Question

Read the passage.

Crunch! The back of Mrs. Miller’s van crumpled slightly and folded into ripples.

Jana slowly unfastened her seat belt and stepped out of the car. She thought to herself, "How could I not have seen Mrs. Miller’s van? Out of all the vehicles in this parking lot, I had to back into my Spanish teacher’s?”

Mrs. Miller approached Jana in the parking lot. Luckily, she had not been in the van but was just leaving the building.

"Oh no! Jana, what happened?” asked Mrs. Miller as she stared at the twisted metal on her van.

"I am so sorry, Mrs. Miller. I promise I didn’t see your van!” pleaded Jana.

"Well, these things happen sometimes,” answered Mrs. Miller. "I know it was an honest mistake. However, you will need to call your insurance company because I need to have this fixed right away!”

Which word best describes Mrs. Miller's tone?

jovial
pleading
nervous
serious

Answer 1

serious

Mrs. Miller responds calmly but firmly, acknowledging the accident as an honest mistake and insisting on calling the insurance company to get the van fixed.