by J. Robbins
The sound of ninja warriors doing battle filled the living room. The television nearly vibrated off the wall with the effort of playing “Super Ninja Karate Attack VII” at full volume. Dmitri and Alyosha, ages fourteen and fifteen, launched a series of furious attacks against imaginary foes as I finally looked up from my Advanced Calculus book.
“If you guys don’t cut it out, I’m going to scream,” I told them, trying to put as much “I’m the babysitter, so listen up!” authority into my voice as possible. It didn’t help. The two budding warriors began to attempt flips and dazzling spin kicks.
“You’re going to wish you were nicer to us when we’re famous stunt men,” replied Alyosha breathlessly. He swung the tie from his school uniform through the air like a pair of nunchucks.
“Right,” I said. “Just be sure to thank your longsuffering babysitter when you’re accepting your first Academy Award.”
“Stunt men don’t go to the Academy Awards,” corrected Dmitri. “We go to the World Stunt Awards instead. They are way more awesomer than the Oscars.”
"There’s no such word as ‘awesomer,’ " I groused. The combined noise from the television and the boys was giving me a headache. “Maybe you should try studying the dictionary as hard as you study those ninja movies.” I crossed the room to turn off the television when I heard a horrendous crash behind me.
5
In order to keep the perspective consistent, which paragraph would be the best choice to add to this passage?
A.
Dmitri had tumbled backward into a giant potted plant. I sighed and shook my head. There wasn't enough money in the world to make babysitting the Karamazov ninjas worthwhile.
B.
One of the boys had fallen and knocked over a large potted plant. The babysitter sighed and shook her head. Babysitting for the Karamazov boys was just too much trouble.
C.
A giant potted plant had been knocked over, and dirt was everywhere. Everything was a mess. You suddenly realized that babysitting for the Karamazovs was too much trouble.
D.
Dmitri had broken a potted plant and spilled dirt everywhere. He looked so comical that the babysitter couldn't help but laugh. She couldn't wait for the evening to be over.
1 answer
The best choice to add to the passage in order to keep the perspective consistent is:
A. Dmitri had tumbled backward into a giant potted plant. I sighed and shook my head. There wasn't enough money in the world to make babysitting the Karamazov ninjas worthwhile.
This option maintains the first-person perspective of the babysitter and aligns with the tone and style of the original passage, effectively conveying her exasperation with the situation.
