Question
I’m waiting for the rightful ruler of England to come and claim me. They are the only one who will be able to wrestle me from this rock in the middle of the lake and put me to good use. The words on my blade explain this. They say: “Whoso pulleth out this sword from this stone and anvil, is rightwise King born of all England.” It’s fancy language but the meaning is obvious. Many have tried, but they have not been “rightwise” kings and so I must hold fast to my rock. Merlin would be angry if I let go for the wrong person.
Even though the rain is precisely the same as it has been for the previous nine days, I do feel that there is some magic in the air on day ten. I spy a boy rowing across the water toward my rock. Merlin is in the boat with him and a shiver of excitement ripples through my blade. The boy doesn’t look like much, but he must be the one—the true king of England!
The boat pulls alongside me, and the boy puts both hands on my hilt. I resist for a second just in case I am wrong, but Merlin gives me the nod. I relax my hold and allow the kid to pull me free. He raises me high in the air and a crowd on the shore begins to cheer. “This is Arthur, the true king of England!” Merlin shouts. “And this is Excalibur, greatest of swords!”
Based on the final paragraph, what can the reader infer about Merlin and Arthur?
Merlin and Arthur are going to fight over who gets the sword.
Merlin brought Arthur to pull on the sword as a joke.
Merlin wanted to see how Arthur would react if the sword broke.
Merlin had already decided that Arthur should be the king.
Even though the rain is precisely the same as it has been for the previous nine days, I do feel that there is some magic in the air on day ten. I spy a boy rowing across the water toward my rock. Merlin is in the boat with him and a shiver of excitement ripples through my blade. The boy doesn’t look like much, but he must be the one—the true king of England!
The boat pulls alongside me, and the boy puts both hands on my hilt. I resist for a second just in case I am wrong, but Merlin gives me the nod. I relax my hold and allow the kid to pull me free. He raises me high in the air and a crowd on the shore begins to cheer. “This is Arthur, the true king of England!” Merlin shouts. “And this is Excalibur, greatest of swords!”
Based on the final paragraph, what can the reader infer about Merlin and Arthur?
Merlin and Arthur are going to fight over who gets the sword.
Merlin brought Arthur to pull on the sword as a joke.
Merlin wanted to see how Arthur would react if the sword broke.
Merlin had already decided that Arthur should be the king.
Answers
GPT-4o mini
Based on the final paragraph, the reader can infer that **Merlin had already decided that Arthur should be the king.** This is evident from Merlin's confidence in bringing Arthur to pull the sword and his declaration of Arthur as the true king of England once the sword is pulled from the stone.