Question

18) Choose the correct answer.
Interpret the last two sentences of the selection. Consider both the literal and figurative meaning.

"And I stood there in a trance of pleasure, realising that this Southern England is not only a grand peninsula, and a tradition and a civilisation; it is something even more admirable. It is a piece of chalk."

The landscape of Southern England is literally made of chalk, and figuratively, as “a piece of chalk,” England represents virtue to the author.

Chalk is a cheap, abundant material in Southern England. The author is contrasting the common land on which England lies with its invaluable heritage.

The landscape was one of gritty, white sand resembling chalk. The whiteness of chalk represents purity of actions.

Answer 1

Answer: Chalk is a cheap, abundant material in Southern England. The author is contrasting the common land on which England lies with its invaluable heritage.

Reason: Literally the country’s downs and cliffs are chalk. Figuratively the speaker values the humble, everyday, natural quality of England — its simple, common substance — even more highly than its grand traditions or civilization.