Question

read the following passage from a long walk to water. in this excerpt, salva is remembering his life before civil war in sudan forced him to flee his home.

at home, salva had never been hungry. his family owned many cattle; they were among the better - off families in their village of loun - arik. they ate mostly porridge made from sorghum and milk. every so often, his father went to the marketplace by bicycle and brought home bags of beans and rice. these had been grown elsewhere, because few crops could be raised in the dry semi - desert region of loun - arik.

as a special treat, his father sometimes bought mangoes. a bag of mangoes was awkward to carry, especially when the bicycle was already loaded with other goods. so he wedged the mangoes into the spokes of his bicycle wheels. when salva ran to greet him, he could see the green - skinned mangoes spinning gaily in a blur as his father pedaled.

salva would take a mango from the spokes almost before his father had dismounted. his mother would peel it for him, its juicy insides the same color as her headscarf. she would slice the flesh away from the big flat seed. salva loved the sweet slices, but his favorite part was the seed. there was always plenty of fruit that clung stubbornly to the seed. he would nibble and suck at it to get every last shred, making it last for hours.

there were no mangoes among the fishermens great stores, but sucking on his piece of sugar cane reminded salva of those happier times. he wondered if he would ever again see his father riding a bicycle with mangoes in its spokes.

from linda sue park, a long walk to water. copyright 2010 by linda sue park

based on the passage, why does eating sugar cane remind salva of his father?

the sugar cane is sweet like the mangoes salvas father used to buy.

salvas father always brought home sugar cane from the market.

salva and his father used to eat sugar cane and mangoes as a special treat.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

1. The first option: The passage says Salva's father bought mangoes (which are sweet), and eating sweet sugar cane reminds him of the mangoes his father bought, linking to his father.
2. The second option: The passage states his father bought beans, rice, and mangoes, not sugar cane, so this is incorrect.
3. The third option: The passage only mentions mangoes as a special treat from his father, not sugar cane, so this is incorrect.

Answer:

A. The sugar cane is sweet like the mangoes Salva's father used to buy.