The following text is adapted from Louisa May Alcott’s 1869 novel An Old-Fashioned Girl. Polly, a teenager, is visiting her
friend Fanny.
Fanny’s friends did not interest Polly much; she was rather afraid of them [because] they seemed so much older and
wiser than herself, even those younger in years. They talked about things of which she knew nothing and when Fanny
tried to explain, she didn’t ﬁnd them interesting; indeed, some of them rather shocked and puzzled her.
To portray Polly’s reaction to Fanny’s friends
To identify the topics Polly talks about with Fanny’s friends
To explain how Fanny met some of her friends
To illustrate how Fanny’s friends feel about Polly
Choice A is the best answer because it most accurately describes the main purpose of the text, which is to show how Polly
reacted to some of Fanny’s other friends. The text describes Polly as being frightened of Fanny’s friends because they
seemed “much older and wiser” to her and elaborates that they “talked about things of which” Polly was unfamiliar,
uninterested, and shocked. Thus, the main purpose of the text is to describe Polly’s impressions of Fanny’s other friends. 
Choice B is incorrect because the text does not provide any of the topics Polly discussed with Fanny’s friends, stating only
that Polly found the topics unfamiliar, uninteresting, and shocking. Choice C is incorrect because the text says nothing about
how Fanny and her other friends ﬁrst met. Choice D is incorrect because the focus of the text is on Polly’s feelings about
Fanny’s other friends, not on the other friends’ feelings about Polly.