Question

Tavi took one look at the driving instructor and knew that he'd failed the road test. He thought of his friend, Peter, who at that very moment was finishing up his road test. Tavi had the grim thought that Peter would pass, making Tavi the very last of his friends to get a driver's license.
Tavi's mother sat in the DMV waiting room. Her hopeful smile faded as soon as she saw Tavi. His entire body must have been radiating failure.
"Don't sweat it," she said. "There's always next time."
Tavi noticed his friend Peter, who was talking with his father on the other side of the waiting room. Sure enough, Peter had a generous smile on his face.
Tavi, meanwhile, wanted nothing more than to go home, get in his bed, and disappear.
Unfortunately, his mother wouldn't accommodate his bad mood. "Sitting around and moping will only make you feel worse," she said. "Why don't you do something outdoors?"
Tavi wished he could get in his parent's car and take a long drive. He figured that would be an effective way to blow off some steam. Instead, all he had was his pitiful bicycle.
Tavi rode his bicycle in the direction of the downtown area. Though he was still stressed about the road test, he had to admit that the warm summer afternoon brightened his mood a bit.
Downtown was swarming with traffic. The line of cars stretched as far as the eye could see. The bike lane, meanwhile, was wide open. Tavi bicycled past the line of cars. He glanced at the faces of the people stuck in traffic. It felt good to see that some of them looked jealous.
9
What does the word brightened suggest in the second-to-last paragraph?
A.
warmed
B.
colored
C.
aggravated
D.
improved

Answer 1

D. improved

"Brightened his mood" means his mood became better — i.e., improved.