Question

a student is writing a short story for a teen literary magazine about a character on a search. read the paragraph from the draft of the short story and complete the task that follows.
fred surveyed the room with a doubtful eye; he had no idea precisely what he was looking for, and the room was a complete wreck. not a single square inch of the carpeting was visible; it was covered with mountainous stacks of magazines and newspapers, cardboard boxes stacked one on top of another at bizarre angles, and rickety pieces of furniture heaped long ago and then forgotten. if he sneezed or even breathed hard, he had no doubt that he would be in trouble.
to add more description, select the best phrase to replace the underlined phrase.
a would be miserable until he went home
b would be tempted to examine everything
c would create a problem as large as a pothole
d would cause everything to collapse like a house of cards

Explanation:

The original sentence describes a room in a state of disarray. The underlined phrase "would be in trouble" is rather vague. Option D, "would cause everything to collapse like a house of cards," uses a vivid simile to add more description. It creates a more vivid image of the potential chaos if he sneezed or breathed hard, fitting the context of the messy room better than the other options. Option A is too general about being miserable. Option B is about examining, which doesn't fit the idea of trouble from sneezing. Option C's "pothole" is not as vivid or relevant as the "house of cards" simile for the described room situation.

Answer:

D. would cause everything to collapse like a house of cards