Question

read the excerpt from dispatches.

you came to love your life, to love and respect the mere fact of it, but often you became heedless of it in the way that somnambulists are heedless. being good meant staying alive, and sometimes that was only a matter of caring enough at any given moment.

based on the excerpt, which best describes a good soldier?

a soldier who fights honorably
a soldier who is always vigilant
a soldier who accepts his fate
a soldier who is superstitious

Explanation:

Analyze the definition of "being good" in the excerpt

The text states: "Being good meant staying alive, and sometimes that was only a matter of caring enough at any given moment."

Connect "caring enough" and avoiding heedlessness to vigilance

The excerpt contrasts loving life with becoming "heedless of it in the way that somnambulists [sleepwalkers] are heedless." To be "good" (staying alive) by "caring enough at any given moment" means a soldier must remain alert, attentive, and not sleepwalk through the danger. This directly corresponds to being vigilant.

Evaluate the given multiple-choice options

• "a soldier who fights honorably": Not mentioned or supported by the text's focus on survival and attentiveness.
• "a soldier who is always vigilant": Directly supported by the need to "care enough at any given moment" and avoid being "heedless."
• "a soldier who accepts his fate": Contradicts the active effort of "caring enough" to stay alive.
• "a soldier who is superstitious": Not mentioned in the excerpt.

Answer:

• (A) a soldier who fights honorably
• (B) a soldier who is always vigilant (Correct answer)
• (C) a soldier who accepts his fate
• (D) a soldier who is superstitious