Big Water

by Andrea Curtis
Henry and Eva fold the sails and get out oars. Weare bumping up against the stone-filled cribs of alarge, wide dock within minutes.
I watch the men on the docks with their untamedbeards and callused hands, their frayed wool pantsand faded hats. They are young and old and moveabout like a kind of machine, few of them speakingbut working together without need of words. Movingcargo, hauling wood, cleaning boats. Picking up,passing, carrying. I hear one call to another inFrench, someone respond in English. A thick-necked tabby cat sneaks down the dock, sniffinghere and there. It rubs its long orange-and-whitestriped side along one burly man’s boot. The manreaches down and scratches the old cat behind itsear, and it leans in toward him.
These men pay us little attention until we arebanging up against the high dock. Their facesflicker with confusion, then disbelief as Daniel callsout, “We were on the Asia. The boat is sunk. Weare survivors! Help us.” He holds up the pillowcasewith S.S. Asia stenciled along the hem.
Excerpt from
Big Water
by Andrea Curtis. Printedwith permission by Orca Book Publishers
A)
Use the excerpt from “Big Water” to answerthe question.
What details from the text explicitly supportthe inference that the men on the dock worktogether frequently? Select the two correctanswers.
(1 point)
They have untamed beards.
They have callused hands.
They work without needing to speak.
They speak different languages.
The move like a machine.