Question

Read the text. frances sneezed and rubbed the dust from her watering eyes. unused for decades, the top-floor parlor was full of shadows and furniture draped in old, billowing sheets. frances delighted in sharing ghost stories about the bailey mansion with the other house girls. ""ghosts? stuff and nonsense!"" edith always said. but frances thought that edith might be singing a different tune if she were in frances's shoes, stuck cleaning this gloomy parlor alone. running her feather duster over ornate picture frames, frances heard a rustling behind her. she whirled around, looking for a mouse. mrs. bailey loathed mice, developing elaborate systems for their entrapment. frances saw nothing, but continued to hear a faint scratching sound. she crept into the shadows, gasping when her sleeve brushed the edge of the sheeted piano. she took a deep breath and tried to steady her beating heart. it's just a mouse, she reminded herself. but as she scanned for a furry creature where the dark mahogany wall met the floor, she found something else. carved into the wall was a rectangle a few feet high. the edges lined up with the pattern of the wall, making it nearly invisible. a hidden door, thought frances, reaching out and touching a rusted latch. the rustling, now louder than any mouse, was clearly coming from the other side. how does being in the parlor affect frances?

A. It makes her feel joyful and relaxed
B. It induces fear and unease in her
C. It has no impact on her emotions
D. It makes her nostalgic and sentimental

Answer 1

Frances experiences fear and unease while in the parlor due to its gloomy atmosphere and the mysterious sounds and discoveries she encounters, such as the hidden door.

Step-by-step explanation:

Being in the parlor induces fear and unease in Frances. The text describes how Frances sneezed and rubbed the dust from her watering eyes, signalling discomfort. Additionally, Frances is alone in the gloomy parlor, a setting that is often associated with ghost stories that she enjoys sharing with the other house girls. Her reassurance that it is just a mouse when she hears a rustling, and her gasp when her sleeve brushes the sheeted piano, reflect a heightened state of nervousness and apprehension. The hidden door discovery further adds to the suspense and her sense of unease. Therefore, the correct answer to how being in the parlor affects Frances is B. It induces fear and unease in her.