In the novel “Hard Times” by Charles Dicken, Mr. Gradgrind refers to Sissy as “girl number 20”. Charles uses this labeling of Sissy to criticize the dehumanization of students and the stripping away of their individuality.
Mr. Gradgrind is so unbiased that he doesn't use names when referring to his students, instead he uses numbers like he does with Sissy.
Answer A. Innate.
We do not know if it is a trait that all humans are born with (which would be innate), or if it's something that we develop as we grow older.
The other words wouldn't make sense in the place of innate.
The best answer here is the last one, that he interacts easily with both his superiors and the drivers. In the excerpt, we see how the narrator is able to talk with the officers with ease and then how he goes to the drivers with that same ease.
If we look at the other answers, we can see that they don't work. The first one doesn't make much sense as the narrator shows no preference towards either set of people. The second choice makes no sense because the narrator does not ask the officers for cigarettes. The third choice also does not make sense because there is no hint of derision from the narrator to the officers or drivers.
The meaning of sound as an adjective
is free from injury or disease
