Question

So down, with my heart full of trouble, to the Lieutenant of the Tower, who tells me that it begun this morning in the King's baker's house in Pudding Lane, and that it hath burned down St. Magnus's Church and most part of Fish Street already. So I down to the waterside and there got a boat and through bridge, and there saw a lamentable fire. Poor Michell's house, as far as the Old Swan, already burned that way and the fire running further, that in a very little time it got as far as the Steelyard while I was there. Everybody endeavoring to remove their goods, and flinging into the river or bringing them into lighters that lay off. Poor people staying in their houses as long as till the very fire touched them, and then running into boats or clambering from one pair of stair by the waterside to another. And among other things, the poor pigeons I perceive were loath to leave their houses, but hovered about the windows and balconies till they were some of them burned, their wings, and fell down. Which of these is nearest in meaning to the word loth, as it is used in the passage above?

Answer 1

In the passage, the word 'loth' means reluctant or unwilling, describing the pigeons' hesitation to leave their homes during the fire.

Step-by-step explanation:

The word loth as used in the passage means reluctant or unwilling. When describing how the pigeons behaved during the fire, the author notes that they were loth to leave their houses. This indicates that the pigeons did not want to leave the safety and familiarity of their homes, even as the fire approached, and they stayed until it was almost too late. This term conveys a sense of hesitance and resistance to leave despite the danger.

Answer 2

Assuming that the answers you have to choose from are:

A. Eager

B. Prepared

C. Unable

D. Reluctant

Reluctant (D) is nearest in meaning to the word "loth."

You are loth (or loath) to do something when you are unwilling to do it, for example if it goes against your principles.

In this case, the pigeons are behaving like they do not want to "leave their houses" in spite of the danger, probably because of the panic and the attachment they have to these places. An indication of their reluctance to fly away is that they stayed in the area ("hovered about the windows and balconies") and let themselves be surpised by the fire ("till they were ... burned").