Question

from the lost rainforest

1. once daytime is over, once the sun is high in the sky and currents of heat have begun to curl the edges of the den. mee gingerly lifts chumbes leg off her chest, placing it across jomos instead, and gets to four paws. she stares up at the triangle of exposed sky. long moments go by and mee never moves, taking deep, slow, hunter - trance. then - there! - she sees the flash of green and tan again. nose low to the ground, mee sinks toward the opening.
2. the walls are thick enough to keep the den dark, but there are points of light behind the branches, like stars. mee takes one last look at her sleeping family, and then makes her way through the narrow ring of vines.
3. she pauses, blinking.
4. at first the world outside is pure and dazzling white. adapted to darkness, her eyes are too flooded with light to tell her anything. for a long moment, all she can do is listen. the bird - calls are different in daytime, more songs than hoots. no frogs croak. there are more sounds of flying insects, more whining sounds of tiny wings. as she holds still, eyes streaming tears, the day - world comes into better view.
5. its so bright. shes relieved that at least its still the jungle she knows out there, that the shapes are the same even if the colors are saturated and loud: here are the same treetops shaped in liana vines, the same broad - leafed ferns, deep green masses even darker in contrast to the radiant blue above.
6. mees gaze darts through the flood of daylight, flitting between the movements of individual leaves, the chorus of ants streaming across sun - drenched limbs, a pair of shrikes following each other from branch to branch, singing all the way. under such an onslaught of information, she has to muster her courage to take even a step.

this question has two parts. answer part a, and then answer part b.
part a
this sentence is from the passage: \under such an onslaught of information, she has to muster her courage to take even a step.\ (paragraph 6)
what does the word onslaught mean in the sentence?

1. sudden rush
2. brief exchange
3. gradual understanding
4. unexpected interruption

part b
which phrase from paragraph 6 best supports the correct answer from part a?

1. \gaze darts\
2. \flood of daylight\
3. \movements of individual leaves\

Explanation:

In the context of the passage, "onslaught" refers to a sudden and intense arrival of information. The description of the flood of daylight and various visual elements like the chorus of ants, shrikes, etc. suggests a sudden rush of stimuli. "Flood of daylight" in paragraph 6 supports the idea of a sudden and large - scale arrival of information, similar to a sudden rush.

Answer:

Part A: 1. sudden rush
Part B: 2. 'flood of daylight'