Question

read the excerpt from the land.

\whoa there, wind,\ i said softly as i tried to get near the stallion. \its me, boy. its paul.\ i extended my hand slowly. \let me take a look at you now. its all right. its all right.\ the stallion pulled back at first. i kept talking, and he finally allowed me to touch him. he whinnied just a bit, and i patted him gingerly, trying to make him know me; then, when he was still, i took a closer look at his leg. there was a bad tear along his right foreleg, and there were scratches from the branches that had ripped along his sleek white coat. the scratches i knew would heal, but i wasnt sure about the leg. the way ghost wind had pulled back, i feared a ligament might be torn or even his leg fractured.

from their reactions, what are both paul and mitchell most concerned with right after the accident?

whether mitchell is injured
whether paul will be punished
whether ghost wind is injured
whether mitchell will be punished

Explanation:

Analyze the excerpt

We begin by reading the provided passage from The Land. The narrator, Paul, is approaching a stallion named "Wind" (Ghost Wind) after an accident. He speaks softly to calm the horse and examines its leg: "There was a bad tear along his right foreleg, and there were scratches from the branches... The scratches I knew would heal, but I wasn't sure about the leg." He fears a ligament might be torn or a leg fractured.

Evaluate character concerns

Using Novel Comprehension, we look at what the characters are focused on. Paul's immediate actions and thoughts are entirely centered on checking the physical condition of the horse, Ghost Wind. He examines the leg, notes the bad tear, scratches, and expresses deep worry about a torn ligament or a fractured leg.

Connect to textual evidence

Using Textual Evidence, we match these observations to the multiple-choice options. The text shows no discussion of punishment or human injuries in this specific excerpt; instead, the detailed description of checking the stallion's leg directly supports that they are most concerned with whether the horse, Ghost Wind, is injured.

Answer:

• whether Mitchell is injured
• whether Paul will be punished
• whether Ghost Wind is injured (Correct answer)
• whether Mitchell will be punished