Question

what can you do to avoid the plague? the answer is: very little. although there are no fewer than twenty-three medical treatises dedicated to it by 1600, including hundreds of recipes for medicines, none of them will help you. nor will perfuming your room and airing it with fire save you-despite this being the official advice of the college of physicians.
-the time travelers guide to elizabethan england, ian mortimer

what tone does the passage most clearly convey?
a tone of anger
a tone of caution
a tone of confidence

Explanation:

Analyze the passage content

The passage discusses the plague in Elizabethan England. It states that there is "very little" one can do to avoid it. It mentions that despite twenty-three medical treatises and hundreds of recipes, "none of them will help you." It also dismisses official advice like perfuming rooms or airing them with fire.

Determine the author's tone

Using Rhetorical Analysis, we evaluate how the author's word choice and sentence structure convey an attitude. The author emphasizes the futility of contemporary medical efforts and official advice. This creates a realistic, sobering, and cautious outlook regarding the disease, warning the reader of the severe limitations of Elizabethan medicine.

Evaluate the given options

• "a tone of anger": Incorrect. The author is not expressing anger or outrage; rather, they are presenting historical facts about the plague's inevitability.
• "a tone of caution": Correct. By warning that none of the popular remedies or official advice will save you, the author conveys a strong sense of caution and realistic danger.
• "a tone of confidence": Incorrect. The passage highlights a lack of effective solutions, which undermines confidence in the medical practices of the time.

Answer:

• a tone of anger
• a tone of caution (Correct answer)
• a tone of confidence