Question

When they reached the cottage, the two seated themselves with some appearance of fatigue upon the upper step of the porch, facing each other, each leaning against a supporting post. Which phrase from the sentence gives the best evidence that “fatigue” means “tiredness”? “each leaning against a supporting post” “facing each other” “When they reached the cottage” “upon the upper step of the porch”

Answer 1

The correct answer is A. “each leaning against a supporting post”

Step-by-step explanation:

In texts, it is common the meaning of an unknown or unfamiliar word is suggested by the words that are close to it or by other sentences. However, not all the words that surround a word provide clues about the unknown word and some can provide just general clues. In the case of the text presented, the unknown word or word to be studied is "fatigue" and the definition of this as "tiredness" is mainly suggested in the phrase "each leaning against a supporting post" because this directly shows the word "fatigue" means "tiredness" as the effect this cause is that two of the characters of the story need to lean against a supporting post, which commonly occurs when people are tired. Additionally other such as "facing each other" or "When they reached the cottage" only show the actions of the characters but not that they are exhausted as these can occur even if the characters are not tired. Therefore, the phrase t that gives the best evidence about the meaning of fatigue is "each leaning against a supporting post".

Answer 2

"Each leaning against a supporting post" is the phrase that best indicates fatigue, since they couldn't sit down to talk without having something to support their backs.