The Reward of Enterprise

Question

by Ward Muir

Seafaring people are odd in that way—I don’t mean in their ignorance of swimming, though, to be sure, the average sailor is seldom a swimmer. They’re so—how shall I express it?—so unenterprising. In the midst of adventure and romance they are stirred by no recognition either of the adventures or the romantic.

I was a city-bred youngster, who had never been out of hail of the homeland before, and I possessed more enterprise in my little finger than that far-travelled Captain had in the whole of his weather-worn, hulking lump of a carcass.

"The Reward of Enterprise" by Ward Muir

Question
Use the passage below to answer the question.

Which inference is best supported by the details in the passage?

(1 point)
Responses which answer is correct and why

The ship’s Captain has traveled widely.
The ship’s Captain has traveled widely.

Most people who travel by sea cannot swim.
Most people who travel by sea cannot swim.

Harborough grew up in a city.

Harborough grew up in a city.

Harborough feels he is superior to others.

Harborough feels he is superior to others.
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Answer 1

The best-supported inference based on the details in the passage is:

Harborough grew up in a city.

The passage states, "I was a city-bred youngster," which directly indicates that Harborough has a background in a city environment. This detail supports the inference that he grew up in a city.

While the other statements may have some basis in the text, they are less directly supported. For example, the statement about the Captain traveling widely is somewhat implied, but not directly confirmed in the passage. The mention of sailors not being good swimmers supports the idea that "most people who travel by sea cannot swim," but is not definitive. The statement about Harborough feeling superior is more of an interpretation of his feelings rather than explicitly stated in the text.