Read the following sentences from "The Third Bank of the River."
My father was a dutiful, orderly, straightforward man. And according to several reliable people of whom I enquired, he had had these qualities since adolescence or even childhood. By my own recollection, he was neither jollier nor more melancholy than the other men we knew. Maybe a little quieter.
Which of the following sentences is the best paraphrase of this excerpt?
My father always seemed to be somewhat sad and withdrawn.
As far as I knew, my father had always been a loyal family man.
Ever since he was a child, my father was both serious and subdued.
From childhood to adulthood, my father was very honest and open.
1 answer
As per my understanding, my father was consistently dutiful and composed, and according to reliable sources, he possessed these traits since his youth. In my own memory, he was not particularly cheerful or melancholic, maybe just a little reserved.