Read this excerpt from "The Open Boat" by Stephen Crane: It is fair to say here that there was not a lifesaving station within t
wenty miles in either direction, but the men did not know this fact and in consequence they made dark and opprobrious remarks concerning the eyesight of the nation's lifesavers. Four scowling men sat in the dinghy and surpassed records in the invention of epithets. What is the meaning of the word opprobrious within the context of the excerpt? A.
forcefully convincing
B.
marked by resourcefulness
C.
expressing criticism or contempt
D.
restful or relieved
In the excerpt opprobrious means expressing criticism or contempt. The men are stranded in a lifeboat. They think that there is a lifesaving station close enough to save them, if only the people in the station would open their eyes and look. The men are making critical and negative remarks about the lifesaving station they feel should be already rescuing them. However, they aren't as close to a lifesaving station as they think they are.
