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nstructions for Student: Reread paragraphs 6–9 of the informational text. Then answer the multiple-choice questions that follow.
From Phineas Gage: A Gruesome but True Story About Brain Science by John Fleischman
6. Black powder is ticklish stuff. When it’s damp, nothing will set it off. When it’s too dry or mixed in the wrong formula, almost anything can set it off, without warning. But Phineas and his assistant have done this a thousand times—pour the powder, set the fuse, pour the sand, tamp the sand plug, shout a warning, light the fuse, and run like mad.
7. But something goes wrong this time. The sand is never poured down the hole; the black powder and fuse sit exposed at the bottom. Does his assistant forget, or does Phineas forget to look? Witnesses disagree. A few yards behind Phineas, a group of his men are using a hand-cranked derrick crane to hoist a large piece of rock. Some of the men remember seeing Phineas standing over the blast hole, leaning lightly on the tamping iron. Others say Phineas was sitting on a rock ledge above the hole, holding the iron loosely between his knees.
8. There is no argument about what happens next. Something or someone distracts Phineas. Does he hear his name called? Does he spot someone goofing off? Whatever the reason, Phineas turns his head to glance over his right shoulder. The fat end of his tamping iron slips down into the hole and strikes the granite. A spark flies onto the exposed blasting powder. Blam! The drill hole acts as a gun barrel. Instead of a bullet, it fires Phineas’s rod straight upward. The iron shrieks through the air and comes down with a loud clang about thirty feet away.
9. This is what happens. Imagine you are inside Phineas’s head, watching in extreme slow motion: See the pointy end of the rod enter under his left cheekbone, pass behind his left eye, through the front of his brain, and out the middle of his forehead just above the hairline. It takes a fraction of a fraction of a second for the iron rod to pass from cheekbone to forehead, through and through.
Which response best shows an inference that is supported by textual evidence?
A. The accident shows that gunpowder was too dangerou
2026-10-26 23:17:25