It was a very sleek boy, brown and thin and interesting-looking, that knocked at the door of the parlor where mademoiselle sat reading a yellow-covered book and wishing vain wishes. gerald could always make himself look interesting at a moment's notice, a very useful accomplishment in dealing with strange grown-ups. it was done by opening his grey eyes rather wide, allowing the corners of his mouth to droop, and assuming a gentle, pleading expression, resembling that of the late little lord fauntleroy who must, by the way, be quite old now, and an awful prig. "entrez! " said mademoiselle, in shrill french accents. so he entered. "eh bien? " she said rather impatiently. "i hope i am not disturbing you," said gerald, in whose mouth, it seemed, butter would not have melted. "but no," she said, somewhat softened. "what is it that you desire? " "i thought i ought to come and say how do you do," said gerald, "because of you being the lady of the house." he held out the newly-washed hand, still damp and red. she took it. "you are a very polite little boy," she said. "not at all," said gerald, more polite than ever. "i am so sorry for you. it must be dreadful to have us to look after in the holidays." based on the passage, which words best describe gerald's personality? a. clever and charming b. shy and nervous c. aggressive and rude d. talkative and humorous its shy and right?

Select the correct text in the passage. in richard connell's short story "the most dangerous game," zaroffs aristocratic appearance and dignified manners mask his sinister, animalistic nature. which line from the excerpt best provides a glimpse into his true nature? rainsford's first impression was that the man was singularly handsome; his second was that there was an original, almost bizarre quality about the general's face. he was a tall man past middle age, for his hair was a vivid white; but his thick eyebrows and pointed military mustache were as black as the night from which rainsford had come. his eyes, too, were black and very bright. he had high cheekbones, a sharpcut nose, a spare, dark face-the face of a man used to giving orders, the face of an aristocrat. turning to the giant in uniform, the general made a sign. the giant put away his pistol, saluted, withdrew. "ivan is an incredibly strong fellow," remarked the general, "but he has the misfortune to be deaf and dumb. a simple fellow, but, i'm afraid, like all his race, a bit of a savage." "is he russian? " "he is a cossack," said the general, and his smile showed red lips and pointed teeth. "so am i." half apologetically general zaroff said, "we do our best to preserve the amenities of civilization here. forgive any lapses. we are well off the beaten track, you know." laughter shook the general. "how extraordinarily droll you are! " he said. "one does not expect nowadays to find a young man of the educated class, even in america, with such a naive, and, if i may say so, mid-victorian point of view. it's like finding a snuffbox in a limousine. ah, well, doubtless you