Question

read the passage from animal farm. the pigs were in ecstasies over napoleons cunning. by seeming to be friendly with pilkington he had forced frederick to raise his price by twelve pounds. but the superior quality of napoleons mind, said squealer, was shown in the fact that he trusted nobody, not even frederick. frederick had wanted to pay for the timber with something called a cheque, which, it seemed, was a piece of paper with a promise to pay written upon it. but napoleon was too clever for him. he had demanded payment in real five-pound notes, which were to be handed over before the timber was removed. already frederick had paid up, and the sum he had paid was just enough to buy the machinery for the windmill. how does the use of card-stacking support the theme in this passage? lack of understanding about foreign concepts can lead to fear of them. it is important to acquire the best deal from those you do business with. corrupt leaders trust no one because they know that they themselves cannot be trusted. leaders will highlight the positives of every situation to make themselves seem competent.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the card - stacking technique (presenting only favorable info) and the passage. Napoleon's actions (like getting a better deal, not trusting Frederick) are spun by Squealer to show Napoleon's "superiority". Option D says leaders highlight positives to seem competent. In the passage, Squealer emphasizes Napoleon's cleverness (positive spin) to make him seem competent, which matches card - stacking (presenting only good aspects of Napoleon's actions). Other options: A is about foreign concepts fear (not in passage), B is about business deals (passage is about leadership spin, not just business), C is about corrupt leaders not trusting (passage's focus is Squealer's spin, not just trust issue).

Answer:

D. Leaders will highlight the positives of every situation to make themselves seem competent.