When I was very near, my raft struck and turned over. I can swim in our lakes—I swam to the shore. There was a great spike of ru
sted metal sticking out into the river—I hauled myself up upon it and sat there, panting. I had saved my bow and two arrows and the knife I found in the Dead Place but that was all. My raft went whirling downstream toward the Bitter Water. I looked after it, and thought if it had trod me under, at least I would be safely dead. Nevertheless, when I had dried my bowstring and re-strung it, I walked forward to the Place of the Gods. What kind of atmosphere is created by the author's word choice in this excerpt?
a welcoming atmosphere
a horrific atmosphere
a religious atmosphere
a threatening atmosphere
Explanation: In the given excerpt we can see the description of how the narrator fights for his life, he swam to the shore and was saved by a spike of ruste metal sticking out into the river (which seems dangerous), and then he describes how he will have to continue fighting with his bow and arrow and a knife. So, from the given options, the one that represents the atmosphere created in the excerpt, is the corresponding to option D: A threatening atmosphere.