Question

What is the best meaning for retreated as it is used in paragraph four? 1. The act or process of withdrawing, especially from something hazardous, formidable, or unpleasant. 2. A place affording peace, quiet, privacy, or security. 3. A period of seclusion, retirement, or solitude. 4. Withdrawal of a military force from a dangerous position or from an enemy attack.

Answer 1

1) The act or process of withdrawing, especially from something hazardous, formidable, or unpleasant.

Step-by-step explanation:

We can see by how it's used in the passage that it's used as a verb, not as a noun, so we can eliminate 2. There's no military forces here, and this dog isn't retiring, so I'd say your best bet is 1, since the dog is withdrawing/retreating from the whip.

Answer 2

Number one is the correct option.

Step-by-step explanation:

In this case, the doer of the action (retreated) is the dog. Number 2 is not correct because even tho it describes a place (under the waggon wheels) the context doesn't use "retreated" to describe this place, but an action. In this case, number 3 is also incorrect because even one of the meanings of the words refers to a period of retirement or solitude, the dog is not looking for that. Number 4 is also incorrect because the doer of the action (the dog) does not represent a military force. Number 1 is correct because the dog is looking to withdraw itself from the place, moving under the wheels of the waggon. An unpleasant situation can be understood because of the given description (yelping with desmay, in example) making it fit with number one.