Question

Passage 1Passage 2
Read this sentence from Silent Spring.

Along the roads, laurel, viburnum and alder, great ferns and wildflowers delighted the traveler's eye through much of the year.

Which best states a comparison of the tones used in these excerpts?

Both excerpts are negative, but the second excerpt has a more negative tone.
Both excerpts are positive, but the first excerpt has a more serious tone.
Both excerpts are despairing, but the first excerpt has a gloomier tone.
Both excerpts are uplifting, but the second excerpt is more conversational in tone.

Answer 1

Both excerpts are positive, but the first excerpt has a more serious tone.

The Silent Spring line is lyrical and pleasant — celebrating nature — while the other passage (Passage 1) is more earnest or serious in tone.