Question

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

Answer 1

The correct answers are these two options: “but the towers themselves look blind” and “shattered image of a man or a god”. Taken from the short story “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benét (1937), the passage presented above narrates the moment when John, the son of a priest, visits the Place of the Gods. The Place of the Gods or The Dead Place was a great city that was destroyed by a great burning and it was said to be inhabited with spirits and demons since then. Since the passage describes this desolate place, the writer used a suspense tone in the narration. By definition, desolation is the state of a place that is completely empty or where everything has been destroyed. In this case, the two options “but the towers themselves look blind” and “shattered image of a man or a god” are the correct phrases that describe the details of a destroyed, desolate place which is the Place of the Gods.

Answer 2

The two correct options are "but the towers themselves look blind" and "shattered image of a man or a god".

Explanation: Desolation is described as a state of emptiness, loneliness, misery, or destruction. Describing that the towers "themselves look blind" suggests that the towers and the surrounding area looks gloomy and barren. The second option describes a shattered image, indicating destruction.