Question

Read the passage from "By the Waters of Babylon.”

My raft went whirling downstream toward the Bitter Water. I looked after it, and thought if it had trod me under, at least I would be safely dead. Nevertheless, when I had dried my bowstring and re-strung it, I walked forward to the Place of the Gods.

It felt like ground underfoot; it did not burn me. It is not true what some of the tales say, that the ground there burns forever, for I have been there. Here and there were the marks and stains of the Great Burning, on the ruins, that is true. But they were old marks and old stains. It is not true either, what some of our priests say, that it is an island covered with fogs and enchantments. It is not. It is a great Dead Place—greater than any Dead Place we know. Everywhere in it there are god-roads, though most are cracked and broken. Everywhere there are the ruins of the high towers of the gods.

How shall I tell what I saw? I went carefully, my strung bow in my hand, my skin ready for danger. There should have been the wailings of spirits and the shrieks of demons, but there were not. It was very silent and sunny where I had landed—the wind and the rain and the birds that drop seeds had done their work—the grass grew in the cracks of the broken stone.

Which details best reveal the setting of the passage? Select two options.

“It is a great Dead Place—greater than any Dead Place we know.”
“Everywhere there are the ruins of the high towers of the gods.”
“I went carefully, my strung bow in my hand, my skin ready for danger.”
“I looked after it, and thought if it had trod me under, at least I would be safely dead.”
“When I had dried my bowstring and re-strung it, I walked forward to the Place of the Gods.”

Answer 1

The following two lines depict the setting of the passage in the best possible way.

It is a great Dead Place—greater than any Dead Place we know.

Everywhere there are the ruins of the high towers of the gods.

Step-by-step explanation:The given passage describes the circumstances after a highly catastrophic event. The line ' It is a great Dead Place—greater than any Dead Place we know' conveys the fact that the land is devoid of any human presence. At the same time, the line ' Everywhere there are the ruins of the high towers of the gods' describes that the narrator is surrounded by ruins of mighty architectural structures.

Thus, both the sentences appropriately convey the circumstances of complete disintegration of human civilization in the post-apocalyptic world.

Answer 2

Answer: The following two lines depict the setting of the passage in the best possible way.

It is a great Dead Place—greater than any Dead Place we know.

Everywhere there are the ruins of the high towers of the gods.

Explanation: The given passage describes the circumstances after a highly catastrophic event. The line ' It is a great Dead Place—greater than any Dead Place we know' conveys the fact that the land is devoid of any human presence. At the same time, the line ' Everywhere there are the ruins of the high towers of the gods' describes that the narrator is surrounded by ruins of mighty architectural structures.

Thus, both the sentences appropriately convey the circumstances of complete disintegration of human civilization in the post-apocalyptic world.