First, you need to know what a gerund is. It refers to a word form that looks like a verb + ing. So here, the gerund phrase is <em>walking in the deep snow. </em>Also, you need to know that gerund is practically a noun in a sentence, meaning that it can function as either a subject or an object of a sentence. Here, the correct answer is the subject.
If you are unsure, you can replace the phrase with a pronoun He, for example: He made me feel... And you will know it is a subject, because the object would be Him.
And then I explained to him how naive we were, that the world did know and remain silent. And that is why I swore never to be silent whenever and wherever human beings endure suffering and humiliation. We must always take sides. Neutrality helps the oppressor, never the victim. Silence encourages the tormentor, never the tormented. Sometimes we must interfere. When human lives are endangered, when human dignity is in jeopardy, national borders and sensitivities become irrelevant. Wherever men or women are persecuted because of their race, religion, or political views, that place must – at that moment – become the center of the universe.
Somber is the correct choice
