Question

the following text is adapted from lewis carroll’s 1889 satirical novel sylvie and bruno. a crowd has gathered outside a mote belonging to the warden, an official who reports to the lord chancellor.
one man, who was more excited than the rest, flung his hat high into the air, and shouted as loud as i could make out: “who roar for the sub-warden?” everybody roared that whether it was for the sub-warden, or not, did not clearly appear: some were shouting “bread!” and some “taxes!”, but no one seemed to know what it was they really wanted.
all this i saw from the open window of the warden’s breakfast-saloon, looking across the shoulder of the lord chancellor.
“what can it all mean?” he kept repeating to himself. “i never heard such shouting before—and at this time of the morning, too! and with such unanimity!”
7
based on the text, how does the lord chancellor respond to the crowd?
a he asks about the meaning of the crowd’s shouting, even though he claims to know what the crowd wants.
b he indicates a desire to speak to the crowd, even though the crowd has asked to speak to the sub-warden.
c he expresses sympathy for the crowd’s demands, even though the crowd’s shouting annoys him.
d he describes the crowd as being united, even though the crowd clearly appears otherwise.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the Lord Chancellor's response: "I never heard such shouting before—and at this time of the morning, too! And with such unanimity!". Option D states he describes the crowd as united (matches "unanimity") even if the crowd's clarity of purpose is questionable (since others weren't sure what the crowd wanted). Option A: He doesn't ask about the meaning, he comments on the shouting/unanimity. Option B: No desire to speak to the crowd or Sub - Warden indicated. Option C: No sympathy or annoyance shown, just observation. So D is correct.

Answer:

D. He describes the crowd as being united, even though the crowd clearly appears otherwise.