An accident again changed the current of my ideas. when i was about fifteen years old we had retired to our house near belrive, when we witnessed a most violent and terrible thunderstorm. it advanced from behind the mountains of jura, and the thunder burst at once with frightful loudness from various quarters of the heavens. i remained, while the storm lasted, watching its progress with curiosity and delight. as i stood at the door, on a sudden i beheld a stream of fire issue from an old and beautiful oak which stood about twenty yards from our house; and so soon as the dazzling light vanished, the oak had disappeared, and nothing remained but a blasted stump. when we visited it the next morning, we found the tree shattered in a singular manner. it was not splintered by the shock, but entirely reduced to thin ribbons of wood. i never beheld anything so utterly destroyed.

before this i was not unacquainted with the more obvious laws of electricity. on this occasion a man of great research in natural philosophy was with us, and excited by this catastrophe, he entered on the explanation of a theory which he had formed on the subject of electricity and galvanism, which was at once new and astonishing to me. all that he said threw greatly into the shade cornelius agrippa, albertus magnus, and paracelsus, the lords of my imagination; but by some fatality the overthrow of these men disinclined me to pursue my accustomed studies. it seemed to me as if nothing would or could ever be known. all that had so long engaged my attention suddenly grew despicable. by one of those caprices of the mind which we are perhaps most subject to in early youth, i at once gave up my former occupations, set down natural history and all its progeny as a deformed and abortive creation, and entertained the greatest disdain for a would-be science which could never even step within the threshold of real knowledge. in this mood of mind i betook myself to the mathematics and the branches of study appertaining to that science as being built upon secure foundations, and so worthy of my consideration.

what is the main effect of the scene with the lightning strike on the reader?

it suggests the narrator has little understanding of the world.
it suggests the narrator is easily impressed with the power of nature.
it suggests the power of nature is beyond the control of the narrator.
it suggests the obsession with money that has taken hold of the narrator.

Passage: mrs. smith’s sixth-grade class filed onto the grassy field behind the middle school after lunch. as she exited the building, chelsea looked around for her closest friend, brittany. she spotted her by the swings, talking to their classmate brian. 2 “brian thinks he’s the fastest person in mrs. smith’s class,” brittany told her when she had joined them. it was obvious that brittany didn’t agree with brian. 3 “i guarantee i can beat anyone in this class to a race,” brian said, tugging on the scarlet baseball cap that he wore each and every day. “in fact, i bet i can run faster than the seventh, eighth, and even ninth graders, too! ” 4chelsea rolled her eyes, but wasn’t astonished by his declaration. brian was typically overconfident; he was always challenging other students and expecting to win. according to brian, he was so talented that he could hit more home runs than children on the baseball team and even could repeatedly make more baskets than the boys and girls on the basketball team. 5 “who dares to challenge me? ” brian shouted, directing his question to every student on the playground. the students looked around, but no one volunteered. 6 “i’ll race you,” chelsea said, breaking the awkward silence. she knew she wasn’t the fastest person on the playground, but if she possessed the determination necessary to win, perhaps she could complete the race first. 7 “first person around the field wins,” said brian, stretching his legs and jumping up and down to ready himself for the race. 8they approached the starting line, and brittany counted to three. 9 “see you at the finish line! ” brian exclaimed and left chelsea in the dust. 10brian soon disappeared around the first turn. chelsea took a deep breath and continued to run at a quick pace. the sun was warm and she soon grew tired, but she didn’t stop. ahead, brian approached the finish line and as he began to celebrate, she watched him trip over a small mound of dirt and fall to the ground. 11as chelsea reached the finish line, she noticed that brian was still seated on the ground, rubbing his injured knee. instead of running past him and winning the race, chelsea stooped down to him stand. he leaned on her shoulder, and they completed the race together. 12 “you could've won,” brian said as their friends came out to congratulate them. 13chelsea smiled. “friends are more important than winning,” she said. 14brian smiled at her. “my thoughts exactly,” he said question: which action in the story advance the plot the most? a) when chelsea accepts brian's challenge to race him b) when chelsea rolled her eyes at irritation at brian's pride c) when chelsea reached the finish line and brian finish the race d) when brittany told chelsea that brian thinks he's the fastest in the class