Question

Read the following passage:

And before we judge them too harshly we must remember what ruthless and utter destruction our own species has wrought, not only upon animals such as the vanquished bison and the dodo, but upon its own inferior races. - H. G. Wells, The War of the Worlds

The passage is from a science fiction story about an alien invasion of Earth. What feature of the passage most strongly builds suspense, and why?

A. The phrase "ruthless and utter destruction," because its tone is calm but its message is frightening
B. The beginning of the sentence with "and," suggesting that the narrator has a lot of important information to tell
C. The word "inferior," which makes people uncomfortable
D. The reference to extinct animals, which saddens readers

Answer 1

the answer would be A

Answer 2

Answer: A. The phrase "ruthless and utter destruction", because its tone is calm but its message is frightening.

Explanation: In this excerpt from "The War of the Worlds" by H.G. Wells, the feature of the passage that most strongly builds suspense is the phrase "ruthless and utter destruction", because its tone is calm but its message is frightening. This phrase is frightening because the narrator is comparing the destruction the human race has made in the environment with what the aliens did in their invasion of Earth.