"My father reads the flats the way others read a newspaper" suggests that the father:
Each morning the sea retreats
like a cautious guest,
leaving its small change on the sand:
a shell, a bottle cap, a tangle of weed.
My father reads the flats the way
others read a newspaper,
slow, with his finger on the line,
counting what the water has forgotten.
I am learning his patience
as the light climbs the dunes,
and the gulls, those loud accountants,
tally every crumb.
like a cautious guest,
leaving its small change on the sand:
a shell, a bottle cap, a tangle of weed.
My father reads the flats the way
others read a newspaper,
slow, with his finger on the line,
counting what the water has forgotten.
I am learning his patience
as the light climbs the dunes,
and the gulls, those loud accountants,
tally every crumb.
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. Studies the shore slowly and closely, as if it were full of meaning
- Step 1: The comparison treats the shore as a text to be read.
- Step 2: The next lines (slow, finger on the line) show close attention.
Answer
close, patient study of the shore.
Why not the others: The simile is not about newspapers on the beach; the father is attentive, not dismissive; he moves slowly.
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