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Comprehension: Explicit and Implicit Meaning: Question 3

Syllabus R1, R2

Multiple choice 1 mark

Read the following passage, then answer the question.

Daniel had rehearsed his answers on the train, in the lift, and again in the mirror of the toilets on the fourth floor. Now, sitting in the reception area of Halston & Pryce, none of it seemed to matter. The receptionist's phone rang twice before she answered it, and both times Daniel's stomach lurched as though the sound itself were a verdict.

Across the low table, another candidate flicked through a folder of certificates, each page laminated and precisely ordered. Daniel had brought nothing but a single sheet of paper, folded twice, that he kept refolding along the same crease until the paper had begun to soften and tear slightly at the corner.

When his name was finally called, he stood up too quickly, catching his knee on the table leg. He apologised to no one in particular, then followed the receptionist down the corridor, refolding the paper one final time before pushing it deep into his pocket, out of sight.

Which of the following best describes what Daniel's repeated refolding of the paper suggests about him?

Choose an answer to check it, then compare with the worked solution below.
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Worked solution

Why B is correct

The passage builds a consistent picture of nervousness before this detail appears: Daniel has over-rehearsed his answers, his stomach “lurches” at the phone ringing, and he later catches his knee standing up too quickly. Read alongside this evidence, the repeated, almost compulsive refolding of the same sheet, softening and tearing it slightly, is a small, self-soothing habit, not simple boredom, carelessness or confidence. It shows nervous energy being channelled into a repetitive physical action, which is option B.

Why the other options are wrong

  • A (bored) ignores the accumulated evidence that Daniel is anxious, not disengaged.
  • C (careless) mistakes a controlled, repeated habit for disregard. The tearing is incidental to the anxious repetition, not evidence he does not value the paper.
  • D (confident) takes the action at face value instead of reading it against the surrounding nervous detail.