by Jonathan Swift
After experiencing a shipwreck, Gulliver has been washed ashore in the country of Lilliput, where the inhabitants are only six inches tall. He has been made their prisoner.
The emperor held frequent councils, to debate what course should be taken with me; and the court was under many difficulties concerning me. They apprehended that my diet would be very expensive, and might cause a famine, but, again, they considered that the not feeding me would not rid them of me.
The emperor gave orders to certain proper officers to search me. I said his majesty should be satisfied, for I was ready to strip myself and turn up my pockets before him. I took up the two officers in my hands, put them first into my coat-pockets, and then into every other pocket about me. These gentlemen having pen, ink, and paper about them, made an exact inventory of everything they saw; and, when they had done, desired I would set them down, that they might deliver it to the emperor. This inventory I afterwards translated into English, and is word for word as follows:—
There were two pockets which we could not enter: these he called his fobs. Out of the right fob hung a great silver chain, with a wonderful kind of engine at the bottom. We directed him to draw out whatever was at the end of that chain, which appeared to be a globe, half silver, and half of some transparent metal; for on the transparent side we saw certain strange figures, circularly drawn, and thought we could touch them till we found our fingers stopped by that lucid substance. He put this engine to our ears, which made an incessant noise, like that of a water-mill; and we conjecture it is either some unknown animal, or the god that he worships; but we are more inclined to the latter opinion, because he assured us (if we understood him right, for he expressed himself very imperfectly), that he seldom did anything without consulting it. He called it his oracle, and said it pointed out the time for every action of his life.
2
Which evidence from the passage best supports the author's statement that "the court was under many difficulties concerning me"?
A.
for he expressed himself very imperfectly
B.
not feeding me would not rid them of me
C.
emperor gave orders to certain proper officers to search me
D.
my diet would be very expensive, and might cause a famine
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The evidence from the passage that best supports the author's statement that "the court was under many difficulties concerning me" is:
D. my diet would be very expensive, and might cause a famine.
This option highlights the concerns of the court regarding the potential expense and consequences of feeding Gulliver, which directly relates to the difficulties they faced in deciding how to handle him.
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