Answer:
b. tension
a. introducing an obstacle Alma must overcome
Explanation:
The first question is easier. We can strike out the answers c and d, because they don't make sense at all. It could be humor, as some people are smiling, but b. tension is the better answer because of the follow-up question; it has negative words in the answers, such as "obstacle, spoil, lost, preventing". So tension is the best answer.
Excellent. The second question has 4 answers that are all factually correct. However, the question asks for how Whitcomb's organ playing and loud singing affect the story. This insinuates we should look for something "deeper", that affects the storyline in a broader manner. Answer choices b through d are all inconsequential, and are only related to the current performance (by the way, b and d are actually factually wrong; Alma's performance still goes on, sorry). Thus, only answer a, which mentions an obstacle (also known as a conflict) is important to the storyline as a whole.
Hope this helps!