Question

Select all that apply.

Read the following paragraph, and answer the question.

Keeping my mind on my writing is not easy when I stay at my grandmother's ocean-side cottage. Just about the time that I am going along pretty well, I glance out the window and see two huge bald eagles swooping and tumbling in a spectacular aerial display. Naturally, I have to leave my desk and rush to the doorway to watch the performance as long as it lasts. Then, as if a conspiracy were trying to keep me from working, two otters poke their shiny heads out of the water and hang there motionless. They watch to see what I am doing. As soon as I return to my desk, seagulls wheel into my window view and screech as they search for scraps of food. Within minutes, this confusion of sounds stirs my aging St. Bernard out of a deep sleep, and he hauls his massive, lumbering body over to be petted. Mickey, my cat, can't stand to see any partiality, so he is soon pacing back and forth across my ankles. As I wiggle my bare toes to tease Mickey, I realize that my legs have become stiff. I remember that I have not had my daily ride. So, I slip on my sandals, step out the door, spring onto my bike, and pedal off down the beach. Meanwhile, the composition in my typewriter sits and grows colder.

What are two details for the paragraph?

A) Keeping my mind on my writing is not easy when I stay at my grandmother's ocean-side cottage.

B) Then, as if a conspiracy were trying to keep me from working, two otters poke their shiny heads out of the water and hang there motionless.

C) So, I slip on my sandals, step out the door, spring onto my bike and pedal off down the beach.

D) Meanwhile the composition in my typewriter sits and grows colder.

Answer 1

The correct details from the paragraph are A) the difficulty of focusing on writing at the ocean-side cottage, B) otters distracting the author, and C) the author deciding to go for a bike ride.

Step-by-step explanation:

The student is asked to identify two details from the provided paragraph about the author's experience in an ocean-side cottage. Answer choices A and C are correct as they provide specific details about the author's struggle to concentrate on writing due to the distractions of nature and their consequent decision to go biking. Answer B is also correct since it supplies an additional distraction from the otters. Answer D, by stating the result of the distractions on the author's work, supports the central idea of the passage but is not a distinct detail about the experience. Hence, A, B, and C are appropriate selections.

Answer 2

, I slip on my sandals, step out the door, spring onto my bike and pedal off down the beach.