1 When she sat down to dinner at her round table with its three-day-old cloth, and watched her husband opposite her lift the lid
of the soup tureen and exclaim, delighted: "Ah, a good homemade beef stew! There's nothing better..." she would visualize elegant dinners with gleaming silver amid tapestried walls peopled by knights and ladies and exotic birds in a fairy forest; she would think of exquisite dishes served on gorgeous china worth thousands of francs, and of gallantries whispered and received with sphinx-like smiles while eating the pink flesh of trout or wings of grouse. 2 She had no proper wardrobe, no jewels, nothing. And those were the only things that she loved--she felt she was made for them. She would have so loved to charm, to be envied, to be admired and sought after.
She had a rich friend, an old school friend whom she refused to visit, because she suffered so keenly when she returned home. She would weep whole days, with grief, regret, despair, and misery.
Read the passage on the left to answer the following questions:
24)
In the first line of the passage, what does the description "three-day-old cloth" mean and what does it suggest about the woman's opinion of her home?
A) The table cloth is new, just made three days ago. The woman imagines her table with knights and ladies richly dressed.
B) The table cloth is new, just made three days ago. The woman thinks her table is shabby compared to the fancy ones in her imagination.
C) The table cloth has been on the table for three days; the woman thinks her table is even finer than the fancy ones in her imagination.
D) The table cloth has been on the table for three days. The woman thinks her table is shabby compared to the fancy ones in her imagination.
25)
What words are clues that this story involves aspects of French culture?
A) The words used for money are indicative of the French culture.
B) The phrase "three-day old cloth" is indicative of French culture.
C) The words used for the dinner the main characters are eating are indicative of French culture.
D) The word diabolical, which appears in bold in the story, is indicative of French culture.
