Read the given extract.
How old was the speaker’s mother when the photograph was taken, according to the extract?
(a) Around 12 years old
(b) Around 15 years old
(c) Around 18 years old
(d) Around 21 years old
Answer as written by the student:
The speaker’s mother was around 12 years old when the photograph was taken, according to the extract.
Step-by-step explanation of the answer:
To answer this question, we need to pay attention to the clues given in the extract.
- The extract is from a poem called "A Photograph" by Shirley Toulson , which is about the speaker's nostalgia for her mother who has passed away.
- The speaker is looking at a photograph of her mother as a child, along with her two girl cousins, when they went paddling in the sea.
- The speaker says that her mother was "the big girl" in the photograph, meaning that she was the oldest among the three cousins.
- The speaker also says that her mother was "some twelve years or so" when the photograph was taken, meaning that she was approximately 12 years old, or slightly older or younger.
Therefore, based on the clues given in the extract, we can infer that the speaker’s mother was around 12 years old when the photograph was taken.
