Read the passage from Gulliver's Travels . He has been eight years upon a project for extracting sunbeams out of cucumbers, which were to be put in phials hermetically sealed, and let out to warm the air in raw inclement summers. He told me, he did not doubt, that, in eight years more, he should be able to supply the governor’s gardens with sunshine, at a reasonable rate: but he complained that his stock was low, and entreated me "to give him something as an encouragement to ingenuity, especially since this had been a very dear season for cucumbers." Which phrase from the passage best helps the reader to identify the passage as a satire?
Answer
A
He has been eight years upon a project for extracting sunbeams out of cucumbers
B
which were to be put in phials hermetically sealed
C
He told me, he did not doubt, that, in eight years more, he should be able to supply the governor’s gardens
D
but he complained that his stock was low
Explanation
Satire uses humor or exaggeration to criticize human behavior, often by making foolish ideas sound serious. The phrase “extracting sunbeams out of cucumbers” describes an absurd project, making it the clearest satirical detail. The other phrases add practical-sounding details but are less obviously ridiculous on their own.
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