Read the passage first
The lesson below refers to this passage.
The Committee of One
Overview
Tone is an attitude conveyed through selection, diction, and emphasis. It is not simply the reader's reaction or the seriousness of the topic. Infer it from several details and compare close labels by degree. A fond description of a final event can be restrained rather than bitter or triumphant.
“The Committee of One” borrows the language of formal administration for a misplaced-key habit. The narrator blames others, finds his own keys beside the milk, then relegates the most useful suggestion to “additional matters.” The humor comes from disproportion and evasion. It targets the narrator's conduct more than the roommate's. When he finally uses the hook, earlier advice becomes practical change; the toast is a small comic measure of success. Reading the committee language literally would miss the purpose of the exaggeration.
“After the Last Shift” uses a different scale. Routine rope-checking, a familiar rattle, and careful assistance create affection without a grand ceremony. The bridge's convenience is welcomed, especially for the narrator's mother. Attachment and acceptance therefore coexist. The coiled rope gives a final trip the same care as ordinary trips; it does not symbolize a plan to stop the bridge. A summary needs both fondness and practical approval, rather than reducing the account to protest or celebration.
For a new text, underline the words or actions that establish attitude and ask who or what receives that attitude. Then distinguish intensity: quiet hope is not complete triumph, and constructive criticism is not contempt. For purpose questions, explain what the language does to the situation. For evidence questions, select details that support the claimed attitude or conduct, rather than details that merely name the setting.
Apply the method to a complete new context
Read the whole passage before choosing an answer.
The Fern
My aunt's fern has survived three moves, one broken pot, and my early belief that plants enjoy daily watering. When she left for a month, she handed it to me with two pages of instructions, the second devoted entirely to what not to do.
I followed the first page faithfully. I ignored the second page only once, when the fern looked thirsty and I decided I knew better. It dropped a small shower of leaves on the carpet, as if filing a complaint.
By the time my aunt returned, the fern had grown one new frond. She inspected it, then me, and said it looked well. I chose to take that as a compliment to both of us.
Which description best fits the narrator's tone? A. resentful of the aunt's detailed instructions B. anxious that the fern will not survive C. openly triumphant about the new frond D. gently amused by the narrator's own mistakes
The supported answer is D: gently amused by the narrator's own mistakes. The narrator jokes about an early belief, the one ignored instruction, and the fern's leaves “filing a complaint,” and claims the compliment only by choice. Choice C overstates the intensity: the single frond and the hedged final sentence show modest, wry satisfaction rather than triumph.
Name the attitude from several details, then choose the label that matches its intensity rather than a stronger or weaker one.