Question

Their friendship at the start of the trip had been strong, but it began to fray under the stress of their disagreement.

Which best explains how word relationships in the sentence help the reader understand the meaning of the word fray?
A. Friendship is used as the opposite of fray, showing that fray means “come to hate.”
B. Start is used in contrast with fray, suggesting that fray means “come to an end.”
C. Strong is used in contrast with fray, suggesting that fray means “become weaker.”
D. Stress is used as the opposite of fray, showing that fray means “become calmer.”

Answer 1

C

"Strong" is contrasted with "fray," so the sentence implies the friendship weakened. The other choices misidentify which word is contrasted with "fray" or give incorrect meanings.