In reading and comprehension, even if you don't know the definition of the word, you can still somehow get its meaning through context clues. From the word itself, context clues are hint words that tell you the context of what you're reading. In this example, the word is odious. Without looking at the dictionary, we might guess that it means something disgusting or offensive because the narrator refers to it with 'unutterable loathing'. From that expression, you get the context that he hates it so much down to his core that he can't wait to get away from it. Therefore, the answer is letter C.
The correct answer is C. metaphor.
"Bright beams" that Nature has wrapped in black are Stella's eyes. In a way, it is also a simile, but every metaphor is a contracted simile (without "like").
There are other literary devices in this passage as well: contrast (black - bright), rhetorical question (one that doesn't have an answer, or an answer is obvious)...
The answer is: Literary Nonfiction.
"The Ridle of the Rosetta Stone," by James Cross Giblin, fits in the category of litery nonfiction because it contains narrative text with factual information, and it is read from beginning to end.
Other types of informational texts are Expository Texts, which consist of charts and tables of contents so that readers can look up the information they need without reading the whole book. Argument or Persuasion Texts intend to influence the readers' actions or thoughts. Meanwhile, Procedural Texts provide instructions on how to complete a task.