Question

the following text is from jorge luis borgess 1971 short story \the congress,\ translated by andrew hurley:
i would remind the reader that i came here from santa fe, the province of my birth, in 1899. i have never gone back; i have grown accustomed to buenos aires (a city i am not, however, particularly fond of) like a person grown accustomed to his own body, or an old ache.
©1998 by maria kodama. translation ©2000 by penguin putnam inc.
which choice best describes the function of the two instances of the underlined phrase in the text as a whole?
a it calls into question the narrators apparent dissatisfaction with his life.
b it conveys what cities mean to the narrator.
c it indicates the narrators resigned acceptance of his circumstances.
d it illustrates how the narrator thinks about the passage of time.

Explanation:

The phrase "have grown accustomed to" is used twice. The narrator says he has grown accustomed to Buenos Aires (a city he's not fond of) like one grows accustomed to one's own body or an old ache. This shows a sense of resigned acceptance - he's not happy (as he's not fond of the city), but he has accepted his situation (like one accepts an old ache or one's body). Option A is wrong as it's not about questioning dissatisfaction but showing acceptance. Option B is incorrect as the focus isn't on what cities mean in a general sense. Option D is wrong as there's no mention of time passage in the context of the phrase's function.

Answer:

C. It indicates the narrator's resigned acceptance of his circumstances.