Question

read this excerpt from the great fire.

when william lee reached golls drugstore, he was gasping for air and frantic. in a breathless voice, lee demanded the key to the alarm box that was mounted on the outside of the store. bruno goll refused to hand it over, insisting that a fire truck had already passed.

lee had no time to argue with goll. he was too concerned about the safety of his family, so he hurried back to them almost immediately. he got there just in time to see the fire taking hold of his neighbors shed and fence, while the breeze blew a rain fire on his property. two things were very clear to lee: first, despite what goll had said, no fire engines had arrived, and, second, his house was about to catch fire.

why was william lee frantic and breathless when he first arrived at golls drugstore?

he was angry at the owner for refusing to sound the alarm and for lying about the fire engines.
he was confused about who had informed the firefighters of the fire and why there were trucks driving by.
he knew there was a fire burning near his home, and he wanted to sound the alarm as quickly as possible.
he knew that the fire would be massive and firefighters would not be able to control the flames.

Explanation:

Analyze the question and context

The question asks why William Lee was frantic and breathless when he first arrived at Goll's drugstore. We need to find direct Text Evidence from the excerpt to support the correct explanation.

Locate evidence in the text

According to the excerpt, when Lee reached the drugstore, he "demanded the key to the alarm box that was mounted on the outside of the store." The text also states he "was too concerned about the safety of his family" and that he saw "the fire taking hold of his neighbor's shed and fence." This shows he knew a fire was burning near his home and wanted to sound the alarm immediately.

Evaluate the options

Using Reading Comprehension skills, we evaluate the choices:

• Option 1: He was angry at Goll after arriving, not before.
• Option 2: He was not confused about who informed the firefighters.
• Option 3: He knew there was a fire near his home and wanted to sound the alarm quickly. This matches the text.
• Option 4: The text does not state he knew the fire would be massive and uncontrollable at that exact moment.

Answer:

• He was angry at the owner for refusing to sound the alarm and for lying about the fire engines.
• He was confused about who had informed the firefighters of the fire and why there were trucks driving by.
• He knew there was a fire burning near his home, and he wanted to sound the alarm as quickly as possible. (Correct answer)
• He knew that the fire would be massive and firefighters would not be able to control the flames.