Question

read the passage.
from the coral island
1
roving has always been, and still is, my ruling passion, the joy of my heart, the very sunshine of my existence. in childhood, in boyhood, and in mans estate, i have been a rover; not a mere rambler among the woody glens and upon the hill - tops of my own native land, but an enthusiastic rover throughout the length and breadth of the wide, wide world.
2
it was a wild, black night of howling storm, the night in which i was born on the foaming bosom of the broad atlantic ocean. my father was a sea - captain; my grandfather was a sea - captain; my great - grandfather had been a marine. nobody could tell positively what occupation his father had followed; but my dear mother used to assert that he had been a midshipman, whose grandfather, on the mothers side, had been an admiral in the royal navy. at any rate, we knew that, as far back as our family could be traced, it had been intimately connected with the great watery waste. indeed this was the case on both sides of the house; for my mother always went to sea with my father on his long voyages, and so spent the greater part of her life upon the water.
(from the coral island by robert michael ballantyne)
what does this passage most clearly suggest is the cause of the narrators passion for roving?

1. his birth happened during an ocean storm.
2. his mother went on voyages with his father.
3. his mother spent most of her life on the water.
4. his family on both sides had long careers at sea.

Explanation:

To determine the cause of the narrator’s passion for roving, we analyze each option:

• Option 1: The narrator’s birth during a storm is a single event and not a strong indicator of a lifelong passion for roving.
• Option 2: The passage says the mother “always went to sea with my father on his long voyages,” but this alone doesn’t fully explain the narrator’s passion as well as the family’s long - standing connection to the sea.
• Option 3: The mother spent time at sea with the father, but the passage emphasizes the family’s long - term connection to the sea on both sides, not just the mother’s time at sea.
• Option 4: The passage states that the father and grandfather were sea - captains, the great - grandfather was a marine, and on the mother’s side, there were naval connections, and “as far back as our family could be traced, it had been intimately connected with the great watery waste” on both sides. This long - standing family connection to the sea on both sides is the most likely cause of the narrator’s passion for roving.

Answer:

1. His family on both sides had long careers at sea.