Which excerpt from "How Should One Read a Book?” best states the author’s purpose? Most commonly we come to books with blurred and divided minds, asking of fiction that it shall be true, of poetry that it shall be false, of biography that it shall be flattering, of history that it shall enforce our own prejudices. But if you open your mind as widely as possible, then signs and hints of almost imperceptible fineness, from the twist and turn of the first sentences, will bring you into the presence of a human being unlike any other. Thus to go from one great novelist to another—from Jane Austen to Hardy, from Peacock to Trollope, from Scott to Meredith—is to be wrenched and uprooted; to be thrown this way and then that. But a glance at the heterogeneous company on the shelf will show you that writers are very seldom “great artists”; far more often a book makes no claim to be a work of art at all.

B). But if you open your mind as widely as possible, then signs and hints of almost imperceptible fineness, from the twist and turn of the first sentences, will bring you into the presence of a human being unlike any other.

Explanation:

The author's purpose is described as his/her intention or reason behind the creation of a particular text. It could be either to inform them or entertain them, merely share an event or invoke sarcasm to critique human follies, etc.

In the given excerpt, the author intends to show that 'how one should read a book' which is best reflected through option B as here, the author discloses that a reader must read a text with an open and broad mind as it would help them develop a better and effective understanding of the work. Thus, option B is the correct answer.

question 1: d) the old man continued, "in the long run, what people think about shepherds and bakers becomes more important for them than their own destinies.'"

question 2: d) by providing a different perspective and encouraging the englishman to never give up, the boy him to discover the alchemist.

question 3: c) the stones he gave santiago the boy to recognize omens, which will him on his journey to find his personal legend.

question 4: d) when the englishman wants to quit, santiago doesn’t allow the englishman to give up.

question 5: a) by instructing the englishman to go and try, the englishman is motivated to continue on his journey toward his personal legend.

explanation: