Question

1. part b: which of the following quotes best supports the answer to part a?

a. \the disease had sharpened my senses — not destroyed — not dulled them. above all was the sense of hearing acute. i heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. i heard many things in hell.\ (paragraph 1)
b. \i knew that he had been lying awake ever since the first slight noise, when he had turned in the bed. his fears had been ever since growing upon him.\ (paragraph 7)
c. \but the beating grew louder, louder! i thought the heart must burst. and now a new anxiety seized me — the sound would be heard by a neighbor! the old mans hour had come!\ (paragraph 11)
d. \villains! i shrieked, dissemble no more! i admit the deed! — tear up the planks! — here, here! — it is the beating of his hideous heart!\ (paragraph 18)

Explanation:

To answer this, we need to assume the answer to Part A (likely about the narrator's mental state, perception, or guilt related to the old man's heart). Option A talks about the disease sharpening senses, especially hearing (heaven, earth, hell), which would support a Part A answer about heightened perception (e.g., the narrator's acute hearing of the old man's heart). Other options focus on the old man's fear (B), anxiety about the sound being heard (C), or the confession (D), which are less about the narrator's sensory sharpening. So A best supports a Part A answer about sensory acuteness.

Answer:

A. "The disease had sharpened my senses — not destroyed — not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell." (Paragraph 1)