Question

Read the passage from the novel Dandelion Wine. In the following excerpt, a man named Bill has bought a special kind of grass for Grandpa's lawn.

They stood by the little square pads of new grass. Grandpa toed at it with one end of his shoe suspiciously. "Looks like plain old grass to me."
"I've seen the stuff growing in California. Only so high and no higher. If it survives our climate it'll save us getting out here next year, once a week, to keep the darned stuff trimmed."
"That's the trouble with your generation," said Grandpa. "Bill, I'm ashamed of you, you a newspaper man. All the things in life that were put here to savor, you eliminate. Save time, save work, you say." He nudged the grass trays disrespectfully. "Bill, when you're my age, you'll find out it's the little savors and little things that count more than big ones. A walk on a spring morning is better than an eighty-mile ride in a hopped-up car, you know why? Because it's full of flavors, full of a lot of things growing."

What is a central theme of the passage?
A. Younger people and older people are continually in conflict over progress.
B. It is important to show respect for one's elders.
C. Taking small steps to maintain something prevents a big job later.
D. People slow down to appreciate the simple joys in life.

Answer 1

D. People slow down to appreciate the simple joys in life.

Grandpa criticizes Bill's attempt to eliminate "little savors" and explains that a spring walk "is better" because it's "full of flavors, full of a lot of things growing," emphasizing slowing down to enjoy small pleasures.