Question

read this excerpt from extremely loud and incredibly close.
in bed that night i invented a special drain that would be underneath every pillow in new york, and would connect to the reservoir. whenever people cried themselves to sleep, the tears would all go to the same place.... and when something really terrible happened—like a nuclear bomb, or at least a biological weapons attack—an extremely loud siren would go off, telling everyone to get to central park to put sandbags around the reservoir.
what assumption does the narrator make in this excerpt?
that his creativity will be eagerly embraced
that a biological weapons attack is imminent
that many people express their grief through tears
that volunteers are always willing to help in a crisis

Explanation:

The narrator invents a drain under pillows in New York to collect tears when people cry themselves to sleep. This implies that the narrator assumes many people express their grief through tears. There is no indication in the text that his creativity will be embraced. The mention of a biological weapons attack is just a hypothetical "terrible thing" and not an assumption that it is imminent. Also, there is no mention of volunteers being willing to help in a crisis.

Answer:

C. that many people express their grief through tears