Question

defiance
1 as he sang, brennan watched mr. nelson’s hands moving. actually, he was practically consumed by the motions. one and two and three and four. the chorus was singing \defiance,\ brennan’s favorite. \defiance! strong defiance!\ they sang. and one and two and three and four. sometimes, the perfect regularity of mr. nelson’s conducting was enough to stop him from doing anything.
2 not this time. the instant the song ended, brennan felt a \hoot\ rising up. he tried to hold it back. but the impulse barreled over the gate he tried to put up in his mind. a literal hoot shot out of his mouth. he sounded like an
based on the first and second paragraphs, what does brennan want to achieve by focusing on mr. nelson’s conducting?
he wants to make sure that he maintains the song’s rhythm.
he wants mr. nelson to see that he is making an effort to sing well.
he hopes to prevent himself from making a \hooting\ noise.
he hopes to become a conductor himself one day.

Explanation:

1. Analyze the first paragraph: It says the regularity of Mr. Nelson's conducting sometimes stops Brennan from doing anything.
2. Analyze the second paragraph: After the song ends, Brennan tries to hold back a "hoot" but fails.
3. Connect the two: The first paragraph implies that focusing on the conducting is a way to control his actions (like the hoot). The other options: maintaining rhythm isn't suggested (the conducting's regularity stops him from acting, not about his singing rhythm), wanting Mr. Nelson to see effort has no support, and becoming a conductor is not mentioned. So the correct answer is the one about preventing the hooting noise.

Answer:

He hopes to prevent himself from making a "hooting" noise.