. The details embellish the scene, making it more visual, more intense:

...chests of sparking gold coins, vibrant rubies, spectacular emeralds, and silks of sheer perfection. They were strategically arranged to glint in the sun upon his arrival.