SAT OwlQuestion bank / Command of Evidence
In Rowena Hollis's 1899 novel A Winter Ledger, the narrator suggests that Josiah Penn, a wealthy grocer, is tightfisted in business yet generous in private, as when the narrator notes that Penn ______
Which quotation from A Winter Ledger most effectively illustrates the claim?
"checked every ledger twice before signing it, and had once dismissed a clerk for an error of three pence in a month's accounts."
"haggled over every barrel of flour he bought, yet each winter secretly paid for coal for the widows on Mill Lane."
"was known throughout the county as a hard bargainer who seldom smiled."
"gave a handsome speech at the opening of the new library, which the mayor praised in the newspaper."
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B
The claim has two parts: Penn is tightfisted in business and generous in private. Choice B shows both, since he haggles over every barrel of flour but secretly pays for the widows' coal.
Choice D shows Penn being generous, but in public and with newspaper praise, while the claim is about private generosity.
Why the other choices are wrong
- A. This shows Penn's strictness in business but nothing about private generosity.
- C. This captures only his hard bargaining. Nothing in it shows generosity.
- D. A speech praised in the newspaper is public, so it doesn't show generosity in private, and it says nothing about his business habits.
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