SAT OwlQuestion bank / Text Structure and Purpose
The following text is from a 1909 novel by Henrietta Blaise. Agnes is visiting her aunt.
Aunt Clara's parlor was exactly as Agnes remembered it: the same faded roses on the carpet, the same clock ticking on the mantel, the same smell of lavender and furniture polish. But the photograph of Agnes's mother, which had always stood beside the clock, was gone. Agnes said nothing about it through the whole of tea, and neither did her aunt.
Which choice best describes the function of the underlined sentence in the text as a whole?
It introduces a change that breaks the sense of sameness set up in the first sentence.
It explains why Agnes has come to visit her aunt.
It reveals that Aunt Clara has redecorated the parlor.
It suggests that Agnes has forgotten what the parlor looked like when she visited as a child.
Show answer and explanation
Answer: A
The first sentence stresses that everything is "the same." The underlined sentence, starting with "But," points out the one thing that has changed: the missing photograph. The silence that follows makes the change feel important. That is choice A.
Choice C overstates the change. Only one object is missing; the rest of the room is "exactly as Agnes remembered it."
Why the other choices are wrong
- B. The sentence notes a missing photograph and gives no reason for the visit.
- C. The parlor is "exactly as Agnes remembered it," so one missing photograph isn't a redecoration.
- D. Agnes notices the missing photograph because she remembers the room so well.
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