Emilio took the cap off his head, dropped the baseball bat, and rested his elbows on the fence. It wasn't that he couldn't find the ball. It was sitting right in the middle of the lawn, just beyond the fence. The fence was not very high either. Emilio could probably get a running start, grab the top of the fence, and flip right over it. But there was a dog, a large Rottweiler with a spiked collar. He sat under an awning a few feet away from the ball. He looked at Emilio and let out a menacing growl. Archie, Scotty, and Dutch ran up to Emilio and surveyed the situation. Archie was the first to speak, "So, are you going to do it, Emilio?" 1. What were the boys doing right before the text begins? How do you know this? 2. What problem is Emilio facing? How do you know this? 3. Why is this problem Emilio's instead of Archie's, Scotty's, or Dutch's?How do you know this?

Answer 1

1. Before the text begins, the boys were playing baseball. We know this because Emilio dropped the baseball bat, indicating that they were engaged in a game of baseball before the events described in the text.

2. Emilio is facing the problem of retrieving the ball from beyond the fence due to the presence of a large Rottweiler with a spiked collar. We know this because Emilio took off his cap, dropped the bat, and rested his elbows on the fence, indicating that he is contemplating how to overcome the obstacle of the dog in order to get the ball.

3. This problem is Emilio's instead of Archie's, Scotty's, or Dutch's because Emilio was the one who initially went up to the fence to assess the situation. Archie, Scotty, and Dutch only run up to Emilio after he had already encountered the dog and assessed the danger. Therefore, it is implied that Emilio is the one who has taken ownership of the problem and must decide how to handle it.