Question

8 MR. GIBSON: What a beauty! The neighbors will be lining up for rides.

9 [His neighbor Cal Martin enters from right.]

10 CAL: Say, is that yours, Mr. G?

11 MR. GIBSON: Sure is, Cal. Pretty, ain’t she?

12 CAL: Not a spot on her.

13 MR. GIBSON: Well, there shouldn’t be! Just drove her home last night. Brand new!

14 CAL: Did you have to take that hill by Miller’s Grocery backwards?

15 MR. GIBSON: [Disconcerted.] Eh—what?

16 CAL: I always do. It’s that, or push.

17 [Birdie Taylor enters from left.]

18 BIRDIE: Cal, won’t you ever be tired of looking at cars?

19 CAL: Not likely. [He stands up quickly and tips his hat.] Morning, Birdie.

20 BIRDIE: Morning, Cal. Mr. Gibson.

21 MR. GIBSON: Miss Taylor.

22 BIRDIE: I don’t see what all the fuss is about.

23 MR. GIBSON: This machine can travel thirty miles in one hour. Thirty!

24 CAL: Forty if you step on the gas.

25 MR. GIBSON: Forty’s too fast for anyone, Cal. Nobody’s reflexes are fast enough.

26 CAL: Mine aren’t so bad.

27 MR. GIBSON: Still, thirty’s not too shabby. One mile in two minutes! That’s the fuss, Miss Taylor. Think of the time we can save! This machine is going to change the way all of us get around. Well, not all of us at first, of course.

28 BIRDIE: [Pressing on a seat cushion.] I see they haven’t improved the padding.

29 MR. GIBSON: Improved? It’s brand new.

30 BIRDIE: You’ll get an awful jostling over twenty-five miles per hour. I always do.

31 MR. GIBSON: You? Surely you’re not driving, Birdie. A young woman should—

32 BIRDIE: Cal lets me take the wheel on back roads. I think I’m a better driver than he is.

33 MR. GIBSON: Cal! You don’t mean . . .?
34 CAL: I’ve got a flivver1 just like yours, Mr. G.

35 MR. GIBSON: Well, that’s interesting. Did your father buy it for you?

36 CAL: Bought it myself, out of my wages from clerking last summer.

37 [Lizzie Banks enters pushing a baby carriage.]

38 MR. GIBSON: Morning, Lizzie. Notice anything different?

39 LIZZIE: Your azaleas are blooming already! Mine haven’t even begun to bud.

40 CAL: He meant the car.

41 LIZZIE: Is it new?

42 MR. GIBSON: Brand new.

43 LIZZIE: Didn’t you have one before?
44 MR. GIBSON: No.

45 LIZZIE: Oh. It just seems as though everyone has one now.

46 MR. GIBSON: Everyone?

47 LIZZIE: Mr. Paul up the street, the Hofners, Mr. Dopyera. Everyone keeps calling me Tin Lizzie now. I’m thinking of changing my name. Clarence is the worst of all, since we bought ours.

48 MR. GIBSON: You have a Model T?

49 LIZZIE: Clarence thought we’d better, since we have so many more errands now, with the baby.

50 MR. GIBSON: Do you drive it?

51 LIZZIE: Sometimes.

52 BIRDIE: Ha! You see?53 MR. GIBSON: I—I never thought I’d be sharing the road with women.

54 CAL: Sounds to me like you’ll be sharing it with just about everyone, Mr. G.
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1. flivver: Affectionate nickname for the Ford Model T.

“Mr. Gibson’s Flivver” written for educational purposes.
Which sentence best describes Mr. Gibson’s motivation for buying an automobile in Passage 2?
A. It makes him feel special to own a car.
B. It helps him show off his material wealth.
C. He believes that women like Birdie won't drive.
D. He competes with Cal for better quality products.

Answer 1

B. It helps him show off his material wealth.

He repeatedly brags about the car being "brand new," calls attention to its appearance, and says "the neighbors will be lining up for rides," indicating he bought it to display and impress others.