Passage Excerpt from A Voice in the Wilderness
Excerpt from A Voice in the Wilderness
by Grace Livingston Hill
With a lurch the train came to a dead stop and Margaret Earle, hastily gathering up her belongings, hurried down the aisle and got out into the night.
It occurred to her, as she swung her heavy suit-case down the rather long step to the ground, and then carefully swung herself after it, that it was strange that neither conductor, brakeman, nor porter had come to help her off the train, when all three had taken the trouble to tell her that hers was the next station; but she could hear voices up ahead. Perhaps something was the matter with the engine that detained them and they had forgotten her for the moment.
The ground was rough where she stood, and there seemed no sign of a platform. Did they not have platforms in this wild Western land, or was the train so long that her car had stopped before reaching it?
She strained her eyes into the darkness, and tried to make out things from the two or three specks of light that danced about like fireflies in the distance. She could dimly see moving figures away up near the engine, and each one evidently carried a lantern. The train was tremendously long. A sudden feeling of isolation took possession of her. Perhaps she ought not to have got out until some one came to help her. Perhaps the train had not pulled into the station yet and she ought to get back on it and wait. Yet if the train started before she found the conductor she might be carried on somewhere and he justly blame her for a fool.
There did not seem to be any building on that side of the track. It was probably on the other, but she was standing too near the cars to see over. She tried to move back to look, but the ground sloped and she slipped and fell in the cinders, bruising her knee and cutting her wrist.
In sudden panic she arose. She would get back into the train, no matter what the consequences. They had no right to put her out here, away off from the station, at night, in a strange country. If the train started before she could find the conductor she would tell him that he must back it up again and let her off. He certainly could not expect her to get out like this.
She lifted the heavy suit-case up the high step that was even farther from the ground than it had been when she came down, because her fall had loosened some of the earth and caused it to slide away from the track. Then, reaching to the rail of the step, she tried to pull herself up, but as she did so the engine gave a long snort and the whole train, as if it were in league against her, lurched forward crazily, shaking off her hold. She slipped to her knees again, the suit-case, toppled from the lower step, descending upon her, and together they slid and rolled down the short bank, while the train . . . ran giddily off into the night.
The horror of being deserted helped the girl to rise in spite of bruises and shock. She lifted imploring hands to the unresponsive cars as they hurried by her—one, two, three, with bright windows, each showing a passenger, comfortable and safe inside, unconscious of her need.
A moment of useless screaming, running, trying to attract some one’s attention, a sickening sense of terror and failure, and the last car slatted itself past with a mocking clatter, as if it enjoyed her discomfort.
Margaret stood dazed, reaching out helpless hands, then dropped them at her sides and gazed after the fast-retreating train, the light on its last car swinging tauntingly, blinking now and then with a leer in its eye, rapidly vanishing from her sight into the depth of the night.
She gasped and looked about her for the station that but a short moment before had been so real to her mind; and, lo! on this side and on that there was none!
The night was wide like a great floor shut in by a low, vast dome of curving blue set with the largest, most wonderful stars she had ever seen. Heavy shadows of purple-green, smoke-like, hovered over earth darker and more intense than the unfathomable blue of the night sky. It seemed like the secret nesting-place of mysteries wherein no human foot might dare intrude. It was incredible that such could be but common sage-brush, sand, and greasewood wrapped about with the beauty of the lonely night.
No building broke the inky outlines of the plain, nor friendly light streamed out to cheer her heart. Not even a tree was in sight, except on the far horizon, where a heavy line of deeper darkness might mean a forest. Nothing, absolutely nothing, in the blue, deep, starry dome above and the bluer darkness of the earth below save one sharp shaft ahead like a black mast throwing out a dark arm across the track.
As soon as she sighted it she picked up her baggage and made her painful way toward it, for her knees and wrist were bruised and her baggage was heavy.
A soft drip, drip greeted her as she drew nearer; something plashing down among the cinders by the track. Then she saw the tall column with its arm outstretched, and looming darker among the sage-brush the outlines of a water-tank. It was so she recognized the engine’s drinking-tank, and knew that she had mistaken a pause to water the engine for a regular stop at a station.
cinders: track bed made from the residue of burnt coal
From A VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS by Grace Livingston Hill—Public Domain
Question
Which sentence from the excerpt best supports the idea that traveling to new places by train is unfamiliar to Margaret?
- A“With a lurch the train came to a dead stop and Margaret Earle, hastily gathering up her belongings, hurried down the aisle and got out into the night.” (paragraph 1)
- B“Perhaps something was the matter with the engine that detained them and they had forgotten her for the moment.” (paragraph 2)
- C“Did they not have platforms in this wild Western land, or was the train so long that her car had stopped before reaching it?” (paragraph 3)
- D“She could dimly see moving figures away up near the engine, and each one evidently carried a lantern.” (paragraph 4)
Show the answer
Correct answer: C
The question asks for evidence from the passage that best supports the claim that Margaret is unfamiliar with traveling to new places. If Margaret has never traveled to this region by train before, she must guess or attempt to interpret what she sees. This idea is best represented in the sentence in paragraph 3 (Option C) where she questions whether the stations in the West have platforms.
The sentence in paragraph 1 (Option A) is an incorrect response because Margaret’s actions in the sentence are decisive as she gathers her belongings to disembark; she is familiar with rail travel.
The sentence in paragraph 2 (Option B) is an incorrect response because, in the sentence, Margaret is using her knowledge about trains to attempt to interpret the actions of others; she is familiar with trains, even if a particular destination has not been mentioned.
The sentence in paragraph 4 (Option D) is an incorrect response because, while the sentence shows that Margaret is trying to better understand her situation in the darkness, her ability to identify the train’s engine and the figures carrying lanterns indicates some familiarity with her mode of travel.
Question analysis
This textual-evidence question asks which sentence from the train scene in A Voice in the Wilderness best shows that traveling to new places is unfamiliar to Margaret. Students compare four quotations from the opening paragraphs of the excerpt. The pull comes from lines that reveal her state of mind but prove something other than the claim.
- NYS standards
- 7R1 textual evidence and inferences
- Grade level
- Grade 7 reading and task
- Compared with grade 7
- At grade 7 Choosing the quotation that best supports an idea is standard grade 7 evidence work. Here most of the quotations hint at Margaret’s unease, so students must match the claim precisely rather than settle for any sign of uncertainty.
- Estimated difficulty
- Moderate: several steps, or a close reading with one strong distractor.
- Thinking it demands
- Depth of knowledge 2, skills and concepts · mainly evaluate
- What makes it hard
- Every choice must be checked moderate
- Reading between the lines minor
- Evidence
- Answered from several paragraphs or stanzas
- Reading level
- Passage: about grade 8, 981 words; question and choices: about grade 11, 113 words.
- Students, last 30 days
- Not enough answers yet to show (it takes 10).
Why it is hard, traps and wrong answers (shows the answer)
Why it is hard
All four sentences show Margaret uncertain, so mood alone cannot decide this. The claim has two parts, travel by train and new places, and the right sentence is the only one where her uncertainty is about the region itself. Students lose the point when they settle for a sentence that shows doubt about the delay or the darkness instead.
Every choice must be checked moderate Choosing the answer
The four quotations come from the first four paragraphs and all show Margaret unsure in the dark, so each has to be tested against the claim’s specific idea of new places. (Embretson & Wetzel, 1987)
Reading between the lines minor Working it out
The right sentence is a question about “this wild Western land,” and students must infer that only a newcomer to the West would wonder whether its stations have platforms. (Graesser, Singer & Trabasso, 1994; Kintsch, 1998)
Strategy: Underline the key words of the claim, then test each quotation against every one of those words rather than against its general mood.
Traps
- Supports only part of the claim: In a question about evidence: a line that backs one half of the claim but not the other, or a related point rather than the claim itself.
The wrong answers, classified
A Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Shows her on a train and reads the hurried exit as a nervous newcomer’s, but the sentence shows only haste and confidence, with no sign that the place is new to her.
B Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Sees uncertainty in “Perhaps something was the matter with the engine,” but she is guessing about one delay like an experienced rider, not puzzling over a new place.
D Supports only part of the claim (King et al., 2004; Thissen, Steinberg & Fitzpatrick, 1989)
Notices the guesswork in “dimly” and “evidently,” but the sentence reflects darkness, and she still recognizes the engine and lanterns, which shows she knows trains.
Working it out, step by step
Figure out what the question asks
This asks for evidence: the sentence that best proves an idea. The idea is that traveling by train to new places is unfamiliar, or new, to Margaret.
Underline the key words
The idea has two parts: train travel and new places. All four sentences show Margaret unsure in the dark. But the right one must show that this place is new to her.
Look closely at paragraph 3
Paragraph 3 asks: “Did they not have platforms in this wild Western land, or was the train so long that her car had stopped before reaching it?” A platform is the raised floor where you get on and off a train. Margaret wonders whether stations out West even have platforms. She calls it “this wild Western land.” Only someone new to a place would wonder that.
Check each choice
- A is wrong. It shows her getting off quickly. Nothing shows the place is new to her.
- B is wrong. She guesses about engine trouble. That shows she knows how trains work.
- C is right. She does not know what stations are like in this new land.
- D is wrong. She can’t see well because it is dark. She still knows the engine and the lanterns.
Watch out: B starts with “Perhaps,” so it sounds unsure. But she is guessing about one train, not about a new place.
Choose the answer
Only the question about platforms shows that the place is strange to her. So the answer is C.
Why this answer and not the closest wrong one
B is the closest wrong answer, because Margaret is unsure in it too. But in B she guesses about the engine, like any rider who knows trains. In C, she wonders what stations in “this wild Western land” are like. That shows the place is new to her.
More questions like this
The original DOE question
The passage “Excerpt from A Voice in the Wilderness” as printed (pages 128–129)
