Question

question 5
2 points
read the excerpt below from invisible cities by italo calvino and then answer the question.
\every time i describe a city i am saying something about venice. memorys images, once they are fixed in words, are erased. perhaps i am afraid of losing venice all at once, if i speak of it. or, perhaps, speaking of other cities, i have already lost it little by little.\
which is true of marco polos feelings about love and sacrifice based on this excerpt?
each time marco polo speaks of a different city, he gradually sacrifices a bit of his home that he loves.
families show love by sacrificing their homes so new families can live there.
the gods whom he loves have sacrificed the cities.

Explanation:

🆕 New Concept Discovered: Literary Inference
Reading between the lines to find implied meaning

Step 1: Analyze the excerpt

The excerpt from Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities reads:

"Every time I describe a city I am saying something about Venice. Memory's images, once they are fixed in words, are erased. Perhaps I am afraid of losing Venice all at once, if I speak of it. Or, perhaps, speaking of other cities, I have already lost it little by little."

In this passage, Marco Polo explains his reluctance to speak directly about his beloved home city, Venice.

Step 2: Connect love and sacrifice

We need to determine what is true of Marco Polo's feelings about love and sacrifice based on this text:

• His love: He deeply loves Venice, which is why he is afraid of losing it.
• His sacrifice: To protect his memory of Venice from being "erased" or "lost all at once" by putting it into words, he chooses to describe other cities instead. However, by describing these other cities, he realizes he is still gradually losing a piece of Venice ("speaking of other cities, I have already lost it little by little").

Therefore, every time he speaks of a different city, he is sacrificing a small part of his memories of the home he loves.

Step 3: Evaluate the given options

• Option 1: "Each time Marco Polo speaks of a different city, he gradually sacrifices a bit of his home that he loves."
• This matches the text perfectly. He fears that by speaking of other cities to avoid speaking of Venice directly, he is still losing (sacrificing) his memory of Venice "little by little."
• Option 2: "Families show love by sacrificing their homes so new families can live there."
• This is incorrect. The text does not mention families or sacrificing physical homes for new families.
• Option 3: "The gods whom he loves have sacrificed the cities."
• This is incorrect. The text does not mention gods or gods sacrificing cities.

Answer:

Each time Marco Polo speaks of a different city, he gradually sacrifices a bit of his home that he loves.