What impression of the gulls is created by "those loud accountants"?
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: B. They are noisy and businesslike
- Step 1: Accountants count and record carefully; here the gulls 'tally every crumb'.
- Step 2: 'Loud' adds their noise, so the gulls are both noisy and methodical.
Answer
noisy and businesslike.
Why not the others: The word loud rules out silence; tally every crumb rules out wastefulness; the poem shows no fear.
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