Question

two sisters have come to live with their uncle, mr. brooke.
from middlemarch

it was hardly a year since they had come to live at tipton
grange with their uncle, a man nearly sixty, of acquiescent temper,
miscellaneous opinions, and uncertain vote. he had travelled in his
younger years, and was held in this part of the county to have
contracted a too rambling habit of mind. mr. brooke’s conclusions
were as difficult to predict as the weather: it was only safe to say that
he would act with benevolent intentions, and that he would spend as
little money as possible in carrying them out. for the most glutinously
indefinite minds enclose some hard grains of habit.
(from middlemarch by george eliot)

this sentence is from the passage.
\for the most glutinously indefinite minds enclose some hard
grains of habit.\

what does the phrase hard grains of habit refer to in this passage?

○ 1. mr. brooke is a man of \miscellaneous opinions.\

○ 2. mr. brooke \had travelled in his younger years.\

○ 3. mr. brooke is \as difficult to predict as the weather.\

○ 4. mr. brooke \would spend as little money as possible.\

Explanation:

To determine what "hard grains of habit" refers to, we analyze the context. The sentence "For the most glutinously indefinite minds enclose some hard grains of habit" is about Mr. Brooke. We check each option:

• Option 1: "miscellaneous opinions" doesn't relate to a habitual action.
• Option 2: Traveling in younger years is a past action, not a habit.
• Option 3: Being unpredictable is about his conclusions, not a habit.
• Option 4: "would spend as little money as possible" is a consistent behavioral pattern (a habit) that persists despite his otherwise indefinite mind. So this matches the idea of a "hard grain of habit" (a firm, consistent habit within an otherwise indefinite mind).

Answer:

1. Mr. Brooke "would spend as little money as possible."