Question

read this excerpt from the narrative of the life of frederick douglass.

the plan which i adopted, and the one by which i was most successful, was that of making friends of all the little white boys whom i met in the street. as many of these as i could, i converted into teachers. with their kindly aid, obtained at different times and in different places, i finally succeeded in learning to read. when i was sent of errands, i always took my book with me, and by going one part of my errand quickly, i found time to get a lesson before my return.

what inference can be drawn about the boys in this excerpt?

they have more education than douglass and are willing to teach him.
they enjoy playing with douglass and consider him a friend.
they are eager to learn from douglass and seek his guidance as a teacher.
they avoid douglass because their parents disapprove of him.

Explanation:

Analyze the excerpt

The text states that Douglass made friends with "little white boys" in the street and "converted [them] into teachers." With their "kindly aid," he succeeded in learning to read.

Evaluate the options

• Option 1: "They have more education than Douglass and are willing to teach him." This matches the text directly, as they knew how to read (more education) and gave him "kindly aid" to teach him.
• Option 2: "They enjoy playing with Douglass..." The text focuses on learning and lessons, not playing.
• Option 3: "They are eager to learn from Douglass..." The boys are the teachers, not Douglass.
• Option 4: "They avoid Douglass..." The text says he made friends with them and obtained their aid, so they did not avoid him.

Answer:

• (A) They have more education than Douglass and are willing to teach him. (Correct answer)
• (B) They enjoy playing with Douglass and consider him a friend.
• (C) They are eager to learn from Douglass and seek his guidance as a teacher.
• (D) They avoid Douglass because their parents disapprove of him.