Explanation for Question 3 From the Reading Section on the 2017 April Sat
All right, moving on to question number three, 2 as used in lines 37 and 40 air, 3 most nearly means what? So we're looking at this word air in context, 4 let's refer back to the passage to see how it's used. 5 Um, remember this is in the context of this 6 gift of yogurt and suite-mates, um, 7 the receiver says, 8 um, this is too much with the air of one who has just received 9 this diamond as a birthday present. And then the giver says, 10 um, come, come, come with the air of someone who has just been, 11 who was just given this diamond as a birthday present. 12 So air in this context prefers to, 13 um, the way in which a person acts, 14 um, it's sort of a tone that they have in their voice, 15 the manner that they have. Um, 16 and it's, it's generally just describing their actions, 17 um, and the way that they're making these statements. 18 So air here most means demeanor, 19 answer choice, C answer, choice, 20 a atmosphere we'll be referring to sort of the environment rather than the person 21 here air is referring to the way that these characters are speaking. 22 So we don't want to select atmosphere since that kind of refers to the 23 environment more than their personal demeanor, 24 um, B absence, isn't quite the right fit. 25 If you read that in context, it won't sound right. 26 Uh, and D melody also isn't correct. 27 Demeanor is our best answer choice here because it expresses that, 28 um, the way that these characters are are speaking and the way that they're 29 acting towards each other is of a particular nature. 30 So we use demeanor to describe their mannerisms, 31 their tone, um, and, and to hint at the way in which they're, 32 they're having this conversation. So we'll select answer choice C for number three,