Question

Take Another Look!
1 “See! There! That shadow!” exclaimed Braulio. The shape had been hanging in their ship’s screens for a week now. This morning, it had rotated slightly, revealing a faint shadow along its underside.
2 “A shadow? Seriously? That shadow could be just about anything,” Evelyn responded.
3 “Sure, it could be anything, including a command station,” said Braulio. “The readouts are clear, and whatever is casting that shadow is the source of all the energy emissions we’ve been tracking on that ship.”
4 “Ship, Braulio?” said Evelyn, scornfully. “There aren’t any habitable worlds within a thousand light years of this place, and if it were loaded with hyperdrive, our Borealis detectors would jump off the charts. No, Braulio, that heap of space scrap has been drifting for thousands of years. It’s just an old satellite that pulled loose and that nobody could be bothered to retrieve.”
5 “You’ll be singing a different tune when I’m awarded the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal for our first encounter with a new extraterrestrial race. That ‘space scrap’ is a ship—I know it!” exclaimed Braulio.
6 Braulio and Evelyn had only discovered the shape a week before. Their mission was to chart this unexplored sector of space, and part of the job was cataloging strange objects. This object was just one on a list of many, but even so, they had studied it closely.
7 With each passing day, each scientist had grown more and more convinced of his or her explanation. Their friendship at the start of the trip had been strong, but it began to fray under the stress of their disagreement. They couldn’t let the situation get worse because if they couldn’t work together, the mission would fall apart. Working together in such close quarters, though, they found it hard to keep their thoughts to themselves.
8 The two scientists watched as the shape rotated further. Then they gasped at what moved into view. There, on the screen before them, clearly etched into the shape’s metal underside, was the logo of their own unit.
9 Breaking the silence, their ship’s communicators crackled to life. The screen wavered, and the image of the strange shape was replaced by two figures in space suits. Apparently, the image was being beamed from within the shape.
10 “Told you,” whispered Braulio hoarsely. “Command station.”
11 “Space scrap!” hissed Evelyn.
12 Both Braulio and Evelyn gasped when the figures removed their helmets. There they stood, staring at themselves.
13 “Hello,” the new Evelyn said, “we’re so excited to finally see you again. We have so much to tell you.”


Read the following sentences from paragraph 7 of the story.

They couldn’t let the situation get worse because if they couldn’t work together, the mission would fall apart. Working together in such close quarters, though, they found it hard to keep their thoughts to themselves.

How does setting most clearly influence the characters’ interactions in these sentences?
A. Because outer space is dangerous, they make sure for safety’s sake never to quarrel.
B. Because the space ship is small, it is difficult to avoid quarreling over their disagreement.
C. Because the space ship has a large open area, it is difficult to find time to relax on their own.
D. Because outer space needs to be charted, they make sure for the mission's sake to stay pleasant.

Answer 1

B. The phrase "close quarters" indicates the ship is small and cramped, making it hard for them to avoid conflict and keep their thoughts to themselves.