Question

It rained three days last week and most of the weekend. With each day of steady rain, my mood grew worse than the day before, until I had no energy left and just wanted to lie down. My brother Jose bounces around the house with a smile on his face and tells me, “Snap out of it!” but his cheeriness only deepens my gloom. I am sorry, but gray days give me the blues.


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Why does rain have this effect? It can’t just be me, no matter what Jose says. Even the weather forecasters talk about lovely weather when it’s going to be sunny and look grim when they announce more rain. After doing a little research and putting it together with my own experience, I came up with three reasons why day after day of rain leaves me—and others like me—feeling downright cranky.


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First, it puts a damper on most outdoor activities. This past weekend I planned to play soccer, go for a hike, and ride my bicycle along the new river trail. Those are all things I was looking forward to, and none of them work well in the rain.


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Second, when I stay indoors, I am less active physically, even if I am doing something I enjoy, like reading or playing a quiet game. Many science articles say that physical exercise elevates the mood. It increases the flow of blood to the brain and causes the body to release chemicals called endorphins. These chemicals reduce pain and depression; they make us feel good. Exercise also causes the body to release serotonin, a neurotransmitter that lifts the spirits.


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Third, the lack of sunlight on a rainy day has a direct effect on brain chemistry regardless of what I am doing. The brain responds to darkness and light, letting the body know when to sleep and when to wake up. If the world grows dark around us, a tiny part of the brain releases melatonin, which tends to make us sleepy. Exposure to bright light has the opposite effect; the brain produces less melatonin and more serotonin, which helps us wake up. Small wonder we feel happier and wider awake on sunny days than on dull, gray, rainy days.


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Having found three good reasons for my feelings makes me feel better. Now if it would just stop raining, I could go out in the sunshine and use all that brain chemistry to feel really great!




Marvelous Moisture


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Rain puts a bounce in my step and a smile on my face, especially gentle, steady rain like we have enjoyed the last few days. My brother Carlos mopes around the house, complaining about his canceled soccer game, but I am grateful for every drop. It turns the grass bright green and brings the wilting garden back to life. All living things depend on water.


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Water falling from clouds has shaped human lives for thousands of years. In ancient Egypt, which received very little rainfall, agriculture depended on the annual flooding of the Nile River. The floods were very predictable. They started in August or September and lasted about two months. Rich minerals in the floodwater stayed behind, making the soil fertile. The Egyptians probably did not know why the river rose so far at that time of year. Today, we know that it resulted from seasonal rains in the mountains far to the south, where one branch of the river began. We have those rains to thank for the great culture of ancient Egypt.


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In the United States in the 1800s, many pioneers set out westward across the Great Plains. Most of them kept traveling until they got to Oregon. The Great Plains got too little rainfall to be good farmland, but more generous rains farther west supported settlement. Later, in the 1930s, years of drought were a major cause of the Dust Bowl. People abandoned their farms in parts of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas because they could no longer grow crops. I’ll bet they would have welcomed a gentle, steady rain instead of moping around the house!




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Ancient Egypt, the pioneers, and the Dust Bowl are in the past, but my garden is important to me in the present. It needs rain, and so do I. The rain makes everything seem clean and fresh. And besides, if we did not have rain, we would never have a chance to gaze at a beautiful rainbow! In the poem “Rain: A Matter of Perspective,” the author argues that rain has shaped human life throughout history by bringing both hardship and renewal.
Which sentence BEST shows how the author's choice of evidence reveals perspective and also uses background information to strengthen credibility?

The author mentions modern science about brain chemicals that influence mood on rainy days.

The author describes how both ancient Egyptians and American settlers depended on rainfall for survival.

The author shares a personal story about feeling gloomy whenever the weather is cloudy.

The author lists the types of storms that cause

Answer 1

The author describes how both ancient Egyptians and American settlers depended on rainfall for survival.

This choice shows use of historical background evidence (Egypt’s Nile floods, pioneers, Dust Bowl) that reveals the author’s perspective that rain has shaped human life—bringing both hardship and renewal—and strengthens credibility.