The correct answer is panicky.
The author himself says that there were a lot of things around him that made him feel nervous, or the exact word he used is - panicky. I don't know the context, however, based on this excerpt it seems that he went through something dangerous or tragic that made him feel panicky about many things around him.
Since he smelled the skunk minutes before they sat down, then, we can say Manuel has a lower <u>absolute threshold</u> for the skunk odor than his parents have.
Absolute threshold refers to the smallest level of energy required by an external stimulus to be detectable by the human senses.
- Here, Manuel has a lower absolute threshold because little energy is required of him to detect the skunk odour.
In conclusion, Manuel has a lower <u>absolute threshold</u> for the skunk odor than his parents have
Read more about Absolute threshold:
<em>brainly.com/question/21681525</em>
