Question

There never was so wonderful a book written by man; never one whose interest was so absorbing, so unflagging, so sparkingly renewed with every reperusal. The passenger who could not read it was charmed with a peculiar sort of faint dimple on its surface (on the rare occasions when he did not overlook it altogether); but to the pilot that was an ITALICIZED passage; indeed, it was more than that, it was a legend of the largest capitals, with a string of shouting exclamation points at the end of it; for it meant that a wreck or a rock was buried there that could tear the life out of the strongest vessel that ever floated. It is the faintest and simplest expression the water ever makes, and the most hideous to a pilot’s eye. In truth, the passenger who could not read this book saw nothing but all manner of pretty pictures in it painted by the sun and shaded by the clouds, whereas to the trained eye these were not pictures at all, but the grimmest and most dead-earnest of reading-matter. What best describes why the narrator uses the image of an italicized passage written in capital letters to describe the river?

A:To demonstrate how complicated and difficult it is to navigate down the river.
B:To explain how experienced captains are able to “read” the river.
C:To show how sailing down the river can be as thrilling as reading a good book.
D:To express his delight over starting to get to know the river better.

Answer 1

Your best bet is B. Because the statement is speaking about the pilot (Captain) and a Italicized capital passage is easy to read.

Answer 2

Answer: B) To explain how experienced captains are able to “read” the river.

Step-by-step explanation: In the given passage we can see a metaphor (a figure of speech that consists in making a direct comparison between elements that aren't obviously related) that compares the river with a book, and how the passengers are unable to "read" it but the pilot (or experienced captains) can "read" the river as it was an italicized passage, which means that they are able to "read" it very easily.