Question

from margarita
she was born margarita ancira, twenty years earlier, in los encinos, texas, population 3,000, a place as dry and dusty as only a small town in south texas can be. hot for at least nine months out of the year, bitterly cold for perhaps two weeks in the winter, and always gray. gray blowing dust, gray thorny brush that belied the town’s name, since not a solitary oak was to be found. except for the sky; the sky was always blue. the horizon in los encinos was infinite, and that limitless expanse of blue crushed margo with a sense of desolation. margo would pray for rain, as did her father, but for different reasons. rain, mist, fog, would have blurred the horizon, broken the monotony, but the rain, like change, seldom came.
2
at the moment margo also hated the time and place she was in, although she was not in los encinos. she was in the library of the university of texas at 7:30 on a june evening, too late to find a place at a study table. she circled around the room in a miserable mood, hating herself for arriving late, hating herself for being at the university of texas at all. she felt so adventuresome, enrolling for the summer session at the big university instead of spending the summer with her family at los encinos. they were hurt that she had not chosen to be with them for the summer after having spent the spring in europe, studying in madrid and traveling through spain and france with a dozen other girls from sacred heart college in san antonio, where she would be a senior in the fall.
3
margo had the notion when she enrolled for the summer session that she would perhaps transfer to the university in the fall for good. she felt she was ready for a big coed school, where the students came from all parts of the state, even from all parts of the country, and even from abroad. she had become impatient with sacred heart, a school so much like home, where her friendships were confined to nice, catholic girls, mainly from south texas and northern mexico, her dates circumscribed by the limits of her
what effect does the author create by beginning the passage with a description of margo’s hometown?

1. the author introduces a pattern of family differences that influences later events.
2. the author gives background for why margo has difficulty making friends at the university.
3. the author links margo’s decision to attend the university to her childhood desire for change.
4. the author provides vivid details about the natural landscape that set up a sharp contrast with the library.

Explanation:

• Option 1: The passage's opening about the hometown doesn't introduce family differences affecting later events. The focus is on the town's environment and Margo's desire for change, not family dynamics.
• Option 2: There's no mention of Margo having difficulty making friends at the university in the opening description of the hometown. The hometown description is about the place's environment and her feelings about it, not her social life at university.
• Option 3: The hometown description shows Margo's desire for change (rain to break monotony, as change seldom came). Her decision to attend the university (and summer session) is linked to this childhood desire for change, as she wanted to move away from the familiar (hometown, Sacred Heart) for something new.
• Option 4: The opening describes the hometown's landscape, but there's no setup of a contrast with the library. The library scene is about her mood and being late, not a contrast with the hometown landscape.

Answer:

1. The author links Margo's decision to attend the university to her childhood desire for change.