SAT OwlThe following text is from a 1919 short story by Mabel Corcoran. Mr. Abbot is a bookkeeper who has worked at the same firm for thirty years.
Each morning Mr. Abbot arrived at seven, hung his coat on the third hook, and opened the ledger to the page where he had left off. The new clerks, who arrived at nine, found him already deep in his columns and joked that he had been born at that desk. Mr. Abbot heard the joke more than once and did not mind it; indeed, when the firm offered him a larger office on the floor above, he ______
Which choice most logically completes the text?
accepted at once, relieved to escape the clerks' teasing.
politely declined it, preferring to stay where he was.
demanded a higher salary as a condition of moving.
asked the clerks to move upstairs with him.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: B
Mr. Abbot follows the same routine every day, and he does not mind the joke about being "born at that desk." The word "indeed" signals that what follows will reinforce his contentment with his place. Declining the new office, choice B, fits.
Choice A contradicts the text, which says he "did not mind" the joke, so he has no reason to want to escape it.
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