What I should be, really, is frightened. Everything about this situation is alarming. I can almost hear the opening strains of one of those melancholy operas Father likes to listen to with the door to his study closed. All the ominous parts are here—dark sky, turbulent lake, waves rising, my cousin Peter, the ship’s first mate though he’s barely older than me, insisting I get a life preserver and put it on.

Question

I dig my nose into my collar and turn to the side. The wind still tears at my skin, but I’m not going to leave this spot at the front of the ship if I can help it. Even though the sky is getting darker by the second. Even though it’s only midmorning, and I can barely see the horizon. The lake is murky too, almost black, indistinguishable from the sky.

Excerpt from Big Water by Andrea Curtis. Printed with permission by Orca Book Publishers

Question
Use the excerpt from “Big Water” by Andrea Curtis to answer the question.

What best describes how the setting details contribute to the meaning of the story?

(1 point)
Responses

They tell readers what kind of events to expect.
They tell readers what kind of events to expect.

They help set a tone of tension or anxiety for readers.
They help set a tone of tension or anxiety for readers.

They help make the story’s genre clear to readers.
They help make the story’s genre clear to readers.

They tell readers exactly where the characters are.

Answer 1

The best response is:

They help set a tone of tension or anxiety for readers.

The setting details—such as the dark sky, turbulent lake, and ominous atmosphere—create a feeling of unease and foreboding, which contributes to the overall mood of tension in the story.