Answer:
B. To drive the plot toward the climax
Step-by-step explanation:
A. The rising action is not used to show what happens to the characters. The whole story is about showing what happens to the characters!
B. It is to drive the plot to the climax. It builds up to the big finale, and then the climax is followed by the falling action. Rising action is warming up while falling action is cooling down.
C. It is not for explaining background information. That is the exposition.
D. While it does usually provide tension, the rising action is not just one moment of tension. Tension is also in the climax too.
The answer is B. The rising action is used to build toward the climax.