SSAT Reading Question 195: Answer and Explanation

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Question: 195

1. When the narrator says, "my complacency could hardly get start enough to lift my nose a trifle into the air, before Mr. Bixby would think of something to fetch it down again," he means:

  • A. Whenever the narrator picked his head up, Mr. Bixby was there to tell him to keep his eyes on the river.
  • B. Just as he thought he was learning the river, Bixby would demonstrate how little the narrator actually knew.
  • C. No one can name all the islands, towns, bars, points, and bends of the Mississippi River.
  • D. No other pilot knew the river as well as Mr. Bixby did.

Correct Answer: B

Explanation:

B is correct. Bixby never gave the narrator a chance to become complacent about what he had learned. There were always more twists and turns to be studied and more shapes to be learned. The narrator may have thought that Bixby knew the river better than any other pilot, but that is not the meaning of this particular quote.

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