Analyzing Word Choice and Author’s Purpose in Short Stories — Quiz
Question 6 • CMS 2026-2027 English II CREDIT RECOVERY
This question has two parts. First, answer Part 1. Then, answer Part 2. Part 1 Read the excerpt from “The Crab That Played with the Sea.” ‘You are lazy,’ said the Eldest Magician. ‘So your children shall be lazy. They shall be the laziest people in the world. They shall be called the Malazy—the lazy people;’ and he held up his finger to the Moon and said, ‘O Fisherman, here is the Man too lazy to row home. Pull his canoe home with your line, Fisherman.’ ‘No,’ said the Man. ‘If I am to be lazy all my days, let the Sea work for me twice a day for ever. That will save paddling.’ And the Eldest Magician laughed and said, ‘Payah kun’ (That is right). And the Rat of the Moon stopped biting the line; and the Fisherman let his line down till it touched the Sea, and he pulled the whole deep Sea along, past the Island of Bintang, past Singapore, past Malacca, past Selangor, till the canoe whirled into the mouth of the Perak River again. ‘Kun?’ said the Fisherman of the Moon. ‘Payah kun,’ said the Eldest Magician. ‘See now that you pull the Sea twice a day and twice a night for ever, so that the Malazy fishermen may be saved paddling. But be careful not to do it too hard, or I shall make a magic on you as I did to Pau Amma.’ Then they all went up the Perak River and went to bed, Best Beloved. What is the primary purpose of this excerpt?
Answer
A
to explain how islands were formed
B
to explain how nature was created
C
to explain the origin of tides
D
To explain why man is lazy
Explanation
The excerpt describes the Sea being pulled twice a day and twice a night so the Malazy fishermen do not have to paddle. This gives a storybook explanation for the repeated movement of the sea—the tides. The main purpose is to explain the origin of tides, not to explain how islands or nature were created.
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