Which detail shows the weather affecting Ruth directly?

By ten past eleven the shelter had stopped being a shelter. Rain slid sideways under its cracked roof and gathered in a grey puddle around Ruth's trainers. She checked the timetable again, though she knew it by heart: last bus 23:20, usually late, never early. Across the road, the chip shop shutters rattled down and a man in a yellow apron dragged out three bulging bags of rubbish. He did not look at her. Nobody did. Somewhere behind the retail park a fox screamed once, a sound so like a child's that Ruth's shoulders jerked tight. She told herself it was only an animal. Her phone, at four per cent, buzzed with her mother's third message: Are you OK? Where are you? She typed 'Nearly home' and then deleted it, because it was not true yet. At 23:26 two headlights swung round the corner, wobbling in the wet, and the bus sighed to a halt as though it, too, had been waiting all night.

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: A. Rain collects in a puddle around her trainers

  1. Step 1: Look for a detail where the weather physically reaches her.
  2. Step 2: The rain 'gathered in a grey puddle around Ruth's trainers', so her feet are wet.
Answer
Rain collects in a puddle around her trainers.
Why not the others: Her shoulders jerk tight at a sudden noise: This is a reaction to the fox's scream, not to the weather. The chip shop shutters rattle down across the road: This affects the shop and not Ruth. Her phone battery is down to four per cent: This is a technology detail unconnected to the weather.

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