He turned to his best friend, Anthony, and shrieked, "Get that spider off me!"
Anthony was surprised to see his six-foot-tall friend terrified of a tiny spider. He watched the beads of sweat forming on James's forehead and said, "Quit being a big baby over a tiny spider, James."
Then, Anthony slowly picked the spider off James's thigh and placed in on his own palm. He smiled at James and said, "Just stroke the spider gently, and I promise that it won't harm you as long as it knows that you aren't trying to harm it. It's probably more afraid of you than you are of it. Don't you know that spiders are peaceful beasts?"
James didn't reply, but he thought he should try and test Anthony's theory. He was surprised to find that Anthony was right. As James gently touched the spider with the tip of his finger, his fear slowly began to vanish. He even took the spider onto his palm after a while.
In the end, the boys released the spider in the backyard. Before heading home, James turned to Anthony and said, "I can't believe how afraid I was of a helpless, little spider! Thanks for helping me overcome my fear."
"That's what friends are for!" Anthony chuckled.
6
The phrase "peaceful beasts" in the passage is an oxymoron. In the context of the passage, what does the phrase convey about spiders?
A.
Even though spiders may seem menacing, they are generally unthreatening.
B.
Even though spiders invade households, they avoid interacting with people.
C.
Spiders are members of the animal kingdom that symbolize serenity.
D.
Spiders are calm creatures that are not bothered by people touching them.
1 answer
The correct answer is A. Even though spiders may seem menacing, they are generally unthreatening.
The phrase "peaceful beasts" suggests a contrast between the common perception of spiders as threatening or fearsome creatures and their actual nature, which is relatively unthreatening. This aligns with Anthony's explanation that spiders are more afraid of people and usually don't pose a harm.
