Question

father went to the front near the crank to start the motor. father put his thumb against his palm instead of putting it around the crank. as he told me later, when the motor took, the crank could move suddenly and break a mans thumb if his thumb was around it. he folded his hand carefully around the crank and began vigorously winding it. the motor caught and started with a chug.

-dragonwings, laurence yep

based on the passage, what was starting a car like in the early 1900s?

• easy
• safe
• impossible
• dangerous

Explanation:

Analyze the passage details

The passage from Dragonwings describes a father starting a motor using a hand crank. It notes that he "put his thumb against his palm instead of putting it around the crank" because "the crank could move suddenly and break a man's thumb if his thumb was around it." This indicates a high risk of physical injury during the process.

Connect to the question prompt

The question asks: "Based on the passage, what was starting a car like in the early 1900s?"
Using Textual Evidence Analysis, we look at the description of the task. The text explicitly states that the mechanism could "break a man's thumb."

Evaluate the answer choices

• easy: Incorrect. The father had to wind it "vigorously" and use a specific, careful hand position.
• safe: Incorrect. The threat of a broken bone shows it was not safe.
• impossible: Incorrect. The motor did start ("The motor caught and started with a chug").
• dangerous: Correct. The risk of breaking a thumb directly supports that starting a car was dangerous.

Answer:

• easy
• safe
• impossible
• dangerous (Correct answer)