Question

Mr. Chiu and his bride were having lunch in the square before Muji Train Station. On the table between them were two bottles of soda spewing out brown foam and two paper boxes of rice and sautéed cucumber and pork. “Let’s eat,” he said to her, and broke the connected ends of the chopsticks. He picked up a slice of streaky pork and put it into his mouth. As he was chewing, a few crinkles appeared on his thin jaw. To his right, at another table, two railroad policemen were drinking tea and laughing; it seemed that the stout, middle-aged man was telling a joke to his young comrade, who was tall and of athletic build. Now and again they would steal a glance at Mr. Chiu’s table. The air smelled of rotten melon. A few flies kept buzzing above the couple’s lunch. Hundreds of people were rushing around to get on the platform or to catch buses to downtown. Food and fruit vendors were crying for customers in lazy voices. About a dozen young women, representing the local hotels, held up placards which displayed the daily prices and words as large as a palm, like FREE MEALS, AIR-CONDITIONING, and ON THE RIVER. In the center of the square stood a concrete statue of Chairman Mao, at whose feet peasants were napping, their backs on the warm granite and their faces toward the sunny sky. A flock of pigeons perched on the Chairman’s raised hand and forearm.The rice and cucumber tasted good, and Mr. Chiu was eating unhurriedly. His sallow face showed exhaustion. He was glad that the honeymoon was finally over and that he and his bride were heading back for Harbin. During the two weeks’ vacation, he had been worried about his liver, because three months ago he had suffered from acute hepatitis; he was afraid he might have a relapse. But he had had no severe symptoms, despite his liver being still big and tender. On the whole he was pleased with his health, which could endure even the strain of a honeymoon; indeed, he was on the course of recovery. He looked at his bride, who took off her wire glasses, kneading the root of her nose with her fingertips. Beads of sweat coated her pale cheeks. “Are you all right, sweetheart?” he asked. “I have a headache. I didn’t sleep well last night.” “Take an aspirin, will you?” “It’s not that serious. Tomorrow is Sunday and I can sleep in. Don’t worry.” As they were talking, the stout policeman at the next table stood up and threw a bowl of tea in their direction. Both Mr. Chiu’s and his bride’s sandals were wet instantly. “Hooligan!” she said in a low voice. Mr. Chiu got to his feet and said out loud, “Comrade Policeman, why did you do this?” He stretched out his right foot to show the wet sandal.“Do what?” the stout man asked huskily, glaring at Mr. Chiu while the young fellow was whistling. “See, you dumped tea on our feet.” “You’re lying. You wet your shoes yourself.” “Comrade Policeman, your duty is to keep order, but you purposely tortured us common citizens. Why violate the law you are supposed to enforce?” As Mr. Chiu was speaking, dozens of people began gathering around. With a wave of his hand, the man said to the young fellow, “Let’s get hold of him!” They grabbed Mr. Chiu and clamped handcuffs around his wrists. He cried, “You can’t do this to me. This is utterly unreasonable.” “Shut up!” The man pulled out his pistol. “You can use your tongue at our headquarters.” The young fellow added, “You’re a saboteur, you know that? You’re disrupting public order.”How does the mood help to foreshadow the events of the story?(3 points) Responses The mood does not foreshadow the events of the story. The mood does not foreshadow the events of the story. The negative mood foreshadows that something bad is going to happen. The negative mood foreshadows that something bad is going to happen. The neutral mood foreshadows that not much happens in the story. The neutral mood foreshadows that not much happens in the story. The positive mood foreshadows that good things will happen in the story. The positive mood foreshadows that good things will happen in the story.

Answer 1

The negative mood foreshadows that something bad is going to happen in the story. The tense atmosphere created by the argument between Mr. Chiu and the police officers, along with the gathering crowd and the use of force, sets the stage for the escalation of conflict and potential trouble for the characters.