Question

5.1.2 exam: wrap up
when i was a boy, there was but one permanent ambition among my comrades in our village on the west bank of the mississippi river. that was, to be a steamboatman. we had transient ambitions of other sorts, but they were only transient. when a circus came and went, it left us all burning to become clowns; the first negro minstrel show that ever came to our section left us all suffering to try that kind of life; now and then we had a hope that, if we lived and were good, god would permit us to be pirates. these ambitions faded out, each in its turn; but the ambition to be a steamboatman always remained.
what is one effect of the hyperbole in this passage?
a. it conveys a sense of how strongly the children ached for these career ambitions.
b. it exaggerates the danger of the childrens environment by suggesting they might not live.
c. it makes it sound as if every newcomer who arrived in town

Explanation:

The hyperbole (like "burning to become clowns," "suffering to try that kind of life") amplifies the intense longing the children felt for the temporary ambitions, as well as the enduring desire to be steamboatmen. Option A directly addresses this effect of emphasizing the strength of their longing for these career ambitions, while Option B misinterprets the "if we lived" line (it is part of a whimsical pirate ambition, not a comment on environmental danger), and Option C is incomplete and irrelevant to the hyperbole's effect.

Answer:

A. It conveys a sense of how strongly the children ached for these career ambitions.