Question
The Secret Garden, Chapter 2 (excerpt)
Frances Hodgson Burnett
1 Mary had liked to look at her mother from a distance and she had thought her very pretty, but as she knew very little of her she could scarcely have been expected to love her or to miss her very much when she was gone. She did not miss her at all, in fact, and as she was a self-absorbed child she gave her entire thought to herself, as she had always done.
2 If she had been older she would no doubt have been very anxious at being left alone in the world, but she was very young, and as she had always been taken care of, she supposed she always would be. What she thought was that she would like to know if she was going to nice people, who would be polite to her and give her her own way as her Ayah and the other native servants had done.
3 She knew that she was not going to stay at the English clergyman's house where she was taken at first. She did not want to stay. The English clergyman was poor and he had five children nearly all the same age and they wore shabby clothes and were always quarreling and snatching toys from each other. Mary hated their untidy bungalow and was so disagreeable to them that after the first day or two nobody would play with her. By the second day they had given her a nickname which made her furious.
4 It was Basil who thought of it first. Basil was a little boy with impudent blue eyes and a turned-up nose, and Mary hated him. She was playing by herself under a tree, just as she had been playing the day the cholera broke out. She was making heaps of earth and paths for a garden and Basil came and stood near to watch her. Presently he got rather interested and suddenly made a suggestion.
5 "Why don't you put a heap of stones there and pretend it is a rockery?" he said. "There in the middle," and he leaned over her to point.
6 "Go away!" cried Mary. "I don't want boys. Go away!"
7 For a moment Basil looked angry, and then he began to tease. He was always teasing his sisters. He danced round and round her and made faces and sang and laughed.
8 "Mistress Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With silver bells, and cockle shells, And marigolds all in a row."
9 He sang it until the other children heard and laughed, too; and the crosser Mary got, the more they sang "Mistress Mary, quite contrary"; and after that as long as she stayed with them they called her "Mistress Mary Quite Contrary" when they spoke of her to each other, and often when they spoke to her.
Question
Which of these is the BEST summary of the passage?
Responses
A None of the children at the English clergyman's house will play with Mary because she is not nice; Mary becomes upset when Basil gives her a nickname.None of the children at the English clergyman's house will play with Mary because she is not nice; Mary becomes upset when Basil gives her a nickname.
B Ayah and the other native servants are nice to Mary and give her her own way; Mary hopes that she is going to a place where people treat her like this.Ayah and the other native servants are nice to Mary and give her her own way; Mary hopes that she is going to a place where people treat her like this.
C Mary tries to remember her mother but knows very little about her; she lives with the English clergyman and his children for a while but does not get along with them.Mary tries to remember her mother but knows very little about her; she lives with the English clergyman and his children for a while but does not get along with them.
D Mary is alone in the world and lives with the English clergyman and his children for a while but does not like being there; she hopes she is going to live with nice people.
Frances Hodgson Burnett
1 Mary had liked to look at her mother from a distance and she had thought her very pretty, but as she knew very little of her she could scarcely have been expected to love her or to miss her very much when she was gone. She did not miss her at all, in fact, and as she was a self-absorbed child she gave her entire thought to herself, as she had always done.
2 If she had been older she would no doubt have been very anxious at being left alone in the world, but she was very young, and as she had always been taken care of, she supposed she always would be. What she thought was that she would like to know if she was going to nice people, who would be polite to her and give her her own way as her Ayah and the other native servants had done.
3 She knew that she was not going to stay at the English clergyman's house where she was taken at first. She did not want to stay. The English clergyman was poor and he had five children nearly all the same age and they wore shabby clothes and were always quarreling and snatching toys from each other. Mary hated their untidy bungalow and was so disagreeable to them that after the first day or two nobody would play with her. By the second day they had given her a nickname which made her furious.
4 It was Basil who thought of it first. Basil was a little boy with impudent blue eyes and a turned-up nose, and Mary hated him. She was playing by herself under a tree, just as she had been playing the day the cholera broke out. She was making heaps of earth and paths for a garden and Basil came and stood near to watch her. Presently he got rather interested and suddenly made a suggestion.
5 "Why don't you put a heap of stones there and pretend it is a rockery?" he said. "There in the middle," and he leaned over her to point.
6 "Go away!" cried Mary. "I don't want boys. Go away!"
7 For a moment Basil looked angry, and then he began to tease. He was always teasing his sisters. He danced round and round her and made faces and sang and laughed.
8 "Mistress Mary, quite contrary, How does your garden grow? With silver bells, and cockle shells, And marigolds all in a row."
9 He sang it until the other children heard and laughed, too; and the crosser Mary got, the more they sang "Mistress Mary, quite contrary"; and after that as long as she stayed with them they called her "Mistress Mary Quite Contrary" when they spoke of her to each other, and often when they spoke to her.
Question
Which of these is the BEST summary of the passage?
Responses
A None of the children at the English clergyman's house will play with Mary because she is not nice; Mary becomes upset when Basil gives her a nickname.None of the children at the English clergyman's house will play with Mary because she is not nice; Mary becomes upset when Basil gives her a nickname.
B Ayah and the other native servants are nice to Mary and give her her own way; Mary hopes that she is going to a place where people treat her like this.Ayah and the other native servants are nice to Mary and give her her own way; Mary hopes that she is going to a place where people treat her like this.
C Mary tries to remember her mother but knows very little about her; she lives with the English clergyman and his children for a while but does not get along with them.Mary tries to remember her mother but knows very little about her; she lives with the English clergyman and his children for a while but does not get along with them.
D Mary is alone in the world and lives with the English clergyman and his children for a while but does not like being there; she hopes she is going to live with nice people.
Answers
Answered by
GPT-4o mini
The BEST summary of the passage is:
C. Mary tries to remember her mother but knows very little about her; she lives with the English clergyman and his children for a while but does not get along with them.
This option encapsulates Mary's relationship with her mother, her experience with the English clergyman's family, and her general demeanor in that situation.
C. Mary tries to remember her mother but knows very little about her; she lives with the English clergyman and his children for a while but does not get along with them.
This option encapsulates Mary's relationship with her mother, her experience with the English clergyman's family, and her general demeanor in that situation.